Even though we were quite a bit up from the waves, I could feel them pounding. LOVE THAT!

What a beautiful morning to sit on a beach together. The heavy waves pounded so intently it didn’t just sound like thunder, but felt like it as well! At the end of the podcast I walk you over to the water’s edge so please be sure at that point to adjust down your volume. The wind was ripping.

Here is where we sat!

So how are you? Has it been a pleasant knitting week? I did not knit as often as I would have liked this week, but I like what I am knitting…or unknitting as the case may be…

Some fun things not in the podcast:

I swatched for a new sweater! I am eager to join in The Knit Girllls sweater KAL with it. I am knitting with a very new to me yarn Shelter from Brooklyn Tweed. It ts yummy yarn and felt so wonderful just swatching that I can’t wait to begin Lira by Amy Christoffers. She is a designer I admire for such clean lines and perfectly feminine sweaters. I look forward to meeting her at SSK !

Another fun purchase I made this week was the Lansbury Cowl by Shannon  from luvinthemommyhood.

This picture was used with permission from Shannon of veryshannon

I had to get it once I read that it was Angela LANSBURY….the murder mystery aficionado got sucked in! It looks like a fun knit, so click on the link and tell me what colour I should dig in my stash to find…

And now this week’s Episode…the one where I show I am not an eloquent speaker…

Now for some show notes:

IronManOrange Sock #1 is done! One more to go aaaaaannnnndddd there is the extra for little wee socks for Alana, who has mentioned the need for new TOMS to wear with these socks. Such a girl =)

My #TTTKAL shrug is moving along. And I hope you are sitting down…it has a project page! Get out! I know right? I am so far behind on those things… but since it is on Rav, give it a look-see! I am enjoying seeing what other knitters in the KAL are doing too!

And for my baby...The Old Man & The Sea in Dark Skies. I am having a fun time with all you knitters! It is great to hear your thoughts on the pattern and the book! I really wish there were a few of you that were actually knitting this on size 7s with me…My gauge is so odd I am discovering. Well I guess not discovering….more like confirming.  You all are doing fantastic! Your colour choices and pictures have been so fun! Be sure to see what the photo for this week is to be =) Remember to add your thoughts in the Book Discussion thread =) 

And for those that missed Friday’s giveaway announcement….Here is the link so go check out how rad my Mum is! When her shoppe launches I will be sure to tell you all about it! I am collaborating with her based on a lot of YOUR ideas and suggestions. She won’t just be making bags to tote knitting in, but scads of really useful things…but I can’t let the cat out of the bag just yet.

Another great thing I have is my Oh! Loops Abominable Snowman. What clever packaging! I was just bummed that the only thing that keeps parcels safe are heavy duty boxes. They worked so hard on the container, it was a shame the Powers That Be in Mail mushed it. Even so it is such a delicious ball of fun I can not wait to make socks!

Well I need to do some domestic things, as well as squeeze in some knitting and reading with my small people ANNNNNNNNDDDDD I am being interviewed tonight! I am looking forward to it! Fun! Fun! Fun! I will let you know more details soon…

With My Aloha,

~Mel

Now on to a few other things…

Shall we start with a Fu n   S u r p r i s e or end with it?

Let’s keep you in suspense (and no cheating by zipping ahead to the end of this entry!)

The Old Man & The Sea is sailing along. many knitter who are off a bit with row gauge have asked for some simple methods to help them. My advice would be if your rows are off consider adding a few more small rope repeats. One test knitter did her ropes entirely in the small rope version. It looks quite pretty. It is a simple easy fix that will cause you the least amount of stress =)

Also a reminder that you can read as much as you want of the book! We are going to focus on the portion I talked about here. we have a few fun ways to plug in and discuss the book!

First video chat about the story (and a bit of knitting) will be Sunday (19 May) 3 pm HST. YOU MUST have earbuds and the google chat set up to participate. Want to hostess your own? Post here in the comments, tweet it, and/or tell us on Ravelry.

The chat room on our SHK Rav group page (for which no video or audio is needed) will be Tuesday 21 May at 1:00 pm HST. There will be a thread opened later this week with questions to discuss for both chats. You really must have read the required reading in order to participate. If you can’t read it before the scheduled chat, don’t worry! There are more chats to come!

If you want to start your own chat mention it in the comments below!

Speaking of comments below:

Why not share with us what your knitting goal was this week? It will be fun to see what everyone decided.

And now for some fun!

Look at these happy whales glad to see us sailing along!

And little octopi brightening our voyage!

And hoist the main sail and the anchors for a beautiful summer knit!

My Dearest Mum you have heard me mention before is an AMAZING seamstress. She always makes amazing things. She is making a sweet giveaway for you in celebration of TOM&TS RAL/KAL. In the comments below tell me what does your dream knitting bag look like and feature AND where would you sail off to with your TOM&TS knitting supplies? My Incredible Mother will mail off the winner from her port in Florida in 10 days. So you have from now until next Sunday to join in for a chance to win! (you need not be knitting The Old Man & The Sea with us for a chance to win! Just share where you would sail off to if you could!)   DEARMUM will choose a bag out of these above to put the wind in your sails!

One for me…one for you! I love these little notion pouches!

If you want a chance to win the little adorable whale pouch tweet, Facebook, google+1 or any of the ways listed at the bottom of this entry. No need contact me, it lets me know on the blog (behind the scenes) who did what

So lets hear it! What makes your heart sing in a project bag and what makes your heart soar for a dream location for knitting? Also, be sure to post a separate comment if you are setting knitting goals! I want to cheer you on =)

With Alohas,

~Mel

I am so excited for this day: The Start Of Something Special! Today we begin The Old Man and The Sea ReadALong/KnitALong.

What is on the horizon awaiting us? FUN!      FELLOWSHIP!         And a CHALLENGE to our little grey cells!

I have gathered my materials….

I collect student desks and actually sit in this one frequently. It will be a spot of reflection as I read The Old Man and The Sea with you!

Book! Yarn! Closures!

Stephanie nailed it with Dark Skies!

Yes….Let’s peek a bit closer at this lovely grey amazement!

I stowed them in to a sweater sized project bag that my Incredible Mother made! The fabric outside and in suits this RAL/KAL perfectly. Do you see the little sea horses?

Inside and out reflects the sea!

My Mother is Rad! And these seahorses are perfect!

The pocket has in it my stitch markers, 1 pair of needles (size 8) and the closures I ordered from Melissa Jean. If you have not gotten yours yet, no worries, the closures are a bit further along on our voyage so no need rush!

There are my little needed items! Waiting until I read a bit to be used…

So have you gathered YOUR materials? Post them in our thread on Ravelry to show everyone you are ready to raise the sails and venture onwards. If you are on Twitter or Instagram be sure to hashtag your picture with #TOMandTS and tag me @mskiknits so I can see! Then be sure to search out this hashtag to see what others are doing and posting pics of! The hashtag (# ) is a great tool! Think of it as a card catalogue organizing like topics!

Let get to it!

Our Timeline: We cast off today, but plan to be back in port wearing our finished cardigan by the end of June. ~~~Set your own weekly goals! You may want to zip through the knitting or you may want to leisurely sail along…up to you. Weekly I will post my goal for knitting here on the blog. I encourage you to do the same! We can cheer each other on and hold each other accountable.

For our book same thing! Read or listen to the whole thing at a pop or pace it out. We will have weekly things to focus on and discuss regarding the story, the author, world influences as well as tings you see manifest in the pattern and your knitting.

Tips to be a successful participant:

~~~~Remember this is fun! It is also meant to get you thinking…which IS fun!

~~~Perhaps keep a notebook to record observations…in the story and in the knitting. Record YOUR responses to each! Love a particular phrase, example, character in the book? Jot it down. Think there is an element of the pattern that just clicks with you? Record that and what it is about what you like (or detest) and why you think you are having that response. Even consider your yarn and knitting tools! Are then lending to your enjoyment or taking away. Start actively knitting and reading… be attentive to what YOU think about all of this!

~~~SHARE SHARE SHARE! I plan to have a weekly video chat so we can knit and listen to each other share what we are learning and observing. But don’t wait for me! Connect with other RAL/KAL participants and hostess a video chat of your own! We will even have a Rav Chat Room time to chat via typing what we think, that way everyone can share (I realize some of us may not be eager to video chat or may not have all the necessary equipment to do so. The chat room is available easily on Ravelry in our SingleHandedKnits group. Nobody will see you but your ideas and opinions will!)

~~~ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER! ’nuff said…

Week One:

FIRST: Introduce yourself here on the blog in the comments! Share a bit about you and why you decided to participate. Tell us HOW you plan to participate. Are you knitting and reading? Just knitting? Just reading? Totally your call! If you are knitting share with us a bit about what materials you have chosen to use. Feel free to recap later on Rav these same things if you want.

NEXT: BOOK FOCUS Even before you read the first word of the story, introduce yourself to the man who wrote it. Knowing a person gives you much more appreciation of their views. So it is with authors. Get as deep in to Hemingway as you want. I suggest finding out when he wrote this novella. What happened in his life just before he wrote it? What was going on in the world at that time?

Then start reading! Again read as much as you desire, but our focus as we chat and write will be up to page 32 or the part where Hemingway writes:

But, he thought, I keep them with precision. Only I have no luck anymore. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.

{Hemingway, The Old Man and The Sea, excerpt pg 32}

I have a notebook where I record Characters (people, animals and even nature) as well as Setting, Themes and Phrases I Like or Disagree With.

Knitting: This week goals for knitting should fall somewhere in line with gathering materials, swatching, and starting! My plan is to knit the start of the sweater as well as 2.5 inches of the cables & nets. Personally my focus from now until next Wednesday is to get the best grasp on the story and add a little knitting. What are your goals?

Dates to remember:

We are starting today May 15th. Our new week will begin next Wednesday the 22nd. Each Wednesday new goals are set to be met. Or readjusted from the week prior! No shame in that either!

First video chat about the story (and a bit of knitting) will be Sunday (19 May) 3 pm HST. YOU MUST have earbuds and the google chat set up to participate. Want to hostess your own? Post here in the comments, tweet it, and/or tell us on Ravelry.

The chat room on our SHK Rav group page (for which no video or audio is needed) will be Tuesday 21 May at 1:00 pm HST. There will be a thread opened later this week with questions to discuss for both chats. You really must have read the required reading in order to participate. If you can’t read it before the scheduled chat, don’t worry! There are more chats to come!

Oh I am so excited about all this! Knitting is wonderful and chatting is too. But purposeful study with discussions is so much more meaningful to me! It gives conversation a better purpose. Not to say chatting about the little day to day things isn’t fine, but some times don’t you just yearn for more? It is my hope. my intention, my sincere desire that this will be an opportunity for us to think and share and reason together with knitting as the icing on the cake!

Is any other person reading this excited?

Aloha! Ahoy!  A Woo-hoo!

Let’s enjoy this!

~Mel

Hoping this weekend was a celebration of women who have mothered you of OR YOU because of your mothering! Here where we are, lots of ladies chip in to mother you wether you are theirs or not and so all the women are applauded for their role in nurturing and investing in precious lives.

How are YOU? I would enjoy hearing, so fill me in on what is happening.

Here are helpful links to things from the podcast…which when I tried uploading it last night I was given a 9+ hour time estimate from Bliptv….so I just left it and went to bed.  Below the show feed you will see some KCC info! We have completed midterms and will be getting back in to small learning activities!

FO:

M-M-M-M-My Pogona!     Pattern: Pogona by Stephen West      Yarn: Handspun Huckleberry Knits spun by Leslie “Udontcallmeles” on Rav of The KnitGirllls

Happy Mouse/Happier Mouse        Pattern: Happy Mouse/Sad Mouse by Susan B. Anderson     Topsy TurvyInside-Out Toys is a great book! And Knitabulls is hostessing a KAL of toys from this fun book. There isn’t a project in the book that isn’t worth a try from animals to flower fairies to sweet dolls and petticoats!

WIPs:

Iron Man Orange Socks for Amy Beth’s Orange KAL  I cast these on just before we went in to see Iron Man 3 a week or 10 days ago. AWESOME MOVIE!  Pattern: Just around and around with a gusset increase and then more round and round until a long stretch of 3×2 ribbing….  Yarn: HDYarns Cupcakes 

Loving LuvintheMommyHood Shrug     Pattern: Little Silk Shrug by Pam Allen       Yarn: Sundara Yarn Sport Silky Cashmere in the “Viridescent” colourway  I joined in LuvInTheMommyHood TTSKAL. Check out the link. It is an awesome blog =)

I have a few other WIPs on the needles that I will show you next week. These are getting the lion’s share of attention though.

Looking for the next wave:

CAMP LOOPY! I am excited about this first challenge! I mention a little about a fun knit together I am doing with a sweet friend. She even picked out the yarn, which I excitedly ordered! Fill you in on the details in the podcast as well as more info next week!

THE OLD MAN & THE SEA ReadALong/KnitALong  Soooooooo Stoked!

Pattern: The Old Man & The Sea                Yarn: Lyra by Space Cadet Creations in the Dark Skies Colourway    Closures: Rope Motif by Melissa Jean Design

Interested in Joining us? Grab a book! Grab the Pattern! Just click on the button below!

I can not even begin to tell you how eager I am to read and chat with you about this book! Lots of fun activities in store to allow us opportunity to knit at our own pace as we share thoughts on the book. And even with that I have some fun ideas…. so stay tuned!

Hope you enjoy the podcast. I was super disappointed after driving all the way up the mountain to have rain, rain, rain thwart plans for a mountaintop podcast experience! We shall try again soon… But I suppose just sitting together regardless of where is a treat—it is just my desire to always be out of doors!

Knitting Community College Update:

Assignment #4  ”Picking Up” (Part 1)

….and not just picking up after the break, but literally picking up stitches!  Pick 2 of the swatches you created from the very first assignment. On one swatch, pick up the stitches from the bottom of the swatch. If you have never picked up stitches before, this is where YOU get to be the main detective! Experiment without a clue OR research on your own how to pick up stitches.

On the second swatch pick up and knit the stitches along the bottom of the swatch. Dig and delve in to the reference books you may have or online help and see what, if any difference there may be.

Things to remember:

• Pick up, or pick up and knit, ALL the bottom edge stitches. So if you cast on 24, that is the goal for you as that is the number you bound off =)
• Use the same needle size with which you knit
• Knit at least 14 rows, but no more than 20
• Don’t be afraid! If you have never done this before try doing it without investigating the how of it. Look for that after you give it a try! Just give it a go and then check afterwards to see if you did it the way your favourite reference book says to do it. Even if you did it differently, look to see what the differences were as that can be a lesson you don’t want to miss! It may be different but NOT INCORRECT! Look and see!

Record your findings in the Assignment #4 thread. Some of you miss the prompts…but I say the last thing you need is me to tell YOU what to discover and share. If you think it is insightful and worth mentioning then IT IS. Look for Part 2 on Friday. It will be the extra credit!

I have always felt like I was a little late to the party. All my life, even from 4th grade, I always felt like I cottoned onto what was popular and trendy a little later than everyone else. And in school, y’know, that can feel disastrous, but even as an adult it hasn’t seemed to get much better. I just get so wrapped up in my own world that I miss everything going on around me, until one day someone says, “But Steph, how could you not know about that?!?”

I am passionate about colour, and deeply deeply crazy about fiber arts. I always have been, ever since I begged my mum at age 11 to let me take spinning lessons, ever since I taught myself to knit at 19. But when I started dyeing, I realised I had really found the thing that works for me, and it was all I wanted to do. There was no time anymore for knitting or spinning. I submerged completely into dyeing.

So when I found Lyra, an 8-ply cabled sport yarn, my first thoughts were more about how it would dye than in how it would knit up. I tried a few skeins in the dyepots and found it takes colour beautifully… deeply… just gorgeously. But I had orders to fill and no time to knit with it, so I gave those skeins to my friend Natalie — an excellent knitter — for her feedback. She raved …and promptly asked me to dye more.

I added it to the SpaceCadet’s fleet of yarns, but didn’t really focus on it — my attention was still on the yarns I was more familiar with: my light fingering Celeste and the sparkly Lucina. But when Melissa (of Melissa Jean buttons) tried it, she decided to design her Dublin Tee in it. And then our Melissa here at Single-Handed Knits tried it, and asked for more to design her fabulous Drizzle hat with. A little late to the party as ever, I was just starting to cotton on that Lyra is a pretty special yarn.

So I cast on for a project myself and suddenly understood. Lyra is more than a dyer’s dream — it knits up beautifully. It’s sproingy and smooshy, but not at all wussy — it kind of pushes back when you squish it. And, oh, the stitch definition! Even in stockinette, it’s like each stitch is in super-focus. Ah… now I see what they were all talking about.

And now Melissa has used it for the Old Man and the Sea… and when I saw the resulting cardigan on her podcast, I couldn’t be more excited. And I immediately began dyeing up Lyra as fast as I could! There are fresh skeins in the shop, and bunch more in the dyepots.

Yes, I’m late to the party(!), and no, I still don’t have any time to myself for knitting. But I am itching itching itching to cast on this cardi. So as soon as I’ve finished dyeing Lyra for all of you, I’ll be doing something I never do — dyeing one more batch just for me. And then I will cast on the Old Man and the Sea, right along with all you. I can’t wait!

We head out and about from Kekaha to Waimea to Salt Pond and Port Allen. Whew! Along the way we don’t just experience the sights of being explorers, but also the sounds. I won’t sugar coat it for you: there are cars, chickens, birds, wind and people all contributing the the backdrop of sounds as we search out and about in nature. It is not too bad, but watch being advised. If you watch don’t remark on the sounds. They are what is known as real life noises on Kauai. If it bugs you, just hang on an additional week and next week we will find a quiet spot to chat. As for me, I prefer a less sterile environment and welcome the noises, even if they are a bit windy at times!

Thinking the sounds might get your goat? Here is a photo gallery to enjoy instead. (Click on the first image and they will enlarge!)

Well, I am super tired, so show notes will need to wait! Enjoy the podcast if you watch it! =)

~Mel

I love her tousled hair and smiling face in this picture!

My mother celebrated her birthday yesterday. She is terrific! And I love these pictures of her.

Hope you had an awesome birthday!

Next….

The Field Trip Podcast had a few…issues… Gimme an extra day to get things set and off we will head on out excursion! You will get a kick out of it!

Can I mention how stoked I am about this?

This pattern is LIVE now!

Yes! All the hours of drawing, swatching, reswatching, drafting, knitting, unknitting, unknitting…. and that is before I wrote down the first step!

The Old Man & The Sea getting it’s start

And here it is getting it’s soak!

The test knitters for this were amazing and I am so fortunate to have had their help and feedback! I will share with you who these helpful friends are in the podcast. Look for their project notes to be a help for you!

I had a great time creating this cardi! I look forward to the fun in store for us starting May 15th! Be sure to read Wednesday’s blog as it will be special and helpful to you if you are considering joining in this RAL/KAL. Interested in adding the pattern to your library? Here you go:

Ok….now before you start your monday off, here are a few beautiful things I spied today…Sunday…such pretty things to brighten your morning!

With Aloha,

~Mel

Listening to them practice over and over has been a joy. We head to town in just a bit to prepare. We are leaving a wee bit early as I plan to make it a Field Trip for you, my friends. It will be a fun podcast tomorrow evening when it posts…but for that you must be patient and it is not the point of today’s post. The photo above is.

The photo above is what was at my feet before I headed to my desktop to type this…a menagerie of so much happy knitting! But things that need to be sorted! A good schedule is updated and refined, your running or exercise formula probably gets revamped, cars need tune-ups…activities need clarification…knitting bags need peeking in to…

So lets have a peek:

She MADE this! And I LOVE it!

There is a peek inside!

In this amazing new bag I got as a birthday gift from Halcyarn with specific instructions to let my KCC knitting project “live” in it =) Mahalo for this fun bag! If you are interested in KCC, we are wrapping up Assignment #3 where we are making these funny shaped things, before our mid-term respite!

Before: It looks a bit strange…

AFTER: It still looks strange, but at least it is lying flat!

We plan to have a Study Hall/video chat to discuss things we have taught ourselves from the first 3 activities. be sure to post in the thread or blog about what you have done in order to receive details about joining in on Study Hall. We have a week off before Lesson #4 is given.

In the new bag my Dearest Mother made for my birthday I have leftovers from this:

My coffee bag with my coffee & Knitting

and I am wearing right now! I will give you more details on the podcast, but I plan to do a few quick satisfying knits with this skein. There is ample yardage still available!

We had Date Night With Natalya last night and went to see Iron Man Three. I love how Natalya is a fan girl of the same actor I was a fan girl of at her age! I quickly cast on the toe and knit the increases (which was a wide toe and shallow quick increase) before we headed to the movie, as my current sock couldn’t be knit in the dark. The movie was total top drawer kine and I knit like the wind through all the excitement! Here was my progress after the movie.

I love how Wiggles popped in the picture!

On my lap at the time of the picture is M-M-M-M-My Pogona! You have to go back and sing that like The Knack sung My Sharona. It is quite good, silly fun!

I love this!

The knitting on this is easy an pleasant.

I am happy knitting.

Tomorrow we is our Field Trip. No need have permission slips.

Here is The old Man & The Sea knit in Lyra, which Stephanie is busily putting up in the shoppe for you all!

There will be a special post about The Old Man & The Sea ReadAlong/KnitAlong either later tonight or Monday. I hope you will plug in somehow. Knitting, reading, auditing it =)

Reading this will be even more fun knowing we can chat about it together as we go!

I am just glad you are around!

I am off to get ready to be “That Mom With The Camera & The Kid’s Musical Recital.”

You could not hear me but I totally giggled. I am stoked.

With Aloha,

Mel

Ps. YES, I plan to take a bag with me to knit something…but which one? I will tell you tomorrow

The Old Man & The Sea is so close to being available! The goal is to have it set for this Monday May 6th for purchase. In the meantime I wanted to make information about this beautiful cardigan easy to understand and accessible.

So I took you to the beach! My solution to everything, of course, is get as close to salt water as possible. So watch this:

Hopefully that helps you know what to expect! You can see the yarn as well as the way the finished object looks when worn. (Not to mention the beautiful Intersections Break)  SpaceCadet Creations Lyra was my favourite yarn out of all I experimented with…and I tested lots! And if you hurry over to her shoppe I know she has lots of Lyra in Honey available now! There is also 3 skeins of Pride…a colour I love! Stephanie can also dye to order! She is, I believe, working on some Lyra right now.

Sizes are XS, S, M, L and XL  as measured 32 (36, 40, 44, 48) and yardage is mentioned and shown on the video.

After blocking measurements are:  Bust 31(34, 38.5, 42.5, 46.5)

The Old Man and The Sea is worked from the bottom up to the armpits. Sleeves are knit separately and then joined to the body (to be knit seamlessly). Raglan shaping starts as the arms are added.

This cardigan was not created to meet in the middle, but to have 1 to 2 inches of space between sides in the front. However, it is easily altered to have the sides come closer together.

Aside from weaving in a few loose ends and a small puka (“hole” under arm from joining in the round) you are pau hana as we say here in Hawaii… “finished with work”  when you cast off at the neck. You may of course add buttons or closures if desired. I love the look of the smaller version with the awesome hardware closures as pictured below

These closures are available from MelissaJeanDesigns and add so much to the sweater!

They are a reminder of the grommets and rivets that I have seen in the fishermen nets

I hope between the video and this post you have some questions answered. It is also my hope you are eager to join in on the Knit-A-Long/ Read-A-Long. You do not need to purchase the pattern to read alone with us! Everyone is welcome!

Lastly, can I ask you to share this post with your friends to help me get the word out? There are different links below you can use: twitter, FaceBook, google… I would be stoked to have as many people as possible read along and knit with us!

As Always, My Aloha to YOU,

Mel

You are a knitter & that qualifies you to be an explorer!

Aloha Friends!

The sun is out and Duckles Gatsby and Bilbo Quackins are missing the puddles! I hope you are enjoying your day regardless of the weather.

This little Duckles Gatsby is quite a duck of personality {photo credit Natalya}

We are approaching mid-term!We are approaching mid-term!

That shouldn’t alarm anyone that is just starting. It should do the opposite in fact: excite you about where the half-way point is!

Before I share the Assignment #3 I wanted to first say “WELL DONE!” to those who are actively looking at their yarn, answering questions and then sharing them. For those who are sharing on Ravelry, could I trouble you to copy and paste your interesting finds on the blog? Simply copy what you posted and paste it to the comment below the assignment to which it corresponds. If you do this and would like your photo included on the blog let me know and I will add it to the Assignment Post directing it to the appropriate comment. There are a few of our readers that are not on Ravelry and I would love to include them in on all the incredible learning going on at KKC!

Next to mention: Our first STUDY HALL! For those of you who have Assignments #1, #2, #3 worked completely with a write up on Ravelry (and the blog if possible) we will have a video chat to discuss some of what we are learning. We will focus our chat mostly on what we found in these 3 assignments. I will try to have 2 Study Hall choices for you to chose 1 to attend. When I see you have completed the assignments I will send you details. Hope this will be a fun addition to the KCC!

Now for Assignment #3 which I think is pretty quick to do, with lots of things to spend time considering!

Assignment #3

Using one of the size needles you used in Assignment #1, CO 28 sts using Long Tail Cast on Method

Start by Casting on using LongTail Method

Knit 2 rows slipping the first stitch of every row knitwise

Knit a nice edge before we start to work, it gives it a good “frame”

Now, Slip 1, K2, Purl 22, K3

Slip 1 Knit 13, Place a marker, Knit all stitches

Slip the first stitch, knit across 13 more and place a marker, then knit across the rest

Here is where we work the assignment:

For all wrong side rows you will Slip 1, K2, Purl across all the stitches that are purls, Knit the last 3 stitches

For all right side rows you will Slip 1, Knit to 2 stitches before marker, K2tog, slip marker, knit the remaining stitches. Hope the pics below help!

Work to 2 stitches before the marker

Knit these 2 together

Continue working these two rows until you can not  and then Knit 2 rows and Bind Off

After a bit you can see where you are working the K2tog

Interesting isn’t it??

Next part you will need to rework things a bit. I am not writing it out because I know you can do it without me.

Switch things a bit by making a second “Bon-Bon” as mine has been dubbed here at our hale. You will work it the same way except this time after the marker NOT BEFORE you will work the “experiment”

After slipping the marker, slip the next stitch, knit the one after, pass the slipped stitch over the one just knitted (Slip, Knit, Pass or SKP)

And another (these guys are so fast you have 3 to do!)

Combine BOTH of the previously worked in to one little Bon-Bon.

After doing these simply record in your notebook what you observe. Why might a pattern call for these?

EXTRA CREDIT: which you can use as SHOW & Tell in study hall:

Make your own Bon-Bon creatively incorporating what we just did. WIll you tweak it by Knitting through the back? Does that change anything? Maybe flip them? Use YOUR imagination. You are a knitter and that qualifies you to be an explorer!

Sending Aloha

~Mel