Crazy for Ewe
Yarn weights explained
What are the yarn weights and meanings? Yarn weights can be very confusing. Even for experienced knitters, sorting out the terms, gauge, and needle size for each weight is a lot. The Craft Yarn council of America has created a standard yarn weight system with eight categories, from 0 to 7, and organized the yarn into those categories. It's a good idea, but still confusing since most yarn store yarn is not labeled with the Craft Yarn Numbers.
Substituting yarns in knitting
How do I substitute yarns in knitting projects? How do I figure out many skeins to buy? This question is one we get in the shop many times a day. Let’s say you have a pattern you want to knit, but you want to use a different yarn. How do you know how much of the substitute yarn to purchase? This is a simple math question that I’ll break up into a few steps.
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Gauge in knitting - an easy to understand explanation - Gumballs and Gauge
Gauge is confusing. It doesn’t work the way we think it should. Large needles and thick yarn should have a large gauge, right? Seems logical, but it’s wrong. Gauge is counter-intuitive. It has what’s called an inverse relationship with the size of the stitches. The larger the yarn and needles, the smaller the gauge. The smaller the yarn and needles, the larger the gauge.
Here’s a visual that often helps. Picture a gumball machine. Just one of those old-fashioned round jobs with a red base and a clear globe on the top. Okay? Right, So we can put any size gumballs we want in our machine.
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Here’s a visual that often helps. Picture a gumball machine. Just one of those old-fashioned round jobs with a red base and a clear globe on the top. Okay? Right, So we can put any size gumballs we want in our machine.
Are you creative? (hint: the answer is yes)
Are you creative? Quick, tell me without thinking.
I hope you said yes, because everyone is creative. You may not think so, but you are. We all arrived pre-programmed for creativity, transforming pots and pans and wooden spoons into percussion instruments. We joyfully mixed all the
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I hope you said yes, because everyone is creative. You may not think so, but you are. We all arrived pre-programmed for creativity, transforming pots and pans and wooden spoons into percussion instruments. We joyfully mixed all the
Should you put a deadline on your knitting?
Sunday was bittersweet. A group of us got together for brunch to say farewell to Aimee Soderberg who’s moving to Pittsburgh. With a ready smile and a funny story to share, Aimee has been a bright light in our Tuesday evening class since it was initiated. We will all miss you tons.
Afterwards, at the shop, I was working on a new project, the Slouchy Pullover– a fun super-bulky sweater on size 15 needles. I started it because I knew I had two weeks until the start of our Elan knitalong, so I announced that I was going to finish it by Saturday, August, 6th.
Tricia asked me, do you think that’s a good idea? Should we set ourselves a
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Afterwards, at the shop, I was working on a new project, the Slouchy Pullover– a fun super-bulky sweater on size 15 needles. I started it because I knew I had two weeks until the start of our Elan knitalong, so I announced that I was going to finish it by Saturday, August, 6th.
Tricia asked me, do you think that’s a good idea? Should we set ourselves a
Thank you for your trust
Stephen Covey, author of the 7 Habits, has a fascinating book on trust.
He talks about how important trust in our society as a whole, in our relationships, and in our lives—it drives our sense of self in a way.
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He talks about how important trust in our society as a whole, in our relationships, and in our lives—it drives our sense of self in a way.
Summer knitting with Noro Asaginu
Summer knitting is relaxed and easy. Short sleeves or no sleeves means you're not on sleeve island - at least not for very long, anyway. I love summer fibers too. In this latitude, summer garments are actually seasonless. I wear my blue Triton all year long - it looks as nice with cropped linen trousers as with slim wool trousers. It’s always perfect. Same with various shells and tanks I’ve knit - like my new favorite, the Staple Linen Top.
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Feederbrook DK Yarn
I don't stock every yarn in the world. That's not my thing. Even though I have a ton of space, I'm pretty particular about what sits on the shelves. I like to leave a little room for those super special things that I didn't know existed, but can't live without once I've seen them.
Entropy DK from Feederbrook Farm is one of those yarns. I found Entropy on my travels in Oregon. We had just left Multnomah Falls -