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I’m cruising again!
Next July, I’m sailing with Craft Cruises again. This time, the Northern Isles cruise will take us from Copenhagen to Norway, Iceland, and Scotland. I’m psyched for all of the ports of call, but I’m perhaps most excited to see Lerwick, in the Shetlands. Whee!
When we’re not in port, I’ll be teaching these classes:
Did you notice the themes? Lace, stranded colorwork, and brioche – three types of knitting, all associated with northern Europe. The colorwork classes will be new – more about them as the cruise gets closer!
Want to join us? The cruise runs July 2-16, 2020. See the Craft Cruises website for details.
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Last week I finished preparing the user interface at Stitch-Maps.com for translation. Volunteers can now translate all the little bits of English text that appear on the site into their own language.
Currently, the site accepts German and Russian translations. But if volunteers are willing to help out, I’m happy to add support for other languages – just let me know which languages you’d like to help with!
Bonus: I’m putting together a “thank you!” package for volunteers. Stay tuned!
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A couple weeks back, I rebooted a WIP that had been languishing for at least a month. Since then, I’ve managed to knit several more inches:
You can see where I test-blocked it, just before dividing body from sleeves. The test-block revealed that the sweater needed a touch more armhole depth, so I was able to work a few more rounds before the dividing. (It also revealed that the blocked fabric feels fabulous! Kudos to Imperial Stock Ranch.) And you can see where I cast on the underarm stitches provisionally, so I can use those same stitches later when knitting the sleeves, resulting in a smooth underarm – it’s one of my favorite tricks for top-down sweaters.
In Knitting from the Top, Barbara Walker calls this style a “continuous” set-in sleeve sweater, because the yoke and sleeve caps are knit at the same time, in the round. Doing so can be a little fiddly, what with remembering to increase at the right spots at the right times. Ironically, the sweater stalled after I got past all the fiddly bits. Apparently, plain knitting isn’t my cup of tea. But I am determined to finish this project! DH needs a new one for this coming winter.
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This project has been kicking around for mumbly-mumble years. But it has to end soon, as I’m almost out of the black yarn:
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Cherry Bombs
Speaking of brioche, did you see the how-to video I created for Cherry Bombs?
It’s an outrageous stitch pattern that involves 1-to-9 increases and k9tog decreases. The increases are easy enough to do, but the decreases? They’re a little crazy, and that’s where the video comes in. It shows you how to decrease away 8 stitches without losing your mind. Bonus: the end result is centered, which is crucial to creating the awesome “bubbles” in the fabric. See for yourself.
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This’ll be the second Stitch SoCal in Pasadena, CA. Will I see you there?
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