Master Knitter progress

In the past 4 days I have really progressed with my Master Knitters program. I have re-knit and blocked swatch #5 for the 3rd time, I hope this one is a keeper. I have typed up the required instructions for constructing a M1 increase for swatch #5. I have completed questions 4, 6, 7, and 8 required for swatches 4, 5, and 6. I have also made progress on my blocking report. I have to finish up the report, proof read it, and finalize it.

As Newton’s law states, “An object in motion stays in motion, an object at rest stays at rest”, oh so true for Master Knitters progress. I am feeling good about this, hope to keep it up. Wish me luck!

Happy Easter and knitting everyone!

Cecily

Increased stitches and increased blessings

We are working on methods of increasing stitches for the Master Level 1 program. Increasing stitches was also covered in the basics, basics, basics program. Increasing stitches is an important skill for any knitter interested in perfecting their finished projects. The increase methods covered were Bar increase, Make 1 increase, and Lifted increase. Those are the same increases taught in the Basics program.

The Bar increase is my favorite. I like the way it looks and I like to make the stitch. I am most successful with this increase. This increase is great in ribbing increases. It makes a purl like increase and is disguised well in a ribbing pattern. This increased is worked in the next knit stitch. You work your stitches up to the point that you want to increase. At that point you knit in the next stitch (as normal) but do not drop from the left needle. You then move your right needle to the back of the stitch and knit in back. Then drop from the left needle. You have increased one stitch.

The Make 1 increase is an increase made by lifting the yarn between two knit stitches. There are right and left slanting Make 1 stitches. M1 Right, M1 Left. The M1 Right and M1 Left increases mirror each other. This is ascetically correct and pleasing to the eye. The make one right is slanted to the right and is usually made on the right side of the row and the make one left is slanted to the left and is usually made on the left side of the row. To construct a M1 stitch you pick up the yarn between the two knit stitches with the left needle. On a M1 Right you pick up that yarn from the back to the front and knit through the front loop. This twists the stitch making the slanted increase. The M1 Left you pick up the yarn from the front to the back and make your knit stitch through the back of the loop, again twisting the stitch.

The lifted increase is a great increase that doesn’t show a lot. It is the most discreet increase. There are right slanting lifted increases and left slanting lifted increases. The lifted increase is made from the stitch below the stitch you are working on. The right slanting lifted increase is made by picking up the purl bump on the back of your work with the right needle. Tilt your work towards you and pick up the purl bump on the left needle (the bump is on the back of the material). Pick up the purl bump front to back. Knit the stitch on the right needle by looping your working yarn around the needle and pulling it through. The left slanting lifted increase is made by picking up the stitch under the knit stitch you just made. Follow the yarn that runs between the last stitch and the stitch on your right needle, that will bring you to the head of the stitch on the row before the one you are on. Lift that yarn with your left needle. This twists the stitch, knit in the back of the stitch to untwist it.

So the title of this post is increased stitches and increased blessings. When you think about it our blessings are increased every day, sometimes they are so blended into our lives and so discreet like our knitted increases they are unnoticeable. In knitting unnoticed increases is a good thing, unless of course they are a decorative item, but when blessings are unnoticed they are taken for granted. We all have much to be thankful for and our blessings increase every day. A new friend or family member, a positive medical test result, a beautiful flower blossoming in a new spring day, the pleasant sound of a bird outside our window, the taste of a new recipe or spice, the success of a game won or a goal reached. There are so many blessings daily I can’t list them all but we all have them and if recognized they all increase. I am not saying life only gives us good things. Some things perceived as negative have positive results which become blessings. The negative physical test results can result in appreciation of what we have, negative scholastic test results can result in working harder and achieving more than we could ever imagine, negative financial results can result in opportunities that would otherwise be lost.

Let’s try and make our increase of knit stitches unnoticeable but let’s notice our increase of blessings every day. Noticing and being thankful for such blessings have very positive results both mentally and physically.

Knitting has been a blessing in my life. The results of that blessing are satisfaction, stress relief, entertainment and I have made more friends because of it. Another blessing received is the ability to make something for others. I am working on a blanket for charity. The pattern is from Lion Brand named a “comfort blanket”. I have made one for my Father in Law and I am making one now for someone I will never meet. I hope it bring hope, happiness, and comfort. I have to finish the corner, but here it is.

Comfort Blanket

I would love to hear of your blessings and your projects.

Happy Knitting!

Cecily

Slippers, swatches, and sunny spring days

Spring has sprung finally here in PA. We have had cold and rainy days with a few teasers in between. The teasers have been warm and sunny and makes us yearn for Spring. Spring the rebirth of mother earth with flowers, buds, warm sun rays, and the orchestra of birds to serenade us. Today is a beautiful sunny day. These newly created bright beautiful days energize my need to create something also. Lets celebrate life.

Happiness in a pot

During the week I crocheted these cute little yellow slippers for Maria. I had to alter the pattern quite a bit because her feet are quite small. Amanda found the pattern (she will be unhappy Maria got a pair before her but I will make it up to her) from a great blog at GoodKnits. This website if great check it out.

Yellow Mary Jane Slippers for Maria

This week I finished swatch 4, 5, and 6. As I work on my Master Knitter Program I do all aspects of finishing a swatch before I move on. Prior to knitting any swatches I set up the notebook with its sections, Put a sleeve for each swatch in the notebook and made all the tags for every swatch. I knit and block the swatches. I then critique the swatches and re-do ones I find unacceptable. After I complete a submittable swatch I weave in the ends, tag it as instructed (top left corner of the swatch), do the swatch sheet and any additional requirements, and insert them in the sleeve. I then answer all questions for that particular swatch. That way when I am done I can put that swatch out of my mind and move on to the next giving each swatch my undivided attention. When I have completed all the knitted requirements, it won’t take long to prepare the notebook for submission. I am pleased within the 1st 4 months of the year I have completed swatch 1-6 successfully (well, successfully for me, we will see what the committee thinks). I believe my goal of completion by the end of 2011 is possible.

I have been able to borrow a book from our local library. The name of it is “The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt. This book is out of print but with much happiness from the knitting community it will be re-printed by the end of this year. You can pre-order it at Amazon.com and after looking at it I have ordered a copy for myself. The book is a must have for a Master Knitter. Ms. Hiatt goes into detail on the mechanics of knitting and stitch construction. This detail helps the knitter understand how the knitting is structured and how the stitch design effects the finished project. She goes over stitches, fabric construction, decorative techniques, what is required to construct a project, how to read patterns and design your own. This book is not to be “read” it is to be studied. Her description of technique requires undivided attention when studying the book but that investment of time is well worth the effort. I am excited to add this book to my library when it is re-printed. I am a Kindle e-book reader but I do not intend to purchase for this book for my kindle. For a reference book like this I prefer the old fashioned printed paper book. The book I borrowed from the library is a hard cover.

So… what are your working on?

Happy knitting to all!

Controlling tension is a critical technique in knitting as well as life.

Many times the difference between a well made project and an outstanding project is the uniformity of the stitches made. Making even stitches is a critical skill for hand knitters. Tension can be affected by your tension in life. Your moods change your stitch uniformity. Try to put aside the daily stress and go on a knitting “get away”. Think about who your knitting for or concentrate on the action of knitting to melt the stress away.

The first step in making uniform stitches is realizing or determining that your stitches are or are not uniform. The best way to check the uniformity of your stitches is to knit a 4” x 4” swatch in Stockinette Stitch (knit one row, purl one row), using light color worsted weight yarn. Examine your swatch, check the right side (smooth side), look at each stitch. Are they all the same size?
Here is a picture of an uneven knit stitch:

uneven stockinette stitch

Flip the swatch over to the wrong side (bumpy side). Are there gutters between the rows? Gutters look like large spaces between the rows. A gutter is shown in this picture:

Gutter

If your stitches look to be about the same size and you do not have any gaps in the rows on the wrong side than great! Your knitting is even and the stitches are uniform. If you see some inconsistencies, don’t worry there are ways to improve the tension and increase the quality of your finished projects.

New knitters tend to have inconsistent tension. If you are new to knitting, practice. That’s not hard having to knit more is a great thing. As you put in more hours of knitting you will see the quality of your stitches improve dramatically.

If you have been knitting for awhile than you need to examine and adjust how you are knitting. Usually tension problems arise because the purl stitch takes more yarn than the knit stitch. Stop and think about how we make a knit stitch vs. how we make a purl stitch and you will see what I mean. There is more yarn required to make a purl stitch. One thing to try is to tighten up on the yarn when making a purl stitch. Hold your yarn a little tighter; give a gentle tug on the yarn prior to making the stitch. This may be all you need to do.

Changing needle material or size can help. If your yarn slips or sticks too much your tension will be uneven. Experiment with different needles to see which ones work best for you. Experiment with different yarns but be careful not to trick yourself by using a yarn that disguises the tension inconsistency, use different light color, worsted weight yarns. Try different manufacturers.

When making the purl row try using a smaller knitting needle. I would start with one size smaller. That should be sufficient in tightening up the purl stitch.

Constructing the purl stitch differently can also produce positive results. When making your purl stitch if you bring the yarn under the needle rather than over the needle you use less yarn. It is important to remember that if you use that method when you knit the next row you knit through the back loop rather than the front loop of the stitch. If you don’t knit in the back loop and do a “normal” knit stitch you will produce a twisted stitch.

The most important thing is test each solution individually. Mark what you did different on each swatch. Be methodical with your findings so when a solution is found you know which solution did the trick. My next tension article will address inconsistent stitches on the selvage end of your projects.

I would love to hear from you. Do you have a problem with tension? How do you fix it? What works, what doesn’t? Please post and hints or suggestions on how to improve the quality of our knitting.

Thanks everyone, happy knitting!