Jenny Knits

I was visiting a local yarn shop and ran across the most fascinating yarn.  It was sitting there in a big bowl of yarn and each ball had it’s own amazing colorways wound in crazy patterns.

I stopped dead in my tracks….I just stood there staring and wondering how in the world could 1 ball of yarn have so many interesting color changes.  I mean seriously, look at this!

So I decided right there I had to have one.  I mean I HAD to have it.  My “gator” eyes gravitated to the orange/blue combo.  After squeezing it and wiping the drool off my face, I bought it.  Squee!

This magic is called a Crazy Zauberball.  I believe it comes in different weights, but the ball I grabbed was sock weight.  I raced home and opened Ravelry and started looking for patterns that would show off the beautiful colors.  I didn’t want to do socks….I still have my bad case of one-sock-itis…..I can get the first sock complete and can’t make myself cast-on the 2nd sock.  So I decided to try for a wrap of some sort.  I found a pattern called Wingspan, and it’s FREE.  Oh my, I couldn’t wait.

It was a relatively fast knit project and didn’t take long to memorize the short row pattern.  The best part was just watching how the colors changed row after row.  Mesmerizing.

I would highly recommend this great yarn.

I like to knit up some quick projects in between some of the longer productions.   I’ve started to knit market bags.  Made out of cotton, these bags knit up quick.  I like the fact that the fabric is sort of stretchy.  You can jam a lot of stuff in these bags.   I’ve currently got yarn stuffed in these bags, go figure!  These will make great bags to grab when I head to the grocery.  My only problem there is that I buy WAY MORE than just one bag of groceries!  I’m going to leave a couple of these in my car for stops to Costco where I always seem to have items rolling all over my trunk after I visit.

These are great for taking to the beach, picking up toys around the house and a million other things.

With the cooler weather we are enjoying, I might pack up a little picnic and throw it into one of these bags and head out to my favorite shady tree and…..wait for it……do a little knitting!

I have to tell you, I just LOVE this yarn!  It’s called Bamboo Ewe from Debbie Stoller.  It’s made of 55% viscose from Bamboo and 45% wool.  It does felt up nicely if you go in that direction.

I’ve made two blankets and now I’m knitting a sweater with it.

The first blanket I made using the Twilight colorway.  I used the pattern called Bookman Blanket which was featured in Interweave Knits, Holiday Gifts, 2010.  The pattern shows the ABC alphabet throughout the blanket.  I decided to make the blanket personal to me and my family, so I substituted my own words instead of the ABCs.  I have my name, my husband’s name and my kitty’s name and the word LOVE at the end, which you can see in the photo.

The yarn itself is so soft as you knit, but after blocking the yarn really relaxes and becomes even softer.  After blocking it’s got a wonderful drape and is the perfect weight for an afghan thrown over yourself when taking a quick nap.

Then I decided I loved how it turned it so much I’d make another one, but this one for my sister.  I decided to use words throughout the blanket that describe her.  I used words like beauty, peace, fun.  I used the Geranium colorway and it turned out just beautiful.

Then something really wonderful and horrible happened.  Joann’s Craft store put almost all of their Debbie Stoller yarn on Sale for 97 cents a skein!  Oh my!  Well I just couldn’t help myself!  I bought enough twilight to make matching pillows for my couch, enough lipstick shade to make the sweater I’ve just started and a stray skein of snapdragon pink, that I’m not sure what to make yet.    I also picked up skeins of Alpaca Love, enough for a sweater in the Fern colorway and 2 skeins of dusk.  I hope it knits up as nicely as the bamboo.  The horrible part is I’m afraid that Joann’s will no longer carry this great yarn!

So if you can find this yarn, especially on sale, grab it.  I think you’ll enjoy it.

I’m teaching a class at Joann’s on Loom Sock knitting.  So I have the yarn and the loom with no instructions.  I’ve used a knifty knitter in the past so I had a pretty good idea how to start and get to the heel portion of the sock.

I finally got a copy of the instructions and once read, I thought, oh my god, I have to teach this?  I find working with the sock loom frustrating.  While challenging to use double point needles, I think they are WAY easier to use over this.

Using a knifty knitter or some other big plastic round loom the pegs are bigger and much easier to pull the yarn up and over each peg.  These pegs are like nails with a very small grove in them to grip the yarn.

Here’s a sample of the instruction sheet I’m to use to teach from…..1) Start with the beginning peg on the long side. Work each peg to the last peg on the short side. Do not work this last peg. 2) Wrap this peg and continue back to the beginning peg. Do not work the first peg. 3) Wrap it and continue back to the end of short side 4) Work the pegs until you get to the peg before the wrapped peg. Wrap this peg……

Ok you can see this is a little UNCLEAR.  I’m a visual learner and so I headed over to youtube and looked up sock loom knitting….and what-a-you-know, I found some great videos.  I thought I’d list them here, so that others who are attempting to knit a sock with this loom can find some help.

Cast On

Cuff

Heel and Toe Part 1

Heel and Toe Part 2

Binding off loom

Sewing Toe

These are some of the knitting links I find useful and seem to visit ALL THE TIME.

Ravelry – What can I say….love this site.  It’s chocked full of knitting and crochet goodness.  Patterns, yarns, designers, groups of every kind you can think of.    Set up your own area and track your works-in-progress and join in the fun!  My Ravelry id is Wildjen.

Interweave – I subscribe to their email list and always get notices of new patterns and other trends happening in the knitting world….and of course I buy their magazines!

Knitting Daily – also has an email subscription and they regular send out information.  They also will link to videos to learn new tips and tricks.  I also DVR their weekly television show which is 30 minutes and offers knitting and crochet tips.

Knitting Help – A great website with videos when you need a refresher on some of the basics.

Knitty – Great free patterns!  Plus if you sign up for their email list, you’ll get their quarterly notice to go check out the latest patterns.

Needles – an iphone/ipod app that I use to keep track of my knitting needles.  I have so many needles, yet when I’m at the craft store looking at needles, I can’t ever remember if I already have those or is this the size and length I’ve been looking for.  With this app, I can now have my list of needles right there in front of me!  It will sort needles by type (circular, double-point, single point).  Love this!  Oh and did I mention, it’s FREE.  (go to your app store and search for NEEDLES.)

Lion Brand phone App – I just recently discovered this gem.  It’s chocked full of free patterns. …right at my fingertips!  Wooza! And it’s FREE.

Last year at the New Year, I decided to organize some of my knitting.  I started a knitting notebook which has an overview page with a picture of the project and a copy of the pattern attached.  There were a few projects that got away without a photo and page being taken, but overall, I got each project in the book.

I did this for several reasons.  The biggest reason being I wanted to remember the projects that I end up giving away.  And I wanted to be able to put my hands on a pattern again without having to remember which magazine or book I pulled it from and then looking through each magazine to find it again.

Here’s my past from January 2010.

I guess it’s because of the new year and an easy time to make decisions for change, so now is the time to organize my knitting.

I have my box of FOs (Finished Objects) that I’m now whipping into shape. I’ve never kept a knitting journal and have always wanted to. So I gathered up a notebook, plastic page protectors and found a great Knitting Journal info page at KathrynIvy.com.  I have started getting organized.  I’m taking photos of my finished projects and keeping notes as to where the patterns are found.  I’m also keeping notes any changes I made as I knitted. I’m snipping bits of the yarn used in the project and taping it to the page so I can see actual color and feel of the yarn. I think this will be very handy on the projects I end up giving away as gifts.

This is a big improvement over my old system which was a scrap of paper here and there, notes stuck in my knitting bags and notes lying on the floor in front of the couch. Now I’ll have a good record of what I’ve accomplished and how each pattern was worked.  I sure wish I’d started this notebook sooner but at least it’s happening now.

I’m also making a copy of each pattern and keeping it with the journal page. Now I’ll be able to quickly start that project again rather than searching back through 50 knitting books and magazines to find the pattern. That will save me a lot of time.

As I go through knitting books and magazines, I’m making a copy of future projects I want to tackle. I have a Ravelry list of future projects, a file folder on my computer containing patterns I’ve downloaded and now a stack of projects I’ve copied.  Now I’m eyeballing my stash and thinking of ways to get that beast tamed.

My name is Jen Chambers.  I’ve been knitting for over 20 years and teaching for five.  I just love to knit and to teach others how to work a stitch.

I decided to start this website to keep track of my knitting projects.  To have a place to talk about my knitting and other things that interest me and let folks in Orlando who are looking for knitting classes to find some.

If you are interested in learning how to knit, or ready to take your knitting to the next level, I teach classes at Joann’s craft Store and one-on-one.  You can either sign up for classes at Joann’s Craft store on E. Colonial across from Fashion Square Mall, or you can email me to set up a private class.  Private classes are $35 for a 2 hour class.  We’ll meet at a coffee shop or restaurant near you and have our class.

I have a meetup group that meets monthly (usually the last Sunday of the month) and we knit for 2 hours and chat.  It’s free to join and you’ll receive emails to remind you when the next meetup is coming.

You can also find me on Ravelry.com.

It had to happen.  When two worlds collide the results are sometimes unexpected.  Usually there is disaster and mayhem.  But this time….it makes me giggle.  I made a murloc.  For those of you who have no idea what that is….you need to play World of Warcraft to get it.

Murloc are these adorable and irritating little frog things that usually hang out on the beaches and seem to see you coming from a mile away and start chasing you.  They have this weird gurgle voice that is super irritating to hear.   Murrrrgillll

The pattern can be found over on Ravelry.com and although free, it does have a few mistakes in stitch counts and such.  It’s not a huge challenge, but if you’ve read patterns before, you’ll know that pattern authors have mistakes all the time.  It happens.    Just take your time and look at the construction as you go and stuff the fluff into the pieces as you go.

Now I’m looking at a few more creatures in WoW that I’d like to try and knit.  Think I might try to make a tree druid for my hubby.    I’ll post it if I get it done.

Been doing a little Christmas knitting and looked through the many many patterns over at Ravelry.  Made the Christmas tree lights, mitten, ornament dishcloth and an ornament covering for a plastic ball.  All were easy to knit and made for a fast knit.

I love knitting for Christmas.  I’ve tried to make projects for others and hurry to get them done by Christmas but I always seem to knit slower the more I need something done quick.  So I decided this year to make ornaments for others.  I’ve made several of the Christmas balls to give as gifts.  Very fast knit, I made 3 of them in one evening.  The clear plastic balls are from Michaels Craft Store and were on sale for about 60 cents each.  The yarn is a skein of Patons Kroy Sock yarn which matches the socks I made just a little while back.  I can probably get 5 of them made from one skein of yarn.

The dishcloth will be used for the holidays in the guest bathroom.  Made with cotton yarn.  Thinking about making a forest green dishcloth with a christmas tree on it.

A few years ago I made a christmas gnome that now is the angel at the top of my tree each year.  I’d never attempted a doll before so it was fun to try.

Finally finished a pair!  After knitting probably 5-6 one socks….I finally decided to just get one pair done!  The pattern is called Nutkin and it’s a free download on Ravelry.

I changed the pattern just a little bit.  I tried 3 times to follow the pattern for the heel and it just didn’t look right and had holes going along the seam.  So I ripped back and used a different pattern for a heel that I knew I could do and looked way better.

I loved this yarn.  It’s Patons Kroy FX colorway clover.  While both socks had the same lot dye number each sock turned out so different in it’s coloring.  I wasn’t trying to match the stripes.  One sock’s colors seem so much brighter.  But I love them and since their my first complete pair, I love them even more!