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My first full-sized Selbu mitten is finally done, yay!
I’m really happy with the little details: the patterning on the edges of the hand and thumb, and the join between the thumb and palm.
I’m likely to knit the mate and other Selbuvotter before visiting Norway on the cruise next year, but not immediately, as I have a bit of brioche startitis at the moment...
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Prior to teaching Adventures in Brioche at Camp Stitches Saddlebrook, I wanted to get some more brioche projects on my needles. This cowl is nearly done:
It’s going to be super cozy, as you’d expect for Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend.
I’ve also started a top-down shawl:
It’s still itty-bitty. But the plan is to use the off-white as the main color, and to create stripes out of the gradient set. As soon as I can figure out how I want to arrange the stripes, I’ll be able to make some decent progress.
And I’ve started a mohair scarf...
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Nancy Marchant has designed so many awesome wraps and scarves in silk / mohair blends that I just had to try one for myself. So using Valley Yarns Southampton and the Faux Cable stitch pattern, I started up a simple scarf.
It’s been a real learning experience! Right off the bat, I realized these truths about knitting brioche with silk / mohair blends:
- Metal needles need not apply. Bamboo or wood are required – otherwise, the yarn is just too slippery and hard to control. (And that’s saying something! I love my metal needles.)
- You need a lot of contrast in your two colors, to get the pattern to show. More than you’d think.
- The pattern shows up better on the light side. Originally, I started with the pattern on the dark side – nope, that didn’t work; I had to start over.
- The fabric weighs practically nothing. It’s all fluff and air!
As I’ve knit on this scarf in odd bits of time here and there, I’ve subsequently discovered one additional truth: do not work on this scarf when distracted or sleepy! Momentary lapses of attention are seriously problematic when knitting brioche with silk / mohair blends, for two reasons:
- You can’t really see what you’re doing. You’re knitting mostly by feel. Yet it’s far too easy to accidentally knit into a bit of fluff rather than the silk binder holding the yarn together, or to knit into loops of yarn that you shouldn’t. So it’s easy to make mistakes.
- It’s not easy to fix mistakes. You pretty much have to tink back (oh, so carefully!) and re-knit. So you need to catch those mistakes early, when tinking back a row or two is still an option. Ripping back a section? Nope, I don’t want to go there.
Now, I don’t say this to scare anyone away from knitting brioche with silk / mohair yarns. The resulting fabric is truly decadent! But you do want to apply your full attention to projects like these.
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As the fall teaching season is in full swing, my 2020 calendar is starting to fill. Here are some new additions:
- The Red Alder retreat. I’m thrilled to be part of this! Six classes are on my schedule, including Selbuvotter.
- Twisted Strait Fibers. This is a mill run by a cooperative of fiber producers and artists. I look forward to seeing what the cooperative is all about – and, of course, visiting Washington’s Olympic peninsula. Four classes are on my schedule.
- DFW Fiber Fest. I’m honored (and honestly? a little freaked out) to have been asked to be part of a panel discussion moderated by Clara Parkes, with Franklin Habit, Judith MacKenzie, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and Arica Presinal. Classes will be announced very soon.
Note also that discounted Early Bird registration for Stitches West ends this coming Tuesday, October 15th. Two of my classes have already sold out, but seven still have room.
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Request for feedback
When the craziness of October travel winds down, I’m turning my attention to making some improvements at Stitch-Maps.com. Tops on the list: making the “current row highlighting” feature easier to use, particularly on mobile devices.
The question is... how? Options include moving the current row up in response to click / tap events, or placing arrow buttons on top of the stitch map image. Currently, I’m leaning towards the latter option, but I’d like to hear your thoughts! If you’ve used this feature, please join the conversation on Ravelry.
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