Hello Everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying
knitting our first hat project, "It's a Girl Thing" by Joji
Locatelli. But, first things first. Linda reminded me that I should
introduce myself and how our Blog came about. My name is Lisa and I am Linda's
Step-Mother. I recently retired after 36 years of Federal Service. As with most
recent retirees, the shift from daily work responsibilities to the freedom of
pursuing something new now becomes a real and welcomed option. Linda came up
with the idea for me to use my love of knitting, social media, and all things
electronic and combine them through this Blog. This is my first attempt at
blogging, but I love to knit and I love to talk about knitting, so from that,
our Blog came to be. It's wonderful to be able to be part of this adventure
with you as we learn new skills and talk about our mutual love of all things
knitting. Linda also wanted me to mention that I am the one that taught her how
to knit. I taught her basic knitting. The creativity, the advanced skills, the
incredible teaching, the beautiful store, that's all Linda! (Proud S-Mom 😊)
Now, back to our
project of the month. "It's a Girl Thing" by designer Joji Locatelli
is our January project. Linda is teaching this skill builder hat on January 21st
and 28th at Yarns by HPF. I will be knitting along virtually as I live in the
Northeast. Joji Locatelli is a knitwear designer based in Argentina. Our
pattern of the month is part of her "Authentic Collection". Visit her
website at http://www.jojiknits.com to
learn more about Joji Locatelli and her beautiful knitwear patterns. Her
patterns are very well written and with special techniques that are actually
easy to follow. I made the hat in the medium size. My kit included Cascade Heritage yarn in Snow and Navy and frabjous fibers Wonderland Yarn in sky blue. Linda made up
kits in different color combinations or you can come up with your own. I used
my circular needles which allow for varying sizing as you knit, particularly
during shaping. Your cast-on should be stretchy. Joji uses Cable Cast-On in her
pattern and that's the one I used. Linda is teaching German Twisted Cast-On (as
found in the Brother Hat pattern - more in that in a future blogpost) as an
alternative. Both methods work beautifully where you want a stretchy cast-on.
There are all sorts of videos online to help, but my go-to is Michelle
Hunter at www.knitpurlhunter.com under Video Tips. I used the Cable Cast-On
from the pattern. I suggest using sharp pointed needles to make this cast-on
easier. Moving onto the ribbing, I wanted to make my ribbing neater. I found a
great way on how to achieve neat, even ribbing in knitting on Suzie Sparkles
Knitting at https://suziesparklesknitting.wordpress.com/tag/ribbing/.
It made a difference for me and it may for you, too. Next, I moved to the
striping part of the pattern. How do you get stripes to look straight, without
the “jog”? “Jogless stripes” use an optical illusion in knitting. Linda and I
like TECHknitting Jogless stripes—a new way at http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2007/01/jogless-stripes.html.
Another good source is -love knitting- 4 Ways to Knit Jogless Stripes at http://blog.loveknitting.com/4-ways-to-knit-jogless-stripes/.
I used the “Knit into the stitch below” method. Try out the different methods
and use the one that appeals to your eye. And now, onto the lace portion of the
pattern. I have to admit that I have avoided patterns with yarn overs, the stitch
so necessary for lace knitting. So,
as part of knitting with you and for our Blog, I looked up how to do a yarn
over. And yes, I’ve been doing it wrong which is why I wasn’t getting the
“holes” so necessary to lace knitting. Even an experienced, active knitter will
learn something from skill builder classes, or in my case, skill re-builder!
The lace part of the hat along with the straightforward ribbing and striping
makes for a beautiful combination. I hope you’ve enjoyed knitting our January
project, Joji Locatelli’s “It’s a Girl Thing” hat. Thank you for joining us on
our Blog. Come back for future posts and if you find yourself in Jacksonville, Alabama,
stop in and visit. Knit On! -- Lisa
