Hey I’m “famous”! My Sislana was featured on Berroco’s blog—thanks to Amy C for her sweet words on my sweater. Now if only she and the rest of the Berroco team would stop designing such amazing things so I could actually pretend to have an attention span. (Amy and BDT, don’t ever stop.)
Last week was busy in fiber news, especially in the technique realm, so here’s some links you may have missed.
Knits in the News
Buzzfeed shared 27 Signs You’re the Martha Stewart of Your Friend Group. I am not that person—but are you?
This is just incredible—Sola Fiedler made a tapestry of Vancouver using yarn from recycled sweaters.
If you’ve seen Guardians of the Galaxy, you probably have a soft spot in your heart for Groot. Now you can get inspired to make your own.
UNDERWATER YARN BOMB yo. The yarn bomb to end all yarn bombs? I’m pretty sure I should have had more coffee this morning.
Update: Looks like Olek ignored due diligence and did this installation without permission.
Techniques
Kate Davies took the idea of knitting steeks and made them easily digestible for anyone who’s afraide of cutting her yarn (and that’s a totally understandable fear) in her What is a steek? post. Even if you never have any intention of steeking, ever, go read this post for a little bit of knitting history.
An older post, but I stumbled across TechKnitter’s Working in Ends as you Go post, around the same time that I clicked on…
Jane Richmond’s video tutorial page and practiced learning how to make a Magic Knot, which is incredibly handy because a lot of the yarns I’m working with at the moment are superwash/not spliceable. (“Spliceable” is totally a word.) How do you go about joining your yarns as you knit?
What’s the record number of times you’ve tried to long-tail cast-on and had to rip back because you couldn’t get enough stitches? I think mine’s about five. NO MORE I SAY, thanks to Stitch Sprouts’ long-tail cast on, minus the long tail post.
If the instructions “decrease evenly across the row” make you a bit twitchy, check out Ysolda’s blog on evenly distributing shaping.
Creators
I just have to share this because it’s amaaaaaaazing. Whovian Fair Isle Jumper.
Finally, from Karie Westermann, a beautiful piece on Fiber Trek podcaster Sarah and a discussion on inspiration, landscape, and textiles.
I love this feature. It makes me think of “Last Week Tonight,” and would be a great springboard into a podcast if you were ever so inclined.
For your perusal, given your love of sock knitting: A Sweet Georgia manifesto on socks
http://bit.ly/1q2Yqdv
What are your thoughts on nylon vs nylon free? Or should one simply have a large enough sock wardrobe that the wearing cycle alone prevents pilling and stretching?
RavID NDAKKatie
Sorry I never replied to this sooner!
Podcasting is an interesting idea, but I have trouble thinking I’m interesting enough for all these blog posts, much less blathering in people’s ears! At least with text people can skip around easily. š But it’s certainly something to think about!
Nylon vs Nylon-free sock yarn… I went through the socks I’ve knit (http://www.ravelry.com/projects/threadpanda?set=socks&view=thumbnail) and looked at those I wear (didn’t give them away or gift them) and I’ve knit more nylon-free socks than those containing nylon (20 nylon-free, 11 with nylon). I think nylon definitely helps, but I don’t think it’s necessary. More importantly, I think, is the type of wool and the way it’s plied. But then again I also just mentioned that I’ve knit at least 31 pairs of socks so maybe it’s definitely the ability to cycle them. I’ve never had socks get holes from wear and tear, though have had them felt (some of them socks containing nylon) and get holes in weird places, either from shoes or because they accidentally ended up in the wash.