Look at the baby shrug that Kathleen made in her knitting class with Lindsay.  Beautiful!  She used the Knitting Pure and Simple pattern #288, which is made from the top down with no seams.  Instead of making it in stockinette stitch she twisted her stitches on the knit rows.  I love how the stitch pattern works with the hand painted yarn (String Theory DK).
True Confession:  Kathleen didn’t realize that she was twisting her stitches, but we liked the effect so much, we encouraged her to continue.  Then we showed her how not to twist her stitches, in case she wanted to knit something in plain old stockinette in the future.

A great example: the Sunday Scarf that Carolyn recently finished.

This scarf is made in two pieces and grafted in the middle, so that each tip is identical and drapes beautifully.

Carolyn made it out of Lorna’s Laces Solemate, a sock yarn that contains a fiber that regulates temperature, cooling you off in the warm weather and warming you up when it is cold.  Sounds like the ideal fabric to have wrapped around your neck these days.

We’ve got lots of people working on this scarf that we made from two skeins of Purelife Revive.

It is a simple YO K2tog pattern, that ends up hanging on the bias. Good meditative knitting.

I love the combination of the tweedy yarn (it’s recycled cotton, silk and rayon) with the hand dyed silk ribbon.  Each comes in several colors, so there are lots of possibilities.

It would also look great done in some of our new colors of Tempo or Tiffany, if you like a bit of sparkle.

I love the skinny stripes in this top down baby sweater.   But since the sweater is knit in the round, the stripes spiral, rather than line up.  We’ve all been there.  You start a project, finally get some momentum and then look down and go “oops!”.  You could stop, rip back and look up the jogless stripe technique or you could knit on with reckless abandon.  Some days you just want to knit.

Anything that you do consistently is considered a design element, even the “mistakes”.  So here is the tip: instead of hiding the jog, we’ve embraced it with a little chain embroidery.  Susan Anderson demonstrates this simple technique here.  She shows you how to chain in a circle; it is even easier going in a straight line.  I originally considered sewing a row of tiny buttons between the two chains, but decided to use my favorite monster button instead.

I love the result.  Anyone would think that we had planned it this way….

Pattern: Knitting Pure and Simple Top Down Pullover
Yarn: Spud & Chloe Sweater in Firefly and Beluga

Some of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee’s best blog posts are about ripping out.  There is the shawl that she cast on 10 times  or this post, just last week.  As much as she knits, if she is still ripping things out, there is really no hope for the rest of us.

For example, I’m making a sweater out of  Fibre Co.’s fabulous Acadia, a slubby blend of merino, alpaca, and silk.  I love this yarn!  It has a silky hand and the color is iridescent.  I’ve already used several skeins with no problem and then I looked down and saw this:

See where I started my last skein?  These skeins all came from the same dye lot.  I know, because I scooped up the whole bag before it ever even hit the shelf.  I’m guessing this happened because the fibers in this skein didn’t twist the same way that the fibers in the other skeins did.  You can see it is a little less slubby than the previous skein, so maybe more of the bronze colored merino ended up on the outside of the strand.   Who knows!

To fix it, I slipped my stitches off the needle and I ripped back all the rows I had knit with the new skein and a few rows of the old skein.  Then I started knitting again, alternating two rows of one skein and two rows of the other.  It blurs the line, so that your eye isn’t drawn to the spot where I changed colors.   (We often recommend this technique when working with hand dyed yarns that rarely match from skein to skein.)

If you look closely, you’ll still see a little variation, but it isn’t a long straight line anymore.  And honestly, a little variation is what I love about artisan yarn.

Need help (or moral support) ripping something back without losing your stitches?  Stop in or take a look at this video.

It’s a Party!

Thursday, April 26

10am – 9pm

15% off everything in the store!

We are so grateful for everyone that has become a part of the String Theory community.  Please come help us celebrate.

This is a shot from Lindsay’s Crystal Socklet class.  Everyone has chosen to use Cascade Fixation which is mostly cotton with a little elastic.  The socks are made from the toe up, starting with Lindsay’s new favorite toe: the Bosnian Square Toe.

The pattern calls for using US size 1 and size 3 needles, but because Fixation is a little thicker than regular sock yarn and a little stretchy, size 3 needles work well for the entire sock.

I love all the different color combinations!

On April 1 2012, an anonymous group called Knitters for Peace “bombed” downtown Glen Ellyn, IL with about 80 knitted birds.  The birds placed on bike racks and benches disappeared pretty quickly, but many merchants brought their birds inside for safe keeping.  You can read more about it here.

Thank you Knitters for Peace.  We LOVED it!

Guerrilla Knitting started as a clandestine project to beautify public space without getting caught for defacing property.  Now, in some places it is being recognized as an art form, like this installation in Seattle by Suzanne Tidwell.

There are still many who prefer the anonymity like the person who knit all the Olympic events and installed them on Saltburn Pier in the UK.  Take a look.

Look what Ellen made for her granddaughter.  Adorable!

Petite Facile from the Winter 2011 issue of Interweave Knits.  Ellen used Spud & Chloe Sweater, a machine washable blend of organic cotton and wool.

And boots to match.  The Splish Splash Splosh Baby Shoes pattern can be purchased here.

If you have pictures of projects you’ve just finished, send them to info(at)stringtheoryyarncompany(dot)com. We want to see what you’ve been knitting!

Note: All organic cottons (like Spud & Chloe Sweater) will be 20% off this Sunday, April 22.  Happy Earth Day!

The best thing about knowing how to both knit and crochet is that you are able to take advantage of what each skill does best.  For me, the best of crochet is lace like this.  I love this little cardigan. What a perfect addition to your spring wardrobe.

Lindsay made this sample out of Misti Pimasilk for her upcoming Chevron Cardigan class.  She picked this project because she thought it would be a perfect next step for all those new crocheters she’s been creating lately.

The cardigan is made from the top down. and can be made as long or short as you like.   Top down knitting is pretty easy, but crocheting from the top down is even easier.

Lindsay’s class starts next Wednesday evening, April 25.  Call or stop by to reserve your spot.

Overheard in the store last week:  ” I’ll take anything that Lindsay teaches.  She is so nice and patient and knows her stuff.”