You say tomato, I say tomahto

A post on the message boards today was asking about the instructions from a Rowan pattern that uses the abbreviation yfwrd, which means yarn forward. Simple, right? Not so simple. Rowan is a company out of England and therefore uses British standards in their patterns. Yarn forward in a British pattern may actually mean what we in the USA term as yarn over. Or wrapping the yarn around the needle to create an additional stitch. It may take a bit of trial and error, but the consensus here is that the pattern writer does mean for you to wrap the yarn around the needle in this pattern.

Sarah

The felting continues...

I knit another purse tonight, this time in Lamb's Pride Burly Spun, which is 100% wool. I mixed in rows of a synthetic furry yarn as stripes. Back to the washer! This time I put the purse in solid cotton laundry bag, added the jeans, the detergent, and a bit of fabric softener. I started the wash on hot/cold and just as the washing cycle was completing I stopped the machine. Then I turned back the dial to start the hot wash cycle again.

Well, there's good news and bad news. The yarn did felt pretty well this time. You can still recognize some of the stitches, but the fabric is nice and solid. The bad news is that the furry yarn totally streched out and the purse looks strange.

Oh well, I'll keep experimenting. But I am out of yarn, so I'll be heading to my local yarn shop for more Burly Spun.

Stay tuned, Corinne

Welcome to YarnXpress.com

The Daily Knitter would like to welcome YarnXpress.com as our newest advertiser. The offer novelty yarns at discount prices. Their ads can be found under the Free Knitting Patterns section of the site. Check them out!

Felting in a front load washing machine

Felting requires soap, hot water, and agitation. A normal, top loading washing machine gives you all three requirements, but a front loader lacks the agitation. I've been experimenting with my Maytag Neptune washer, which is a front loader, to see what works best.

Last night I knit up a small purse using Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky. This yarn is 15% Mohair, but I thought I would give it a try. After the first wash, the yarn did kind of matt together, but nothing like what I was hoping for. I used the hot/cold cycle and put the purse inside a lingerie bag. I also added a pair of jeans and just a bit of detergent. So I washed it again. And again. And again. Four complete washings later, I still am not happy with the resuts. Back to the drawing board!

Corinne

Thank you, bloggers!

Thank you to all the bloggers who have posted links to the Daily Knitter on your sites! We have received over 70 entries in the drawing from bloggers all over the US, Canada, and beyond. The drawing will occur on May 20th and we will email out an annoucement to the winner that afternoon.

Good luck everyone!
Anne

The Pepper pattern & Lang Romance

As the designer of the Pepper Wrap exclusive pattern on the site, I would like to apologize. I did not realize when I fell in love with the Lang Romance yarn at a local yarn shop that is was so difficult to find! (Or should I say impossible to find.) We have received lots of emails from knitters who cannot find the yarn. I am considering knitting it again with a more common yarn. If anyone has made the pattern with a different yarn and been happy with the results, please let me know.

But, it is a very friendly pattern for yarn substitutions. The Lang Romance yarn is meant for much smaller needles and gauge, but we like that it gives the wrap a stretchy, soft feel. Any worsted weight yarn in a soft texture should work. But don't use anything with an eyelash or fuzzy feel to it, because this will minmize the see-through look of it.

The most important measurement is the lower circumference of 48 inches. I would recommend using your substituted yarn and making a swatch in the knit 2 rows, purl 2 rows, knit 2 rows, etc. pattern and figure out how many stitches you need to get the 48 inches. This is how may stitches you need to start with. Or just follow the pattern as is. You may get a bit smaller or larger result, but it will still work.

Happy knitting, Corinne

Keep the wrappers, girls

I just bought a pair of bamboo circular knitting needles last night and this morning starting knitting with them. By lunch time, one of the needles came out from it metal neck that holds it in. I took it back to the shop on my way home from work and they wouldn't take it back without the plastic case the needles came in. I wasn't a very happy camper. Yes, I had my receipt with me and just wanted to exhange, but no luck. So now I have to make a separate trip back there tomorrow to make the switch.

Lesson of the story? Keep the packaging for all your knitting supplies, in case you need to make a return.

Anne

Combining yarns is super fun

Don't you just love combining yarns? I love looking through my yarn stash when I am thinking of a new project and putting two yarns together you wouldn't think would go together. And then I try a swatch. It is really amazing the kinds of textures you can get when you mix different weights, different materials, and different colors. I have had a lot of luck with very thick wool yarns and a funky synthetic thinner yarn. Search your stash and give it a try.

Happy Knitting, Corinne

It started as a pillow

OK, I admit it. The Shelby kitty throne on the Daily Knitter did start out as a pillow pattern. But my cat would not stay off of me while I was knitting with the yarn. Plus, anytime I set my work down to do something, I would come back and he would be sitting on it. It was like it called to him whever he was in the house. And he became very purturbed when I made him move off of it.

So, it became the Shelby cat throne and this cat's favorite spot to sit. Corinne

A good husband remembers

Not often do I drag my husband to the local yarn shop with me, but this time it was unavoidable. I had a coupon for the shop that expired that day and we were finishing dinner at CPK when I remembered. The shop closed at 6 and it was 5:30!! So off to the shop we went.

On the way out, I commented that I should have gotten the BagSmith knitting tote I really wanted. But I ran out of time.

Two weeks later on my birthday, guess what my wonderful husband got me? The tote. : )

Maggie

Your favorite knitting blog is...

Thanks to everyone who responded to our request for your favorite knitting blog. We have begun emailing the blog owners letting them know that they come highly recommended and to tell them about the contest we are having. If you add a link from your blog to our site, you can enter the drawing for 3 skeins of yarn. More info is found on the home page at http://www.DailyKnitter.com

Thanks again, Anne

April Fools

Happy April Fools Day everyone. We're about to add over a 100 new free patterns to the site. An email will go out to our newsletter subscribers when they are up on the site.

Do you know of free patterns that you would like us to add to the site? Please email the staff at editor@DailyKnitter.com so we can share the patterns with our readers. We love to hear from you.

Sarah