Category: tips
swatch notes
Faster swatching with the knitting machine means I am taking more notes. While I write copiously in my notebooks, I am playing subtly with differences in gauge. It’s made me rethink how I record important information when all the swatches may look similar. Traditionally, I’ve marked the US needle size (because it’s easier than metric)…
notebook love
I’m working on the finishing touches for a few designs that I began a year ago. I’ve written before about how indispensable a notebook is. I want to reiterate that. It doesn’t matter if you use an inexpensive composition book, or a fancy $50 notebook, or something inbetween. It matters that you use something. And…
thoughts on an experiment
My love of swatching is well known. Once you know how a stitch may work in a yarn, what about the next step? I always want to know how practical is it for a particular application. There’s nothing more frustrating than spending hours on a project only to have it look or perform terrible after…
three tips to swatch without swatching
There are many reasons why we don’t swatch. While I recommend it in all situations, I recognize there are times when we’re nervous to do so for a range of reasons. Perhaps a fiber is difficult to work with making ripping back a challenge. Maybe the yardage is tight for the project and you’d like…
tips on projects for balance
It’s the time of year that often finds knitters and crocheters frantic and stressed. Holiday deadlines can affect the most diligent of planners. I’m going to suggest something bizarre — I think that you can and should add one more project during this time. When it’s the right type of project worked at specific times,…
Keeping track of my needles & hooks
My tendency isn’t one of tidy order. My desk is often chaos and the contents of my knitting bag is often just as cluttered. That’s why I make a regular self-appointment to clean up my needles and hooks. While they should either be in a specific project bag or put away, that isn’t often the…