This month, we’re carrying on with a zigzag theme — meet the Peaks and Troughs Hat, designed by yours truly! This warm, squishy, and completely reversible hat is the perfect project for practising double-knitting, this month’s Boost Your Knitting technique.
Read moreMarlisle pattern ideas
It has been fascinating to see the amazing range of patterns that people have worked on during our Boost Your Knitting knitalongs this year. There are well over 500 projects on Ravelry that have been tagged boostyourknitting and although many of them are projects from our books, there are plenty that simply use the techniques covered in the series.
Read moreWhen a project messes with your mind...
…sometimes you have to geek it into submission!
Do you ever get that panicky feeling when you’re working on a knitting project? Is the hat going to fit? Have I got enough yarn? Is the scarf going to be long enough? Sometimes a project just messes with your mind, and you just feel like it’s not going to be right.
Read moreMarvellous Marlisle
What could be better than a new technique that was actually not new at all? What on earth am I talking about?! Well the chances are that marlisle is just that for many of you… If you already know how to knit and purl, and you’ve done stranded colourwork before, then the components of marlisle will all be familiar to you. So this month you don’t actually have to learn anything new – rather you are putting together the skills you already have, in a new way. Marvellous!
Read moreMarlisle Magic with the Sooper Sweater
We’re welcoming November around these parts with the release of our ninth (!) Boost Your Knitting pattern, the Sooper Sweater, designed by Anna Maltz. This totally charming child’s jumper features Anna’s well-loved marlisle technique, which combines holding two yarns together (marling) with stranded colourwork (or Fair Isle) to create bold motifs that feature three colour/texture combinations in a single row. Cool!
Read morePostcards from Rhinebeck: Part 2
Saturday
The weather on Saturday could not have been more perfect! The sky was deep blue, the air was still and it was just crisp enough for a woollen sweater and shawl to seem like a good idea. What more could you wish for at a fibre festival?!
As we walked through the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, heading for the book barn, I started to eye up options for lunch, and this BBQ Smokehouse really caught my eye (and nose!).
I spent the morning meeting knitters and signing books, and it was a total joy to meet so many of our YouTube subscribers. I was very lucky to have a stand between MDK and Melanie Falick whose new book, Making A Life is an extraordinary collection of stories of making and makers. It is officially released at the end of the month so be sure to find a copy – it would make an excellent gift for almost anyone given the range of hand-making that she explores.
I dived out of the book barn in search of lunch and then headed to “The Hill”, a small area where meet-ups are arranged.
We need to talk about the Knitwear… and yes, that capital K is purposeful! Oh my word!! I have been to a number of really great yarn show in the UK over the last 10+ years, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING, could really prepare me for the sheer volume of extraordinary handknits at Rhinebeck. There was such an array of incredible colour, texture, construction and just general all-round awesome knitting, it really was breath-taking.
i caught up with a couple of knitters from our Ravelry group (and stupidly didn’t take photos of everyone – so sorry!). This is Nancy (layingcable) and Cheryl (mamafish), wonderfully photographed by Mr mamafish:
Did I mention already that laughter and friendship were the themes of the trip? It has just been SO good to spend time with my internet knitting friends.
After the meet-ups it was time to get down to some serious Rhinebeck business…
Queuing for, and then eating, the famous cider apple donuts. Oh wow! So delicious, and totally worth the hour or so spent standing in line. The queue was a microcosm of Rhinebeck – we watched beautiful knitwear, we chatted to the knitters each side of us in the queue, and then we bought scrumptious snacks. It was a perfect afternoon.
To finish off the perfect day, we had dinner in town with new friends, and then I completed the knitting part of my Antler Cardigan. All that remains is to find some buttons!
To be continued…
I haven’t totally mastered formatting and links from the app, so here are a few links that might be handy:
MDK (Mason-Dixon Knitting): https://www.masondixonknitting.com
Melanie Falick Making a Life: https://melaniefalick.com
Our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/user/Jenacknitwear
Antler Cardigan by Tin Can Knits: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/antler-cardigan
Postcards from Rhinebeck: Part 1
Not yet strictly Rhinebeck, but bear with me…
I’m trying out the app on my phone in the hope that I can write a few short blog posts while I am on the road. Fingers crossed I’m about to have the most knitting-filled week that I’ve had in a long time, so there should be plenty to talk about!
Tuesday
I’m starting my journey by train to London, and I have just the crown shaping remaining on my Marangoni Hat – this month’s Boost Your Knitting pattern. All things being equal, it will be finished before I catch my flight tomorrow.
wednesday
Boom! Hat is all done, save for the last couple of ends, with two minutes to spare before it’s time to leave for Heathrow.
This is the obligatory plane knitting shot. I cast on for the smallest size of Antler Cardigan by Tin Can Knits using our Something to Knit With Aran and knitted both sleeves and a good chunk of body during my flight from Heathrow to JFK in New York. It’s so satisfying to rattle through the pieces of a garment like that, especially when my last couple of garments have been 4ply epics. Note to self: Next adult garment should be in aran weight…
thursday
On Thursday, together with Kay and Ann of Mason-Dixon Knitting, we headed upstate to Red Hook, which is just a little way from Rhinebeck. I could write a whole blog post about what a joy it has been to spend time with these two! Ann is wearing her fabulous aran weight Dionne Shawl by Jeanette Sloan and I’ve borrowed Ann’s Parallelogram Scarf, which I need to immediately cast on when I get home. It is one of the designs in the Sequences MDK Field Guide, and unbelievably squishy and warm! This was just the start of a parade of incredible hand knits – many of them from MDK Field Guides…
Knitting has been almost non-stop – in the car, on the subway, on the plane, at restaurants and at home. I was really inspired by Kay’s gorgeous basketweave socks on her needles (in their Wanderlust Field Guide), as well as Ann’s Petula Sweater (Downtown) and the Corrugated Shawl (Sequences) that Ann was working on. Spending time enjoying the process of stitches and wool against a background of friendship is such a powerfully recharging thing.
My Antler Cardigan started to take shape!
Friday
Tivoli Bays was the perfect backdrop for some fresh air and a walk, and we were joined by MDK team member, Christina…
…for a photo shoot for our new album cover: Knitters on Tour.
And what do knitters do when they are on tour? Why, they head to the nearest town with a yarn shop of course! We went to Fabulous Yarn in Tivoli, NY which was PACKED with stunning yarns and notions. It took all my willpower not to dive in and buy everything.
I was very taken with this aptly named Oooh! cashmere chunky yarn. I held strong though, safe in the knowledge that the weekend would bring plenty to tempt me.
To be continued…
Joining in New Yarns, Method 2: Knitting in Ends
A few days ago, we brought you a video tutorial showing how to splice in a new yarn! Today, Jen shows you another fuss-free way to join in a new yarn which also leaves you with no ends to weave in: knitting in ends!
Read moreA chat with Tori Seierstad about her passion for colourwork
Tori Seierstad is a knitwear designer based in Lillehammer, Norway who can’t get enough of colourwork knitting. Her patterns feature bold motifs with lots of colour changes — perfect for practising this month’s featured technique, joining in new yarns. The Marangoni Hat, Tori’s contribution to Boost Your Knitting, features both stripes and bubble-like circles, making it ideal for learning multiple joining techniques. Tori was kind enough to have a chat with me a few weeks ago about her fab hat design, her lifelong love of knitting, and even share some of her colour inspiration!
Read moreJoining in New Yarns, Method 1: How to Splice (A video tutorial)
Do you love colourwork knitting, but dread all the ends you have weave in? This month’s Boost Your Knitting technique is focused on two different ways to join in yarns in your projects … and as an added bonus, these methods eliminate the need to weave in ends! While this month’s featured pattern is the stunning colourwork Marangoni Hat, these techniques can be used any time you need to add in a new yarn, whether it’s a colour change or just time to add the next ball in a single colour project.
Read more