Thinking gifts? Look here! (Subtitle: Janelle teaches more classes)

Slipper Socks: MORE to come! 2 more styles coming up--
and in the same pattern! 

When you become interested in something--that is, so interested in the thing that it practically consumes you--it is inevitable that you will want to share your very intense joy with others. Of course, you probably want to temper this intense joy when meeting new people, so as not to make them think you are going to follow them home like some sort of aggressive missionary gone wild, but you want to share, nevertheless Even if your enthusiasm does leak out a bit too much sometimes.

I am extremely excited to announce that our wonderful new LYS, Urban Wolves Fibre Arts, here in Vancouver is giving me a chance to teach knitting classes at their shop. Excitement and all.

I have posted a class list for this month in the side bar. We are working on getting a KAL going with the Fall Woods Quilt Squares hooded cowl for Wednesday nights during knit night. However, if you would like to knit along with us in spirit, please feel free! Christmas is heading our way and it's time for some gifty knitting! (Those of you who have already finished your gifts or are nearly there, I bow to your amazing time management skills!)

Speaking of gifts... my classes for the last-minute gifts will be using my Green Giant Fingerless Mitts pattern and a new thick and very quick top-down slipper sock pattern, which will be finished up here shortly.

For these last minute gift projects, I have been experimenting with different yarns and needles sizes to see what sort of fabrics I can come up with and to see how long it takes to make each pattern.

A pair of the slipper socks in an 8" foot circumference (about a women's medium) took just over 4 hours to complete and just 206yards/188m of Wendy's Aran yarn held double. I used a US5/3.75mm dpn to create a very dense fabric (4sts/inch in slightly stretched ribbing) that will stand up to walking around in the house. (Love those puns!) They have very nice body and shape, like boots.

Almost here!

I also tried out the fingerless mitts pattern in the Wendy's, held double on a US9/5.5mm. The hands need more stretchiness than the feet and I wanted to very closely match the original Green Giant pattern gauge. The resulting product winds up being a bit smaller than the original, but much more forgiving. The Wendy Aran also makes a shorter mitt, which I like, and a stretchier fabric than the original yarn for that pattern, which is the Lion Brand Hometown Super Bulky. The fingerless mitts took me only about 3 hours for a pair!

Coming soon!

And let me just mention: I am NOT a fast knitter!

The pattern for the Fall Color Mitts is nearly finished in testing and will be out next week. The matching tam for those is under construction and the slipper socks pattern will be available before the class begins. All will be in my Ravelry store. 

Oh yes...and my Whovian friends!! I have not forgotten the mittens-- soon soon soon! Oh that I had a TARDIS...





                                                 

A Study in Color and Tension: Fall

Fall brings brisk days and a need for toasty hands!

Hello, all! Well it has been a wonderful fall here in the Great Northwest. Everyone has enjoyed some extended time outside lately. The sun has been out and Mother Nature has not exactly turned the thermostat down yet. Today seems to be taking a little turn, though, which makes people like me (Native Northwesterners not accustomed to any kind of heat and who feel more comfort in the cooler, grayer weather) have hope.

And anyway, don't we all have a butt-load of knitting to do? (Yes. I am using that word.)

My class in Lyle, Washington went well. Like last year, lots of folks wandering about at the NW

Jo in Green Giant Ski Hat

Homesteading Fair, but only a couple wanted to sit outside in the lovely Eastern Washington air under a tent for an all-day knitting class. It was still a blast and the day was sunny but, out in the east, windy and crisp. Perfect. Plus, I got to spend some time with Jo, my oldest daughter. 

The hat for that class is now on Ravelry in my pattern store, in case you are interested in a super chunky hat for winter. Plus, Jo discovered that if you accidentally make it a size (or two) too small, it becomes a beanie instead of a ski hat!

Thumb + acorn = cute!

As for my current situation, I am still madly studying for the Master Knitter's program and pinning away on that board. My focus has been on tension. Tension tension TENSION!!

I have been intensely (no exaggeration....you guys know me by now and my obsessive ways....) focusing on tension. I am trying to be keenly aware of my hands and how I am knitting. And I am trying to use some more difficult knitting methods that actually mess with your knitting tension to fix mine.  

Namely: stranded colorwork. I am proud to say that in the year, I have gone from bumpy, lumpy colors and pictures in my knitting and mittens that would not go over my hand past their ribbing to smoother colors and flatter surfaces. How? 

First, I do a ton of reading to go along with all my knitting. After all, who would write a research paper without the facts? Knitting a project is no exception and there are tons of resources! Purl Soho's pinterest board and blog, Knitting Daily's site  (I have the most incurable girl crush on Eunny Jang. Won't even give the new girl a chance.), and even some classes on Craftsy. These are just a few. Get help when you need it!

What I am learning in all of this is that -- write this down (I had to, but that is because I have a terrible memory. You may not have to.)-- ALL OF THE KNITTING SKILLS GO TOGETHER. That is, they all play off each other, and each new skill is useful to the next--and to the last. I will even say that if you think you have a problem with a skill that seems insurmountable, try the next harder skill and see if going back to the earlier problem doesn't make that old toughy seem just that much easier.

I have loved all this learning so much, that I want to pass it on. To that end, I will be actually teaching a class specifically on stranded knitting in the round at my fabulous local yarn shop, Urban Wolves Fibre

My fav pumpkin coffee cup!!!

Arts. 

You can come visit me on October 25th from 10am till 4pm for fun, stranding and mayhem. Fun mayhem. The shops owners Christine and Michael are super folks and offer coffee (good coffee in case you are picky and wondering) and oftentimes they even have snacks. We will have a roarin' silly good time in the wool strands. Promise. 

I have a pattern in testing right now for the class, and it is called Fall Colors Fingerless Mitts. Really, it is an experiment of mine and of owner Christine's. We wanted to see what would happen if we tried to use all of the yarn in 3 skeins of Rowan Pure Wool Worsted. I came up with 3 styles of fingerless mitts in a fall leaf motif, 2 are a bit more intermediate in skill level and one has a nifty acorn that stretches across the thumb gusset, for those who want more of a challenge in their stranded colorwork. 

Come and visit! Especially if you are having a tricky time with stranded tension. I am creating a notebook for students chock full of advice and resources, along with some nifty photography. 

As for my "thought for the week" on the master knitter's study, let's do a concept instead. 

I read an article a while back that went something like this (me paraphrasing from memory): 

Having trouble with your tension? Gauge uneven? Ask yourself: do you knit while enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee in the a.m.? Follow that with knitting on the commute by train? Knit with kids in the background at night in haste before bed?

If you don't want your knitting tension to tell the story of your day, get a grip. Realize when you are knitting tensely and why. Conversely, when are you mellow and relaxed in your knitting? Adjust accordingly. Knowing the problem is half the battle.

Green Giant Strikes Again!

 Like last year at this time, I will be teaching a knitting class on September 20th at the NW Homesteading Fair. This is my second year doing this and I am really looking forward to it!

Last year, I taught an all day class on toe-up sock knitting and this year I have developed a different class altogether. I thought that since time is always limited, and since Christmas is going to soon (if not already) be on the minds of many knitters, it might be nice to do a project class for something easy (yet interesting!) and quick to knit. 

Introducing another pattern in the Green Giant series: the Green Giant Cabled Ski Hat. Knit up in super bulky weight yarn, it will work up in no time. There is a single cable on one side of the hat (great for those interested in starting up some mad cabling skills) and an optional pom pom. 

You may come to the class at the NW Homesteading Fair, which is free, to receive a copy of the Green Giant hat pattern, or if you do not live even remotely close to Lyle, Washington (and frankly, who does?!) and would never be able to make the class without the use of your personal private jet (I know you don't want to use up the gas....it is getting expensive!), you may simply use the coupon code: GGCSH in my Ravelry store until September 15th to receive a free copy, just for reading this

Jo says, "I'll check YOU at the NW
Homesteading Fair."

blog post!

This will run simultaneously with the Fall Woods Cowl promotion, which will end the same day. Heck! Let's just keep the fun rolling!!

And speaking of fun....

And a BIG thank you to all of you who purchased my Fall Woods Quilt Squares Hooded Cowl pattern! I would love to see project photos and hear your feedback! Please feel free to message me on Ravelry: my user name is janelleserio. 

A New Knitting Shop? Time to Strike!

It is about TIME!!! Those of us who live in Vancouver, Washington may be just over the bridge from Portland, Oregon (and admittedly a quick 9 miles for me), but sometimes you just want your own LYS!!

Me and two sweater quantities of yarn!

Urban Wolves Fibre Arts is the first of two very local yarn shops to open in Vancouver this month. Owners Michael and Christine Arrington are doing all of us a huge favor by providing a cozy, new space, complete with some stylish and cushy chairs, a large meeting table, and incredible natural light coming from the wall of windows that frame two walls of the shop. In addition to the ambiance and helpful customer service from Michael and Christine, there is also coffee and tea and a large flat screen TV on one wall--one can only imagine the likes of Jane Austen or anything Colin Firth coming out of that for countless hours of knitted bliss.

A unique feature of this store is the dyeing center. It's worth a look! They hope people will come in to buy the raw yarns/dyes they have in the shop and feel free to do it there, thus saving the trouble, stain potential and smells at home. ( I personally really love those smells, but I digress....)

2 yarns for 2 sweaters! Martin Storey's Dale's Aran and
Kathy Zimmerman's Plaits and Links cardigan! One for me,
one for my son.

Urban Wolves is carrying yarns like Manos Del Uruguay, Rown, Madelinetosh, Tahki and Sweet
Gerogia sock, just to name a few. There are plans for more yarns, supplies and classes in the works, too. They already have knit nights and mornings set up, see details
here.

Their official opening was on September 8th and I have the distinct honor of being the "biggest basket of the day." What can I say? I had been waiting for this!

You may be wondering, "Wait! You said two yarn shops!" Yes! Blizzard Yarn and Fiber is open here as well! I will be visiting them very soon!! :)

Fall Woods Quilt Squares: Hooded Cowl -- New Pattern Giveaway!

It's a substantial name, but it is a substantial piece, too!  Knitted in super bulky weight yarn, my newest pattern, Fall Woods Quilt Squares: Hooded Cowl, is thick n' rich. If you enjoy a hearty blanket cocooning you as you lay in a hand-hewn pine framed bed at your personal ski lodge in front of the large stone fireplace where a kettle hangs over the flames threatening to squeal with delight at any moment to announce the readiness of your tea, this pattern is for you.

This hooded cowl was designed to lay flat on the chest, so it can easily fit on the inside of a winter coat, or even on the outside of a slimmer fitting one.

The sample shown uses just a bit less than three skeins of Lion Brand Thick & Quick Yarn in Rust. Other yarn ideas include, but are not limited to,Malabrigo Rasta or Rowan Big Wool, Manos del Uruguay Franca... the list goes on and on.

But no matter how much or little your yarn budget may allow, the low yardage and quickness of this knit are sure to delight. Gift giving for Christmas? This hooded cowl would qualify as a moderately quick knit, taking approximately 6-8 hours to make, according to my fabulous testers.

If you pop on over to my Ravelry Store right now and use the coupon code: FWQS upon check-out of this pattern, you can have it for free. That's right: absolutely free.



Imagine: your very own piece of fantasy ski lodge cozy for free. Oh, and one more thing ... there's a rumor going around that this hooded little number may double as chain mail. I hear it may have actually saved a woman's life during a sword battle.

I can't back that story up, but it doesn't mean it isn't true.

Enjoy from now till September 15th.