In March, I decided that I was going to take the month of April to finish as many WIPs (works in progress) as I could. This meant NO CASTING ON for an entire month. None! I challenged the staff to “Spring Clean” with me. Here’s how we did.

Anna: I finished four pairs of socks, including two pairs that had been languishing for well over a year. I also finished a vest for my son and made significant progress on the baby blanket…for the baby who is over a year old now.

Annette: I did Spring cleaning in April! Unfortunately, I didn’t finish any UFOs but also didn’t cast-on anything either
(with the exception of a few small class samples and a mom’s day shawl that was a time-sensitive gift).  I did get to work on and sort out the few UFOs that I have and I plan to keep going with the spring cleaning until they’re all done.  Only then can I start new projects (like the crochet Alot that I so desperately want to make!).  My goal is to have all UFOs either finished or ripped and the stash properly sorted and extras all gifted by Memorial Day.

Steven: didn’t do so well. I only finished my Girasole and Hotpants (though I cast the Gams on during spring cleaning, it doesn’t really count). However, I have been working steadily on my Shetland tea shawl. Say a prayer that I’ll get it done before it turns 1!

Yvonne: I completed the monkey socks and gifted them to customer Laurie M. since they didn’t fit me.  I also finished my upstream socks from Cat Bordhi’s New Pathways, which I love wearing (although one of the workers from Game Stop tried to snatch them from me when I was photographing them).

(Sorry, ZZ Top.  We couldn’t help ourselves.)

By Yvonne

The sock bug, I did not have it.  I have knit a couple pair of socks, I’ve frogged a couple pair of socks, and I had no desire to knit socks in a fever.  Of course, I have more sock yarn than you can shake a stick at, because to me, sock yarn is a “safe” purchase — I can go to a yarn store and buy one skein of sock yarn and feel good that I made a purchase and supported the local economy.  Likewise, I can go to a wool festival and buy several skeins of sock yarn from several vendors and still be happy.  This, of course, creates a conundrum, because, as I mentioned 2 sentences ago, I have sock yarn but no desire to knit socks.

Enter Cat Bordhi’s Personal Footprints for Insouciant Sock Knitters.

Toe up.  Personalized size.  Gauge?  Doesn’t really matter.  Fits to perfection.

You start with drawing an outline of your foot (I used the back of a cereal box).   Add Judy’s Magic Cast On.  Do increases like you’re told.  Run a lifeline (actually, run two), tie a knot around a single stitch, and cut that stitch.

Yes, I said it – cut. the. stitch.

Anna and I have been knitting these “discovery” socks together, and on Friday, we both took deep breaths, leaned into each other, and cut our single stitch (much like an afterthought heel or the EZ thumb trick).

We are now “singing our leg songs” — which is to say that we are knitting the legs of our discovery socks.  And liking it.   Anna’s thoughts are detailed here.

We’re hooked!

By David A.

What is your immediate reaction to “STEEK”?
a)  Steek?  Did you mean “steak”?
b)  EEEEEK!  You want me to do what with my knitting?
c)  Bring on those scissors!!

If your answer is either a or b, then you must “Expand Your Knitting Comfort Zone” by participating in Natural Stitches’ Steeking Workshop.  Steeking at its most basic is cutting your knitting for sleeve and neck openings.  WHAT??!!  Cut my knitting?!  Yes, that sounds like an ominous deed to perform on a sweater that you’ve spent hours knitting.  However, steeking has been done for many, many years and has been used most successfully by Scandinavian and Fair Isle knitters.

The first Steeking Workshop will be held on Saturday, March 13 from 1-3 and space will be limited to 8 participants.  In the workshop, you will explore two (of many!) common steeking methods:  crocheted steek and machine-sewn steek.  The workshop will also cover why we steek, fibers for steeking, and setting up steeks.  A sewing machine will be provided.  Overcome your fear of steeking by stopping into the shop or calling today (412-441-4410) to register for the workshop. The cost is $25 per student.

Before and After of David’s steeked Alberta Vest.

An old adage says something like “Ask six knitters a question and you’ll get seven answers.” Knitting is simultaneously an art and an imprecise science; there is no “one true way” to do any given technique, and to prove it, I asked the staff the simple question “Do you use stitch markers when knitting lace patterns?” The answers were varied, and they all boiled down to it depends.

Anna: It totally depends on what I’m doing and how confident I feel about reading my knitting. When I first started knitting lace patterns, I needed the markers to tell me where I was: my February Lady Sweater had markers every seven stitches, which was, um, a lot of markers. Then I started knitting patterns that couldn’t rely on markers because the stitch count shifted with every repeat, like the Springtime Bandit. I had to learn to read my knitting, and some patterns, like the Traveling Woman I just completed, make that easier because there’s a purl stitch or some other stitch built right into the pattern that let me know that I was at the end of a stitch repeat.

Anna's Traveling Woman, in Dream in Color Smooshy. Note how the purl stitch runs down the shawl to serve as a built-in marker.

Carla: Yes.  Yes. Yes.  Why think more than you have to?  You know you should be starting the stitch repeat each time you hit a marker.  And it makes it easier to find errors.  No need to look through all your stitches to find where you missed a YO and such.  It’s much easier to count the stitches between the markers and narrow down the search.

Kelli: I use them ANY time that it will make my life easier!!!

Martha: I would say that about 90% of the time I use markers in my lace knitting. I find they help me keep my pattern repeats separate and help keep track of when special events happen (Extra increases, decreases, etc.) Occasionally I’ll find a pattern where I cannot put in markers and often those are ones that don’t really need them to keep things straight.  For much of my knitting (lace or otherwise), I find that a marker reminds my fingers that I need to pay attention for just a moment before moving on.

Melissa: Unless I’m marking off very large pattern repeats (like 15 or more stitches on the Serenity Blanket), then no.  I find that it’s easier for me to “read the knitting” than rely on stitch markers.  If I make a mistake, it seems like I realize it sooner by watching the patterns of yarnovers & decreases than by needing to keep a set number of stitches between each stitch marker.  And the debate with Carla continues to rage. 

Yvonne: My answer is it depends on the project. I have the Mandala shawl that has stitch markers all over it, I have the Adamas shawl with no stitch markers, and I have the Shetland Triangle (from Wrap Style) that has one stitch marker to mark my center stitch.

Note: All links go to free patterns, and we are so grateful to these designers who have shared their hard work with us for free.

Excuse me, this is MY knitting.

One of my goals for “Expand Your Fiber Comfort Zone in 2010″ is to block my own stuff and not leave it to sit in crumpled up Giant Eagle bag or hand it over to Yvonne to block. [Note: Yvonne really will block your stuff for a very reasonable price; email her at yvonne@naturalstitches.com for details]. This past week, I blocked two shawls on my own and did a great job, except…..my cat would not leave the shawls alone. My old grumpy orange lady insisted on sitting on the shawls, and no amount of persuasion would convince her otherwise. My blocking space, unfortunately, is in the dining room, which can’t be shut off from the rest of the house.

Panicked, I emailed Yvonne: “how does one keep one’s grumpy, overweight cat off of one’s shawls?”

Yvonne replied:

• Option A: Provide your cat with another soft, comfortable place to sleep — an old dish or hand towel, or perhaps that unfinished sweater from the ‘What Was I Thinking Period’ of your knitting career.
• Option B: Provide your cat with something he or she likes, such as tuna or catnip, preferably in a room away from the shawl.  This, however, does not guarantee that he or she will not crawl to the shawl later in a catnip- or tuna-induced stupor and have a nap to wear off the effects of the chosen drug.
• Option C:  Block your shawl in a cat-free area.
• Option D:  Hand your shawl to a good friend and ask her to block it for you, as you have no cat free area and aren’t willing to have any shawl smell like “tuna cat”.

It’s the time of year for resolutions, but yet when I sat down to make mine, I realized that so many resolutions are phrased in the negative. Resolutions that I might have made were things like “I will not cast on for new projects before finishing old ones” or “I will not buy sock yarn in 2010.” I came to the conclusion that resolutions of this sort only set me up for failure. (Note: I broached the idea that I would knit only from stash in 2010 to my coworkers and they looked at me and laughed and laughed hysterically like Snoopy and Woodstock in the Peanuts cartoons.)

So this year, we are not making resolutions we can’t keep. We are focusing on the positive and stretching our skills, striving to learn and grow all the time. Our theme for this year is “Expand Your Fiber Comfort Zone.” Along those lines, I asked the staff what goals they’ve set for themselves for 2010.

Anna: I am going to make some colorwork mittens, complete a toe-up sock (perhaps finish my Cat Bordhi Personal Footprints sock), and learn how to do a picot hem without handing it to Yvonne and crying “fix it!” I’m also going to finish my poor husband’s Cobblestone, which has been on the needles since 2008.

Carla: I am going to knit the Elizabeth Zimmermann Green (or lost) Sweater. As this project involves steeks, that is how I am going to Expand my Comfort Zone!!!!!It is knit in worsted weight, in the round, with mitered hem, kangaroo pouch neckline, phony seams, and steeked. [Note: Please continue reading for information on how you can Knit A-Long with us on this ambitious project].

Kelli: I want to continue to enjoy what I do and keep on learning new skills.

Martha: I resolve to knit at least two pair of socks for myself and at least START on a Christmas Stocking so I’m not scrambling on December 22nd to finish one in time.

Monica: My plan for the New Year is to hopefully get more of my “ready-to-go projects” started and worked on before I buy more yarn and find new things to add to the queue. I have the yarn for at least half of my Ravelry queue already, so I need to remember to prioritize my paycheck for things other than going right back to the shop.

Steven: I would like to learn Fair Isle and steeking. I also want to knit an entire garment in the Continental method.

Yvonne: My New Year’s resolution is going to be to finish some of those UFO’s that I have hanging around the house for no good reason. Goddess Anniversary Shawl (almost 2 years old) needs to be DONE. Also I need to finish the monkey socks (going on 3 years here) that I need to finish. One is done, and I’m at the heel for the 2nd one! What is my problem!!?? [Ed Note: Um…] I would also like to learn colorwork – I’ve never done anything other than inserting a stripe, and even that wasn’t a jogless one.

What’s your resolution?