ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

I am playing with Fibonacci sequence for increases and am not sure just what the outcome will be – but the yarn looks great. I am knitting with New Zealand Touch Yarns mohair. I hope the result will be like the sea in motion, but will have to wait and see.

I love knitting skirts and this one was delivered to Angelica in Switzerland last week and has already travelled to Prague to be photographed.

The yarn is Bombay from Katia and is lovely to work with and the colours are gorgeous. This pattern will become available – probably after we return to New Zealand as there is too much to manage right now. It will available in 3 lengths.

Bombay is 100% Mercerized Cotton.
100 grs. – 3 oz 1/2 | 230 mts. – 251 yds.
Size of needles: 3 – 3 1/2 USA 4 – 5
Number of shades: 12

Haarlem Ball Warmer Memorial tour & install – Queen’s Day, 30th April 2011

We took our snowball with its orange hat to view some of the lovely cafes and bars that we visit for jazz, blues, rock and wine and good company prior to installing on one of the shiny posts that now stand like the row of teeth on a comb in the Grote Markt of Haarlem.

30th March. Tidy mind, tidy stitches.

Yarns waiting

Just how do I keep my yarn and other crafty things organised? It seems like this should be a very easy question to answer. BUT I am living in the Netherlands, in a house, so called, of three floors.

Floor 1 – Kitchen, dining space, bathroom & laundry, entrance door and steps up
Floor 2 – Lounge and steps up
Floor 3 – attic bedroom

So what do I do with my stash and other crafty components in this house, so called?

Well I do have 2 plastic filing cabinets with yarn in the lounge, and in the bedroom I have a window seat under the eaves with plastic containers of yarns, knitting needles, fabrics, crepe paper, crochet hooks, plastic tubes, buttons, beads and WIP’s and UFO’s and so on and on. Generally I sort my yarns by type so that all the dk yarns are together, as are the mohairs, fun faux furs, 12 ply yarns, cottons and so on.

Freeform Intarsia snippet

The BIG trouble is if I am creating:

then that Best Beloved knows that chaos (from his point of view will ensue).

Especially if the creation will be using the freeform intarsia technique.

Because then it is only the colour that matters – more or less.

I remove from all the cubby holes, bags, boxes and containers all the colours that I could require and I spread them on the coffee table, across the 2 couches and on the chair in front of my knitting chair and even on our bed, the only real bed in this house, so called. The yarn weight or type has become irrelevant – it is now all about the colour. And I play with all those colours, move them about, change the order, take them outside and see how they look in sunlight and so on.

Then I have to manage the yarns I am not going to use and I just put them into the nearest container or three, or move them all to one couch or anything to get them out of the way so that Best Beloved will survive the event and so that I can now knit.

Which means all of my yarn stash order is now lost.

But creativity rules even in this house, so called.

Does that mean that being a free form intarsia knitter/designer means an untidy mind? Hope not.

I will not contemplate it meaning Untidy stitches though. That would never do.

A waistcoat is a simple garment to create in one piece. Knit, sew in any ends, join shoulders, block, wear.

The aim of knitting a garment in one piece is to KNIT – BLOCK – WEAR, truly that is as it should be, ME: I often knit, photograph, gift or wear.

If you have never done this before – choose a waistcoat pattern – one without a repeat design on it. Stick to stocking stitch (stockinette stitch) or garter stitch as in my picture otherwise your first piece will require recalculation of the pattern stitches as well.

1. Recalculate the cast on stitches required by adding the front left, back and front right stitches together.

For example: Back – 80 stitches and each front 40 stitches.

Depending on the style and the person for whom you are creating the piece you might reduce a stitch at the sides to compensate for the fact there will be no side seam to sew so this piece will be ever so slightly wider, but we will stick to the basics here.

2. Use a circular needle and cast on the 160 stitches.

Knit first row as per the pattern – Place a marker at the positions after stitch 40 and again after stitch 120. The marker is slipped everytime you reach it.

3. Knit to the required length for the cast off for the underarm.

4. The pattern will tell you how many stitches to cast off. For example if the pattern required 4 stitches to be cast off for the front and the same at the back – then cast off 8 stitches at each armhole – 4 either side of the marker.

When the work is divided for the armholes – I divide my yarn into three sections (could be 2 balls with one of those balls being fed from the outside as well as the inside) so that I am doing the decreases on the two front edges and the armholes on the whole waistcoat. Continue with shaping required at the armholes as well as the front edge shaping.

You could choose to knit the fronts and the back separately from this point or do it as I do all sections together – which ever you prefer. I do prefer knitting them at the same time with an added benefit being you will always have the same number of rows when you cast off for the shoulders or do your 3 needle bind off.

I am sorry I don’t have an example of a waistcoat other than these two, both in garter stitch but with tuxedo points- one asymmetrical and the other with symmetrical points. Both were knitted in one piece, the only finishing the odd ends and a crochet trim. They were also created with many colours in simple undefined stripes. So of course this method of creating a garment is also a stash busting opportunity.

knittingmom asked the question – I been wanting to learn how to that kind of one piece knitting. But very intimidated by it!! thank you! Appreciate it very much. Really want to learn that method!