Life LackaDaisiCal

Charts for colour knitting come in many forms - look at the fair isle charts you have on hand. When knitting Fair Isle IN THE ROUND, charts are read right to left, bottom to top. When knitting Fair Isle back and forth, in flat pieces, you will follow your chart, bottom up, reading the right side rows from the right, and the "back side" rows from the left.   (Note:  If your piece is totally symmetrical, this actually won't matter....and you will be able to read the "back side" rows right to left if that makes more sense to you!) Charts may have the stitch numbers and row numbers running along the bottom and up the side of the chart. Here is the same simple chart - presented in 3 different formats. Some charts are done in full colour - it's easy to visualize the design, but I find that sometimes it's hard to decide exactly which yarn is to be used where - especially if the design uses many shades of one colour. Some charts use symbols fo

This is an American Girl doll dress that I knit for a friend's daughter and I'll use it as a basis for the sample size designs for practice knitting. Those of you who are practicing with their opposite hand - how's it going? So now that your other hand is becoming more comfortable with knitting too.....we can proceed to knitting with two shades of yarn at the same time - stranded knitting. You have two hands - and two shades of yarn - hold one yarn in each hand - now knit one stitch with your right hand - one with your left - carry on knitting like this until it feels good. Then 2 stitches with the right and 2 with the left..... Then 3 with the right and 3 with the left.... etc - up to 5 or 6 stitches with each hand. You knit always keeping the yarns separate - never twisting - the yarn in your right hand knits running along the top - the yarn in your left hand always comes from underneath - pops up to knit - then drops back down while the right hand knits. As you add stitc

One of my earliest designs - abandoned.......then recycled to take part in the Cambridge  Project What is your experience level as a Fair Isle Knitter - Experienced, Intermediate or Beginner - please vote on this new poll. Those of you who consider yourself to be Beginners - do you have anything specifically that you'd like to see detailed in the future? Intermediate Fair Isle knitters - you've done some Fair Isle in the past - what aspects of the knit were you thinking....there must be a better way? perhaps you'd like to have this issue specifically addressed? You Experienced Fair Isle knitters - as this tutorial goes on - I'd love it if you'd post your opinions or alternatives to what I post.....after all....there is never only one way to do something..... Your participation in this tutorial is crucial to making it a worthwhile experience for all of us.  I look forward to your comments and suggestions. Anne

I throw with my right - 13 (26%) I knit continental - yarn in the left hand - 15 (30%) I can do both! - 25 (50%) and nobody said they used another style of knitting! Thank you to the 50 readers who responded to this poll.                                                                                                                                                                      Congratulations to the lucky knitters who can do both - you probably already knit fair isle (aka stranded) knitting projects using both hands - one yarn in each - do you? Or do you favour one hand over the other......and use one hand for both yarns? I learned to knit the Scottish way - needle tucked under my right arm.......with my left needle moving up and over and down and under the right needle as the stitches were formed.....I now know that this similar to using long double ended pins and a knitting belt. My Grant Avenue Vest..... photos taken on the Grotto at Stourhead, Wiltshire UK (At one time I co

While we are waiting for the Poll "How Do You Knit" to finish...... see Vogue Early Fall 2011 post The following is my opinion only - feel free to disagree! A design based on the traditions of Fair Isle Knitting - OXO and pirie motifs, knit in the round  incorporating steeks in the construction, using traditional Shetland yarns What makes it a Fair Isle versus stranded.... well, Fair Isle is.... a specific style of knit garment (not a knitting technique) knit in the round  using the traditional Shetland jumper weight (fingering) wool yarns (from the Shetlands - Shetland sheep raised in the Shetland Islands) uses only two shades per round uses traditional OXO and pirie motifs therefore does not have long carries of the yarn being carried (stranded) across the back incorporates the steeking method (although many Shetlanders knit back and forth above the armholes) Do I have proof of the above statements - No, I don't. This is my definiti

When Lee Ann contacted me earlier this year - way earlier - about the "Made in Canada" column in Vogue Knitting - to be honest, I was in a knitting slump.  It had been a long winter.  Our traditional Canadian cold winter, which is hard to handle sometimes was made even more tedious by the lack of a winter vacation.....remember St. Lucia last year ?  I certainly do!!!! I was trying to decide what knitting path to forge down next...and Lee Ann's call reminded me of my FI 101 Class that I originally put together for an on-line group called Knitting Beyond the Hebrides.   (I'm not sure how active this group still is....I put myself on hold at one time and honestly forgot to reactive myself - if anyone reading this knows.....let me know either in a comment or by e-mail ok?) So, in honour of the honour of being reported on in this issue of Vogue Knitting....I propose to revive my Basics of Fair Isle on-line tutorial (my FI 101 Class) here....new videos and photos....incor

While we are waiting (patiently) for the movie..... we can enjoy this photo of Neville (who always wore great sweaters in the movies - this one I LOVE!!!!)

You know the saying LOL! You buy some new "tools" from Feral Knitter Every shade of Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift on a little embroidery thread bobbin. A great book and the  "Ultimate  3-in-l Color Tool" by Joen Wolfrom So you start organizing your little bobbins... by number or by the shade card - standing up, or on their side.....hmmm I went for on their side, in the order as shown on the shade card You find just the right box, to pull everything together - your Jamieson's Shade Card Your new colour tools..... They go in the box.....and you put a divider between  the books and  your lovely colourful bobbins....... all organized in a beautiful box - heaven!

Seems to me that there are a lot of unique knitting opportunities this year!  Click on the above to go to the Ganseyfest Web Page! These guys know how to put on a show - entry cost includes tea and scones!