by Laurel Murphy
This pattern takes one skein of Louet Merlin Sport Weight. Not a long floppy scarf that a lot of men find unmasculine, this muffler is just the right length to tuck under a great coat or parka without being bulky. A great gift item!
This pattern is FREE, click here to download it now.
One of our favorite designers, Beth has successfully launched her maiden voyage into DVD production with Knitting Ganseys with Beth Brown-Reinsel. The DVD will take you through the history, techniques and process of designing and knitting one of these wonderful sweaters. Beth is a calm and patient teacher, and this DVD is based on one of her most popular classes.
Professionally filmed and produced, this DVD is jam-packed with information, yet it is 
so smoothly presented that it is easy to absorb and remember. For example, Beth’s discussion and demonstrated explanation of the differences between worsted and woolen yarns is one of the best I’ve ever seen. Many knitters have no appreciation or understanding of this issue, yet Beth succinctly explains the concept in context, so you’ll also understand why this is important to your yarn selection, and how it affects your finished product.
Another great feature is that the segments are categorized in several different ways, so you can easily watch them the way that is best for you. Broad overview? Focused topic? Step-by-step version? Watch the whole thing like a novel or skip around like a dictionary, whatever suits your needs.
There is a knit-along miniature gansey you can do, as well as a previously unpublished design. There are all sorts of useful files that you can print out, as well as the technique sections where Beth demonstrates the technique from beginning to end, in slow motion if you want that.
All in all, you’ll come away with an appreciation for Ganseys, a better understanding of knitting overall, and a great big dose of enthusiasm for your next project.
Congratulations, Beth!
I’ve been busy with my own family, but have a moment to wish all of you a happy New Year.
Those of you who have been customers for a while know that we run our Super-duper Over-the-top Cashmere and Luxury Yarn SALE between Christmas and New Year’s weekends.
This sale requires coupon codes. If you are not on our mailing list, or for some reason or another you did not get your email earlier today, please email me privately (laurel@handknitting.com ) and ask for it, and I will send you the sale announcement.
Cheers,
Laurel
I promised color combinations and here they are finally:
Or at least a start, ok?
Yes, I do it too, and there’s that sort of panicky feeling. Can I really finish that ________ in time? (You fill in the blank) But we just got in this exciting new yarn from Trendsetter called Flamenco. Reminiscent of ChaCha, it’s great for quick-to-make scarves but with a very different and very feminine look. It looks like a tape yarn in the ball, but it actually is meant to be pulled open and knit like ChaCha through the loops on the long edge.
This solid color scarf that I created took just one ball and can be done in just a few hours. It measures about 40″ long and about 5″ wide. For a longer or wider scarf, use 2 balls.
“Knitting” with this yarn takes a bit of getting used to, but after a while you’ll find it’s no more difficult than ChaCha to knit. There are, though, a few tips I’d like to share with you.
You can use a needle up to size 10 US, but I recommend an eight or nine, and no smaller. This is because it’s a bit slippery and if your loops are big around a small needle, you’ll be more likely to drop one, and you really don’t want to do that. If you are using a contrast yarn, use the size that matches the gauge of the contrast yarn.
Flamenco comes in balls, and you don’t have to rewind it like ChaCha, but you have to stretch the yarn out crosswise so that you can see the mesh. It still will want to close up on either side, but that’s ok. Unwrap about a yard at a time, pulling it from side to side until it’s about 3″ wide.
To hide the beginning of the yarn, the best results will come with a mitered triangle fold. Lay out the stretched tape with the raw edge at your right hand. Pick up the lower right corner and fold diagonally up and match the spaces to the top edge. You will now have 3 or 4 spaces that will have double threads along the top, and a folded diagonal edge on the end. You have to remember to treat the double threads as one for the first two rows.
The most simple scarf comes from threading your needle through every opening along one edge, for as many stitches as you want. Turn, insert the right hand needle and place the next opening on the needle and pull through. (Those of you who carry yarn in your left hand will have an easier time of this than the rest of us.) Continue across (don’t forget the double threads on the end!), and when you look at it on the needle don’t panic. After these two rows it will look all floppy and stretched out, but once you continue with the 3rd row it will take shape into a consistent width.
Next post: how I did the scarf above a little differently.
New Weekly specials just uploaded: Worsted weight & 4Ply. Check it out at http://www.handknitting.com/This_Week_s_Special_Value_s/336.htm
While we were at Stitches East, we were lucky to have Bruce Weinstein drop by the booth to see and feel our yarns. Bruce is a really interesting guy–a prize-winning author of cook books and has just published his first knitting book:
We got to talking and I asked him to take home some Mountain Meadow Wool, and some Supreme Possum Merino. After we got home I thought to send him some baby camel, because it’s a yarn I love and I don’t think it gets enough attention.
So guess what? Bruce agrees, and blogged about our camel! Check it out here.
Thanks, Bruce!
New products come all at once in the fall. That’s because this is the busy time for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, and winter is on the horizon. It’s time to get revved up for the big knit/crochet season, not to mention holiday crafting.
So much has come in lately, I just can’t seem to keep up with it, and unfortunately it’s the blog that comes in last.
Time to fix that. I seem to go at this blog thing in fits and starts” — I guess I need to post a reminder that I should include the blog with every update we put into the newsletter or on the front page, not to mention other things.
So here’s the latest item that arrived, just yesterday:
Namaste Messenger Bags and Hip Holsters:
Of course I wouldn’t have invested in the inventory if I hadn’t thought they were just great.
The messenger bag is just like those that bicycle messengers use to transport documents and whatnot on Wall Street. You may have seen a picture of one of these guys on a bike with a bag strung across his back. This is the same thing, but with big improvements, including a padded laptop pocket, and plenty of room for other stuff.
The Hip Holster is a great improvement over fanny packs. There’s a strap but you can also thread this on your belt. Easy. Very Easy.
It just occurred to me that maybe some of you reading the blog don’t actually get our newsletter…. I guess I still have a bit of work to do to get this entire social networking thing embedded in my brain. You can see it by clicking the link on our Facebook page here. Please do sign up if you might think you would like the newsletter.
Every issue includes info of value to needle arts creators. It might be new products, or a coupon, or a free pattern, or a sale announcement, or a private sale, or links to fashion or technique videos. We understand that at the end of the day it is advertising, so we try to make it as useful and interesting as we can. And I welcome suggestions!
My goodness it is HOT! Today was 93, tomorrow 97, Saturday 100+. Plus it’s humid. I find myself envying Dylan, who is currently in Tucson, AZ, looking for an apartment. We lived for 6 years in Arizona–both our boys were born there. Even at 118, it never felt as hot as this……
On the other side of the globe, for some reason we have had what amounts to an absolute flood of orders from Down Under– mostly Australia but also NZ and South America. Yes I know it’s winter there, but compared to previous July to Sept seasons there are many, many more orders. So what’s up? if any of you know, please let us know too. An Aussie blog? Advertising? What??????
Our last newsletter proved that what Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (the Yarn Harlot) has said all along….It’s impossible to predict what knitters/crocheters will want; at least it isn’t predictable enough to help plan what should be bought for the store. We’ve re-ordered the Wraps Per Inch kit, and I never thought that would be necessary after one day. On the other side, I would have sworn that the Knit Kards would have sold like hotcakes, but no. I guess that means that my description is not very good. I’ll have to re-work that……
Sadie was so cute today. She’s taken to sitting out on the driveway & staring at the street, for all the world like a cat cartoon. It almost makes me forget the dead mole I found in the kitchen this morning……
For the first time I’m actually feeling as if I’m really a pattern designer, because I had my first complaint about typos in a pattern. I mean, if all the feedback you get is positive from people who love your patterns, do people really consider you professional? It’s a higher standard–knitters expect a pattern to be perfect, and they have every right to expect that after paying for a pattern. Intertwined with that (forgive the pun) is that I’m now having patterns available on other places besides the Handknitting.com website. Ravelry & Patternfish to be specific. It’s a bigger audience. The pattern in question was even on YouTube as part of this June’s TNNA fashion show.
For the last year or so, I’ve been having a nagging feeling that there is about to be a growing interest in traditional knitting. By “traditional knitting” what I mean is the traditional techniques from decades and centuries ago all over the world. I could be wrong, of course, but I can’t help but think that there’s a desire for tried and true, classic design out there. This thought has been intruding for a while now, and it’s still under construction.
John asked me to provide an intro into his blogging, and so here it is. John is, as you know, the Executive Vice President of Fulfillment and Customer Satisfaction for Handknitting.com. In his spare time he has always enjoyed woodworking, and has recently taken on the building of a guitar.
Thanks for listening,
Laurel