Friday, September 25, 2020, Issue 167: It is sweater weather!

• Posted on 25 September 2020
• By Susan Wong-Tsang
• Posted in Fall Knitting, KAL, knit-along, September 2020, sweater weather
• 0

The shop is OPEN with regular hours again! Masks are mandatory and hand sanitizer is to be used on arriving with no more than two people at a time. No putting yarn against your face please! If you want to continue to order online for curb side pick up that is also more than welcome. With the numbers climbing of Covid-19, I have decided against allowing groups - even small groups of four which means no classes.

Rita (ritz) took advantage of sweater weather wearing the Gallant Sweater by Sabina Harnage that was one of the test knits that she recently finished!

Sabina Harnage from @caidree's Gallant Sweater was one of Rita (ritz)’s three recent test knits. She described it as a fun and quick knit done on 15 mm needles. She knit it holding 3 strands together from her stash but said Malabrigo Rasta would be the perfect yarn to knit it with!

The Gallant Sweater is a beginner-friendly top down knitting pattern for a bold and simple sweater that is quick to knit. It is cropped and it features a simple short turtle neck. It is worked in stockinette stitch all the way through and is intended to be worn with little ease. Gauge is 7.5 stitches by 10 rows = 4” x 4” (10 x 10 cm) using 15 mm (US 19) needles in stockinette stitch after blocking or as required to get gauge.

Knitorious RBG by Park Williams was inspired by Ruth Bader Ginsburg who passed away on September 18.

I wanted to find a way to honor the important work she has done and continues to do as a Supreme Court Justice, while also paying homage to her amazing collar collection. My hope is that this sweater will endow the wearer with the strength, perseverance, gravitas and integrity we so rightfully associate with The Knitorious RBG.

The sweater is made to be worn with 0-4” of negative ease but is slightly oversized to emulate a judge’s robe. The sweater was designed to be knit using Berroco Ultra Alpaca with a gauge of 18.5 stitches and 24 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch in the round with largest needles. The suggested needles are 5.0 mm (US 8), 4.0 mm (US 6) for the bottom and neck ribbing and 2.75 mm (US 2) for the sleeves cuffs.

In the first two years of this pattern release (and continues to), a percentage of the proceeds went to different organizations.

Knitwords Sweater by Cori Eichelberger of Irocknits! can be purchased on its own or the Knitwords eBook which includes 8 patterns. The entire Knitwords collection is $9 usd ($16 usd regularly) with the code KNITWORDS until September 30, 2020.

The sweater is worked from the neck down and has a circular yoke construction. Sleeve stitches are held to be picked up later and worked downward. The sweater is designed with 2-3” of positive ease.

In the original sweater, the concept of putting the word “sleeve” on the actual sleeve came about because I did not have a word short enough left to fit the small circumference and still be readable. I have had many requests to write this up as a sweater, but the problem lies in being able to grade the word charts to fit into the many sizes. I have settled on 3 words and a yoked sweater, although I’ll include all the charts from the original sweater in case, you’re a designer at heart, and would like to apply your own math to your particular size. I say: “Go for it!”

The sweater uses sport weight yarn knit to a gauge of 22 stitches and 28 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stranded colourwork. The suggested needle size is 4.0 mm (US 6) or as required to get gauge. Suggested yarns include Cascade 220 Sport or Lichen and Lace Rustic Heather Sport.

Knitwords by Cori Eichelberger is a new eBook of 8 patterns and 10 musings. The pattern eBook includes:
a cowl, a hat, a lanyard, a pillow, a poncho, a skirt, a sweater, and a Tote Bag. Also included is a colouring page to get your colourwork game going, an extra set of charted alphabet letters to add your own spin on each project, tips and tricks for better projects, a sheet of knitting graph paper and 10 stories to make you laugh!

The Kentia Wrap by Ambah O’Brien was released yesterday! Enjoy 20% off until September 30, 2020 with the code KENTIA. Join in the Kentia KAL in the ambah Ravelry Group from now to finish by November 30 to enter her FO prize draw.

Designed to make the most of the Koigu pencil box set featuring 10 colours, paired with a contrasting colour to make the set shine. Kentia Wrap is a project to enjoy mosaic knitting, a technique that really is so much simpler than it looks. Unlike stranded colourwork, only one colour is worked per row, and stitches are slipped to create texture and pattern. Take it further by playing with colour in your project. Use this project to have a colourful knitting adventure.

Kentia Wrap Kits are available in the shop for the original, pictured colour palette and 2 of the other three colour palettes put together by Koigu.

WIP's and FO's

I don't have anything finished but I am now on sleeve island on my Susurrus by Joji Locatelli.

On Tuesday evening, I was still working on the last lace section in the body of my Susurrus...

Last night, I bound off the body! I worked 5 rounds of stockinette after the last lace section and then 10 rounds of 2x2 ribbing.

I cast on following size 4 (45.75) but decided to switch to the size 3 after the last size 4 increase round before the separation so that I had 384 stitches. In Section 5, I worked the lace chart rounds 1-15 and then skipped ahead to Section 7 - All sizes. Doing this eliminated 30 rounds from the yoke but I kept the stitch count for size 4.

I like the size so far unblocked!

KNIT GROUP AND GALLERY

The current Knit-Alongs are the Any Sweater / Shawl KAL and the Knit Your Project: the everlasting knit-along to encourage and support you to knit is running from July 1 to September 30, 2020. Post you finished projects to the Sue2Knits and Yarn Ravelry Group to the Finished Objects thread or to Instagram using the hashtag #sue2knitskal to be included in the next quarterly draw.

Kathy (kweidl) combined Liesl by Julie Weisenberger and Tegna by Caitlin Hunter because she wanted her Liesl to have sleeves! She knit it using LoftyFiber Euroflax Linen Sport (formerly Louet Euroflax Sport).

Jen finished her second Ranunculus by Midori Hirose! The Ranunculus Kits from the shop were Diamond Luxury Mulberry Linen and Garnstudio Drops Kid Silk but they are all sold out! More kits will be available soon using different yarns.

Michelina (@roadtripknits) finished this lovely Monochrome Cowl by Joji Locatelli!

Rita (ritz) has been busy with test knits including the Gallant Sweater above! These are Vintage Gate Socks by Barbara Nalewko (knittingILove) and are Rita’s first pair of knit socks! There is a Coupon Code VINTAGE20 for limited period of time.

Rita (ritz)’s other test knit was London Fog Slipover by Sabina Harnage from @caidree. She used yarn from her stash and knit holding 4 strands together.

Diane is excited to have finished this beautiful lacy Coastal Coverup by Paintbox Yarns using Rowan Tetra cotton which is no longer available in the shop and has been discontinued!

Diane ordered a new, wider Ashford Rigid Heddle Loom - the 24 inch! She assembled it and warped it immediately!

Four of Diane’s latest shawls woven on one of her looms! Top left - Estelle Alpaca Merino DK in green and grey and another variegated alpaca yarn to do the weft. Top right - scarf woven using the Noro Ito yarn. Bottom left - scarf woven using Noro Ito (weft) and cotton (warp). Bottom right - Estelle Alpaca Merino DK in green and Noro Silk Garden.

Veronica (@xovee.knits) knit the cutest hat for her son!!

Patti (@patnelann) has had trouble with sizing and frogged several cardigans but finished this Sand and Ocean by Twin Stitches Designs.

VIRTUAL SOCIAL KNITTING

Virtual social knitting using the Zoom app! It has been a great way to knit together through social distancing! Join in with us either Tuesday afternoon from 2 - 4 pm or Thursday nights from 7 - 9 pm. We are continuing to hold our Zoom meetings each week until we can meet again in person. Clicking on the link will take you to our Zoom meeting.

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
 
Meeting ID: 407820804

Happy Friday. Happy Knitting, Crocheting and Crafting! Keep calm and keep on knitting and making!