Okay, this time I’m not doing questions and answers as a cop out, but because there are so many.
Kellee writes
I totally do not understand the color patterning for this sweater. Are you using two balls at once, as you would for other multi-color stranding?
Yes. The chart for the sweater is a simple chart coloured in light and dark. You nominate one ball of yarn “light” and one “dark” and then follow the chart, knitting the stripes and squares.
In this example, if you start at the bottom you can see that the blue is used first for the background, with the yellow/green used to knit the squares. Then it stripes for a bit, then the yellow/green (which has progressed to be yellow) is the background and the blue is squares….etc. The yellow becomes orange, then red, the blue becomes green, then yellow. Get it?
(I’m not sure if it’s obvious, but you just start in different places on the balls so that you don’t have similar colours lining up. As you are starting in different spots, the colours “chase” each other and never line up.) When it comes time to knit the squares you are carrying both yarns all the way around, knitting with whatever the chart tells you too…just like any stranded colourwork. The stripes are just one colour. It’s one of the things that makes this sweater a relatively easy knit, there are seven rows plain work, then four colourwork, then seven plain…..
Other than the squares and stripes, the changing colours of the yarn makes all the magic happen.
Kim asks:
Okay, this might be silly, especially coming from someone who has yet to try fair isle anything, but would it be feasible to knit both sleeves at the same time, flat, with a steek, in order to match the colors? Or would a seam in the sleeves be just too bulky? Or would the colors not match anyway because of the length of the color change?
Not silly at all. You totally could, if you had the stomach for it. It would even mean that the colours changed at a rate closer to that of the body, since the diameter around two sleeves would be closer to the diameter of the body. For me though, one of the beautiful things about this sweater is that it’s easy. You knit the body, then cut armholes, then pick up and knit the sleeves down. No seams. It’s a beautiful thing. If, however, there is nothing more that you enjoy than the sewing of seams, if sewing seams fills you with a joy like the laughter of angels, you could do as pleases you. I do think that due to the steeks the sleeve seams would be a smidge bulky, but it’s not like it’s a chunky yarn.
Renae is perplexed:
Just out of curiousity and because i want to make sure i am reading the Kauni pattern correctly (and interpreting it correctly, to US needle sizes)…. What size needles have you been using?
I’ve been using the needles called for in the pattern, which, being European, are in metric, and since I’m in Canada, I’m in metric, which means that I didn’t convert to US sizes at all….I just went and got a 3mm and 3.5mm needle like the pattern says. I can see the difficulty though, since there is no US equivalent to a 3mm. You’ll need to pick between a US size 2 (2.75mm) or a US size 3 (3.25mm). I’d use gauge to solve the dilemma.
Susan T wonders what we are talking about:
Can someone please tell me when and where Rhinebeck is? I’ve heard so much about it (from your blog and others)over the past two years.
Right here. It’s a Sheep and wool festival in NY, and it’s technically not called Rhinebeck, which is where it’s held. It’s sort of like mecca for a lot of knitters. I’ll be there.
Kate has been thinking:
re strategy for matching sleeves – yes, but won’t that mean that you’ll want to have matching button bands as well????
There’s just no way to know. I’ll have to wait and see how much I care at the time. (My obsessions are variable.)
Linda M. has been charmed by yesterdays needles:
Ohhhh, must have pretty colored needles… must have…. now… how?????
Ok. I have to confess. I sweet talked my Darn Pretty dpns right out of the wood-turners hands…I am nothing if not charming in the face of knitting materials. I am ashamed, but I now own the needles. Judge me as you see fit. Now, if you don’t have easy access to the very charming Grafton Fibers people (Tom and Linda) and can’t boost yourself advance stock before they even know what hit them, then I suggest one of the following.
1. Wait. Apparently they will be available more widely (at the shops listed on their website) by the end of the month (or so – he’s just one guy and they are hand turned.)
2. Angel Yarns in the UK has them.
3. Linda, who owns this ebay store, says she will have them very soon. Probably today.
Annalea asks about my proposed haircut:
I have to ask: Are you going to see the little Greek hairdresser who says: “You sit down. I make nice.”, or the one that came very close to giving you Sarah Jessica Parker hair?
You have to ask? Hands down, Sarah all the way. (I actually got it cut already and it is potentially Sarah Jessica Parker hair. Now all I need is a personal stylist to meet me in the bathroom each morning and spend 3 hours wrangling it and I’m home free.)
I ask myself:
What are you doing writing the blog when you should be packing to go to Massachusetts and Connecticut?
Right. Sorry.
LoL, I have to do that to myself too… “What are you doing reading blogs? You have to pack for Illinois” so I suppose were in the same boat-ish. Good luck!
Thanks for all the answers, now the world makes sense. At least the knitting world- I had no idea how you were getting the colors to work but never really thought to ask. No stupid questions and all that.
I’ve never liked SJP’s hair. You know where my vote goes…
I am supposed to be getting ready to leave for a baseball game, but how long can it take to check and see if Stephanie blogged today …
~ Dar
oooh how amazing to see AY in here, its pretty much my online LYS!!
those needles are on my wishlist….talk me out of it 😉
your jumper is amazing, how scary is it to cut?
OMG … I am number 4! The sweater looks great! Thanks for the answers to the questions I have been dying to know the answers to, esp. re: the pretty needles.
I hope you are counting down to halifax (even though you have other stops before then!) You have to hit “Have a Yarn” in Mahone Bay!
Crap … I wrote too much – by the time I hit send , I will be #38!
Re: last question. Um, der, you’re entertaining me while I slack off, of course. How’s your MS3? Any theme guesses yet? I’m still on Clue 1 and it makes me sad, so ‘m taking it with me on the stupidly long flight to Japan at the end of August. I figure that’ll get me at least to the end of Clue 2. 🙂
Oh those silly US sizes. Trix are for kids. 😉
In all seriousness though, I think (THINK) that KnitPicks has started carrying 3.0mm circular needles in their fixed circulars options…They are labelled as “2”, just as the 2.75mm ones are labelled as “2”, but they’ve got ’em all the same.
I hope you have fun in Massachusetts and Connecticut!
I want pics of your hair!
Go metric! (and zed and colour) but we’ve discussed that already. I was just born in and for some unknown reason continue to live in the wrong country. 😉
So many temptations.. can I last *until* Rhinebeck? I’d love a wheel to call my own (instead of the one I’m borrowing which while nice…).
Good luck packing and safe travels.
The need to write and read blogs is an addiction needing it’s daily fix. I’d like to think the laundry would be washed and folded and the house would be clean if only I could get away from this time-sucking laptop. What’s a girl to do? I found a tarantula in the farmyard this morning so obviously I had to share that with my wee world of readers. Yesterday, I made progress on the Lily of the Valley shawl. No one around here cares. Their eyes glaze over when I show them yarn and/or patterns. I must share with those who give a stitch. Blogs rule; housework drools.
You are sharing with us, because we are your people, and you want to keep us entertained. Packing, schmacking, you would prefer to spend time with us!
Have a good trip.
Excellent! I like the questions answered days as they are usually things I’ve wondered about too… Great questions everyone!
You know, the way the colors chase each other kind of makes it like one of those Magic Eye posters from the 90s.
thanks for the reminder about Rhinebeck (really must get to planning that roadtrip). Now go pack or take pictures of your snazzy haircut!!!
I soooo identify with the ” 3 hours ” hair.
My sister Tory (who taught me to knit), lives in the town next to Woburn and I’ve begged her to go and see you tomorrow night at Borders! I live on the coast of Maine, so that’s about as close as I’ll come to seeing you.
Pfft! Packing! But then again, you are going away and it’s important to take the right knitting. But just pick one and go! I suppose it’s weird that I choose the one that requires the most mind numbing work so I’m pretty much forced to work on it. It’s really good incentive. “Gahhhhh… I want to knit. But I only have this 40 miles of stockinette on a sweater to do! Well… beggars can’t be choosers.”
Well, hopefully we’ll get to see more of you at Rhinebeck than a drive-by this year. I may still buy you a beer, just as an enticement to pursue The Challenge.
I’ll miss seeing you in Burlington tomorrow. It’s a bit too much of a drive to squeeze in between 15hr worknights.
Oh, and if you look around, 3mm needles can be found here. Addi makes them, so it’s mostly a problem of finding someone who carries them. Or you could take the easier route and try 2.75mm or 3.25mm.
Tragically blogless (but not forever) JoAnne here, thrilled about being in the double digits of comments. Haven’t seen you since you were in Holden, MA, but will see you in Madison (a lot closer than Holden, only 45 minutes!). Can’t wait! Bringing muggles again! Can’t decide wait to knit…isn’t that funny, it’s not ‘what do I wear to see Stephanie? It’s what do I knit?’
Hooray–let’s hope Borders has enough chairs! Can’t wait to hear/see/(meet?) you tomorrow night.
Thanks for explaining the way the yarn works in that beautiful sweater! I’d been wondering myself, if it was all fairisle. But then the yarn cakes photo kinda blew that idea. :O) I already had checked the blog twice today, and am so glad I gave it a third try! In under #20 today?! samm
Clearly gabbing is more fun than packing!
glenna, you are right. Knitpicks first started carrying a 3mm as their US 2 and 2.5mm as their US1. Then all of us crazy sock knitters cried for some diversification, and now they’ve added a 2.25 (also US1) and a 2.75(also a US2).
See you tomorrow night in Burlington. There will be a group of us from Ravelry there…possibly sitting together.
I now get the sweater, the colors and it all.
I was so confused before.
I wish that I could make it to CT and MA… these darn 3 kids… j/k
Sweater looks beautiful.
On the issue of the metric needles. Knitpicks is now stocking the all the metric sizes in the smaller sizes, so when you look at the chart there are 2 size 2s and two size 3s (?). No affiliation, just saw them in the latest catalog.
Oh Yarn Harlot I have worshiped you from afar and now I see that you will be at the Yarn and Wool Festival in our own Rhinebeck, NY. Do tell..do you have a date and time yet? Will you have a booth? (Don’t worry I’m not a stalker, just a knitting nurse!)
You are writing because you know that the rest of us cannot live without a regular harlot blog fix.
Thanks so much for taking the time.
I used to live just down the shoreline from RJ Julia, and am now mourning that my postdoc ended and I had to move away and now I won’t get to see you since you (apparently) refuse to come to the desert southwest. But really, who could blame you? I wouldn’t want to come to the desert southwest, either.
Anyway, to my comment: If you’re looking for dinner in Madison CT, I’d recommend a seafood place called Lenny & Joe’s. The lobster rolls are so so so good that I cry when I look out the windows and see cacti and know that there’s no way I’ll get decent lobster rolls here. And they have these potatoes that they CALL “salt potatoes” but are really so good that they must be made with crack. How could just salt and potatoes make you crave them fortnightly?
But if you want to come to the desert southwest anyway, we do knit down here in Tucson and would love to see you!
LOL – gabbing beats packing anyday! Can’t wait to see your haircut!
Cool Enjoyed reading your entry. I love fair isle and your sweater is turning out beautiful. Those needles DO look nice.
Gina
Hi! This is my first time commenting, and I just wanted to say I’m coming from Albany, NY to the Burlington, MA event tomorrow (my first YH event ever), and I am bringing my muggle friend who lives 15 minutes from Burlington. I am hoping to assimilate her. Looking forward to seeing the sock (and the Harlot of course) in real life.
I am doing the Kauni and am nowhere near the sleeves, but am still thinking about the concept of trying to make them the same. Obviously, you can start them out the same, but I don’t think they will stay the same. Both in the original and in your modified box pattern, the sweater should consume the same amount of yarn from each ball. But, my yarns are not changing color at the same time. Like many others, I started two colors apart and am now only one color apart. It seems that the color runs are not of uniform length. If that is so, then the sleeves cannot be made identical without a lot of cutting and splicing. I’m not up for that. So, I am wondering whether the sleeves would look better similar or totally different.
Lovely, lovely sweater. I’m not a huge fan of colorwork in general, but I find that I’m quite charmed by the simple pattern and clever use of self-striping yarn. I can’t wait to see it finished.
U.S. needle size vs. Metric: I can go either way on this matter. As long as the pattern is clear about which one to use, I’m cool with either one. However, I feel that metric has the advantage when a pattern calls for a U.S. 17 and there are two metric sizes that can be classified as a U.S. 17. For that reason, I completely support using the metric system for needle sizes…it saves much confusion. Usually, I end up using a completely different needle size than what the pattern calls for anyway (because I tend to knit rather tightly), so the pattern us mostly just a jumping-off point for me. O.K. I’ve rambled enough and will stop putting my two cents in now.
The Kauni is beautiful. 🙂 See you on Friday! Pack for hot weather (32 degrees C). –J
Will see you in Burlington tomorrow my first Harlot talk, can’t wait……
The Wool festival looks absolutely amazing. I think one of the girls from our local club is going, lucky her. The needles are still in my must have list but I’ll wait for a bit till the rush is over. Thanks for posting at this hectic time. Have a great time on tour.
“Now all I need is a personal stylist to meet me in the bathroom each morning and spend 3 hours wrangling it and I’m home free.” Ha! We must have been separated at birth . . .
That sweater is fantastic, I can’t wait to see the photos when it’s finished!
(Also, I had just stopped thinking about Rhinebeck, until you brought it up again! This will be my first time going, and already I’m trying to plan out what I want to buy.)
I’ve started the Kauni sleeves on one circular needle with steek stitches. Plan to have a big glass of wine when the time comes and then cut those suckers apart and sew ’em up. They may not match the body of the sweater all the way down, but they will match each other, and most days that’s more than you can say for my socks.
Bon Voyage…
Hey, I’m just impressed that you can get through eleventymillion comments to find the questions and answer them! Hope you enjoy your trip.
Wow, thanks for answering my question and linking to me! I’ve been Harlotted!
To Lauren E. Dillon: Ditto…all except for the taratula.
Ooops. TaraNtula
Susan T asked the question I was going to ask google this very evening. Thank you for saving me that step, Stephanie!
That sweater looks like so much fun. I keep thinking it would be great to do a men’s sweater with the same technique, but in a more subdued self-striping yarn.
Hope to see you in Madison, CT. I’ll be the one recovering from carpal tunnel surgery. I totally agree about Lenny & Joe’s…we eat there whenever we’re in the area. The view of Long Island sound is especially nice from Madison Beach. Enjoy!
Thank you for that! I was going to ask how you where getting the stripes/squares ect. I then saw in a picture that you had two strands going, but it is still great to have it put to words.
LOLOLOLOL!!! This is Vicki’s first sheep and wool festival and she’s trying to PLAN what she’s going to buy!!! LOLOLOLOLOL!!!
Hon, just bring a fully stocked armoured truck, an arm, a leg, and your firstborn with you!! You might get all the stuff you want after you’ve bought what’s on your shopping list!
I have Stitches Midwest coming up in a week and a half…how long does it take to have a baby?!!
I leave for the rush hour drive across town to a Knitting Guild board meeting in ten minutes, but check blogs while I eat and swatch. It’s not really checking for your post that slows me down. It’s getting engrosed in reading the replies. Fortunately for me I got here when the replies don’t number in the hundreds.
Hmmm, I wonder what other yarns have long enough color changes to do that pattern? And come in large skeins. What’s the gauge?
I’ve found Susannes (from Germay) Ebony and Rosewood circulars in 3mm at the LYS on Bainbridge Island. Why don’t Addis come in 3mm in the US? At those gauges, even that small difference can make a difference.
You mean your new wonder publicist hasn’t gotten you a trailer, make-up people and a stylist yet? Darn good thing she did the sock knitting thing then.
Have fun!
You look like you have curly hair. I don’t know how curly but I to have curly hair and I found this site that really helped me. It’s called
http://www.naturallycurly.com/ There is also a book called Curly Girl which is all about taking care of curly hair. It’s really help. Can’t wait to see you in Connecticut.
Re: Sheep & Wool Festival at Rhinebeck — I completely agree with Annette at August 1, 2007 9:26 PM. Plan how much you want to spend and maybe the type(s) of yarn and what tools you want because there’s soooooooooo muuuuuuuuuuuch to see and touch. Now I’ll have watch the website to for information about Stephanie’s appearance… maybe this year a friend and I will get a hotel room and hang around for two days… hmmmmmmm.
I have very curly, Force-of-Nature hair and my stylist had me start using some great products by Aveda. They have a Be Curly line that includes shampoo and conditioner as well as styling products. I use the curl enhancer as well as the curl control and it really cuts down on the amount of frizz (very important in Alabama).
your knitting is so awsome! i like it all. wish I
could knit as fast as you do — or at least how easy you make it sound.
Thanks for the inspirations(sp!
Just found out you are coming to Georgia,USA!!
I did not think you would becoming this far south!! what a delight!!
I’ll have to miss the preview party for QuiltFest here in Jacksonville,Fl–but that is OK with me.
I get to see the Yarn Harlot!! YAH!
Well, that’s bloody brilliant.
I am so very sad that you will be in my hometown (Madison, CT) and I have no chance of getting there. I tried to bribe my mom to go, but she muttered something about tickets to London. Pfft, as is that is an excuse!
Speaking of needles—–I came accross a web site—signatureneedleart.com—–in the new Vogue knitting book. They will design them for you. Points, length and ends are selected by you from the choices they offer. They are aluminum I believe. But when I saw the points available, I was in instant lust. Unfortunately, they are very pricey. But since I use US 8’s alot——–anything is possible. Guess I will request them for Christmas. Take a look. Claudia
“For me though, one of the beautiful things about this sweater is that it’s easy. You knit the body, then cut armholes”
Wow, you’ve come a long way baby (as they used to say). I’m still a steek virgin. Fear grips my heart when I think of cutting my knitting.
Hats off to you Kauni sweater people. I just love watching the magic of the colors!
Thanks for the birthday wishes! Now I can tell everyone that THE Harlot wished me a happy birthday! SQUEEEEE!!!!!
I love Q&A days. I learn so much.
I’m in Connecticut! You’ll be in Connecticut in 2 days! I can’t wait.
Oh, for gosh sakes. Everytime I get a little smug over how I’m progressing in the knitting realm, I see something that makes me realize that ten socks does not a knitter make. This post might as well have been written in Swahili –I have no idea what anybody was even asking–except the needle size one.
At least I knew about naturallycurly.com but I only found THAT though a friend of mine who is a co-founder.
I’m going back to bed.
And *I* might ask *myself* what am I doing reading your blog when I am supposed to be casting on for a sock to be photographed with you tomorrow??? Better go wind that Koigu!
Ha! I love the last one. I think we all ask ourselves that question sometimes, except in my world it’s, “What are you doing knitting? You have housework/gardening/jogging to do!”
Ok, I’m still missing something. I get that you’re knitting with two multi-colored balls of yarn and you started at different places in the color repeat. Piece of cake. What I don’t get is how you’re getting the colors to repeat at the same rate row-wise on the body and the sleeves despite the fact that the sleeves have fewer stitches around than the body, and the sleeves have a changing number of stitches per row?! What trickery are you pulling, woman?!
Just reserved 3 seats for Madison! Can’t wait to hear you speak again. Bringing daughter and sister.
Stephanie, the sweater is lovely and I can’t stand it any more. I just put in a request for the yarn.
STEPHANIE!!!! I am soooo excited!! My mom and I have reserved our spots to see you when you come to Atlanta in September!!! (she’s coming up from my hometown six hours away, so it gives me an excuse to see her too :D)
😀
I just had to share how excited i am!
See you in September!
Chelsey
Love the sweater!!! Have a question..I see your coming to Witchita KS, was wonderin…if maybe…you could possibly stop at say Barnes and Noble in Rogers AR.. they have lots of room and there are lots of knitters in the 4 state area that would love to see ya!!!!
Just so you know, I once knitted both sleeves of a Noro sweater at the same time AND from the same balls of Kureyon so that they would match. Lots of little ends to work in (all along the underarm seam), but they really match. Just keep repeating, “I like knitting, I like knitting…”
Have TONS of fun!
See you in MA tomorrow night!!!!!
Thaks for answering the question about the color in the sweater. We were discussing it at my knitting group tonight. Guess I should have read the blog before going. I could have sounded very wise.
I’m really excited because I’m going to Rhinebeck this year for the first time. We’re staying at a B&B 5 minutes away. I’m saving my pennies and can’t begin to imagine how cool it’s going to be. I can hardly wait.
And next week I’m taking a 5 day spinning and dyeing class with Lynn Vogel I feel like a real knitter now.
The only thing left is to see The Yarn Harlot. How about coming back to Adirondack Yarns? You could drive through Tupper Lake again. And we could go to a lovely microbrewery in Lake Placid. Does that sound enticing?
About how many yards, I mean meters, are there in each of the kauni yarn stripes?
I notice that you are in Houston on September 18th. Any chance you will make it to Plano, Texas, we have a LYS called the Woolie Ewe and I know a group of gals that would love to see you in Plano. I am a fellow Canadian and I will be going to Canada on the 11th of this month. I plan to make a trip to Lettuce Knit since I have heard you talk about it so much. My knitter friends are jealous but maybe I can bring them something back. I can’t wait to do a yarn crawl in TO. Hope you come my way. Oh and I’m so lucky to be going to the NY Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck. I can’t wait.
I have SJP hair, except in red. I keep threatening to show people how much mousse I need to keep it from going Janis in this weather.
I knitted with dpns for the first time today. I took my first knitting class, made a hat, and used the dpns. I was so excited, kinda like when I learned to ride a bike. At the risk of sounding stalker-ish, the thought immediately after “this is soooo cool” was “I gotta tell Stephanie.” I know, I know, but running into your blog has a lot to do with my recent descent into knitterly addictions…growing stash, pretty tools and multiple UFOs. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The thing I was wondering is why I had this sudden urge at the end to declaim, “Fly free, Stephanie! Fly, Stephanie, fly!”
…Then I came back to myself and realized it’s because I’m weird, of course, and the conjunction of your wish to escape to Aruba and now departing (gee, now I sound like an airport announcement) for MA and CT must’ve flipped some switch in my brain. Did I mention I’m weird? (Ok, so I’m also giddy because I get to go to the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival at the end of Sept., due to getting a ride from the lovely Judy of the Magic Cast-On fame. Who sat behind me when you were at Powell’s, so we met each other. So thank you, too; otherwise we’d never have met. I’ll likely go bankrupt, since it’s my first fiber festival. It’ll be so much fun!) Have a good trip!
Well, if I must. I will be your personal hairdresser. I couldn’t think of a better person to hang out with (knitting and doing hair) while going to all these yarn festivities and all. Work and play all in the same breath. ahhhhhhhhh
Stephanie, on Cindy’s blog she writes about washing and drying her fleece in bags. Would that help with the squirrel problem?
http://itissunnyatebertshome.blogspot.com/
your hair it smells amazing,
her hair, people… it looks amazing and she is using this orange sesame shampoo…. it smells amazing.
I was sitting with her last night (SnB) sniffing her hair.
“What are you doing woman” she asked, sniffing your hair Stephanie.
Stephanie, your Kauni has finally inspired me to buy the yarn to knit my mother (and, hopefully, me) one.
Easier said than done!
After a couple of hours googling my heart out, I have found a swedish site that will send me their last 3 skeins in stock to Australia (mine, I tell you, mine!). I will start my Kauni soon, yes I will….
I know you live in Canada, and therefore are not really obligated to answer this, but do you know where in the USA it is possible to buy metric-sized needles? Or alternately could you recommend Canadian mail order companies to us stuck south?
In your copious free time, that is.
Virtually all of the needles sold in the US mark the metric size on the package so it’s really pretty easy to find needles to suit the needs of most any project. Addi’s, for example, do two types of US #3s: 3mm and 3.25mm. You just have to look closely when you pick up a given set of needles.
I am totally gobsmacked by the Kauni sweater. It frightens yet intrigues me at the same time. (Kind of like a train wreck. Not that your knitting is a train wreck…but any attempt by me to wrestle more than one ball of yarn would be a train wreck.) Anyhoo…love the sweater. And thanks for the links for those purty needles. 🙂
Any chance that this date – “September 17: To come” means you are “to come” to Arizona? It’s sorta in route. I’ve been watching your calendar and hoping (a girl can hope, right?)… I’d love to help whoever it is (publicist) plan a stop here!
Re sleeves in the flat with steeks. I did that once, with sport weight cotton. VERY bulky seams – so much so that I hate wearing the sweater! I’d think about cutting them out, cutting shaped armholes, and reknitting a simple band. But the yarn is long discontinued and I don’t think I have enough leftover to pull it off. I weep – the sweater is otherwise lovely and I ruined it.
How dare you not post a photo of you with SJP hair!!!
Hi – delurking here. I’ve been enjoying your blog and books quite awhile. I’m US – California, but my husband lived in Kitchener 2 years for work. Also, we used to live in Detroit, and came over the bridge often. All that to say – METRIC (for needles, that is)!! I discovered the joys of the in-between-US-sizes, and order needles from Canadian internet shops.
Kauni is gorgeous, btw. Can’t wait to see it complete. 🙂
“if sewing seams fills you with a joy like the laughter of angels”
Its little anecdotes like these that keep us reading your stuff.
If you happen to find a person with such a state of mind, please give them my email address. I have a closet full of seaming to do.
Oooooh. I was hoping to have my kauni question (from weeks ago…not that I’m complaining…you’ve clearly had lots going on…I think it has more to do with my newbie knitting inferiority complex) answered. Perhaps if I repose it?
What is the length of the color changes in that yarn? I’d like to take a stab at this same general pattern, but with a different yarn — one more easy to acquire.
that wool festival sounds like a lot of fun!! But did you notice that they have a lamb cook off?? *shudder*
Like you, I am a vegetarian, so it creeps me out extra much, but even so, as a knitter, I can’t help but think: those lambs are useful, gosh darn it, don’t eat them!! (don’t cut short the wool supply!)
I was also charmed by the darn pretty needles and went straight to google to find the website of Grafton Fibers. I saw that they are only available in the U.S. through Bryson needles, so I had my yarn shop order some for me already! I have some circulars coming and can’t wait to see what they look like!
The conversion for 3mm needles is size 2.5 which is unfortunately, but not impossibly, difficult to find. Try eBay or some specialty online needles stores or your local yarn shop. I know I got 7mm (size 10 3/4) and 7.5mm (size 10 7/8) locally (and have seen them online as well). In fact I know for sure that Brittany needles come in those sizes (dpn, and long & short straights) – I own several pairs. I discovered these other sizes while trolling the internet for nice knitting needles to purchase. I recommend them to the point of having bought pairs in both short and long for my best friend for her birthday. I also got several pairs of 7mm straights from a French cousin for my wedding gift 🙂
Said cousin also sent me ridiculously long size 2.5 dpns. (they’re something like 40 cm, I think). I suppose it’s for knitting a sweater… Dear lord I don’t want to know how many stitches that would be (or how many years it would take me to finish THAT project – if ever).
I’ll be in Burlington tonight and I think I will stop home and grab those needles for show and tell in case anyone is curious.
Well, I for one am really glad you took the time to post this Q&A today because for some reason, the “cutting” now makes perfect sense. I could not for the life of me wrap my mind around it the first time you mentioned it. Now, I totally see the beauty of it. No seams. Ingenius.
I grew up near Rhinebeck and will probably make a trip home to visit family and take in the fair for the first time ever. It’s a shame I wasn’t yet a knitter or spinner when I was living there (but serendipitously, I now live close to the MD Sheep & Wool Festival, so I’m not complaining!).
Okay…I’d made that guess about the Kauni, but I’m glad to see I was right! (It took weeks of me studying your blog…I guess that guess was sort of embarrassing…)
You have a wool festival and I’m so jealous…I barely managed to talk my family into stopping by a yarn store on vacation. Muggles.
I don’t have the problem with blogging so much as with knitting. While I was “packing,” I did a good 2.5 hours of knitting on the Kauni…
But I am such a procrastinator that it suits my strategy. Why spend 6 hours agonizing about what to pack when I can knit for 5 and then I HAVE to pack in one hour?
I still can’t get over “if sewing seams fills you with a joy like the laughter of angels…” My sides still hurt from laughing at this.
I’m sorry I don’t have the time or attention span to read 100 comments, having been home with the creeping crud, but I do believe that Knit Picks carries 3.00 mm needles (size 2). Also Addi Turbos size 2 are also marked 3.00 mm. So apparently there are 3.00 mm available.
About doing both sleeves at once. . . . I guess it would be possible to do a sort of ‘double magic loop.’ I’ve done socks that way–complicated pattern, so the socks would at least be identical, with the certain mistakes and all– but it would take a really long cable for sleeves.