Recruiting Back-up

There's a little project I want to get started on but I'm stuck before I've begun.  If there's one thing I've learned in the past 7 months of blogging it's that if I have a question, I now have a wealth of knowledge- my wonderful readers!  Again, I need help finding something which should be right up your alley.

I know many of you are very 'crafty' and have experience in many different craft venues, and today I want to know where you buy fabric.  I know there are a wealth of online fabric sources these days and I'm interested to hear which ones are the best.

More specifically, I would love some help finding a yellow and white fabric.  I like the modern lines of the imperial trellis pattern (see above) and the color to white ratio.

I like the Sunbrella fabric above, but am looking for more of a cotton quilting fabric. I like the colors in the swatch above, but would prefer the yellow being a little more vibrant.  I also want to steer clear of flowers and anything else too feminine.

This is more the colors I am looking for, but I would like to see more yellow than white.

Hopefully you have an idea of what I'm looking for, and maybe you fabric enthusiasts have seen something similar out there.  I won't limit it to just fabric.  If you are out shopping and notice some curtains or sheets that look like they might work, let me know where you find them.  So, this is your mission, if you choose to accept it.

Once the project is done there will of course be a fun reveal- but you'll just have to wait on that :)

Navajo Knitting

This past Saturday I spent a good portion of my day teaching a French Press Felted Slipper class at a local yarn shop.  Although teaching is still pretty new to me, I'm starting to get the order of the class down.  When you start the slippers, you start with the bottoms.  Because of this, I kick the class off with Navajo Knitting.

I first learned about Navajo Knitting when a fellow Raveler posted about it on the 'Hints and Tips' thread of the French Press Knits group on Ravelry.  This is also the first I heard of Lucy Neatby (isn't she amazing?!).  Anyway, this kind-hearted and brilliant Raveler posted a link to Lucy Neatby's Navajo Knitting video that can be found on youtube.  When doing the class this past weekend, it hit me that I have never shared this video here with my readers.

Well, it's about time I do:


Navajo Knitting comes from Navajo Plying.  Why is it so useful for the slippers?  It turns one strand of yarn into three.   This way you do not have to separate your two skeins of yarn into three.  Even if you aren't planning on making the slippers anytime soon, watch the video.  Lucy does a great job and you'll be impressed with the new skill you'll learn!

Child's Placket Neck Sweater

One of the first knitting books I owned was Joelle Hoverson's  Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.  As far as knitting books go, it has become a bit of a modern legend.  In the pages are patterns I've come back to on multiple occasions.

 The Child's Placket Neck Sweater was a new one for me, and as always, it did not disappoint.  If you have the first printing of the book like I do, you need to be careful of the errata.  The pattern has quite a few mistakes, so you can now find the pattern for free online here.

Although my sweater is still lacking buttons (I think some little orange ones will get the job done), I figured I would share it before the paper towel holder had to return to its normal job:

I used Knit Pick's Swish DK Yarn in Delft Heather and may be convinced that it is one of the greatest yarns for children's knitting.  Besides coming in a great variety of colors and being soft to boot, it's also superwash, which makes it great for giving as gifts.  

Raveled 

Clara- Off the Needles

In all honesty, my Clara Dress has been off the needles for a while now.  My big problem was getting the right pictures.  The dress is pretty small, I figure about newborn size, and I don't know any brand new baby girls who could be my models. 

I tried to lay it flat or drape it over a chair, but I just couldn't get the right shot.

The solution?  Paper tower holder + wooden spoon tied together with cotton yarn.  How fitting.

Maybe it's time for one of these.

Read more about the Clara Dress here.

Testing Texture

This weekend I decided to do a swatch test. The pattern I'm working on is drawn up, I've made a couple small 'practice items' to help me decide what kind of construction I would like to use, and it is finally time for the best part- the knitting.

The stitches you see, from bottom to top, are as follows:

1. The back side of the Bramble stitch fromA Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker, pg 129 (oops... the rest I did the wrong way, you'll just have to look it up to see what it looks like.)

2. Berry Stitch from Barbara Walker's A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, pg 221

3. 2x2 rib, this will be the rib along the bottom and the cuff- just wanted to see what it looked like next to some of the textures

4. Clove Stitch from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, pg 221

5. Diagonal Scallop from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, pg 127

6. Not sure of the name, but I'm sure it has one. I was making it up as I went, but basically it was a seed stitch with a knit row between every texture row.

I think I have a winner- what is your favorite texture stitch to knit up?