Cruise Mysteries No Longer!

Here are the two fingerless mitten designs that I will be teaching on the Fantasy Fiber Arts Cruise to The Bahamas in July!

Each is a separate class, and each class will provide the pattern, chart, instructions, yarn and extras (beads, if needed, stitch markers, pins, post-it notes). Students will be able to choose their own colorways from the yarns and beads provided. All they'll have to bring are Size 3 needles (dpns or long circs, as desired).

There is room in both of these classes, and in fact, I think you can still sign up for the cruise itself... it's to The Bahamas, if you forgot....

I've booked my flight to Charleston, and I'm getting excited!

An object lesson

In all of my books, and in all of my classes, and in all of my class handouts, I stress choosing highly contrasting colors for Fair Isle. In order to make sure that your yarns have enough contrast to make the colorwork worthwhile, I suggest scanning your yarns and then turning the scan into b/w in order to check the contrast.  Like so.

See? You can easily tell the difference between the light and dark colors.

 And therefore, there were no nasty surprises when the items were knit.

You'd think I'd remember that, given that it's my own advice, right? Advice, I might add, that I was paid to write, and am paid to teach.

 You might also think that I would take these yarns, which look highly contrasting to the naked eye, and scan them before casting on, right?

If I had done that, I might have noticed that there was really very little contrast between those colors.

 And I would have had plenty of warning

for this...

I should have listened to myself. Sigh.

(and yes, I will take these examples of What Not To Do to all of my classes. It'll be an excellent object lesson).

Like a proud mama

Look what Heidi designed after taking my Fair Isle Design class at the Michigan Fiber Festival:

I love seeing what my students come up with, and I feel just like a proud Mama.

Thanks for sharing, Heidi! It's absolutely gorgeous!

All Day Fair Isle Class results, and now that it's getting chilly in the mornings

Lookie here! Martha finished her hat from the All Day Fair Isle class that I taught at NCFF. Didn't it turn out beautifully? She and her sister Molly opted to knit the adult size hat, rather than the toddler size. I am so proud!

And since I need an Adult Size hat to show the class at SAFF (the first chart I tried needed adjusting- it was too long, and this is not a hat where the brim can be rolled up, so I had to revise it before the class and didn't have time to knit another sample). I'm using leftover yarn from the The Big Book of Socks (Jarbo Garn Raggi, and some Knit Picks Wool of the Andes worsted). I love the effect with self striping and patterning yarns in Fair Isle, but I also love the 2-color look of traditional Norwegian knitting. Plus, I got really tired of using the same striping yarn for all my class samples (I think I've knit 5 hats that look pretty much exactly the same, and that is easily 3 too many).

I'm nearly done with the samples for my five SAFF classes (I need to finish this hat and cast on the one we'll knit together in the class)(which is full, btw). All of my handouts and workshop supplies are heading to NC even as I type (via the PO). I just have to put together the *Writing Patterns for Publication* talk/handout, and I'll be ready for SAFF. Wahoo!

When I was at the Sock Summit, I took a podcasting class from Heather Ordover, of Craft Lit . I still haven't tried my own audio recordings for the blog, but now that it's getting chilly (and the fall winds have come up), I've been using the treadmill in the basement more often. I don't listen to my Zune when I run out on the highway because of that it's really more important to hear the oncoming traffic than it is to listen to music or books thing, but when I'm in the house, I'm not so apt to be run over by a text-driving trucker.

I subscribed to Craft Lit, and have downloaded a couple of the recent podcasts, which brought me in toward the end of a reading of The Scarlet Letter (note: that link contains major spoilers). It's really interesting to hear Heather's take on Arthur Dimmsdale. It's been awhile since I read the book, but I doubt I'd change my opinion of him as the worst sort of hypocrite (of which we have many examples today, many in exactly the same position as Arthur). Heather views him with some (though not a whole lot) of sympathy, whereas I see him as a worm.  She's nearly done with this book, and I don't think I'll go back and listen to the previous chapters, but I will continue on with whatever book she chooses to read and discuss next.

In the meantime, I've started listening to Wilkie Collin's The Woman in White (link contains some spoilers), via my old friend, Librivox. I am not as partial to TWiW as I am to The Moonstone, but I am enjoying it. So far, the reader is excellent, and it surely makes that hour on the treadmill go by faster.

NCFF 2009- Part 2, All-Day Fair Isle Class, and The Proper Headgear for a Knitting Booksigning

It may not show on the surface, but I get stage fright before every appearance or workshop. I am always afraid that I've overestimated my skill as a speaker or teacher, and that the audience/students will go away disappointed (and in the case of those who actually paid to learn something from me: angry and demanding a refund). I was even more apprehensive about this year's NCFF because it was the first time that I'd attempted an all-day workshop, so it was a new time-frame and a completely new class.

I need not have worried. I was blessed with seven brilliant students who not only worked hard, laughed often, and were great company for a full day of class work- they all got it (I can't begin to tell you how rare that is). Everyone had a Lightbulb Moment, which is what makes teaching such a worthwhile adventure.

Carole, Michelle, Kathy

Martha, Molly, Bobbie, Gloria

We all started out at the same place (everyone completed their homework, which is also something of a rarity), and we spent the rest of the day discussing Fair Isle techniques, decreases, knitting back backwards, bobbles (the last two weren't part of the project at hand, but Digression is my middle name. You can look it up), weather, books, writing, spinning, and how much we enjoy snack time (okay, so it was how much I enjoy snack time). The day went extremely quickly, and while no one finished their hat in class (it takes me 5 hours from start to finish, and I've knitted that hat pattern several times now. We didn't expect to finish), almost everyone made it to the decreases, which was the crux of the class: reading a Fair Isle chart without having to refer to a written pattern.

And they all did wonderfully- with nary an excess pucker in the bunch (can we hear a round of applause for good tension?). And best of all, I got some excellent feedback that I will incorporate into the handout, for the next time I teach the class (next month in North Carolina).

I finished my sample hat on Sunday, during the booksigning for The Big Book of Socks, which was less a booksigning (owing to the fact that all 36 copies of the book that Kelly and Marie brought, sold out before the signing!) (talkaboutcher rarities), and more of a sit-and-knit-and-talk-and-laugh, which is every bit as much fun. I think I have the perfect headgear for that sort of signing.

The Field Report, and A Fair Isle Sample

The crab apples are past their peak now, and dropping off the tree, which means the deer are very happy. The apples aren't good eating any more- too mushy. What's left (on the tree and off) will serve well for the wildlife in the area.

The soybean fields are beginning to dry down.

The pods are full, and starting to dry as well.

The cottonwood trees are starting to turn. We don't get much fall red or orange this far north, but we get beautiful, electric yellow.

And I am working on another sample hat for my All Day Fair Isle Class (which I am teaching at NCFF and SAFF- links to the right). This is the adult size sample (we're knitting the toddler size in the class, but the pattern for this size will be included in the handout). (Yarn: the white is Cascade 220, the striping is from Yarn Treehouse, size 5 needles).

And best of all- today is the first fall meeting of Knitters Etc., in Aberdeen. It'll be wonderful to see all my knitting friends and catch up on what everyone did on their summer vacation.

Freebie Friday- Fair Isle Tam

Please note- added 10/17/07: this pattern comes out pretty large. I felted the original by hand and that took care of the size issues (the original was long gone by the time I wrote the pattern page up). You might want to drop down a needle size (or even two) to knit this tam. I ammended the pattern page with this information.


I'm not sure I'll have an original free pattern ready to post every Friday,

but when I do, I will. Here is the first one- a Fair Isle tam. The pattern isn't exactly *written*- it's just notes on the chart page, but I think most moderately experienced knitters will be able to figure out what to do with the info on the page. The tam is long gone (given away), but I seem to remember that it was fairly roomy. You

might want to drop down a needle size, or felt it a little bit after finishing (unless you want a large tam). Sorry it's not more precise- I'll try to do better next week. If you knit this, shoot me a pic and I'll post it.