The Hook and I

Month: February 2006

  • Olympic Training Tips

    Beadlizard has offered some great health tips for those of us ramping up to Friday’s opening ceremonies. Go Team!

    Technorati Tags:

  • Where is your armscye?

    I was trying to find an anatomical drawing or picture that included a designation for “armscye” which in garment construction has to do with the shape of the armhole, but it seems to also be a body measurement, according to my Standard Table of Body Measurements from ASTM. Google pointed me to this Chemical Company’s web site which, for some reason has a very comprehensive searchable online textile dictionary… Check it out! (Didn’t have my armscye, by the way, but lots of neat stuff)

    Technorati Tags:

  • Middle Schoolers Weave a Good Yarn

    I recently began the second semester of my middle school knitting and crochet club at Pyle Middle School in Bethesda, MD. I had five returning students and three new ones. I wanted to start with a project that everyone could do while we were getting to know each other. After watching my daughter make a cute scarf finger knitting super-bulky yarn and then reading Crochet with Dee’s great story about teaching finger weaving to her kids and their friends I decided it would be a great first project.

    We all had a skein of Homespun and we each created a 5-foot piece of finger knitting. I’m going to crochet them together and we’ll donate the scarf to Food and Friends.

    It worked perfectly–everyone was finger knitting within a couple of minutes and we all could chat about our knitting projects, what we’ve been making and what we want to accomplish over the semester. (They’d like to do more charity knitting making scarves and baby hats) We also decided it would be cool to make a garment because only one of them had done that so far, so we’re going to try our hand at modular crochet beginning with the next class. I’ll update with pictures and progress on the sweaters soon.

    Technorati Tags:

  • A stash grows in Takoma Park–or why not to enter another yarn store after you’ve already purchased yarn for a project!

    I’ve been really good, for a long time. Really. I was even feeling a little bit smug reading Stephanie’s open letter to her stash because I had just finished giving away a lot of yarn!

    But really, you could say it’s all Stephanie’s fault. She’s the one who started the Knitting Olympics. So there.

    At any rate, When I first thought about knitting socks, the idea of knitting two things that were identical didn’t really appeal to me, so I thought I’d find two complementary skeins and make a mis-matched set. The shop where I got my first ball of sock yarn didn’t have two skeins I thought would work well together, but when I was at Knit Happens in Alexandria, VA today, I found this beautiful Lornas Laces Shepheard sock yarn. Resistance was futile. This is why I try to only enter yarn shops when I’m teaching a class–no time to shop.

    I also picked up the newest issue of Knit.1 Another Lion Brand-centric pub, but this one is produced by Vogue, so you get to see Lion Brand yarns designed into patterns by Teva Durham. And they always a few very hip looking crocheted numbers.

    This new issue has an article by Team Hooker member and CrochetMeeditor Kim Werker! Go Kim!! It’s a great piece on amigurumi. Kim now has a regular column in the mag, so I think I’ll have to subscribe.

    Technorati Tags:

  • Knitting Olympics — Sock Event

    Ah peer pressure… After reading that Kim was joining the Knitting Olympics I was finally convinced I’d just have to make the time.

    I’ve decided complete my first ever pair of knitted socks and I went shopping today at Yarns International in Bethesda where my friend Jennifer helped me pick yarn (Lanna Grossa) needles 1.5s–gasp! and instructions.

    If, by chance I finish the socks with time to spare, I will attempt a second event–lace knitting–and make a pair of fingerless gloves.

    Oh and stay tuned–Kim and I will be unveiling a new team affiliation for crocheters who knit!

    ****UPDATE! We have a new blog for “Team Hooker” — if you’re a crocheter who’s decided to knit something for the Knitting Olympics–join us. Folks who already have other team affiliations are still welcome to post. Just comment at the Team Blog and leave us your e-mail address so we can add you as a contributor–then you can post about your projects during the Olympics. A Button will follow shortly. GO TEAM!!****

    Technorati Tags: