Asymmetrical April 2017 - Wrap-up

Hello Everyone!

In wrapping up our Asymmetrical April, I am happy to say that I finished our hat project, Rebel by Josh Ryks.  When I last checked in, I was coming up on German Short Rows. I have done short rows on other projects and I wish I had known how to do German Short Rows! This method makes short rows much easier than the more traditional wrap method. The short rows are what give this hat its shape, fitting along with the natural curve of your head. Once I knitted the pattern through the short rows, the hat actually started to look like a hat. Knitting this project is almost like knitting a mystery knit-along, the hat shape only comes into view as you complete the short rows. My Husband, Linda's Dad, asked more about this project because the hat shape isn't readily visible. But once it comes into view, the sense of accomplishment is real! But, there’s one more step before our Rebel Hat is finished, and that’s the grafting. I have not grafted before this project, so I had to research how to do this particular technique. There are a number of site, but I found the tutorial at Craftsy to be very clear and it has pictures!

https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/12/knitting-kitchener-stitch-tutorial/

According to Craftsy, the Kitchener stitch is a finishing technique in knitting used to seam two sets of live stitches invisibly. It is essentially a new set of stitches woven from both live edges! Also called grafting in knitting, the kitchener stitch is fun to say, but can seem a little daunting to new knitters.

What I found, though, is that the tutorial gave me a basis on how to graft, a more clear understanding. But I found the best way to do the grafting on our hat is to follow the pattern. Josh Ryks’ pattern is very well written overall, and particularly in this area. Just follow each step and you’ll get the “V” in the back, completing all the required knitting. Now all that is left is to weave in those ends! As you recall, I used four colors in my hat, and while weaving in all those ends took some time, the color combination was well worth it.

I hope you enjoyed stepping into the new areas of short rows and grafting. I am sure we will see these techniques again. Here is my finished Rebel Hat.

I will be working on the Stephen West Tripartite project while on a trip during the first week of May. There are several project kits still available at Yarns by HPF. Stop in and check them out! Here is where I am on this very artistic project. 

I will post updates when I get home. I always take knitting when I travel. I found that the times I didn't, I missed not having the option to knit. How about you, do you take your knitting with you? See you next month for Mosaic May!

Knit On! Lisa

Asymmetrical April!

Hello Everyone!

We have been waiting for Spring to show up in the Northeast and with temperatures climbing from the 30’s to 50’s then to 80’s and back down to the 40’s, our typical New England Spring has arrived in all its asymmetrical glory. And coincidentally, if you've read our newsletter, you know it's Asymmetric April! Our April is not be filled with varying weather fronts, but we do have projects where the yarn is knitted in different directions only to come together in stunning ways, much like the appearance of a beautiful rainbow after a weather event. Our designers this month, Josh Ryks on the Rebel hat and Stephen West on the Tripartite garment both take the venerable garter stitch and the versatile short row technique to new and incredible levels. According to his Ravelry profile, Josh Ryks is a color-obsessed knitter and designer from Minnesota. As a self-taught knitter, Josh has been altering patterns since the moment a pair of sticks and string was put in his hands. Josh got started on his “official” design career after knitting a shawl by Stephen West. The shawl opened his knitting world to a wonderful playground of shape, color, texture, graphic detailing, and lines - as well as creating a shawl-obsessed knitwear designer. Short rows, color, lines, endless garter stitch, and graphic punch can be found in his designer tool belt at all times - and he’ll always have at least one shawl in his project bag! His Ravelry username is SwordofaKnitter and his website is www.swordofaknitter.com, a combination blog and vlog (video blog). Check out his other patterns. They beautifully show what you can do with garter stitch and short rows.

As you can see from Josh's profile, he is inspired by arguably the most creative designer using the garter stitch (and short rows), Stephen West. 

According to his website, www.westknits.com, Stephen West was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He studied dance at the University of Illinois where he encountered his first yarn store, Klose Knit in Urbana, IL. The creative atmosphere of that local shop spurred Stephen to start designing knitting patterns and he was quickly featured in Knitty’s fall 2009 issue with his Colonnade Shawl. Soon after, he began publishing more patterns and launched a series of pattern books under the brand Westknits. He continues to produce pattern books and hosts several online knit alongs each year like the Mystery Shawl Knit Along, Yarn a Long and Westknits Shawl Club. His simple clean designs have now been knitted by thousands of knitters all around the World.

So here we have two very creative designers using relatively simple techniques in unusual and dynamic ways. For this blog entry, I will concentrate on our Rebel Hat. Linda says the hat’s name fits me well. Hmmm…..

As a departure from the bright colors our designer favors, I am knitting my Rebel hat in white, black, gray, and tan. I prefer muted and more natural colors (but a burst of orange has been known to find its way into some of my knitted work!). I suggest reading the entire pattern to plan out your color arrangement. I am using four colors so I will have more weaving in of the ends, but picking two colors for the Main and Contrasting Colors certainly has great appeal, which I am sure I will think of as well when it comes time to actually weave in those ends! The pattern is straightforward aside from the make One Left (M1L) and Make One Right (M1R), which are very well explained in the pattern. As I was first knitting this pattern I though how is this ever going to get into a hat shape? I usually knit in the round and this hat is knitted flat, but not in the usual way. The shape grows through the added stitch placement and the ingenious use of garter stitch. It is important to keep track of the rows as they are key in the shaping, particularly with garter stitch. The only thing that really gives the Right Side (RS) and Wrong Side (WS) definition in this phase of the knitting is how the striping looks in the beginning of the hat. It looks like the striping would look on the WS of the hat until you get to the directional knitted fold. I use old school pen (in different colors) and paper to keep track. I have used every tool, electronic and otherwise and for me, the old school method works best. I find the combination of tracking works for me, but use whatever works for you. As with most knitters and crocheters, I multitask (TV, coffee drinking, you get the idea) so tracking is crucial to bring me back on point. It also helps with Works in Progress (WIPs), where we all have a few (blog on WIPs in progress, how fitting!).

I am at the point where I have come to Section 4 of the pattern, the German Short Rows! I found that the description in the pattern of the SLPYO to accomplish short rows wasn’t as descriptive as I needed to this critical shaping of my Rebel hat. So this is where I turn back to “new school” and I found a great tutorial on German Short Rows at Tin Can Knits, https://blog.tincanknits.com/2015/05/. Although I have knitted short rows in the past, it’s been quite a while, so I need a refresher. I am working my German short rows as I write, and I will show my progress and a finished hat in the next blog. Here

is where I am so far (yes, that's a stitch marker to keep my front and backing clear view!):

I will post my Rebel hat completion in the new few days. I will also post about the amazing Stephen West project. Enjoy knitting this hat and let your inner Rebel free!

Knit On! Lisa