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Productivity And New Challenges // What I did this week…

Wednesday, August 05th, 2009 | Author: deborahfillmer

I have been enjoying myself so much this week I haven’t had time to stop and tell you all about it. My classwork has slowed considerably since I am down to one class and next week is the last week of the Summer semester. So, I have been a knitting/sewing fool the past week and a half. Here are some things I learned how to do this week and some other things that I have either started or finished…

First up, I learned to do fair isle this week. I have only tried this on my own once (winging it) and it turned out nice, but this time I am working from someone else’s pattern and am actually going to produce a pair of socks to boot. The pattern is Elika, by Heatherly Walker. The yarn I am using is knitpicks essential and kroy socks. The pattern is bare bones and basically assumes you already know a lot about knitting socks. It also includes instructions for a short row heel, which I have learned that I DO NOT LIKE! The fair isle, on the other hand, is great!! I can see more fair isle in my future!

Next up is a pair of gloves/mittens. I have never made gloves or mittens before, so I figured I would make both at once and learn both at the same time. The pattern is easy enough, but contains errors. Actually, I expected better instructions in a pattern from Knitty.com, but free is free. The concept of the fingerless glove covered by a mitten cap is great! If you want to make a pair of these I suggest these notes as they helped me out tremendously! So, now I give you the left hand of a pair of Broad Street Mittens by Janis Cortese.

Left Hand Glove

Left Hand Mitten

About a week or two ago the secret knit a long that I put together for the Atlanta Knitting Guild ended. I designed an original lace pattern for them to knit so they could enjoy the experience of a knit a long and have a pattern (free) to call their own. The KAL was done exactly like the Secret of the Stole KAL’s, but exclusively for the guild members only. Here is the resulting pattern. This pattern will be for sale as soon as we get the photos done this weekend. If you would like to be notified when the pattern is available please join the Nautical Knitter Designs Yahoo Group.

Blocked and ready for the photo shoot this weekend.

As if knitting wasn’t enough, I also did a bit of sewing this past weekend. This top is from a Butterick pattern (#4684) and apparently I am a smaller size in Butterick than in Simplicity. Who knew? So, this top came out a size or two too big for me. I do like the pattern though and the next one should fit just right. This one is being gifted, if it fits and she likes it …

The mail held some wonderful goodies this week as well. I received 3 new books on my newest interest, socks. Remember the socks that I just finished that were too short? Well, I traded them for some awesome hand dyed sock yarn which also came. Unfortunately, the US Postal Service has not delivered the socks to her yet and I fear that all that hard work may be lost. If so, I will have to do something to compensate for this lovely yarn she dyed for me. Snail mail stinks!

Can you tell what is on my list?

Well, if you made it this far in the post you deserve a treat, so for those who have been patiently waiting I can officially say that I have begun test knitting the Secret of the Stole IV! YAY! It is probably the coolest pattern I have done to date and I can’t wait to share it with you all. The yahoo group is not open yet, but you can join the Nautical Knitter Designs group to be notified when it is. Until then, here is a teaser:

Could it be? Why yes, it is, SOTS IV in progress!

There you have it, my last week or so in a blog post. I hope your week was just as productive. Until next time, Fair Winds

Category: Featured, Fiber Arts | Tags: beads, kal, knit a long, knitted socks, knitting, knitting patterns, knitting techniques, lace, lace weight, mystery knit, nautical knitter, secret of the stole, sewing | 5 Comments

Secret of the Stole III KAL Officially Opens

Saturday, July 12th, 2008 | Author: deborahfillmer

It’s official, the Secret of the Stole III knit a long is open for new members. We begin accepting new members today and begin knitting the stole on August 15th. The excitement level around this place just doubled. Now there is just so much to do….

If you haven’t been involved with one of our knit a longs before, now is your chance to see what it is all about. The group is located here:

Secret of the Stole III

Membership is free, but the number of new members is going to be limited, so don’t wait, sign up today!

Category: Patterns | Tags: beads, kal, knitting, secret, stole | 2 Comments

Secret of the Stole III – The Beginning

Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 | Author: admin

A few weeks ago I officially began charting the next Secret of the Stole for the knit a long that will be beginning in August. The theme and name have been selected and the design seemed to flow onto the chart effortlessly. Which is not unusual when the muse awakens and stirs my imagination. Things were going so smoothly.

The test knitting began in earnest, and then everything came to a screeching to a halt! The chart was not right, something was amiss. Time to rip and rework from the beginning.

Five times I went through this process, one time was not the fault of a chart in error though. It was the fault of being on the boat and not paying attention to the stitch that was running down the ladder like a freight train without brakes! Blame it on the dolphins that were playing nearby!

Anyway, apparently the sixth time is the charm and now the chart and the test knitting are steaming right along. Whoo hoo! The issue I was having with the chart was due to pushing the limits of my knowledge and trying to learn more about design.

One of the reasons I work on these knit a longs is so that I can challenge myself and continue to figure out why a particular pattern is working out the way it is, or is not. Learning new things can sometimes be painful, but most of the time it is well worth the effort.

Here is a photo of Sots and the Secret of the Stole III in progress. He is happily cruising along now.

What’s that you say? You say you can’t see it? Hmmm, I guess you will have to wait until the knit a long in August to get a better look….

Sign-ups are not open for the knit a long yet, but if you would like to be notified when sign-ups begin for the Secret of the Stole III KAL, please join the Nautical Knitter Designs Yahoo group.

Happy Knitting…

Category: Fiber Arts, Patterns | Tags: kal, knit a long, lace weight, patterns, secret of the stole, shawls, stoles, yarn | Comments off

Secret of the Stole II: Savannah and Charleston

Friday, March 21st, 2008 | Author: deborahfillmer

It is with great pleasure that we are able to announce the release of our two newest stole patterns, Savannah and Charleston.

Secret of the Stole II

The Secret of the Stole II KAL has officially come to a close and we are excited to have the patterns finally compiled into a downloadable format. Why two patterns? While knitting through this knit a long, we realized that one thing that is different about our stole patterns is their shape. They are all differently shaped than each other and than any other stole patterns we can find out there.

We wanted to develop this into a design element of our stoles and about halfway through the first stole, Charleston, the creative muse struck and Savannah was born. Luckily we have a very quick test knitter working with us and we were able to create both stoles in time for the photo shoot. Here are the shapes of the three Secret of the Stole stoles we have developed so far (see bottom of post).

Patterns are Now Available for Sale

This has been such a great KAL group, you all should be very proud of how helpful and courteous everyone was, and above all, how great all your work looks. As often is the case, once I have worked 9 weeks on something like this, I do offer it for sale as well. Both pattern designs are now available for sale on the patterns page.

Please Help Support Your Designer

Each pattern is available for $7.00 each and will include completed photos, full completed charts, and directions for completing the stole, and of course all the chart files in one single download file. We hope you have enjoyed the group over the last few months as much as we have. If you have, please, consider supporting your designer by buying the pattern. I have enjoyed this group tremendously, and I also put 100’s of hours of work into the pattern, running the group, and organizing all the door prizes for everyone. Each designer is different but I know I spend, in total, about 200-300 hours on each KAL.

Although it is a hobby, it also my business, and I would love to be able to continue these type of KAL’s for a long time to come, but I do need the support of my group members! Typically there is a core group of members that purchase the pattern each time. How many are in this elite group? Well, it is usually runs about 3%-5% of the total group list.

It is because of these people that we can continue to do the KAL’s and offer all the great door prizes, so THANKS SO MUCH. It you would like to purchase the pattern, please just visit our pattern page. Thanks again.

more…

Category: Patterns | Tags: kal, sots-ii | 5 Comments

Only Days for Secret of the Stole II First Hint

Wednesday, January 09th, 2008 | Author: deborahfillmer

There are only 8 days left to sign up for Secret of the Stole II. The group closes on January 17th to new members so if you have any friends that might want to be involved please let them know so they don’t miss the deadline. There are always knitters who miss the cut-off so don’t let the days slip by and miss the sign-up.

To join the group or see more information, just go to the group’s main page and click on the join link. As always it is free to join but once it begins the group will be closed to new members.

For those who have already joined, we are looking forward to a great start on January 18th. We are finalizing the door prizes, hints, and all the fun stuff coming up over the next 9 weeks. If you have any questions at all don’t hesitate to contact us. Good Luck!

Category: Patterns | Tags: kal, sots-ii | 8 Comments