Wednesday, March 01, 2006

I'm not tired of Fana at all!

Dear Laura:

The question is, "Are YOU tired of Fana yet?" I think it's lovely - and you are doing a wonderful job with all the details. It's so smart to sew the bands on as you knit them - then you know just how long to make them. You do beautiful work!

I've spent my bits of knitting time this week on the orange child's mitten for my godson. I hope to finish those off tonight, then I can cast on a baby blanket with a clear conscience. Well, relatively clear! There are always other partially finished projects calling my name.

I've made this baby blanket pattern before. I made it in yellow and white and then again in peach and white. This time I'm using red! I was going to use Cascade 220, but what I got is Parfait Solids by Knit One Crochet Too Yarns. It's supposed to be a rather close substitute and this seemed like a good time to try it. I'm thinking of adding a little Doucuer Et Soie, a baby mohair, on the ends to give it a fuzzy border. Stay tuned for further developments...

The other thing I'm going to work on tonight is notes for the class I'm giving on Thursday. It's called "Basic Techniques" and we'll work on The Importance Of Gauge, reading a pattern, reading your knitting, picking up dropped stitches, yarn substitution, things like that.

I usually take a variety of books and different needles and notions. While I talk, I have them start a swatch, and we practice picking up stitches and reading what they've knit. I also like to have them knit the same yarn with several sizes of needle so that they can see the difference it makes.

It's a fun class, I did it once before, so I may still have my notes on the computer. So here's a golden opportunity. I'll check the comments section tomorrow before I leave for class and pass along any knitting tips or suggestions. What does every budding knitter NEED to know?!

Keep knitting,

Cynthia (aka The Designated Knitter)

1 comment:

YarnThrower said...

What a great class! At the rate you're teaching, we'll achieve world peace very soon! The only thing that comes to my mind is a mention of or a handout from this website: http://www.yarnstandards.com/
There is a downloadable pdf available at the top of the left hand sidebar, and this document contains the "standards", for yarn thickness, for needles, for sizing for men, women, kids, etc. And, something funny, but I can't put my hands on the exact quote, but some place in The Opinionated Knitter, it gives a tip about how to know which side of a cardigan to put buttonholes if you are making it for a man vs for a woman. Just remember, women are always "right". Have fun!