Hi knitters, As I mentioned in previous blog post, I purchased three skeins of Cascade 220 and made a baby sweater. Now I have to think about what to make of the their ball of yarn. Cascade is made of 100 % wool. The yardage is 220 yards each. It's certainly not enough for a scarf or another sweater. In that case, I will probably make another hat. But this time I would like to challenge myself. With a bucket of ice? No!
It was very lovely yarn, as my cat comments. I used the left over to make a small blanket for my cat. She loves it. Somehow I thinks my cat (one of the three I live with now) is good at valuing the cost of yarn. She ignored the stuff I made with acrylic yarn and adores this pattern with 100% wool.
I don't think this wool yarn is very warm. But it is quite soft to be touched on human skin and cat skin. I do recommend this yarn to knit for children and pets.
Hi knitters, I've been using the Addi's Click Turbo set for two weeks. So far so good. Here are some thoughts about it. First of all, the needles are, as it is renowned for, super!!!!
I have no difficulties knitting at all. I can't knit in a turbo speed as I am a slow knitter. Therefore there's no mean to boast that I became a rocket knitter by since the day I started using this Turbo set. But I notice that my knitting has been sped up a bit. It's probably due to the well-polished body of the needles. That may also because the light weight of the needles. It's not super light. But it's not heavy at all. I feel comfortable with them.
It was with the US#8 needles and 32" cord that I tried out the set. I had no trouble doing ssk and some k2tog at all, which pleased me. The tips of the needles are not as sharp as the Lace set, but they are good enough for stitch decreasing. Well, I haven't tried k3tog, thus no comment on that. By the way, I was making Op. 16 cowl which will be discussed in another blog. My motto as a designer is simple: Nothing is perfect. And so is not the Click Turbo set. I had very high expectation on the click, which is the selling point of this product. Well, the joints are secure. So far no accidents happen. The security of this set satisfy my need, which was the exact reason I bought it. (oh my my....so expensive...yet so far no other product beat it) However, something surprised me in an unpleasant way. The process of 'clicking' is not a smooth one. I never expect that as that's not what I saw in the advertisement. I had found out this problem when I examined the set in the yarn store, but the sales representative told me it's 'normal', which means the product was manufactured like this. Can't say I was 100% satisfied with the answer. And I hesitated a minute before purchasing it. I hope that once I have them used more often, the clicking will become easier. I hope.
One thing you guys may be curious to know: the color of the cord. I was told that the blue cord is for the North American market. Well, I can confirm it as I just bought one myself from a US yarn store. The red cord, as you may have seen on eBay for sale, is actually for the Asian market, as I was told by some participants of knitting forums. That means once you buy the set, you don't have lifetime warranty if you live in the US. Well, there maybe no warranty at all. I understand the cheaper cost is attempting. However, please reconsider it before purchasing. I once thought about that too. There is also a set with golden cord. Yes, GOLDEN. Sounds nice. I was told that it's exclusively for the market for European. Well, the manufacturer is from Germany. I can understand why the color for European region is more precious...a bit jealous. Again,the information provided in this paragraph is from a forum discussion, not from any official resources.
Anyhow that's the end of a little review. To have it documented more precisely, I would like to note again that this review is done after two weeks of trying the Turbo Click. Perhaps will do another one if I discover something 'frensh' that I didn't share here. P.S. The knit shown in this blog is the coming-to-be Op.17 Beret. Stay tuned. HAPPY KNITTING
Hi Knitters, How's your Labor Day weekend? Mine's quite boring. Really hope to do something outdoor. But before I step out of my door, allow me to make one announcement and review on the yarn Op. 15 is made of.
Labor Day weekend special. Everything is on sale on both Ravelry and Etsy. Price already changed for you. No need for coupon. Hope you find something right for you.
All right, review time. About the Cascade Longwood. It's a new release this year. So soft to touch as it's made of100% superwashed merino. And the color way #12 was exactly that i was looking for. Longwood is made in China, and it is not cheap in terms of price. Inspired by an outfit of Brown Eyed Girl in their MV "Kill Bill, I originally planned to knit a poncho with four balls of it. And I casted on two hundred something stitches. As the label of the yarn suggested, I used US #8 needles. I guess Longwood just doesn't get along too well with needles in that size. The gauges doesn't look too good to me. It should go with smaller needles. And that's why I later switched to #6 and #7 Cubics while I did Op. 15.
Moreover, I felt much more comfortable knitting Longwood with bamboo and wooden needles. Perhaps it's not too slippery on those needles?
One thing I do like to point out: you'd better not make any mistake while needle with Longwood. I had undone the would-be-a-poncho and found it quite difficult to knit with the same yarn again. It's not impossible. It was just not a pleasant experience. I always had my needles insert "inside" the yarn. See the ply.... So loose........I mean it happens to some other yarns too. It's just a shame: poor manufacturing with very nice material.
Anyhow, I managed to finish Op. 15 with a skein of Cascade's Longwood. It is wonderful to wear the hat on. Speaking as the wearer, it's super comfy. But Longwood is just not my favorite new yarn of this season. I have returned the remaining three balls which I didn't use at all to the yarn shop and got some store credit refunded. Wanna know what I got? Stay tuned and HAPPY KNITTING
Hi knitters and cosplay fan, I've heard about this very special issue: Unofficial Harry Potter Knits, just didn't get a chance to go to bookstore. And one day I went to San Jose and visited Barnes and Noble. Yeah, there are only a few mortar bookstores left. Nice atmosphere inside the bookstore. And of course I went to check on the magazine section. There are not as many knitting magazine as the one in Tanforan Mall. But something just got my attention promptly. The YOU KNOW WHAT special... About this special issue, I am sure not the only one reviewing it. But here are my little thoughts that I would like to share. My favorite pattern: Ginny's Cardigan
This one is so adorable. And I love the color too. It's the one on cover. Isn't the back of this cardigan beautiful? Best cosplay character: Severus Snape
He's just so easy to recognize. And there are three knits that are presented with Severus Snape. Dark.......
Besides all those beautiful patterns, there are two interviews in this issue. One is with the OFFICIAL Harry Potter custom designer Jany Temime. She mentioned something of the Ron's sweater in the Goblet of Fire the most popular sweater. I wonder if she will have an OFFICIALl Harry Potter Knits book published in the future.
My favorite character is Ron Weasley. Too bad there is no knit particularly inspired by this character in this unofficial collection. Hmmmm... The average level difficulty of this collection is pretty high. They are all well crafted and designed by amazing designers. I would say the knits of this collection aims for intermediate and advanced knitters. The easiest is probably the one called Modern Stripes House Scarves. And it's very cool one too. Nice color.
Anyway, all Harry Potter fans, go for it! Or you've already got one.... HAPPY KNITTING
Once upon a time, there is a magic spell called Magic Loop. Who ever tried on challenging the Magic Loop would never be able to knit with double pointed needles or regular circular needles again. There was no return........... Do you believe in this myth? Due to my slow learning pace and lack of courage, it took me quite a while to get the idea and try on knitting the Magic Loop. The official inventor is Sarah Hauschka. However, it was said the idea of Magic Loop is actually derived from knitting with 2 circular needles. And please forgive me, I forgot the name of the the smart lady. Anyhow, the basic concept of knitting in Magic Loop "style" is to separate the total number of stitches into two and keep these two sections apart on circular needles with long cords. The cord is suggested to be at least 40 inches long. It is not difficult as it seems. I used a few stitch markers to help me. Long cord worked much better. This time I only did one hat. We can actually knit two items all at once. Hmm..I will try it next time. I Will talk Magic Loop more profoundly once I master it.
This time I knit with the Knitter's Pride Interchangeable needles with US #7 and #8 needles. And I was very happy with the Cubics. The actual size of Cubics, which is US#7 in this set, is smaller than regular needles of the same size. And in my opinion, the stitches results in smaller than regular. Well, that may due to my inexperience of using it and my inconsistent gauge. Or it is as the official description of the Cubics : they are very good for knitting uniform stitch. Hmm.. that means they are very good for Fair Isle. Good news! If you want to have a regular #7 gauge, try one size up.
Not 100% sure. But do I find it comfortable holding the needles for the 'The cuboid shape in square cross-section"? Yes I do. They are not difficult to handle as I assumed once I got used to them. The needles are made of rosewood. Pretty light in weight. Not as light as Nova though.
The quality of the cords is best tested with Magic Loop. Now is the time. The cords available in this sets are 24" and 40". They are very very flexible. Very easy to pull. There is no information on what material the cord is made of. My guess is plastic. Again, they are very good for Magic Loop. I'm glad I tried them.
Some updates on the joints of this set of IC. I find that YOU HAVE TO USE THE KEY PIN. If not, the joint will break, which leads to dropping of stitches. It happened to me twice. But once you lock them tight, they are ok. To conclude, I do like this set of Comply Sample of IC. It's a really good deal. And I just discovered some fun way to knit which can only be done with interchangeable needles. Will blog about this later. Now I'm having fun knitting Irish Cables and in Magic Loop style. Wanna know what I am making? Stay tuned and HAPPY KNITTING
Happpy Summer! Though it's summer, it's not too late to prepare and choose a big knitting project for this fall. I do have some ideas. And I got them from VOGUEknitting Early Fall.
Last weekend I went to Safeway for grocery. When I was looking at the jam shelf, something next to it caught my attention. It was a National Geographical Kids Special with ANGRY BIRDS. And next to it, VOGUEknitting Early Fall 2013. I ended up getting both of them. WEE.....
The majority of the patterns of this issue of VOGUEkniting is for sweater. My favorite is a pullover with a vivid wolf pattern in front and a wide boatneck. And the color is pretty cool and match my skin color. I am considering knitting a small size of this pattern for myself. Well, I haven't knitted anything for myself for a long..long...time. Let's see if I can squeeze something for that. I wish....
Besides the wolf pattern, there are also tiger, fox, bird, cat, and reindeer patterns...Wow... That is included in the Urban Jungle section.
There is also a series of baseball jackets available in this issue of VOGUEknitting. Cool.
I really dislike instructions that are squeezed in a few pages. Luckily, the editors of VOGUEknitting did a very good job for the layout. Knitting instructions are well typed in the last pages of the magazine. There are enough space between lines of text and it makes them easy to read. Thank you!
VOGUEknitting does not only contain knitting patterns. There are also tons of advertisement and some articles about some technique issue on knitting as well as on dying. Seven books reviewed in this issue by Leslie Petrovski. A book called "The Knitter's Palette" me a lot. I may get this book soon....It seems useful for designers. Anyway, the copy of VOGUEknitting Early Fall 2013 I got is International edition. It costs $6.99 US dollars. Price reasonable. Patterns beautiful and they are aimed for intermediate and advanced knitters. I guess that's the end of this magazine review. HAPPY KNITTING
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