One thing that I find amusing sometimes is the back and forth on lists dealing with techniques and the “rules of the road” as it were, in knitting. You’ll see everything from “Hey, it is your knitting do what feels good to you” to ” You should always do it this way”.

I think the reason for that is that there are so many different personalities in knitters themselves. Some of us like rules and some of us don’t. You can always tell who plainly doesn’t like to be told anything, who is open to being told things, and who needs to be told everything, right down to what color to make their sweater.

You know, that is okay though. The knitting universe is big enough for us all.

While we are all settling into our embrace the love though, it doesn’t hurt to stop and analyze. I am going to use the analogy of music, since I grew up with that it is familiar to me so I know how to describe with it.

Piano scales are a good thing to use. They are boring, boring, boring though for the person learning to play. Who wants to play piano scales? Who wants to practice them? Good grief, who wants to spend time learning them? I want to play something fun!!!!

Don’t tell your old piano teacher I said that, although I have a sneaking suspicion she already knows.

Short change yourself on those stupid old boring scales though, and you are left with weak hands. Those scales build up the hands so that you can master more challenging pieces confidently and fluidly. They build up your artistic ability. They increase your musicianship. If that doesn’t matter to you though, that is okay. As long as you understand your decision you own it. Where we short change ourselves is when we are impatient and want to rush into what we expect to be fun without preparing ourselves for it, without regard to how that will actually impact on the fun we expect to have.

This is like saying “Oh, canoeing is fun, I am going to go canoeing (without knowing how and having no preparation)”. Or, “Hiking is going to be fun, I am going to go on a three day hike. These trails up and down wooded ravines look like fun. I’ve never been hiking before, I am so excited I cannot wait…(just for kicks lets say our hiker doesn’t have hiking shoes, doesn’t have mosquito repellent and doesn’t have a walking stick either for the up and down terrain).

I am not really sure why we short change our art in this way. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that it is rocket science, but still there is a body of knowledge here. Knitting is something that has been around for a very long time, and while there is a certain amount of “it is your knitting do what you like” that is going to trump all else, there are certain basic skills and techniques that will make your knitting life so much easier.

What I think of in terms of our “scales” are cast-ons and bind-offs. Ways to work buttonholes. Ways to work selvedge stitches. Seaming. Grafting. Picking up stitches.Really, just about any technique, new or old, that I can get my fingers on.

Other basics are reading a pattern, and reading charts. And the most basic of all? Reading your knitting itself. What does your knitting look like? Plain knitting. Stockinette will give you knit on one side of the fabric and purl on the other.

This means if you are purling on the right side of the fabric, it’s gonna look like a knit stitch on the wrong side of the fabric. The backside (private side) of a knit stitch is a purl stitch. The backside (private side) of a purl stitch is a knit stitch. This is why ribbing looks the same on both sides of the fabric.

Yes, you are doing the same two stitches on both sides of the fabric, but think about it. When you are on the wrong side of the fabric (the private side, the backside) and you come to a purl stitch, what have you come to? A stitch where you were knitting on the right side of the fabric. That is why it looks like a purl stitch there, and why you must also purl there.

To work in pattern when ribbing, you must purl where there is a purl stitch so that it looks like a purl stitch on the “wrong” (private, backside) of the fabric and looks like a knit stitch on the right side of the fabric.

I know for a good many of you reading my blog this is something that is not confusing, but for many it is. When reading charts, the chart is a picture of how the knitting looks on the right side of the fabric. So remember that tip about the knit and purl stitch and what they look like on the public or private sides that are showing. They are two-faced in nature.

And remember your knitting “scales”. Anything that increases your knowledge and skills as a knitter makes you more confident. This means you are able to make decisions about what really works best for you and gives you more choices. They also make your knitting look better.

Peace and Knitting,

JoLene Treace

Here is the address and contact information for Kenny’s Kaps

You will send them to:
The Patriotic Pillow Project
3400 W 111th St PMB # 494
Chicago, IL 60655
Questions or further information please contact Christina@patrioticpillowproject.org

Please note as of November 2008 their web site is under renovation. I think you mail the completed caps in and they have volunteers sew on the patches, but you can email Christine if you want and she can answer any questions.

Thanks! JoLene Treace

Okay, the link is working now. Give it a try.

On an unrelated note, I am having fun working on lace today with Prudence and Whisper My Name. Besides working on these two, I have waiting in the wings Calliope that I want to re-release in a lighter wait yarn this spring, as well as a new design Sweet Clover that I am doing in Interlacements Colorado. I just need to finish the sleeve caps on it and then it is off to the tech editor and test knitter for that one.

I have a design in worsted weight that I am thinking of calling Georgia, from the old Ray Charles tune. I am swatching it right now in Black Water Abbey’s Worsted Weight, but will also be test knitting it in a more commercially available yarn as well. For that I have not exactly decided which one. I am leaning towards Cascade 220, Trendsetter Yarns Merino 8 ply,  or something similar. We’ll see. I am still swatching.

As for the lace, Prudence will be with yarn from Unique Sheep as I mentioned before. I don’t think they have the information on their lace club (not Unique Sheep but Wool Girl). As soon as they do and I know about it I will mention it again.

As for Whisper My Name, that design is for my Grandmother. I had decided before she passed I wanted to do something to honor her memory in, and a shawl that I could wrap myself in seemed appropriate. I am swatching with Cashwool from Trendsetter Yarns, Fino from  Alpaca With a Twist, 30/2 Bombyx Silk or 30/2 Angora Rabbit/Silk Blend from Treenway Silks. I am also considering Helen’s Lace from Lorna’s Laces and 10/2 Pearl Tencel from Halcyon Yarns.

I am also working on having my sample garments re-knit in more commercially available yarns. It was a hard decision to make, but I have more and more patterns going out through my distributors and I need to have them photographed in yarns available to yarn stores. I will continue to use Black Water Abbey yarns though. Some designs will have more than one “version” is all.

Just released is Wine and Roses, the fingerless lace mitts published in Interweave Knits in the Winter 2006 issue. The pattern is available now through my distributor Up North Fiber Art Supply. They can supply it to your local yarn store or put you in touch with a yarn store that has it in stock.

I sent some out to Knitter’s Treat, so Ruth Sybers would be able to supply you as well. I just sent an email out to other vendors who carry all my patterns but have not heard back so the safest bet if you want it now is to contact Ruth or Barb with Up North Fiber Art Supply. Infiknit of Canada, my Canadian distributor, will receive some with their shipment going out today (she asked for a number of whatever was knew, so if you contact her and ask for it by name she might not know what it is before getting her shipment).

Peace and Knitting, JoLene Treace

I have fun sometimes following links to my designs, and seeing what people have done with them in yarn choices and so on. Brain Smatter is a very artistic blog, and Red Rocket has done a beautiful job knitting my Evergreen Shawl from Handknit Holidays (Melanie Falick, Stewart Tabori & Chang).For some reason the above link wasn’t working before and incase it does it again, here is the url: http://redrockett.blogspot.com/2008/09/evergeen-green.html (in the code it is correct so I don’t know why it won’t display right, but I digress…)

The drawings on her site are amazing. She also has a little fimo piece of her husband which is really wonderful. I can say this Red Rocket, as I have studied some art myself and your pieces are good. Not that I am an expert or anything, I am not, but they are good.

Take a look at her site for a nice mix of art and knitting and what not.

Peace and Knitting, JoLene Treace

First of all, thank you to those of you who have sent in emails and posted on my blog. I really appreciate the warm condolences.

You might have noticed I did a little house cleaning, so to speak. I did a little rearranging, and added a meebo widget in the sidebar. If you get the hankering to say hello and see me online, feel free to use it. I decided to call it Yackity.

On the studio front, I have almost all of my yarn sorted and put away. I have a little more to do yet, and it is fair to say I cannot believe how much yarn I had stuffed in that tiny little bedroom upstairs. The clowns in the circus with their little car have NOTHING on me.

The cave of wonders could actually perhaps be a little bigger? It isn’t quite 25 square feet, but almost (almost 5 x 5 feet, more like 4.5 feet by 4.5 feet). I did not utilize all three sides, though. I love that closet.

I will be participating in the lace club at Woolgirl and my design will be a scarf and stole pattern featured in the last month of the club. From Jennifer Jett, owner, “Woolgirl is sponsoring a lace club next year, starting in March 09, which will be called “Embrace the Lace: The Seven Virtues of Lace”. This club will be loosely based on the Seven Heavenly Virtues - and so every other month we will offer a shipment of a different lace project - including the pattern, yarn, and extra goodies that correspond with the theme and yarn.”

I am doing Prudence. Prudence is a Cardinal Virture, and originally deals with Wisdom, Forsight, and Knowledge. In our culture now, however, it has somehow become contracted to be less than the fullness of its intent and is associated with being cautious, sometimes overly so.

Don’t get me wrong, I think that there are many strong and valid reasons as to why things are traditionally done certain ways. But I also think that knitters need to remember it is okay for them to look at their knitting and own it. Know what works for you and don’t be afraid to do it if it is different. 

This requires knowledge on your part, so you do have to be open to learning and you do have to be willing to look at what you are doing and weigh the results, but in the end you will be a more informed knitter. Your knitting will suit its purpose better, and you will be able to look at patterns and spot trouble areas before you begin knitting. It is all well and good to picture ones self as a rule breaker. But if you don’t know what the rules are, why they exist, what the alternatives are and what they mean, then you cannot make wise and informed decisions.

Making decisions about your knitting based on knowledge is powerful. A good virtue to have regardless of whether working lace or not, but can be particularly helpful in things like lace knitting when you are looking at something like an edging and think “Gee, that edging is really open and the rest of the knitting isn’t as open. That stitch pattern looks like it will flare, maybe I should do a swatch so that the edge doesn’t flare out”. Or maybe it might be “I want a scarf with fluted ends, and I want the edging to do that for me. Hmmm, let’s see…here’s an edging that is pretty open (has a lot of yarn overs) at the points, it looks like it would fan out nicely, I’ll knit a few inches and see what it looks like. Maybe I need to make it a little deeper”.

The patterns themselves won’t be too complex (not more than anything else I have done, really). I am aiming for the adventurouse beginner and intermediate knitter. I think I have my ideas for the scarf pretty well hammered out, I just need to swatch them.

The yarn will be from Unique Sheep for mine. Other months will feature other yarns, they have lots of different dyers involved and I am told they like to use colorways unique to the club.

Peace and Knitting, JoLene Treace

I have no lyrical words or pretty phrases. I have only my heart sad at your passing. I am happy that I had you in my life though. You were an outstanding role model. You taught me that women can be strong and independent and still be a “traditional housewife”. Heck, you voted the way your husband wanted you to, as many women in your generation did, but you still managed to be strong, independent, and a powerful influence in the lives of many people.

You might not look like a feminist to many, but to me you are the picture of what feminism should be. You were a woman who loved her family. You were kind, you were generous and loving, and your gentle sense of humor wrapped around a woman strong enough to run a household of 7 children. You lived your life your way, and the grace with which you did so can be measured in the esteem your family held you.

I treasure each and every memory I have of you, as I have for many years. I remember watching you and my aunts at the holidays, cooking dinner. I remember the love in the kitchen, the laughter, the feminine humor, the strength of the women. I remember how good the food always tasted. I remember playing with my cousins, and the feeling that comes when you are home with those you love and there are so many of you and they are literally all over the place.

I remember going sledding during New Years with Matt, Shannon, Jamie, and the others. I remember Matt and Steve running around in their socks in your cabin so they could build up enough static in their socks to shock us so we would chase them.

I remember your little cottage, and the tables strung from one end of the inside of the cottage to the other from your bedroom, down through the hall and into your kitchen and living area. Space was at a premium. We didn’t care. Loved the food and God I miss your Keefleys.

What I really miss, is the love that went into them. That is what made them taste so good. Oh sure, I can make them and they are delicious, but I cannot make them with your hands, or your love. They won’t taste the same.

I am so very proud that you were my Grandma. I am humbled by your memory in so many ways. And I am thankful that you are not suffering now, and that your suffering from the cancer was in the end short. In the end you died the way that you lived, with love and quiet dignity. No matter how you felt, you never once were anything but loving. Such incredible strength of character that takes, such incredible love, such a wonderful soul. I will see you in heaven, and while for our family now it seems a long time and an awful hole left in the middle of the fabric of our lives, for you it probably will seem like the blink of an eye.  You took your candle and lit your world well, Grandma, and I am in loving awe at how wonderful and powerful your loving presence has been in our lives.

Goodbye Grandma, for just awhile.

Love, JoLene

Elaine Christine Rhodes is my maternal grandmother. She passed away this evening at 7:30 pm at the age of 91 from pancreatic cancer.

My grandmother (Elaine Christine Rhodes, of Warsaw Indiana) recently received a prayer shawl. To be honest I am not certain what area the knitters are from who made it. That they are from the northern part of Indiana I am most fairly certain, as most of my family lives in the northern part of the state.

My grandmother was recently diagnosed with a tumor on her pancreas, and she has cancer. It is a large tumor. For those of you who have read the stories that go with the designs that I do, this is the grandmother who made the Keefleys at Christmas (recipe is in Handmade Holidays by Melanie Falick, along with a mitten design…you can see the mittens on Two Sharp Sticks).

At some point, when her vision was bad enough she had to move out of the log cabin some of you have read about in other designs (Hickory Hollow, and also from Handknit Holidays the River Forest Gansey).

While I know that those prayers that went in her cheerful yellow shawl will not take away her cancer, I do know that those prayers can still affect her and us profoundly. While I do believe in miracles, I do not always believe that the miracle is in the healing of the body, or the extension of life.

Sometimes the miracle is in the peace in our minds and hearts, or the comfort to our souls. Sometimes the miracle is in how the grace and dignity of the end of one life profoundly touches and moves that in another.

I don’t know how to describe how we are all feeling right now. While there is sadness there is peace. While there is pain at our coming loss, there is joy that we have each other. I am somewhat removed from the middle of it so I am sure my nerves are not on edge as much as they might be. It isn’t easy watching someone you love decline. As for the importance of this in my life, I cannot begin to describe what my family has meant to me over the years.

I will express my grief in my own way, more than likely in some knitted design that may or may not find it’s way into a pattern. I designed a shawl one time as an expression of grief.

It is a beautiful design, and the only reason that I have not turned it into a pattern is because I could never find an appropriate name for it or a way of describing it’s story that was satisfactory to me. That it would have been known as an expression of grief on my end did not necessarily bother me, but I did not want it to be looked at as morbid by others.

Sorrow and grief while painful are not always gaping wounds, but sometimes there just are not the words for what our hearts are feeling.

Remembrance of someone (or something) loved is a beautiful thing, at times when grieving a painful thing as well. As the sharpness of the immediacy of our pain ebbs away it is easier to look upon those memories.

While my heart aches for my grandmother and my family now, I cherish the memories that I have of them and hold them near to me. How special that an object like a knitted shawl be chosen for an expression of something like that.

A prayer shawl to comfort at the end of life, or a remembrance shawl to comfort as a celebration of a life loved.

Peace and Knitting, JoLene Treace

I don’t know how many of you watch Bugs Bunny, or remember watching the Looney Tunes Cartoons. I still love the old ones. Daffy Duck in particular would be in some scenes where there would be gold involved and he would be diving into piles of gold, gleefully chortling “I am a happy miser!!!!!!!!”

Any knitter having been through the Stitches Market and finding yarn, needles, notions and what not and stockpiling said stash in their hotel room I am sure has experienced a similar emotion. Oh, yes, they are adding a Stitches South. It will start next April.

I like to see what is selling in the market overall, and I like to watch for trends. I also keep an eye out for yarns to swatch with. One designer collegue said to me “Don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you here?” (they come to teach). I said “I come, I schmooze, I buy yarn”. What better reason to come? I had one class on Sunday morning with Nancy Bush, but I was there from the beginning.

I enjoy connecting with my vendors, designers I know, and people I have run into. The whole aspect of people recognizing my name and work is something still new to me and it still surprises me when someone recognizes my name. I was supremely flattered over the weekend when I spoke with Linda Pratt from Westminster Fibers (she is the national marketing manager) at their booth and she recognized my name. I don’t know that she remembers my work, but she has seen my name. One advantage of being active in the Association of Knitwear Designers is it does help get your name out there to the industry, which is very helpful when needing color cards or yarns for sample garments.

The highlight of my trip, well, would be spending time with my friend Beth Brown-Reinsel. Closely followed by discovering that Addis now come in a 00 (1.75mm). I was ready to dance when I found them in the market. A couple years ago, that was a futile search for me. Of course, Lacis came out with that size, as did the HiyaHiya needles. But still, my favorites are the Addi Turbos and Addi Lace needles.

If I tried to remember at this point what yarn I came home with, most of it would be a blank. I am still not unpacked and have been putting out fires with the remodeling since I came home. The issue du jur is conncecting to city water. I won’t go into detail, but I am really wishing Ed were home to handle this because I am frankly fried. I have in the last two weeks battled the basement people, the carpet installers, and the people I have been talking to about the french doors (one of the french doors has had an astral on order for several months now). I have boxes all over in my dining room and hallway because my studio has a foundation problem in the corner (minor, but has caused a delay in work so the stuff cannot be moved into yet until it is fixed). Things are chaotic here.

You know, in that daffy duck cartoon where he was in a cave diving into gold and saying he was a happy miser, I think there was a Genie involved. A *poof* you’re done and moved in moment would be great although unrealistic.

I think the best thinkg to counteract it all might be some knitting with some of that new yarn I got to play with.

Peace and Knitting, JoLene Treace

I have talked a little bit about the remodeling going on around “the old girl”, as I have been known to call our house. My studio in particular I have been very excited about and am looking forward to getting done. Having all my stuff in a more central location will be nice. Some of the contractors working on the old girl look a little bemused when I tell them that nice room is going to be my studio, and that I have a knitting design business. I can understand, really. Who would expect to run into a knitwear designer in Fort Wayne, Indiana? The corn is as tall as we are.

We have been working on this room since May, and it is still not done. Tantalizingly close, but not done yet. The latest set back is a crack that has developed in the slab, along the back side towards the left side of the room. It started as a hairline and has widened enough to be a concern (this is in the garage being converted to living space, so this is not a new space).

I called a concrete leveling company and they came out and looked at it, and talked with my contractor and me. I know we have a bit of a foundation issue back in that corner. While I don’t know what all contributed to it (some of that won’t be known until our contractor digs along the foundation to the footer to see if the footer is too shallow or puny), I do know that we need to fix it. I guess I need to call the carpet folks so that they know they won’t be able to install the carpet on Monday.

I was hoping to have the carpet in Monday, as I pick up Beth Brown-Reinsel at the airport on Tuesday. At least the room is painted now and the curtains will be up. You would have to have seen it before to understand why those things would provoke such joy. The old girl was in sad need of getting her rooms spruced up.

One thing that I find interesting in this process is watching professionals do their job. The painters, and drywalle guys, for instance. There is a lot of preparation that goes into the job before the finish work is done. It is this “foundation” which makes a good job possible.

Interestingly, knitting is not any different. There is a lot to knitting that goes beyond the actual project itself that will make or break a garment. Choices in cast on and bind off’s, for example. Choices in selvage stitch (whether you consciously choose to work a stitch in a “selvage stitch pattern” or not does not have a bearing on whether the stitches at the edges of the piece you are knitting is a selvage stitch or not), whether you work the shoulder as a three needle bind off, or whether you short row the shoulders. Whether the seams in the garment are providing structure or not (as they often are) when thinking of converting from flat knitting to in-the-round is another finishing question to think about before the knitting starts.

While I have no desire to tell anyone what to do with their knitting, I don’t mind telling you it pays off to consider the finishing of our garment before you get into the knitting. Choices in technique can and will mean the difference between so-so garment and one that looks professionlly done.  There are some good resources out there in books that give knitters a firm foundation (no pun intended).

Peace & Knitting, JoLene Treace

I had an interesting question regarding specifying fonts that are not commonly used for web pages. Before I get into that, though, I sat here and thought about what I could talk about, before I go into technical information that you may not be interested in if you are not in the design business.

Right now I am watching the olympics, and women’s gymnastics is on. Are any of you doing any olympic knitting right now? I think Ravelry has something along those lines going on. While I have not designed anything inspired by the Olympics, I do have a project going. I hope to get Elizabeth I re-knit in the silk lace weight yarn from Claudia Handpaints done.

It has been a year full of challenges. Lest I sound like a whiner, I will just say it has been challenging. We are in the throes of remodeling, and right now they are working on the garage conversion which will give me a brand new studio. That is pretty darn exciting for me, and I will be really glad to have it done. While working on various book projects since January, I decided that I need to get my sample garments knit up in yarns besides Black Water Abbey. I still use her yarns, but for events like TNNA and so  on, it is better for shop owners to see items knit up in yarns available to them.

Elizabeth I will be the first design I am having re-knit.  I haven’t decided which one will be next after that, as i am working on a couple new designs too.

My husband was home for the weekend, and next weekend we will see each other in Dayton for Ian’s birthday (he will be one). I am ashamed to say I am still working on Jessica’s baby blanket (she turned one last march). Maybe I should work on that during the Olympics!!!!!!!!!

At any rate, here is the technical stuff on fonts and the web, in answer to the comment on the post regarding fonts that was back a post or two.

“I can tell you what I would do, although I don’t know if this is the approach a graphic designer would use.

The problem with an unusual font is that since it isn’t a typcial font, it isn’t as likely to be on the computer of the person viewing the web page using the unusual font. When looking at html, the coding that makes up html tells the browser how to display the information (right down to specifying the font). If the html specifies a font that is not on the machine of the person viewing the webpage, a different font is substituted.

The way I know to get around that is to turn the font into a graphic. Obviously you won’t be doing this for all the text on a page. Using an unusual font us probably best for special things like headings anyway, as it then becomes a focal point.

In Adobe Illustrator, for example, you can type something out in the font you want, select it, and go up under the font menu and click “convert to outlines” (or something like that). What that will do for you is to render the text as a drawing. The end user then does not need the font on their machine. The thing to remember when doing this is once you have done that, it is not editable as text. You can only do the things to it that you would an object jusch as a square, circle, or other line that is composed of multiple points.

Your other choice is a pdf file. If you don’t have to have the page in html (maybe the special text is part of a pattern, for example, like the headers and title of a pattern), the document can be saved in pdf file format and the font information is bundled with the pdf so that it displays as intended by the person doing the pdf fil.

If you do not have Adobe products on your computer but have other drawing programs, you can try using a drawing program to make a drawing (that is really your text). I cannot tell you how this works with other programs.

The key is that as a drawing file, it is rendered mathmatically and therefore can be any size without having the jaggies. Image files (jpeg, bmp for example) are pixel based. This is why text in photoshop is not quite as crisp. It is an image program, and the files are pixel based. If you want the page viewed to be printed at a print quality resolution, then you would need to make sure that the work done in photoshop has a higher resolution than 72 dpi (dots per inch), which is standard for web viewing. Otherwise, when printed, it will be pixelated (have the jaggies) as the resolution is not great enough for printing. With drawing or vector based images, you don’t run into that.

The files you will see for drawings are .ai, .eps (encapsulated post script), .cdr and .swf (ai is adobe illustrator, cdr is corel draw, and swf is shockwave flash from Macromedia). “

Peace and Knitting,  JoLene Treace