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TKGA Master Hand Knitter Level 1 Knit-along Archives

Knit-alongers:

Sarah

Wendy S.

Debbi

Karen

Barbara C.

Daphne

Bren

June P. -- Level 1 accepted!

Jenanne

Teresa C.

Jenne

Morgan

Denise

Martheme

Betsy

Sharon

Kate

Mari

Denise D.

Nancy K.

Linda

Pam

Kathryn -- Level 1 accepted!

Shannon

Larissa

Dorothy

Jennifleur

Cathi

Vanessa

Nancy

Melise

AnDy

Joanne

Kiem

Suzanne

Jill -- Level 1 accepted!

Barb

Eileen

Sharon

Stacy

Felicia

Jennifer F.

Jane -- Level 1 accepted!

Karen V.

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

I have officially resigned as host(ess) of the monthly Master Knitter events at ThreadBear Fiber Arts Studio.  As Rob noted, each month I was going through the exact same explanation with a different group of (dis)interested knitters.  I haven't been working on the program at all -- I've got too much "work" knitting on my plate.  One of the former attendees, who has actually made it through Level 1 and is working toward Level 2, said she viewed each level as a separate project so she could devote her attention to getting it completed.  I had thought I would do a swatch here and a question there, but I've come to realize that I can't do my best work that way.  So, because I don't have anything to offer beyond explaining how the program works, I stepped down.

In separate but related news, I'll keep the TKGA Level 1 knit-along active, but I'll probably move the list of names to the Archive page.  The swatches will stay in my Pile of Things to Do -- I WILL get to them eventually.  Just not in the near future.

Tuesday, March 8, 2005

First, welcome Karen V. to the TKGA Knit-along!  As I said to Karen V., this is probably one of the lamest knit-alongs I've seen. I haven't heard from anyone for months, and my own swatches have moved to the back burner while I get some "work" knitting done.

Monday, December 13, 2004

Jane is not only joining the TKGA Knit-along, but has had her Level 1 submission accepted already!  Congratulations, Jane!  (Hey Jane -- I grew up in the North Hills!)

Sunday, November 21, 2004

Our Master Knitters group at ThreadBear early this afternoon was kind of sparsely attended, which I'm blaming on the Thanksgiving holiday.  For that reason, we unanimously decided (all three of us) to skip December's meeting, which falls in the middle of an equally busy holiday time, and to start up again in January.  I'll try to post another reminder in mid-December.

Friday, November 5, 2004

To update yesterday's discussion of left-hand knitting:

There was a posting to the masterknit-usa list from Debby Johnston at Offinger Management regarding the growing brouhaha about left handed knitting.  She said:

Thursday, November 4, 2004

There has been some discussion on the masterknit-usa list about left-handed knitters, and how they should be required to work their swatches for the TKGA Master Handknitter program. 

There's often confusion when it comes to people who hold the yarn in their left hand (which is Continental knitting, but NOT left-handed knitting) while moving the stitches from the left-hand needle to the right-hand needle, vs. true left-handed knitters, who move stitches from the right-hand needle to the left-hand needle as they work.

The way commercial patterns are written, they expect you to work from the left-hand needle to the right-hand needle, regardless of which hand holds the yarn.  It would be nice if they said "left leaning decrease" or "right leaning decrease", but they don't -- they say "ssk" and "k2tog".

I have one truly left-handed knitting friend, who constantly knits beautiful lacy sweaters of her own design.  She called me in a panic one day because she was trying to work from a pattern for once, but couldn't get the shaping to work out correctly.  I told her to do k2tog when it said SSK, and vice versa, and that did the trick for her.  I knew what to tell her because . . . 

I also have one truly left-handed knitting student (out of almost 500 students I've taught over the years -- that's not a very high percentage, is it?  .002%).  She and I had a bit of a struggle in the beginning, but eventually figured out that she just had to do the opposite of what I say most of the time.  That worked great for everything except Kitchener stitch, which she ended up figuring out on her own after watching me for a while.  I demonstrate things for her by sitting across from her, rather than next to her as I try to do for my other students. 

My left-handed student is working on the Master Knitter program, so I'd be interested in getting a definitive answer on what the TKGA committee expects.

a) Should the truly left-handed knitters be required to work their swatches in the "traditional" sense (from the left-hand needle to the right-hand needle) while following the directions as written, which is contrary to how they normally knit?

b) Should the truly left-handed knitters be allowed to use their left-handed method of knitting (from the right-hand needle to the left-hand needle) while following the directions as written, which wouldn't produce the intended result (shaping wouldn't look the way it was supposed to, for example)? 

c) Should the truly left-handed knitters be allowed to use their left-handed method of knitting (from the right-hand needle to the left-hand needle) while tweaking the directions, in order to produce the intended result?  The shaping would look as expected, but the decreases (for example) called for in the directions wouldn't have been used. 

Is there another option that should be considered?  Should the knitters be required to provide a written description of how they achieved the desired effect, if it was contrary to how they normally knit or to what the committee expects?

Any opinions?

Tuesday, November 2, 2004

June P. let me know that her TKGA Level 1 submission was accepted without any revisions -- way to go, June!

Monday, October 25, 2004

Jill has passed Level 1!!!  Woo hoo!  She has to re-submit one swatch (#4), but that appears to be a mere formality.  Congratulations, Jill!

Sunday, October 17, 2004

I was busy yesterday and today making a big ol' pile of swatches:

These are my practice swatches for the TKGA knit-along.  I'm trying out a bunch of different techniques on each one, and documenting everything as I go, so I can refer back to these if I want to remember what something looked like.  I think I'm going to end up with a larger companion notebook to my Level 1 notebook, documenting all the attempts along the way. 

The turquoise samples are in preparation for Swatch #1, the coral ones for Swatch #2, and the heathered purple ones are for Swatch #3.  I haven't actually made any of my "real" swatches.  I'm not quite ready yet.   

I cranked these swatches out because this afternoon was the Master Knitters gathering at ThreadBear (meets the third Sunday of each month).  We had a few more people in attendance this time (including the birthday girl!) -- the more the merrier!  We talked about tension, and I shared what I had discovered about combined knitting and what I'm calling "reverse" combined knitting (brought to my attention by Vicki Sever, and detailed in my October 11 entry).

I also demonstrated the "suspended bind off", which I just discovered last night.  I can't believe I'd never seen it before -- it's in my oft-referenced knitting how-to books like Vogue Knitting and the Readers Digest Knitter's Handbook, but I had never noticed it.  It's worked exactly like a regular bind off (work two stitches, pass the first stitch over the second and off the right-hand needle) except for the following:  After you pass the stitch over, you leave it on the left-hand needle while you work the next stitch, then drop both of those stitches off of the left-hand needle.  This gives a little bit more length to the bound off stitches, which is handy if you tend to bind off too tightly. 

And on the subject of slip knots, which I was wondering about last Wednesday:  Most of my knitting reference books direct you to make a slip knot before beginning any cast on.  Sally Melville's Knit Stitch book and Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop both show how to start the long tail cast on without a slip knot, but not with a twist like I've always used.  Both books describe draping the yarn over the needle (without twisting) and then working the long tail cast on.

So to summarize:  Within this past week, I've learned how to cast on, knit and purl, and bind off.

Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? 

Hey!  Who are you calling an old dog???

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

I've also been working on some practice samples for Swatch #1 for the TKGA knit-along.  The 2x2 rib wasn't fighting with me as much as the 1x1, so I haven't had to fuss as much with this one. 

My latest dilemma -- whether or not to start my cast on with a slip knot.  I haven't used one for years and years -- I just give a little twist to the yarn around the needle and off I go with my long tail cast on.  I don't remember seeing any documentation discussing slip knots vs. no slip knots.  I'll look through my reference books and see if there's anything there.  What do YOU prefer?

Jennifer F. has joined the TKGA Knit-along, and I've added Michelle and Leslie to the Celtic Dreams knit-along.  Welcome!

Monday, October 11, 2004

I was a VERY good girl and worked hard on my TKGA swatches.  Well, on my TKGA swatch (singular). 

I spent a good part of the day practicing for Swatch #2, which I'm doing first, because that's the one I knew I'd have the most trouble with. 

I tried my regular 1x1 rib.  It looked bad, as I knew it would.  Those knit columns were zig-zagging all over the place.  I tried Annie's Combined Knitting, which I've been practicing so diligently with my ribbed purple swatches.  It didn't look much better.  I went through my notes -- a lot of people have e-mailed me a lot of suggestions, and I thank all of you for your help.  The one that worked, though, was the suggestion from Vicki.  It's kind of like Combined Knitting in reverse.  In Annie's version, you wrap your purl stitches "backward", and then work into the backs of the knit stitches.  In Vicki's version, you wrap your KNIT stitches "backward", and then work into the backs of the PURL stitches.  I could see an immediate difference with that method. 

Here's a photo of my first two practice swatches (of four) for Swatch #2:

On the swatch on the left, the bottom half of the ribbing is my plain old 1x1 rib.  See the zigs and zags?  The top half of that one, and the bottom half of the swatch on the right, are both Annie's Combined Knitting.  Still a little zigging and zagging going on, but not as much.  The top half of the swatch on the right is Vicki's version.  See the difference?  I practiced with two more sample swatches after this, and got it looking just about perfect.  Whew! 

It's all a function of how the yarn travels from one stitch to the next.  I just had to keep trying until I found the method that worked for me. 

I'll try to knit my "real" Swatch #2 tomorrow, and get started practicing Swatch #1's 2x2 rib.  I'm supposed to have the first three swatches done before Sunday's Master Knitters gathering at ThreadBear.

Felicia has ordered her Level 1 packet and has asked to join the TKGA Knit-along.  Welcome, Felicia!

Tuesday, October 5, 2004

Stacy has joined the TKGA Knit-along -- welcome!

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

I'm shocked and appalled that Chris would think I'm trying to sneak a new, unscheduled sweater past you, my faithful readers.  Shocked and appalled, I tell you.  All I'm trying to do is study for my TKGA swatches by practicing that Combined Knitting technique in a variety of practical situations, like casting on, underarm shaping, neck shaping, shoulder shaping, etc.  I've even decided to further my study by casting on for a third, even larger swatch in order to practice back neck shaping.  I suppose Chris is going to have the nerve to call this one a "sweater back".  Amazing.

Shocked.

Appalled.

Monday, September 27, 2004

In anticipation of the ribbed swatches for the TKGA Level 1 knit-along, I thought it best to get in a little practice, so during this past weekend I cast on with some of my new Como yarn and practiced working a 3x3 rib using Combined Knitting (after studying Annie Modesitt's book, Confessions of a Knitting Heretic).  I'm wrapping clockwise on the purl stitches (clockwise in relation to the point of the needle, which is the opposite of how I normally wrap any of my stitches), and then knitting into the backs of the knit stitches (with counter-clockwise wraps). 

Here's my swatch, which I washed and lightly blocked (laid flat to dry, actually):

Oops!  I just noticed that I photographed the swatch from what I consider to be the "wrong" side.  Pop quiz for my students -- can you see why? 

The ribbing seemed to work out just fine.  My stitches appear to be consistent.  I don't have a swatch done in my "normal" knitting to compare this one to, unfortunately -- maybe I'll make one someday soon.

Sunday, September 19, 2004

Before I forget to mention it, I've added Michelle to the Celtic Dreams knit-along, and Barb, Eileen and Sharon to the TKGA Master Level 1 knit-along.  Welcome, everyone! 

I hosted the first gathering of the Master Knitters group at ThreadBear this afternoon.  We talked about registering for the program and getting started on our swatches, and I handed out a list of resources that might be helpful.  Here's a copy of the handout that I, um, handed out.  We've decided to try to get the first three swatches and as many of the first batch of questions done as we can before we meet next month -- we'll have to wait until we get to swatch 14 before we finish answering the questions.

Thursday, September 2, 2004

I had a little pep talk with myself this afternoon, and I think I can hold off on starting a new project until I get some finished ones under my belt.  I shuffled some papers (various knitting to-do lists sorted in various configurations) and realized that I only have about 8 or 9 projects actually ON THE NEEDLES.  Amazing.  I thought I had lots more (LOTS more), but some I'm never going to finish, so they can come OFF the needles, some I haven't actually started, so those don't count as WIPs, and one is a repair, which is why I say 8 or 9 -- I don't think that it counts, but I should finish it anyway.

Why do I care about getting the in-process projects done before the third Sunday in September?  Debbi guessed that I'm going to join her spinning group.  No, Debbi -- not even tempted, but thanks anyway.  Sharon hoped it wouldn't interfere with the Master Knitters group that starts that same day.  No, Sharon, it won't, because it's the Master Knitters group that I'm worried about! 

Here's the deal: 

I started working on my TKGA swatches back in April, when the whole TKGA knit-along thing started.  I came to a screeching halt with the 1x1 ribbed swatch.  Since when does my ribbing look so bad?  Is that why I never use 1x1 rib?  Egads!

I tried a couple things to fix the awfulness, but nothing helped, so I threw everything in a bag, and there it still sits.

Flash forward to now.  I'll be hosting the Master Knitters group for ThreadBear, starting the third Sunday in September.  I'm going to make a concerted effort to alter my knitting technique in order to even out the apparent gauge differences between my knits and my purls.  You understand that?  I'm going to CHANGE THE WAY I KNIT.  That's a scary concept, but I'm kind of excited about it.

So I can't be in the middle of any projects, can I?

Hey, if Tiger Woods can start from scratch, I guess I can, too.  Of course, he's not as good as he used to be . . .

But I bet he didn't have to finish a backlog of golf rounds before he made the switch.

Thursday, August 5, 2004

Suzanne has asked to join the TKGA Knit-along.  Welcome!

I got a very cool e-mail from Kathryn, whose Level 1 submission was accepted without any revisions.  Here's what Kathryn said:

Thursday, July 22, 2004

Please join me in welcoming purlgirl to the TKGA Knit-along!

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

Dorothy e-mailed me to let me know that she's made progress on her TKGA Level 1 swatches.  Go, Dorothy, go!

Joanne has joined the knit-along, and already has some swatches done.  Way to go, Joanne!

Here's the rest of Kathryn's information:

First are all my rejected swatches 1, 2, and 3. They look ok in this

picture, but trust me, the stockinette and k1p1 ribbing left a lot to

be desired. I eventually ran out of the yellow wool so I redid these 3

swatches and swatch 14 in Red Heart Acrylic. My k1p1 ribbing and

stockinette came out much better. I'm hoping it is because of all my

practice and not that I'm destined to only knit with industrial

strength acrylic.

Next are my rejected lace and cable swatches. Basically it was a
continuing stockinette problem. The cable swatches were actually pretty
good, but being swatch 14, it had to be done in the same yarn as swatch
1, 2, and 3.

Third are my decrease swatches. The three columns on the left are all
k2tog. The whitest ones actually had my best stockinette efforts to
date. The problem was the yarn. It was old and had ugly light brown
discoloration spots sprinkled all over my two swatches. At least my
purl sides no longer had disgusting gutter rows.
 

Fourth are my rejected increase swatches. Same problem. Stockinette
with gutter rows.

Fifth are some of my practice strips. Other than rejected swatches, you
are essentially looking at all I knitted during February and March.

Last is a close up of my k1p1 ribbing nightmare. I would love to hear
how others have overcome this switchback column problem.

Finally, my finished book.

I can't tell you how happy I am to have closure. I definitely met all
of my goals for Level 1.
I'll let you know what suggestions the reviewer makes when it is
returned.

Kathryn

Wow!  That's a lot of work!  Her ribbed swatch looks just like my ribbing.  I like that Kathryn included a picture of her binder -- it shows you what all that work has to be pared down to.

Thanks for sharing your submission with us, Kathryn -- very helpful!

Tuesday, June 22, 2004

As promised, I want to pass on the photos and explanations that Kathryn sent me of her TKGA Master Hand Knitter Level 1 submission.  Today, you get her original e-mail to me:

Well, so much for keeping people posted on what I've accomplished. I've

gone from nothing to finished in 4 months. I finally decided that I had

knitted the swatches as much as was humanly possible. My husband is

going to review my answers for completeness since at this point I'm too

close to the project to ever hope to catch any mistakes. My daughter is

going to make me some nice graphics to slide into the sleeve of the

binder and I hope to mail it all on Tuesday.

The quest for wonderfully tensioned swatches just about did me in. I'm

not a new knitter and always thought my skills were at the intermediate

level. I can't tell you how many feet of 20-stitch ribbing and

stockinette I did, with all different types of yarn, to try and figure

out what I was doing wrong. The entire month of February was spent

literally on stockinette stitch. I went to all the usual internet sites

for help. I tried combined knitting. I even retrained myself to knit

continental, and I did lots of swearing. After a few weeks of knitting

tighter and tighter and giving myself carpal tunnel problems, I finally

realized that for some strange reason I knit looser than I purl. All

the books say people purl looser than they knit. I'm obviously not

normal. Knitting continental, purling a bit looser combined with

knitting a bit tighter has given me the best results and my wrists no

longer hurt.

Ribbing is a whole other horror story. I am much better, but k1p1

ribbing is definitely still a work in progress. My knit stitches kept

leaning to the right and my purl stitches on the next row kept leaning

to the left when looking at the fabric from the front side. I basically

had columns of drunken stitches. A woman at my knitting guild suggested

I insert my needle, gently snug up any slack, knit the stitch, but

relax the yarn tension as I'm removing the stitch from the needle. The

only way the knit stitch can lean to the right is if there is too

little yarn from the knit to the next purl and too much yarn from the

purl stitch to the next knit. It has helped. For some reason I also

found that some wools were easier for me to get good results, such as

Lamb's Pride Worsted, and others were difficult, such as old Red Heart

Knitting Wool Worsted. Ribbing is something I will continue to work at.

K2P2 ribbing has been a bit easier. I still have to be careful with too

much yarn going from the last knit stitch to the first purl stitch. I

tried all the usually remedies without much luck. I liked the idea of

combined knitting the first purl stitch, I loved how my yarn didn't

coil up as I went, but my stitches never looked smooth. I haven't given

up on its promise, but I couldn't use it for finishing my Level 1

swatches.

I can send you pictures if you'd liked them. I have a box full of

rejected swatches and test strips. I am very glad I went through this

program, regardless of how my book is ultimately critiqued. I am a much

more conscious knitter, I can finally knit continental, and my ribbing

has definitely improved.

I will order Level 2 as soon as I pass Level 1.

Thank you for hosting the knit along. It got me motivated and on the

path to becoming a master knitter.

Kathryn

Wow!  I'm going to have to get started on one of those multi-feet swatches of ribbing soon.  One of the yarn stores I teach for has asked me to host a Master Knitter workshop, so that might just be the kick in the pants I need to finally put those swatches at the top of my list of things to do!  Details to follow.

Tomorrow, Kathryn's photos!

Wednesday, June 16, 2004

Kathryn submitted her TKGA Master Knitter Level 1 entries to the committee a few weeks ago (congratulations, Kathryn!), and sent me lots of photos and explanations of the problems she had.  I'll post those in the next day or so.

I was invited to join the Master Knitter web ring, which I did, in the hopes that it would help motivate me to get going on my swatches again.  I WANT to work on them, but I feel like there are other things I have to do first.  I need to re-prioritize if I'm ever going to get through Level 1.

The Spring 2004 issue of Cast On had an article entitled "How many Master Knitters are there?"  Of the 300 people who submitted their entries between October 2001 and December 2003 (the time frame for which the current management company has records), 193 have passed their level, and the rest are still pending.  This includes both hand and machine knitting.  Of the hand knitters, 223 passed Level 1, 53 passed Level 2, and 21 passed Level 3.  I think those are pretty good numbers.  Since the program's beginning in 1987, 118 hand knitters have successfully completed all three levels.

A while back, I noticed that At the Green Frog had posted about having received her Level 1 submission back from the committee.  That was on March 6, 2004, and I went back and found some entries in her January 2004 archives about her swatching process.  I couldn't see whether she had re-submitted the one swatch the committee wasn't happy with.

I've really got to get working on my swatches.

Sunday, May 16, 2004

We have another newcomer to the TKGA Knit-along.  Say hello to AnDy, who saw the TKGA Knit-along button on a page of knit-alongs posted to the KnitList.  Cool!  Hi AnDy!

Friday, May 7, 2004

Please welcome Melise to the TKGA Knit-along!

Thursday, April 15, 2004

I'm off to Pittsburgh for a long weekend, with hospital knitting in tow.  My mom fell and broke her collarbone and hip earlier this week, and had surgery for a partial hip replacement this afternoon.  I'll probably be back on Monday.  In the mean time, go read Nanette's blog, there's tons of great information for you TKGA Knit-alongers there. 

Tuesday, April 6, 2004

Larissa sent an e-mail a while back that made me smile.  In reference to the completion of her first TKGA Knit-along swatch (hooray!), she said:

It's kind of stretched (the blocking was not right on), but I have
decided that if I'm a perfectionist I'm never going to finish.  So I'm
just doing these as well as I can, trying for a sort of "gift to someone
I like" standard.

A "gift to someone I like" standard!  I love it!

Sunday, March 21, 2004

Cathi and Vanessa are joining the TKGA Knit-along.  Welcome, ladies!

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Jennifer asked whether it's too late to join the TKGA Knit-along.  No it's not!  I think I'll even join in myself one of these days (what a bad hostess I am!).  Welcome, Jennifer!

Thursday, February 19, 2004

This one actually has to do with the TKGA knit-along.  Larissa asked whether I include the stitches on the needle when I measure my knitting.  My answer?  No.  Those stitches on the needle could become the "V"s of knit stitches or the bumps of purl stitches, depending on what happens on the next row, so I don't usually count them as a completed row -- they're part of what comes next.  When I'm counting my rows, I don't include them either -- I just count the rows of "V"s (or whatever) below the needles.  To test this, look at your knitting the next time you start a new piece.  After you've cast on and knit one row, you should see one row of "V"s underneath the needle (on the knit side), and a row of stitches on the needle.  One row of "V"s equals one row knit.  The exception to this is with color knitting.  If the row of stitches on the needle is white, then that counts as one white row.  Blows my theory, but there you have it.

Tuesday, February 10, 2004

Larissa has made progress in the TKGA Knit-along!  ANY progress is good progress, right?

Thursday, February 5, 2004

Dorothy joins the TKGA knit-along!  Anybody else want to join?

Wednesday, February 4, 2004

Sharon e-mailed me today to bring me up-to-date on her progress for the TKGA knit-along (hooray, Sharon!).  One thing she mentioned was that she xeroxed her instructions.  That's something I've been meaning to mention, but keep forgetting.  One of the requirements is to include a copy of the TKGA instructions in the notebook you submit to the judges.  I think it would be a good idea to make a copy and put them in the notebook right away, before they get written on or crinkled in your knitting bag.  If it's too late for a nice clean copy, you can always contact TKGA and have them send you another one, which they will do free of charge.

Sunday, January 24, 2004

Say hello to new TKGA Knit-along member Larissa.  Hi, Larissa!

Monday, January 19, 2004

Thanks to Teresa C., I looked for a copy of the new Vogue Knitting Magazine today, and read Meg Swansen's article which had suggestions for how to tighten up those loose stitches in the knit columns of our 2x2 ribbing.  Talk about timely!  I've got a couple more ideas to try now, and then I'll give up and just knit the damn swatches.

Sunday, January 18, 2004

TKGA Knit-along progress reported from Pam!  New website from Teresa C.!  Yippee!

I'm having the same issues with loose knit stitches on the left hand side of the ribbed columns in this Bed & Breakfast sweater as I had with my first TKGA Level 1 swatch.  That's why I've postponed the swatches until I get this sweater done -- I don't want to solve the problem (yeah, right) and have my gauge change before I finish all the sweater pieces. 

I'm also wondering if a more tightly plied yarn might help mask the loose stitches?  Hmm. 

Wednesday, January 14, 2004

Kathryn and Shannon join the TKGA Knit-along!  Welcome!

Kate has been swatching -- hooray!

Sharon reports a wee bit of knit-along progress, with earnest intentions of more serious progress to follow!

Monday, January 12, 2004

I've put my TKGA Knit-along swatches on hold for a few days -- I suddenly realized that my "invisible" increases on Swatch #1 had been twisted twice (no wonder they were so nice and tight), so I'm definitely going to have to start from scratch.  I'm still trying to figure out tension issues, too.  I'll definitely keep you posted.

Friday, January 9, 2004

Pam joins the TKGA knit-along!  Welcome!

I added a TKGA Level 1 Archive button on the top left of the screen (see it?), so any interested parties can find all of my knit-along commentary in one place.  I've also added a link underneath the pretty TKGA Knit-along button that Teresa made.

I'm now of the opinion that my purl stitches are just fine, and that the loose stitches I'm experiencing are from the knit stitches at the beginning of my ribbing rows, rather than the purl stitches at the end of my ribbing rows.  I can snug the loose stitches up by tugging on the edge stitches next to them.  You know how the edge stitches look like a series of knots and straight lines?  If I tug on the straight lines, my uneven knit stitches in the second column snug right up.  Hear that, Wendy S.?  I cannot, however, figure out how to snug them up during the knitting process. 

So I give up.

I've been doing a little research, and have gotten some good hints from some good people (thanks to all of you!).  Here's what I've found, and I'm sure there's lots more:

Nanette blogged about "Things to Remember for the Master Knitter Program in her 9/22/03 entry, and also had some good information in her 9/16/03 entry, including links to the masterknit-usa yahoo group, which I've already mentioned as a resource, and to Flory's So you want to be a Master Knitter, which I was just directed to today by Debbie in St. Louis.  Flory also has some other good links and information useful to the Master Handknitter program (she's on the judging committee). 

Nanette also mentioned the TKGA's message board with a section for Master Knitter discussions -- that should be a good source, since this is a TKGA program we're working on, right?

Archived on the TKGA Members Only site are some of the On Your Way to the Masters articles, including one on tension problems, one on yarn tails, and an excellent one called By Hand, A Personal Testimony.  Worth looking at.  If you're a TKGA member, the log in information is on the membership card that was mailed to you.

While researching a solution to the loose stitches in my (and Wendy S.'s) ribbing, I was led to Annie Modesitt's Combined Knitting, which I experimented with for a little while, and which is worth looking into, but I don't think I can make the switch as long as I'm teaching knitting classes.  It consists of wrapping your purl stitches backward, and knitting into the backs of stitches to compensate for the twisted stitches (caused by wrapping your purl stitches backward).  I'll be playing around with that some more.  Does anyone know how to pronouce Annie's last name?  That's been bugging me.

Ann had uneven knit and purl stitches in her ribbing, too, and blogged about her solution in her 8/27/03 entry.  It uses a mutation of the combined knitting, which could be worth trying. 

So maybe I won't give up just yet.

Thursday, January 8, 2004

Turns out Mari is the creative genius behind the skull and crossbones version of Cameron's Cap, as well as a TKGA Knit-alonger (knitter-along?) who has gotten started on her swatches.  Good job on both counts, Mari!

I started Swatch #1 today.  Why, after thirty-plus years of knitting do I suddenly doubt every stitch I make?  For example, I prefer the long tail cast on, so that's what I used for my swatch.  I don't use a slipknot when I start -- I just twist the yarn around the needle and begin casting on.  After about an inch of the required 2x2 ribbing, I stopped and looked at my cast on row, and realized that without a slipknot, I don't have a well-defined corner -- something that's never bothered me before, but makes me nervous now.  So I tore out my inch of knitting, made a slipknot, and started again. 

Here's my swatch, unblocked because I'm not happy with it yet:

I'm not at all happy with that first column of knit stitches in the ribbing (on the right).  Wendy S. commented Monday that she was having trouble with the tension of that column (I think that's what she was referring too -- I'm waiting for confirmation).  Either she jinxed me, or I've always had that problem but never realized it.  After intense scrutiny, I've decided that I must be creating a loose purl stitch at the end of every row (the second to last stitch, actually), which, on the other side, translates into a loose knit stitch in every other row of that column.  Clear as mud, right?  Maybe you can see it better here:

Or maybe not.  This photo was actually taken to show my wonderfully invisible increases.  Can you see them?  They're invisible from both sides, too, which I feel is a great accomplishment.

I think I managed to work the garter stitch without incident.  I could be wrong.

Wednesday, January 7, 2004

Wendy S. reports progress on the TKGA Knit-along!  So does Teresa!  And Barbara C.! 

Monday, January 5, 2004

In TKGA Knit-along news, I did absolutely nothing today, but progress has been reported from Karen and Bren.  Hooray!  I'm putting little "+" signs next to the names of people who let me know they are getting something accomplished on their TKGA swatches or questions -- even if they're just burning up some brain cells thinking about it. 

That's still progress, right Debbi?

Sunday, January 4, 2004

Yes, I said PROGRESS!  Betsy and Debbi have made progress -- congratulations!!!  I haven't knit a stitch yet, but I'm ready to, so that counts as progress, too! 

My intent is to work on one swatch (of 16) and one question (of 14) each week until everything is done (the blocking report counts as two weeks' worth of questions).  Sixteen weeks from start to finish.  Give or take.

Here are my supplies so far:

Three skeins of Plymouth Galway in a lovely light blue -- I intend to use the same yarn for all of the swatches, and Plymouth Galway is the nicest and most reliable wool I know of.  The TKGA directions call for a smooth, light-colored worsted weight yarn.  I chose wool because of it's wonderful block-ability.

I already had a box of "tie-on tags" , so I'm going to try to use those.  They're Avery 11012 Marking Tags (Strung) from Office Max.

No three ring binder yet, until I see how thick it needs to be.

To provide an atmostphere of good karma for all this knit-along stuff, I'm keeping everything in the bag I got from Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp this past summer.

I finally sat down and compared the three versions of TKGA instructions that I had copies of -- May 2002, May 2003 and October 2003.  After about half a page of three-way cross-referencing, I got smart and threw out the May 2002 version, since that's way too old.  The only difference between the May 2003 and October 2003 versions was a fairly major one -- Question 12 is completely different.  It refers to the Craft Yarn Council of America's (CYCA) Standards & Guidelines for Crochet and Knitting, which was provided with both the May 2003 and October 2003 TKGA instructions, and was dated April 2003 in both cases. 

After reading through the instructions thoroughly, here's my initial take on everything:

Question 1 has to wait until Swatches 1, 2, 3 and 14 are done, so I won't be working on Question 1 this week.  I'm wondering, though, why Question 1 ends with a question about garter stitch ridges, when they have nothing to do with anything else discussed up to that point.  Unless it relates to counting rows for gauge.  Whatever.

Swatches 1, 2 and 3 are supposed to be "Ribbing, Basic Stitches and Gauge", but there's a catch -- Swatches 1 and 2 include increases, and we'll have to figure out which increases are the best ones to use in each situation.  It's strictly a matter of opinion.  Swatches 1, 2, 3, and 14 must be blocked before answering Question 1.

Questions 2 and 3 can be done any time, so I'll probably start with those.

Question 4 has to wait until Swatches 1, 2, 3, 4 and 14 are done.

Swatches 4, 5 and 6 are increase swatches.  Remember to read the paragraph preceding the instructions for these swatches.

Questions 5 and 6, theoretically, should be answered after Swatches 4, 5 and 6 are done, but don't really have to be.

Swatches 7, 8 and 9 are decrease swatches. 

Questions 7, 8 and 9 should be answered after Swatches 7, 8 and 9 are done.  Question 9 is a good one!  It's going to force me to see a difference between SSK and SKpsso, which I've always sworn are exactly the same. 

Swatches 10, 11 and 12 are yarn over increase swatches.

Questions 10 and 11 are easy ones!

Swatches 13, 14 and 15 are cable swatches.

Question 12 is different in the October 2003 version of the TKGA instructions.  Make sure you have a current copy to work from -- TKGA will send you updates for free!

Question 13 is another good question -- I need to become more confident when substituting yarns.

Question 14 -- another good one, about joining new colors of yarn.  This will be a good learning experience for me!

Swatch 16 goes with Question 14.  This one makes me nervous.

The blocking report can be written any time -- I may do this early on, since so many of the questions have to wait until the corresponding swatches have been done.

And finally (whew!), the bibliography.  I pulled all of my knitting books from all over the house and organized them in my "knitting room".  Here they are:

More than any knitter needs, I think, but they make me happy.  The bottom row consists of notes from classes I teach and classes I've taken, my feeble and sporadic attempts at documenting some of my knitting projects, and binders of loose patterns, sorted by category.

I seem to have 31 of the 51 books listed in the TKGA bibliography.  Oh my.

I've been asked about chat rooms and about the masterknit-usa Yahoo group.  I'm not going to set up anything official, although I may put my TKGA related posts in a separate archive for easy reference in case anyone is interested.  The masterknit-usa group will be a wonderful resource, as its intended purpose is "for people enrolled in the tkga's master knitting program to ask questions and seek support from their fellow learners". 

My reason for hosting this knit-along is purely selfish -- if I know someone else is doing it, I'll be motivated to start the swatches and to keep working on them.  It's as simple as that, and it's already working.

Cool.

Saturday, January 3, 2004

At least part of tomorrow (Sunday) is going to be spent going over my TKGA Master Level 1 stuff to make sure I've got everything.  What????  Why????  Because it will be January 4, which just happens to be the beginning of the TKGA Master Level 1 knit-along!  Knitters, start your swatches!  I'll just be gathering materials tomorrow, and will start the actual dirty work Monday or Tuesday.  Has anyone else started yet?  How's it going?  I'll send a nagging e-mail in a day or so.

Thursday, December 4, 2003

Oh!  And Linda is joining the TKGA Knit-along.  I'd better get moving on that, eh?

Monday, December 1, 2003 (ack!)

Nancy K. has joined the TKGA Knit-along!

Monday, November 24, 2003

Denise D. has joined the TKGA Knit-along.  Yay, Denise!

Sarah

Sunday, November 23, 2003

Lookie at the TKGA Knit-along list!  It's grown!  Welcome Martheme, Betsy, Sharon, Kate, and Mari!  Whew!  That makes 20 knit-alongers!  Yee haw!  (Yee haw?  Where did THAT come from?  Knit-along, little dogie!)

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

I was asked about the TKGA Master Hand Knitter Level 1 Knitalong today, and thought I should explain it again, to see if anyone else would like to join in.  But since I'm too lazy to write it all down again, I'm going to pull my previous description from my September 2003 archives (ooh, look -- purple!):

We're planning on starting in January.  I've never hosted a knit-along before, so I'm not really sure what to do.  I just figured I'd nag everybody constantly and see if that works. 

How much will it cost?  TKGA charges $30 for the Level 1 (Advanced Beginner) Master Hand Knitting Program.  You will also need supplies (yarn, tags, page protectors, binder), and Nanette warns me that there will be a need for a lot of reference books.  This is where I thought the knit-along would be helpful.  While it would seem odd for all of us to turn in the exact same swatches and answers, I think a pooling of ideas and technical know-how will make the process easier.  Not sure how that will work yet.  There are a lot of on-line sources we can use, too.  Nanette mentioned some of them in her September 16 post.

How should the timing work?  Level 1 requires sixteen (16) knitted swatches, fourteen (14) questions (to which they expect answers, I assume), and one (1) report on blocking.  If we worked on one item a week, that would take 31 weeks.  Too long, I think.  A swatch and a question each week would take 16 weeks (if the report counts as a two week project).  That sounds good to me.  Any other ideas? 

Oh, and if you ordered the Level 1 packet over a year ago, you'll need to contact TKGA to see if you have the most current information.  The revision date at the bottom should say 10/2003.  They'll send an update free of charge.

Okay, it's me again.  Anyone else interested?  I have fifteen knit-alongers so far, including me (see the list over there on the left?).  I'd be happy to try to answer any questions you may have.

Sunday, October 19, 2003

Good news and bad news: 

Good news:  I received my updated TKGA Master Hand Knit Level 1 instructions.  Yay!

Bad news:  The revision date at the bottom is 10/2003.  Boo!  I know the latest revision date anyone else had was 5/2003.  I'll try to find out what the difference is and let the TKGA knit-alongers know.

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

Morgan is joining the TKGA knit-along!  Who else wants to join?

Monday, October 13, 2003

Jenne has joined the TKGA Level 1 knit-along!  She says she's had her materials for a while, but now she doesn't feel as scared.  See?  The moral support is working already!

Thursday, October 9, 2003

I got an e-mail from June P. (a TKGA Master Level 1 knit-along-er) today.  She reminded me that we need to make sure we have the most recent version of the TKGA Level 1 information.  The revision number at the bottom of the pages should say "May 2003".  Mine is a year older than that, so I guess I need to contact TKGA and have them send me the updated version.  From what I've been hearing, they send the packets out quickly, and the updated versions are free if you've already purchased the Level 1 program.

Monday, October 6, 2003

Teresa C. has joined the TKGA knit-along.  Hooray!  The more the merrier, I say.

Monday, September 29, 2003

And welcome to new TKGA Knit-alonger Jenanne! 

Sunday, September 28, 2003

June P. has joined the TKGA Knit-along!  Knit-alongers, please feel free to swipe the button at the left, if you want.

Saturday, September 27, 2003

P.S. Bren joined the TKGA Knit-along!

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

P.S.  Check out the cool button Teresa created for our TKGA Master Hand Knitter Level 1 Knitalong!  It's up there on the top left -- see it?  Thanks, Teresa!

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

New TKGA Master Level 1 Knitalong-ers:  Barbara C. and Daphne.  Welcome!  Who's next?

Monday, September 22, 2003

And Karen has joined the TKGA Master Knitalong!  Anyone else?

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

I have three takers for the TKGA Master Knitter Level 1 knit-along so far, so that makes four of us -- Wendy S., Teresa, Debbi, and me (I've started a list on the left -- see it?  Anyone want to design a button?).  Oh, and Barbara Sylvia was interested a few days ago, so that makes five, and it sounds like Swatchy will join in when  (WHEN, not IF) we get to Level 2.  We're planning on starting in January.  I've never hosted a knit-along before, so I'm not really sure what to do.  I just figured I'd nag everybody constantly and see if that works. 

How much will it cost?  TKGA charges $30 for the Level 1 (Advanced Beginner) Master Hand Knitting Program.  You will also need supplies (yarn, tags, page protectors, binder), and Nanette warns me that there will be a need for a lot of reference books.  This is where I thought the knit-along would be helpful.  While it would seem odd for all of us to turn in the exact same swatches and answers, I think a pooling of ideas and technical know-how will make the process easier.  Not sure how that will work yet.  There are a lot of on-line sources we can use, too.  Nanette mentioned some of them in her September 16 post.

How should the timing work?  Level 1 requires sixteen (16) knitted swatches, fourteen (14) questions (to which they expect answers, I assume), and one (1) report on blocking.  If we worked on one item a week, that would take 31 weeks.  Too long, I think.  A swatch and a question each week would take 16 weeks (if the report counts as a two week project).  That sounds good to me.  Any other ideas? 

Oh, and if you ordered the Level 1 packet over a year ago, you'll need to contact TKGA to see if you have the most current information.  I'm assuming/hoping they'll send an update free of charge -- Debbi, is that true?  What's your revision date?

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

Okay, before I forget, I would just like to say for the record that I want to host a TKGA Master Level 1 knit-along (both locally and on-line), although it probably won't happen until after the holidays.  Will somebody remind me in late December or early January, please?  If you're interested in joining along, let me know, and then go ahead and order your Level 1 packet NOW.  And check out Nanette's post today (September 16, in case you forgot already). 

Saturday, September 13, 2003

I almost didn't post yesterday because blogland seems kind of vacant on weekends (not that I NEED an audience, but it helps!), but I'm glad I did, because I found out that I'm not the only one considering the TKGA Master Handknitting Program.  Cool!  I can always use some moral support.  Maybe we can do a swatch-along, with experienced swatchers Swatchy, Anne and Nanette as our coaches/cheerleaders? 

Friday, September 12, 2003

I have often said that I don't need a certificate to tell me that I'm a good knitter (that's not meant to sound snotty, but it does, doesn't it?), and I really don't want to be writing any book reports.  But when I started my business in January and created my website, I thought a Master Knitter certification might look good in my credentials.  I have occasionally been asked by a new student, "why would I want to take a class from you?"  Okay, not in those words exactly, but almost.  I'm having trouble finding the right words today -- fuzzy brain from a head cold. 

Anyway, I decided to give the Master certification a try.  I have already learned some very cool new techniques from the experience but have yet to complete a swatch.  Or start one, for that matter.  I have way too many other things on my plate.  But now I WANT to do this -- I WANT to have someone look at my work and tell me what I could do better.  I'm thrilled that I'm still learning, and that knitting is still evolving with amazing new techniques and tools.  And I'm happy and honored to be able to pass these skills on to other knitters.

But I'm too darned busy right now (or maybe it's that I've got my priorities out of whack) so the Master Handknitting Program is going to have to wait a little while longer.  

Sarah