The November — February issue of Cast On magazine is arriving in mailboxes; I got my copy today. I wrote a technical article for this one — my first! It tells how to work Bavarian Twisted Stitches without a cable needle.
Back in August, and again in October, I filmed videos to demonstrate the techniques I describe in the article. If you check the Tutorials page (see those tabs along the top of the page on my blog. . .), you’ll see that I’ve started posting them there. Hope you enjoy and learn from them!
For more videos, see the right sidebar or my YouTube channel: MtMomDesigns.
We have had some “white stuff” here. Snow was seen high up on the Peaks; at lower elevations (7000 feet) we got some sort of frozen rain that hurt when it struck my face. (Sleet? I didn’t grow up with such precipitation, so I’m not sure what to call this. . . .)
Here is a link to a recent Knitting Daily post, which includes a demonstration video by Eunny Jang of the Channel Island Cast On. She is suggesting it’s use in top-down socks, but it’s traditional use is in the welts of guernsey (also spelled gansey) sweaters. Guernsey is one of the Channel Islands, in the English Channel, between the UK and France. I don’t know if the cast on was developed there, or if the name came from its association with the guernsey sweaters made all up and down the east coast of England and Scotland from the late 1800′s.
And, on another note, here’s a poem from Dr. Seuss that pops into my head periodically: (thanks to papahere for the text)
How did it get so late so soon?
It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before it’s June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?
~Dr. Seuss
You all should see this. Eunny Jang demonstrates the “tulips buttonhole”, developed by TECHknitter and published in the summer 2010 issue of Interweave Knits magazine. Lots of steps, but with impressive results — congratulations, TECHknitter!
We didn’t have to . . . this time. But friends of ours did. Saturday afternoon, the Hardy fire was meters from their house, which sits on 5 acres, and they had to leave. W. family loaded up dogs, horses, and goats into trailers; found people to take the dogs — the entire Humane Society facility had to be evacuated as well — and headed out to his work, where the animals would stay in their trailers overnight. Orville has a small aviation business: charters flights and fuels aircraft at the airport. He spent the evening fueling up planes that would go out and fight to protect his own house! Eldest daughter Emily told each pilot: “You’re our heroes!” Soonest they’ll be able to return is Sunday evening or Monday.
Why do I know about this? Because Flagstaff Home Educators was holding their 3rd annual Ball *in their hangar* last evening. Other families brought formal dresses for each of the girls to wear.
Here’s today’s newspaper story about the Hardy fire from Arizona Daily Sun.
——————–
Oh, my. Closer to home today. I’m starting a list! Here’s images and footage my dd’s and I took from in front of our house of the new Shultz Fire.
Have you ever wondered how (mechanically speaking) yarn harlot Stephanie Pearl-McPhee knits? She terms her technique “Irish Cottage knitting”, after her Irish grandmother who worked as a professional knitter back in the day. Here are 2 videos, the latter having slow-motion and voiced-over portions. Hope you enjoy them! (Thanks to cousin Angeluna for the first link!)
edited to add the multiple versions of this demonstration
This is a classic example of the non-uniformity of knitting terminology. Techniques spread from knitter to knitter, but names may change. It may make you nuts when researching something, but it’s not a bad thing in itself. Here we have 3 videos, each knitter gets the same cast-on result, but each manipulates her thumb in a slightly different way. One movement may be easier for you than another, but all will get you the same stretchy cast-on with the extra twist (and little bump) in the bottom strand.
Two how-to YouTube videos for knitting techniques devised by Jeny Staiman, one a bind-off, and one a cast-on, and both VERY stretchy. I tried the BO today, but have not tried the CO yet.
What an emotionally exhausting few days it’s been. Got news on Monday that Jim Thomson, founder of “my” beloved Bagpipe School, had died while attending Highland Games in Tucson. I knew him, but not well. It was a very sad thing for many of my piping friends; he taught many of them, and all for free — to ensure the spread of the tradition. The School will go on, but his absence will be keenly felt. I volunteered to read the Scriptures, as the funeral was held at my church where I’m a “lector” (reader) — it’s what *I* could do. I choked up on the “death and pain and sorrow will be no more” part.
Here is some video footage I took at the wake — of course there was piping! — held at a different church across town. Pipe Major is the dear Michael Donelson; dancer is Megan McPherson. (Maybe back to knitting news later in the week.)
