Over the Thanksgiving weekend I’ve managed to make two hats! One is Checkerboard without the pompom, and more in the shape of a beanie. The other one is Susie’s Hat, which I designed for my sister-in-law for a Christmas present.
Pretty productive, if I do say so myself. And still a few more on the needles!
Personally, I never seem to be able to master the long-tail method of casting on – the one that is wrapped around the thumb and index finger in a Y-shape. I have my own method that I’ve done forever, yet never have seen duplicated on YouTube. I wrap the yarn on my left thumb, and knit a stitch with the needle in my right hand – this is my version of the long-tail. Â And it is very nice and stretchy. Â However, the cast-on by Alasdair Post-Quinn made the Y-shaped long-tail cast-on sensible because of the two different colors being used. I may actually be able to do it now!
Given this, I know that I have found a lot of videos on YouTube for casting on before knitting. Being somewhat encyclopedic in my approach to things, I decided that this post would be a collection of the different ones on YouTube I found to be especially useful.
Traditional Long Tail Cast-On
Long Tail Tubular Cast-On for 1×1 and 2×2 Ribbing by Ysolda Teague
Stretchy Knitted Cast-On Using a Crochet Hook from the Scarlet Zebra
Estonian Cast-On for Knitting Socks with Nancy Bush
Channel Island Cast-On by Oftroy
Double Knitting Cast-On with Alasdair Post-Quinn
German Twisted Cast-On with Lucy Neatby
And these are just a few! Â In particular, I highly recommend that you connect with Oftroy on YouTube. Â She has oodles of videos about cast-ons and different ways to do it – braided, multi-colored, whatever – and her videos are very watchable. Â She blogs here. Â Lucy Neatby’s YouTube channel has some unusual videos, such as on knitting based on Navajo plying (used in spinning), and a very tidy bobble. Â She is not a prolific video-maker, but her stuff is very clear and solid.
What would we do without the internet and YouTube??? There is sooooooo much to learn and share!
In the past few months I’ve given thought to double knitting, which is the creation of mirrored patterns on a double layer of fabric. I’ve found some patterns that really have caught my attention. What really got me more interested was one called Cheesehands, by Julia Mueller. I really like the design – it’s a small project – and I have someone in mind who likes warm hands.
It also has a matching hat, so the temptation to knit is there! The pattern is quite cheerful, I think, and certainly worth the effort of learning double knitting.
Also, if you like gloves, Julia Mueller has incredible patterns, from whimsical to classical. Her other items include socks and hats. Check her stuff out on Ravelry. Â Her cable and twisted stitches are different and intriguing.
The current edition of the Twist Collective has a lot of gorgeous patterns, and a hat called Four Winds by Alasdair Post-Quinn.
The article he wrote about double knitting is quite good. Â What is even better are the videos embedded within. Â These videos enhance reading about the whole process, including his incredible cast-on that allows the knitter to begin knitting immediately. Â For me, the long-tail cast-on like this has always been confusing. Â For some reason, it makes sense here. Â (My long tail is very different. Â I think it is easier. Â Maybe I’ll film it one day.)
Here are the three videos in the article.
Double Knitting Cast-On
Double Knitting – Regular and Twisted Stitch
Double Knit Decreases
Interestingly, when getting the links on YouTube for Alasdair’s videos, I found that there are quite a few from the Twist Collective which I plan to check out.
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In the meantime, I plan to finish a few hats and a shawl and a sleeve before I take on double knitting. Â And paint a few pictures. Â And prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday.
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Addendum: I lied. Â I started playing with double knitting. Â Here is a link with some good tutorials: Â Golden Apples.
This has been quite a busy time period since my last posting. Since then I have been knitting a number of hats, and writing up patterns. I even won a free copy of a pattern, and that has been a fun project as well – but to do the author justice, I will devote a separate post with pictures, once I am done with it.
Anyway, here is the new hat pattern: Checkerboard.
This hat is made out of Dale of Norway’s Falk, which is a wool yarn with a lot of bounce, is comfortable to wear, reasonably priced, and comes in a lot of different colors. If you are allergic to wool, or find it uncomfortable, a washable wool may be a good substitute.
I designed this hat to use up leftovers of yarn, as well as to have something to do with some color in it. Lately, I have been knitting a lot of textured patterns, enjoying the challenges and the pleasures of seeing a hat grow in texture, rather than color, which has been my historical preference. You wouldn’t believe that, seeing the patterns here, but it really is the truth!
Checkerboard is a very good project for the knitter who is ready to try stranded knitting. The 4×4 squares of color don’t require much work when it comes to knitting them up – they are really easy to do because you don’t have to count stitches. Instead, you just watch the colors. Row counting – well, most of us can count 4 rows of stockinette.
If you are a beginning stranded knitter, remember one very simple thing: carry the unused yarn loosely across the back of the knitting. This is very easily accomplished by periodically stretching out your knitting on the right needle as you go along.
Enjoy!
More fun in making painting videos – NOT!
These really are a lot of work to make, but they are getting easier. Again, a lot of the hard work is the setting up and the processing. I really do minimal work on them, but would like to make ones that are rather polished. The fact is, making videos is a lot like taking photographs – most of what is done is not at all good, most is trash, only a few are good. Making videos for an afternoon proved that point all too well. Also, the fact is, that being on film really makes me self-conscious, not something I like. Painting a line wrong creates instant trauma!
Initially, when I set up to make videos, the whole idea was to do chrysanthemums, in keeping with their autumnal theme in ink painting. Well, I really don’t like any chrysanthemum I’ve ever painted, so why should I be so foolish as to think I might be able to do one for a video?
I ended up painting corn – a really easy subject, yet one that is uses a lot of different techniques. Dots and medium grey ink, very wet. Twisting the brush in different directions as painting. Dry brush strokes. Contrasting shades and textures.
My contribution to the season!
Ink, Yarn & Beer 