some birthday stuff

Amidst all the painting, I was happy to take a sewing break. Stephanie is 19 this week and loves pajama pants, so I sewed these up the night before her birthday. New Look 6160 Easy in a comfy flannel with a drawstring...

(Sorry about the poor pictures.)

She did accuse me of 'showing off' with my new machine when she saw the posy stitch on the hem...

The birthday cake was Gateau Moelleux au Chocolat aka French Chocolate Cake which I have raved about before~its scrumptious! You can find the recipe and the story behind it, here.

Thanks for all your kind comments!

Horcrux Socks

Here are Susan's adorable Horcrux socks. I used violet Wool of the Andes and a slightly tighter gauge (size 4 dpns) because I only had two skeins of yarn and I have size 9 feet. Good thing I did because I only had a few yards of yarn left over. The free .PDF pattern for the socks is HERE.



I just bought these two fabrics to make camp-type short-sleeved shirts for DH. I only purchased the lighthouse fabric because it was on sale but I adore the fabric on the right from a Mardi Gras fabric collection. It has gold metallic accents and will look wonderful on him. I suspect it may be too busy alone so I'm going to add some black cotton of a similar weight and make him a two-tone shirt.



Ms. Peaches LaRue is in her punk rock stage. Every rabbit I've ever known has shed in a different style and Peaches does it all over at the same time, giving her a pathetic ragamuffin appearance. I try to pull out all the excess fur but she disapproves greatly of this practice. She takes off for parts unknown if she even suspects I have a comb or brush.



I'm done goofing off - I need to do nothing but gloves for the next few weeks until the booklet is finished.

The English purl stitch

This is fourth of a series on "how to make knitting stitches." Previous in this series are "The English knit stitch," "The continental knit stitch," and "The continental purl stitch." Please excuse the delay: the original drawings for this post were corrupted and it was d**ned annoying most discouraging to have to start over again. However, my friend and neighbor J.A. came over, and her hands are the model for the new drawings here, so thanks J.

step 1

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(Above) Hold the standing yarn (standing yarn=yarn coming from the ball) in FRONT of the work. Keep it under tension with the first, third and fourth fingers of the right hand. Insert the right needle under the RIGHT arm of the "old stitch" at the tip of the left needle (green). Be sure the right needle passes IN FRONT of the left needle, as illustrated. "Dip" the right forefinger (dotted red arrows) to wind the standing yarn (brown) around the right needle (solid red arrow).

step 2

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(Above) Once the standing yarn (brown) is wrapped around the right needle, swing the right forefinger down towards the floor. Dotted red arrows. This "locks" the standing yarn around the right needle.

step 3

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(Above) Draw the right needle -- with the standing yarn (brown) "locked on"-- through the old stitch (green) from front to back. Solid red arrow.

step 4

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(Above) Once the new loop (brown) is drawn through the old stitch (green), withdraw the left needle, and you will have a purl stitch waiting on the end of your right needle. Remember to draw the right needle to the FRONT again (as in step 1) before inserting it into the next old stitch on the left needle.

--TECHknitter

Knitting and hi fi, excellent combination

Saw this on the side of a shop in Stockholm, a fake 'Kiss' member, knitting advertising for Hi Fi.

Made me laugh, it was very funny 1st thing on Friday morning.

Uneven knitting, part 1: stockinette fabric--how to tame "rowing out"

The human eye is great at seeing even the most subtle patterns, and for good reason--for much of human history, survival depended on knowing whether that shadow might be ... a tiger looking for dinner!

For knitters, this means the eye immediately seeks out patterns in knitted fabric--an advantage if your sweater features lovely cables. But the eye's ability to pick out patterns is a disadvantage if your sweater features the Knitter's Bane: the "rowing out" of uneven stockinette fabric.

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Stockinette fabric is typically made by knitting across the front and purling back. If you knit at a different tension than you purl (a VERY common problem) your fabric develops those tiger stripes the eye is so well-suited to detect. The looser row (for most knitters, the purl row; but for some knitters, the knit row) pouches out and distracts.

Below is a three-part post attacking this problem. Part 1 lays out some traditional tricks. Part 2 shows some limitations on these tricks. Part 3 lays out a final trick--a maybe new way of thinking about the problem.

PART 1: TRADITIONAL TRICKS

Many, many tricks have been developed over the years to counteract the problem of uneven stockinette fabric. The four traditional tricks I've found best are laid out below. If a different trick works for you (and if you're feeling bold) consider sharing in the comments!

Trick one:
Garter stitch and circular knitting

The easiest cure for uneven stockinette fabric is never purling. There are two ways to accomplish this: garter stitch fabric, and fabric made by circular knitting.

In garter stitch fabric, there is only knitting back and forth. There is no purling. Similarly, in circular knitting, stockinette fabric is not made by knitting there and purling back. Instead, it is made by knitting endlessly, round and round.

Accordingly, for garter stitch fabric, and for circular knit fabric, it matters not at all that your knitting differs from your purling. There simply isn't any purling.

Many clever designs exist for garter stitch garments, especially those created by the late, great Elizabeth Zimmerman. As to circular knitting, many things can be made in the round--hats, sweaters, socks, even square flat things like blankets and shawls can be made without purling by working in the round if they are started from the center and worked on circular needles.

Trick two:
Adjust the tension of your hands

A more challenging solution to differently tensioned knit and purl is to teach your hands to tighten up what's loose, or loosen up what's tight. To work this, you first have to figure out which way is looser, knit or purl.

Here's how: make some fabric, ending on a knit row, and leave the fabric on the needle. Lay the fabric on a table, knit side up. Dim the overhead lights, and slant the beam from an adjustable table lamp or flashlight to throw your fabric into relief. You know that the row on the needle was made by knit. The row below that was made by purl, the row below that (2 from the needle) by knit, and so forth. Find the looser rows, and count down from the needle to figure out how they were made--by knit or by purl.

Now you're set to mess around--to experiment. Can you increase the tension on what's looser? Is it easier to loosen the tension on what's tighter? Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither did you learn to tension your yarn in a day. Change takes time and attention. Plan to make a scarf. That'll give you plenty of length to fool with tightness and looseness, and you'll be able to see your results as the scarf gets longer. In the best-case scenario, the scarf ends smooth and even, and the problem is solved.

Trick three:
Different size needles

This trick is really an extension of the second. If your hands stubbornly resist your brain, if they continue to churn out stripy fabric no matter what you tell them, the next thing to try is tricking those hands into submission.

Your experiment with the beam of light already revealed which technique is looser--knit or purl. For this trick, arm yourself with a needle of a smaller size, then do the looser technique with that.

In other words, if you are working with a pair of size 6 needles, and your purling is looser than your knitting, take a size 5 needle to purl, and keep the size 6 to knit. Remember--it is immaterial what size needle holds the stitches to be knit, the finished stitch is determined ONLY by the needle making the stitch--the right needle. This trick lets you create the looser stitches around a smaller needle, making the looser stitches smaller, and therefore tighter.

It might take time to figure out this trick--your scarf might be quite long indeed by the end of the experiment. Also, I know knitters who must use needles TWO sizes apart to tighten up the loose technique, so if at first your fabric remains stripy, try, try again.

BTW: if you're making stockinette fabric by working back and forth on circular needles, you can work this trick by screwing two different size points on each end of the cable from an interchangeable tip kit--such as those made by Knit Picks, Denise or Boye.

Trick four
Pick yarns which hide the flaw

Novelty yarn is generally thick and thin and every which way. Who cares if the purl and the knit are different? Frankly, with most novelty yarn, its hard to tell if it was made by knitting or purling at all--garter stitch is the more usual method of creating a novelty yarn fabric. Handspun yarn is also commonly available spun "thick and thin." Variegated yarns (some of which are beautifully hand dyed) and tweed yarns both help hide undesirable fabric stripes with a randomly varying color pattern--the eye is fooled away from the uneven fabric surface by the undulating colors.

* * *

All of the above tricks unquestionably work. For many knitters, these tricks solve the problem for once and for all. If you've just started attacking the uneven stockinette problem, one of these tricks could hold the solution you've been looking for. But, at some point in your evolution as a knitter, you may have bumped up against ...

PART 2: THE LIMITATIONS OF TRADITIONAL TRICKS

Garter stitch: Avoiding purling altogther can become tiresome. Garter stitch is bulky and slow to knit-- it takes a great deal more yarn to make the same length of fabric in garter stitch than in stockinette. Also, garter stitch is not suited to sleek fashions. A garter-stitch T-shirt or halter-top might be a bit odd.

As to circular knitting: at some point, perhaps the short rows back-and-forth across the back of a sweater neck or a sleeve cap, that old purling is going to rear its head. Then where are you?

As to changing your tension: If you can train your hands, this IS the best solution. Yet, experience shows that, for many knitters, when you're tired, or when you're knitting on autopilot, the hands may stubbornly revert.

The different size needle trick might work for you--it works for many--but when you want to knit with a new yarn, the relationships between the needle sizes might change--you might need two sizes smaller instead of one, you might need one size smaller instead of two. To succeed as a two-different-size-needle-knitter, you're going to have to be extremely serious about swatching each time you try out a new yarn. If this is you, great, problem solved. But, hmm...well... many knitters aren't really THAT serious about swatching.

And as for the last trick--using wild yarns, well... just as there is a limit to the number of garter stitch garments one wardrobe can absorb, so you may find that there is also a limit to the number of novelty tops, rustic handpun garments and tweed or varigated sweaters.

The upshot? Each of the tricks above works, but each is potentially limited in some way. If the limitations affect you, if you've tried these tricks and remain dissatisfied, then, the best and most lasting solution, IMHO, is what I am going to call ...

Part 3: NEAR-STOCKINETTE FABRICS

Near-stockinette fabrics are those which can substitute for stockinette fabric with no alteration to the garment pattern. Near-stockinette fabrics feature a subtle surface pattern of purling on the "knit" side. Hunt through a pattern stitch book--ideal is a small all-over pattern. These surface patterns work two ways: first, the pattern itself interrupts the stripe, and second, the pattern disguises any remaining stripy-ness by inserting another, more pleasing pattern.

For substitution into a stockinette fabric garment, the near-stockinette fabric you choose should not alter the structural properties of the fabric. However, it turns out that stockinette can take quite a bit of alteration and not lose its basic properties --the stitch to row ratio, the tendency to curl, the direction of that curl, the weight, hand (drape) and bulk of the fabric.




Another limitation on near-stockinette fabrics is to choose one which doesn't interfere with your garment shaping. Carrying up a line of knit stitches in a broken ribbing pattern is a lovely substitution for reverse stockinette in an aran sweater (see illustration of broken rib) but it can make decreasing for a set-in armhole challenging. A less linear, less insistent pattern, like crocodile skin or speckled purl would not raise that issue.

Don't conclude that the stitch patterns shown here are all you have to choose from--these three patterns are my particular "old standbys" for near-stockinette fabrics, but there are many, many others to choose from.

PS: This post is part of a three-post series. The other posts in the series are:
Uneven Knitting, part 2: Bunching, big stitches and lumpy fabric--the problem of too-long runs.
Uneven Knitting, part 3: Fixing the loose column in ribbing, texture and cables

Good luck!
--TECHknitter

Anatolian Knitting Designs

Most of Anatolian Knitting Designs by Betsy Harrell consists of black and white knitting charts. The back of the book includes some fascinating history of Turkish sock knitting; the book also includes one pattern for toe-up socks with a peasant/afterthought heel.

I'm a bit disappointed in the actual charts but perhaps that is because I have most of them in my other sources already. They do have some fascinating names like donkey eye, earring, and chimney grate. The charts also include the name in Turkish.

The author interviewed a group of traditional knitters from a cooperative in the Sivas province to find out whether or not there was significance in the colors and charts used in the sock patterns. It doesn't really sound like there is significance to the specific patterns anymore although she muses that there must have been at one time. She talks a bit about Asian motifs in textiles - triangles for mountains, trees as a symbol for immortality, and snakes (s-curves).

I'm not sure if she is talking about stranded color knitting or intarsia in the sock pattern. "Bobbins may be thought useful for carrying the colors of the bands...Changing and carrying colors: When changing colors, it is necessary to twist the different-colored yarns at the back of the work, so no holes occur in the knitting. ... Colors should be loosely carried across the back of the work to prevent having long threads, which toes get tangled in when the stockings are being put on. To carry yarn on the backside, bring the yarn of the color not being used under and over the yarn being knitted, and continue knitting with the latter. No more than 3 sts of 1 color should be knitted without carrying the other color(s) along at the back." The photo on the front of the book shows antique Turkish socks that have many colors per row and may have been done in intarsia in the round although all the socks pictured in the book using the book's charts look like they are done in two-color stranded color knitting.

The most interesting part of the book for me was a two-page essay titled "Historical Notes on Knitting and the Wearing of Stockings." She discusses the earliest known examples of knitted socks. "The heroes at Troy wore foot coverings, though it is not certain what kind... At first the Romans considered that covering the legs was effeminate, but in due time they adopted the barbarians' practice of wearing breeches." ( This was interesting to me because I could swear I saw Lucius Vorenus wearing socks with his sandals in last week's (Philippi) episode of HBO's Rome!)

I bought it from Needlearts Bookshop but Schoolhouse Press carries it as well.

Here's a pair of Turkish socks I knit years ago from Anna Zilboorg's excellent book Fancy Feet: Traditional Knitting Patterns of Turkey. In it she says it is traditional in Turkey not to weave in yarn ends from all the colors used. I have no clue if the yarn ends would then go on the inside or the outside of the sock.

Deta Von Teese tribute

Here is my Deta Von Teese tribute sample, funny how it happened. I was practacing a different crochet stictch and it went in circles, almost like little material bowls. Hence the boob inspriation.

So using rag (I brought in UK) and then grey paper yarn and blk wool with my 10 mm crochet hook. The basque, type pillow case cover was the finished project.

I started at the bottom, then dropped stitches for the waist then the boob parts I stitched in keeping it all in one peice. To finish I pulled the stitch in tight (instead of the usual 4 parts) so it could be put on a frame or a structure.(Just need to build one)

The idea is to do more with a art project I'am working on about, skin our skin the 'This is me project' lots of new idea. Just need to buy some chicken wire and I have alots of skin colour swatches to knit. So watch this space.

I apologize for the wonkiness of my last post. I'm still getting the hang of the new Blogger. If losing my archives and one of my Bloglines feeds wasn't bad enough, now I am having trouble signing in.

I did manage to find a photo of the new Blogger executives hard at work. This explains quite a bit.

Chain selvedge a.k.a. "slipped selvedge"

includes a how-to
If you slip the first stitch of every row (or every last stitch--makes no difference) you will get a lovely chained selvedge--a big improvement over the lumpy bumpy edges much knitting exhibits. When the time comes for picking up stitches (for a neck edge or a front band, or around the heel tab of a sock) you will be glad you have lovely, even chains to pick up through.

Here is chain selvedge by the "slip the first stitch" method, in four illustrated steps.

1. (Below) Knit the last stitch of the row through the back loop (tbl), as illustrated.

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2. (Below) Draw the new stitch (green) up onto the right needle (brown) with the right "arm" of the new stitch forward, as illustrated. Withdraw the left needle (blue), leaving all the stitches on the right needle.

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3. (Below) Switch the needles in your hands. The needle which used to be the right needle (brown) has become the left needle with all the stitches on it, the needle which used to be the left needle (blue) has become the empty needle held in the right hand. With the right hand holding the empty needle (blue), DO NOT KNIT the first stitch (green), but merely slip it PURLWISE from the left needle to the right needle. Knit the rest of the stitches as you normally would, until you come to the last stitch. Repeat from step 1 through 3 for the length of the knitted piece.

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4. (Below) If you have followed the above instructions, the slipped stitch should lie "open" as illustrated on the left.

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--TECHknitter

resurfacing ~ some works in progress

Life has gotten so busy that before I knew it a week+ has flown by. In the middle of the kitchen facelift, our washer died. Since the dryer is verrry old we decided to replace both ~ another frontload washer and a stacking dryer. Of course, since I've been wanting to replace the 15 year old wallpaper in the laundry room, now would be the time, right? So we quick switched gears this past weekend and started stripping wallpaper and painting the laundry room; meanwhile the kitchen is in a semi state of disaster with a counter removed and a wall cabinet emptied and relocated in order to put in the new countertop. If I'm not back for awhile, you know why.

Anyway, I thought I'd take this time to post some works in progress.

This bag, using the little red riding fabric, is actually finished and waiting to be listed in the shop

This is my current knitting project that has fallen to the wayside. Seems I just cannot get motivated lately to work on it ~ I really need to get it finished. It's a short-sleeve t-shirt pattern from magknits, and I'm using Knit Picks Main Line yarn in cocoa. Everything stalled when I came to the design on the front... This hasn't stopped me from starting more projects. These are some pear pincushions made of vintage barkcloth and just waiting for a little stem at the top...
Lastly, a peek at the farmhouse sink sitting in the basement. To save money I was ready to go with an acrylic one, but we found a great deal on e-bay for this porcelain fireclay sink with free shipping...
My afternoon is to be spent painting and removing wallpaper, with lots more painting over the weekend.

Hope you all have a good weekend!

Today I sent $504.43 to the Colorado House Rabbit Society from knitting booklet and pattern sales. I held some of the money back which I'm going to put in a savings account to use for a possible web site redesign, knitting software to help with pattern design, materials, etc. That is why it now says on the Lulu web site that a portion of the proceeds go to pet rabbit rescue instead of the 100% I was sending before.

Today I also heard some good news about a rabbit named "Baby" who has been listed for adoption on our Four Corners Bunnies web site. She is the black bunny in the photo below. She and her young partners in crime were found dumped in a field in a rural area and a nice woman rescued them. The two white babies were adopted much earlier but finally Baby has found a new wonderful home with some bunny people who don't mind if rabbits chew on their antique furniture. Apparently the adopters also renamed Baby after the woman who rescued her.

I just love good news like that. Here are my other favorite rabbit rescue stories.

Rusty (see below) was spotted at a feed store downtown. The rescuer had to go check him out because she'd never seen a spotted rabbit before. Turns out that Rusty was in a small cage with another unneutered male and he was covered with fight wounds. The rescuer yelled at the store owner and grabbed Rusty and took him straight to the vet. Fortunately Rusty recovered, gained back his good looks, and went to a really wonderful couple who had another rabbit who needed a companion.

Alphonso was found by a woman walking her dog through her neighborhood. She heard some sounds coming from a construction dumpster and found Alphonso who'd been dumped there. This kind woman learned all about rabbits and set up a special section of her home office for Alphonso while looking for a forever home for him. It took a few months of waiting but Alphonso also found a great forever home with some folks who love rabbits.

Tomorrow I'll have a review of the Anatolian knitting book for you.

How to make an I-cord

includes a how to
We have Elizabeth Zimmerman to thank for popularizing this simple, knitted cord (as she did so many other wonderful knitting tricks). If the illustration isn't self-explanatory, here are some written directions:

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1. Cast on 3 stitches on a double pointed needle (dpn). (For I-cord, I prefer the the "disappearing loop" method, but don't let this discourage you--ANY method of casting on 3 stitches will work very well.) Leave a tail dangling.
   
2. Slide the stitches back along the dpn so that the ball yarn comes out of the left side of the 3 stitches, and the first stitch cast on lies on the right tip of the left needle.
3. With a second dpn, pull the yarn around the back of the 3 stitches, and knit the first stitch on the right tip of the left needle from this position.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the I-cord is as long as you want.
5. Cast off by threading a needle with the ball end of the yarn, run this yarn though all three stitches once or twice, drawing up tightly after each three stitches.
   
6. Run the remaining tail through the middle of the cord, bring the needle out the side of the cord, snip the excess, and tug the I-cord to make the snipped tail slip back inside the I-cord forever. Repeat with the tail left over from casting on.
   

BTW: I-cord stands for "Idiot cord." Presumably the idea is that anyone could make one.
~~~~~~~~~~
Related posts:
I-cord from a mill
I-cord with added curl (and maybe beads)
I-cord tassels
~~~~~~~~~~
--TK

Designer Monet!

This weekend project a cardi for Monet, I tried to base it on the moss stitch pattern(I had tried and failed) but in plan knit Thus to make a Cardi in one peice.

Knitted labels (free from Simply knitting mag) It says knitted with love.

And she liked it, so a success!.

Velcro and hand knitting--a haiku of pain

Chalk screeching on blackboard.
Dentist's drill in my mouth.
Handknit hat ripping loose from the velcro tabs of my winter jacket.

* * *

Next time I buy a winter jacket, it's honest buttons or a large toothed zipper. I hereby forswear velcro.

--Techknitter

Caspian Sea Socks

Here are the Caspian Sea Socks done in size 3 dpns and Merino Style DK yarn from Knitpicks. These socks were just a complete comedy of errors. First of all I accidentally shaved off four rows between one of the motifs on the foot. No problem - I did the second one the same way and will just call it a design feature. Then I ran out of green yarn and couldn't find any other similar colors. So the heels are different colors.

Then I finished the second sock and realize I actually put the waste yarn for the heel on the front of the sock. I didn't feel like ripping out the whole foot so I removed the waste yarn and kitchenered the two sides together. So I snipped a thread and removed a row from the heel sides to insert the peasant heel.

The fit is decent but I prefer my usual sock heel. I do like this yarn for socks and plan to get more. It is soft and feels really well-cushioned with all the stranding.

Funky Bean Bag Cover

For this quick Idea,
I just crochet together an old blanket I had made before as the cream old bean bag just wont come clean any more.
Folded it corner to corner and with a 15mm hook crocheted it up in no time. (Blanket type stitch with a hook)
Also by doing this brightened Molly's room.

Fun and more child friendly than cream bean bag any day.

Rainbow Sprinkle, angel baby top

100's and thousands,ice cream toppers (Uk name)
It' a tiny funky Angel top. For my friends daughter. Teamed with some denim turn ups, gap stripy socks and a bright long sleeve. She will defiantly stand out in the crowd.

This took an hour to go up and over on my 15mm bambo's then I crochet the edging (15mm hook) and with a 5mm crochet hook I blanket stictched the sleeve and neck area.

I left the edges and tied bows to make it more girly, girlylisous

Frogged!!! in the pond.

Frogging it! (Bitch n Stitch)

Yep, that bloody moss stitch!!!!
Why?
Here’s what I have learn't, don’t substitute yarn if you don’t know how too!

Oh yes! and that test patch, it’s for a reason! (No way) I just thought it was if you where bored.
The pattern read 4 balls 50gms and by the time I had only completed the front I'd almost used 3 balls and the small sized Cardi that I was knitting was fast becoming rather large………
Mmmmmmm

So I made the executive decision to frog it.
So I frogged it!(which felt suprizingly good considering how much work it had been!)

This was where I learn't the part of why we leave the ends until the project is completed. As yep! you guessed it!, ended up in a complete tangle.

Recycled all I could. :-0
Another big factor was that, it was just so boring to make. I just don’t think I’ll ever be cut out to follow someone else’s work ( pattern)…… I am trying just find it really hard? I was on a roll until the arm hole!!!! And then I lost it.

So until the next time!. (Yes I’ll try another, 3rd time lucky! So the saying goes) slowly but surely I will get there. :-(
Or not!

Casting on from the middle--disappearing loop method

includes a how-to
For knitted objects started in the middle, (shawl, hat) choose the "disappearing loop" method to cast on. Unlike the famous "Emily Ocker's beginning" of which you may have heard, disappearing loop is superior because:

• There is no slip knot, so there is no hard nub in the middle of your work.
• The first stitches are not crocheted, so they are not larger and heavier than the rest of the work.

These advantages make disappearing loop the cast-on of choice for lace and the tops of hats, but any center-start knitting (even I-cord!) looks better with disappearing loop.

HOW TO

1. Make a loop over two fingers of the left hand, as shown. The tail end lies OVER the ball end. In your right hand, hold a double-pointed knitting needle several sizes smaller than you will use for the knitting. Make the first stitch (follow the red arrow) by reaching OVER (not through) the loop, and catching the standing yarn (standing yarn=yarn coming from the ball, also called the "ball end") "up from under" to form a stitch which lies over the needle.

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2. Make the second stitch (follow the red arrow) by reaching THROUGH the loop, catching the standing yarn "up from under" and drawing the standing yarn back out of the loop, to form a stitch which lays over the needle.

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3. Make the third stitch (follow the red arrow) as you made the first one: reach OVER (not through) the loop, and catch the standing yarn "up from under" to form a stitch which lies over the needle. Click here for an explanation of how each finger is deployed in the illustration below.

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4. Continue, making each odd stitch OVER the loop and each even stitch THROUGH the loop and until you have the EVEN number of stitches you need (if you need to cast on an odd numbers of stitches, see point 7, below)

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5. Distribute the stitches onto 3 or 4 dpn and join the work by using the standing yarn to knit through the first stitch cast on. Do not bcome discouraged if the needles drop out--which they WILL do several times, until you finally prevail. (HINT: try different needles until you find the ones which work best for you--bamboo needles are maybe easier for knitting with few stitches where needles are apt to fall out...)


6. After several rounds, tug on the tail end. Ta da! The original loop into which you were working will disappear, and your work will feature a beginning rosette of the even, attractive stitches you worked into that loop. (HINT: give the tail an experimental tug right away, after first joining the work just to be sure the loop CAN tighten and didn't get tangled while making the join. If the tail end did get tangled up, try, try again.)

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7. If, for some reason, you need an ODD number of stitches (a seven-section hat top?) make the loop with the BALL end on top, and make the first (and all odd) stitch(es) by going THROUGH the loop for the first stitch, then OVER the loop for the second (and all even) stitch(es). This way the odd stitch with which you want to end (the last stitch) is "held in" by having been made through the loop.

A final note: Does this sort of cast-on look familiar to you from another context? Perhaps you have used this technique in making a kind of provisional cast on called "invisible cast on." For invisible cast-on, instead of making a loop into which to work, you hold a length of scrap yarn along a straight knitting needle and conduct this same series of manuevers over and under the needle and the scrap yarn. You then withdraw the needle and leave the loops on the scrap yarn until you're ready to expose the stitches. When you withdraw the scrap yarn, you'll see live loops, waiting to be knitted up.

However, IMHO, there exists a far better provisional cast-on (illustrated here) so I'd save this trick for working into a "disappearing loop" for center-started knitting.

ADDENDUM September 2009:  As beautiful as this cast-on is, some folks have been having a hard time following the diagrams.  In real life, you could learn this trick in 5 minutes, but it IS hard to learn from diagrams, no doubt about it.  At any rate, if you like the look of disappearing loop, but are having a hard time of it, then click over to this post: Knitting from the center--belly buttons and the umbilical waste cord method."  Although they do take a little longer, knitted belly buttons end up with the same structure and look as disappearing loop, and are easier to learn from diagrams. 
--TECHknitter

Happy Valentine's Day

These beautiful roses were waiting for me this morning, a Valentine's gift from my sweetheart!

Outside, today, things are pretty blustery thanks to a winter storm. I took my camera with me when I went out to the barn and henhouse...the birds probably do not think this is looking very welcoming...

The hens will not step foot outside...

When I got to the barn door, Bailey (our barn kitty) was peering out the door at me. Her little escape route under the big sliding doors was completely snowed in ~ she was very happy to see me with her afternoon snack, as were the horses...

Have a great Valentine's Day!