August

Hello all, and happy August!  Well, the summer is finally winding down, which I can only hope means life will get back into a bit of a rhythm.  Our summer has absolutely flown by, loaded with birthdays, weddings, a Marathon, kid camps, the Olympics (which I watched religiously- ps thank GB for a lovely time!),  and visits with out-of-town family and friends.

Congrats to my hubbs- "Marathon Man"  for completing  the San Francisco Marathon

As the dust has settled a bit, I've been thinking of the direction this blog is going.  Many of you have asked for some blocks and tutorials on the various color knitting techniques.  I have decided that in the new year we will start our "Study of Color" theme.  I'd like to include information on (but may not be limited to) knitting stripes and carrying yarn up along the side of our work; intarsia; mosaic/ slip stitch knitting; and fair isle.  We may even dabble with entrelac (depending on how brave I feel).  I hope that you're as excited about this as I am and I hope you'll knit along :)  Of course, along the way I'll continue to include some basic squares for those of you who are uninterested in the color squares. As we get closer to January, I'll talk a bit more about this.  Along with supplies, hopefully we'll have a bit more of a direct schedule.

On that note, let's talk a bit about the rest of this year.  How are the swatches coming?  Summer presents a bit of a challenge for me.  Aside from the business of the season, I'm not much of a summer knitter.  Perhaps its the heat or the sunshine, the draw of the garden or the lure of the pool.  I do have a pretty lace swatch for you this month though, that I think you'll enjoy.  September will bring another lacy swatch and October, November, and December will have cables. 

Now on to the knitting!

August's swatch is a lovely square named Ribbed Lace.  It's pretty simple, but make sure to pay attention to where the working yarn is around your yo's (since you're alternating between knits and purls you'll have to make sure the yarn is in the proper place after the yo to begin the next stitch).  Also, the border is slightly different than normal- the borders are 4 stitches each rather than 5.  Enjoy!

Ribbed Lace

by Lindsey Melvin

Cast on 46 stitches
Border Rows 1,3 5: K1, P1 across row
Border Rows 2, 4: P1, K1 across row

Pattern:
Row 1: (P, K, P, K) *K2, P1, YO, SSK, P1* repeat to last 6 sts K2 (P, K, P, K)
Row 2, 4: (K, P, K, P) *P2, K1* repeat to last 6 sts, P2 (K, P, K, P)
Row 3: (P, K, P, K) *K2, P1, K2tog, YO, P1* repeat to last 6 sts K2 (P, K, P, K)

Repeat these four rows until square measures approx 9 inches then knit the border rows.
Rows 1, 3, 5: P1, K1 across
Rows 2, 4: K1, P1 across

Close up!

I hope you enjoy this square and come back Labor Day Weekend (August 31 thru September 3rd) for a special bonus pattern!

~Happy knitting~
Lindsey

August's Squares

August is another technique month!  We will be approaching our swatches this month from a different point of view.  Instead of knitting the swatch from the bottom to the top, we will be knitting our swatches side to side!  The first of the techniques is knitting on the bias.  This means that we will start at one corner and finish at the opposite corner using a series strategically placed increases and decreases.  The second swatch looks much the same, but we will be casting on stitches for two sides and decreasing to a point.  This is called a mitered square.  Both techniques are seem like they might be complicated, but in reality are quite simple.  Because of the nature of these squares, we will only have two patterns for August, but give them both a try and learn a really cool technique!

KEY

yo: yarn over- A single increase.  Move the yarn to the front of the work, the same action as if you were to purl, then wrap the yarn over the top of the needle and resume your knitting.  This creates a hole or an eyelet in the fabric.  Also known as a yarn forward.

kfb: knit in front and back- a single increase. Knit into the front loop of the stitch, then without dropping the stitch off the needle knit into the back loop of the same stitch.  This is a single increase. 

k2tog: knit 2 stitches together- a decrease.  Insert the needle into the next two stitches as if to knit, and knit these stitches together.

Easy: Bias Square

Notice the knitted rows grow diagonally across the square.

 

Cast on 3 sts
Row 1: K1, kfb, K1 (4sts)
Row 2: K1, kfb, K2 (5sts)
Row 3: K1, kfb, K3 (6 sts)

Row 4: K3, yo knit to end of row
Repeat row 4 until square is approx 10 inches along one edge or half the size of your desired finished product (Check out "A Good Way To Measure" at the end of this pattern- I increased until there were about 45 stitches on my needles).  

Row 5: K2, k2tog, yo, k2tog, knit to end of the row

Repeat row 5 until you get down to 7 sts

Row 6: K1, k2tog, K4 (6 sts)

Row 7: K1, k2tog, K3 (5 sts)

Row 8: K1, k2tog, K2 (4 sts)

Row 9: K1, k2tog, K1 (3 sts)

Bind off all stitches.

Close-up of the Bias Swatch

"A Good Way To Measure" this square is to thread your knitting onto a piece of scrap yarn (be careful not to drop any stitches).  Spread the stitches out evenly, don't let them bunch up or get too far apart, you want to mimic the natural shape of the knitting.  Lay your work on top of another one of your squares.  Pick one that is pretty average in size (not too big or too small).  This square should be close to half the size (slightly smaller is ok as there will be some stretching with blocking) of your finished square.

Easy:  Mitered Square
For this square you will need one stitch marker.

Cast on 72 stitches
Row 1: Knit 34, ssk, place marker, k2tog, k34
Row 2: Purl all stitches
Row 3: Knit to two stitches before marker, ssk, slip marker, k2tog, k to end of row
Row 4: Knit all stitches
Repeat these four rows until 4 stitches remain.

Row 5: ssk, remove marker, k2tog
Row 6: k2tog, cut yarn and thread through the stitch remaining.

Close-up of the Mitered Swatch

I hope you enjoy these two unique squares- they are one of my favorite techniques.  Next month we will start our study of cables- which is sure to be fun!  As always, if you have any questions please email me at yearofswatches@gmail.com. 

 Happy knitting!