Welcome to Project Knitway or should I say Project Renottaway? It's my cyberspace place to post my favorite things...thoughts about family and creativity and design. One of my favorite things is making stuff, specifically clothing and accessories from fiber and metal. So you'll see a lot about that here. I also love spending time with my family, so there will be a bit about that too. When I'm not with my family or in my studio, I am most likely at nextdoor, my store. I have always had a store ever since I was a young woman. I started with a weaving store called the niddy noddy in Waukesha eons ago. I ended with nextdoor in Brookfield. It's my dream store filled with great clothing, especially denim. Really nice women work and shop there, it's a fun place to be. You can find us there every day and online at www.shopatnextdoor.com So come for a visit here and there.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Variations On a Theme or The North Winds Doth Blow

Ok, so the temperatures dropped and the winds picked up and these are selling like hotcakes. In this version, I knit the scarf using the full width (full bed)of the machine. Once again I sewed the ends together to create the continuous scarf. You can literally wrap yourself up in this one, pull it over your head till only your eyes are visible. The head band is doubled again for extra warmth. I used the Lion Brand Fisherman wool again, however any worsted weight yarn will work fine. I prefer natural fibers myself. The old school in me likes to "block" the pieces before putting them together. Some of the synthetic yarns flatten out and become very lifeless with steaming. 
 

In these photos I showed the e wrap cast on using four needles in work and two out. After I cast on and knit a row across, weights are added to keep the knitting from bunching up and jamming the carriage. Be patient, there's a lot to learn here. I'll be dealing with all this in good time. As I keep saying, get your hands on a good Brother manual even if you're using one of the "plastic" knitters from the local craft store.

Variations On a Theme:
For the scarf, cast on the full bed, using four needles in work and two out. Knit 200 rows at Tension 8 and bind off. Sew ends together.

For the band, cast on 10 sets of four needles in work and two out. Knit 90 rows on T 8, bind off. Sew the ends of the scarf together, then sew the two edges together to create the double layer band. Add a decorative "rosette". Cast on 4 stitches and knit 100 rows. Sew it together in a flat circle and attach to the band, covering up the seam.

Have fun and stick to your knitting...R