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Table of Contents Super Summer Reads Top With Flair Epilogue Catch-a-Wave Top Reader Letters Fiction writers using knitting themes must be working around the clock! It is fun to read how authors integrate knitting groups, patterns and life lessons learned from knitting into works of fiction. While none of the books below will provide world peace or a way to replace oil for fuel, they would be a bit of fun summer reading and take you away for a few hours! Here are some of the books I have enjoyed. Super Summer Reads! Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Want it delivered to your inbox every three weeks? Sign up here Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber. The neighborhood knit shop starts a class entitled Knit to Quit to encourage the clients to quit smoking, lessen stress or make any other life change they may want. The concept is intriguing, and you can be sure there will be unexpected twists to the plot! If you've read any of the previous Blossom Street series, there will be both old friends and newcomers to the group. If you've already enjoyed the Blossom Street series, you might like to join a Knit-a-long for one of the patterns mentioned. Leisure Arts provides the patterns, and knitters around the world are having fun knitting the same projects together. Dropped Dead Stitch by Maggie Sefton. This is the seventh of the series about our heroine, novice knitter, CPA and amateur sleuth Kelly Flynn. She finds time to knit with the regulars at the House of Lambspun in addition to bringing criminals to justice. The action takes place in Colorado, where the altitude and the adventures are high! Death by Cashmere and Patterns in the Sand, both by Sally Goldenbaum. In Death by Cashmere, we meet the Seaside Knitters, led by Izzy Chambers, who moves to the Cape Cod town where she spent summers as a child. In this idyllic community, a mysterious death involves Izzy and her friends in the investigation. The sequel, Patterns in the Sand, continues the story set in Sea Harbor, Mass., with another mystery to solve. A hat pattern is included for your community knitting pleasure. Knit Two is Kate Jacobs' Friday Night Knitting Club sequel. Those who have read the first installment will appreciate the chance to become reacquainted with the Manhattan circle of knitting friends in this novel. In addition to a moving story line, Ms. Jacobs has included an afghan pattern and two recipes for your pleasure. Beach Street Knitting & Yarn Club by Gil McNeil is an interesting read. After the unexpected end of her marriage, Jo Mackenzie takes her sons from their London flat to the seaside, where her grandmother is ready to retire from the knit shop she owns. The opportunity for a new life is intoxicating for Jo, and under her guidance, the yarn shop becomes a hub of activity for knitting friends of diverse backgrounds and occupations. I really enjoyed this book, but will warn that the salty language of some characters may startle some knitters! Back to top. Top With Flair Epilogue For those of you who wondered if I'd ever complete the Top With Flair from the March 2009 issue of Creative Knitting magazine, here is the professionally photographed (but non-professionally modeled) project! Yes, that's me in living color. As you can see, the V-neck version suits me better than the original pattern. I am very pleased with the outcome of the sweater and enjoy wearing it. Send me photos of your finished design, and I may print them in the Creative Letters section of the magazine! If you are not a subscriber to the magazine, you may purchase this pattern or the entire magazine via electronic download at e-PatternsCentral.com. For the pattern, go to the left column and click on Spring Wearables; if you prefer ordering the entire issue, click on e-Magazines. You can then view the details of the issue as if you were turning the pages of the magazine itself. Back to top. Free Pattern In the spirit of summer, here's a pattern I think you'll enjoy making and wearing. Designer Katharine Hunt's original design used three yarns to provide both visual and textural interest. If you would prefer, you could make this using one solid color and a contrasting novelty yarn for interest. Note that the sweater is made with a DK weight yarn, and the novelty is worsted weight. You could substitute a lighter weight yarn for the contrast or even eliminate it without altering the pattern. Either way, yours will be unique! Catch-a-Wave Top Design by Katharine Hunt The interest is in the colorful rippling stitch pattern. Skill Level Intermediate Sizes Woman’s small (medium, large, extra-large). Instructions are given for smallest size, with larger sizes in parentheses. When only 1 number is given, it applies to all sizes. Finished Measurements Chest: 32 (36, 40, 44) inches Materials Medium weight viscose blend novelty yarn* (120 yds/50g per ball): 2 balls #812 (A) Lightweight cotton yarn* (249 yds/125g per skein): 1 skein gold #3568 (B), 1 (1, 1, 2) skeins maize #3546 (C) Size 4 (3.5mm) 28-inch circular needle Size 6 (4mm) needles Size 7 (4.5mm) needles or size needed to obtain gauge *Sample project was completed with SRK Poco (80 percent viscose/20 percent polyamide) and Super 10 (100 percent mercerized cotton) from S.R. Kertzer Ltd. Gauge 22 sts = 4 inches/10cm in pat with solid yarn and size 7 needles (lightly blocked). To save time, take time to check gauge. Pattern Stitch (multiple of 11 sts + 2 selvage sts) Rows 1, 3 and 5 (RS): With B (C) and size 7 needles, k1, *k2tog, k2, [knit into front and back of next st] twice, k3, ssk; rep from * to last st, end k1. Rows 2, 4 and 6: With B (C) and size 7 needles, purl. Rows 7–10: With A and size 6 needles, knit. Rep Rows 1–10 for pat. Front Border: With A and size 6 needles, cast on 90 (101, 112, 123) sts and knit 3 rows. Body Rows 1–20: [Work pat Rows 1–10] twice, using B and A, and changing needle sizes as indicated. Rows 21–30: Work pat Rows 1–10, using C and A. Rows 31–90: Rep Rows 1–30. Work rem of front in St st with size 6 needles and C, until front measures approx 14 (14, 14 1/2, 14 1/2) inches from beg, ending with a WS row. Shape armhole Row 1 (RS): Bind off 8 (9, 10, 11) sts knitwise, knit across. (82, 92, 102, 112 sts) Row 2: Bind off 9 (10, 11, 12) sts purlwise, purl to last 2 sts, dec 1. (72, 81, 90, 99 sts) Continue in St st, dec 1 st at each edge by ssk at beg of row and k2tog at end, until 64 (69, 76, 83) sts rem. Work even in St st until armhole measures 2 1/2 (3, 3, 3 1/2) inches from beg of shaping, ending with a WS row. Shape front neck Row 1 (RS): Knit across 23 (24, 25, 27) sts; attach new ball and bind off center 18 (21, 26, 29) sts; knit to end. Row 2: Working both sides at once with separate yarn, purl to last 2 sts at first neck edge, dec 1; bind off 2 sts at 2nd neck edge, purl to end. Row 3: Knit to last 2 sts, dec 1; bind off 2 sts at 2nd neck edge, knit to end. Continue to dec 1 st at each neck edge until 14 (15, 17, 19) sts rem on each side, then work even until armhole measures 7 (7 1/2, 7 1/2, 8) inches from beg of shaping, ending with a WS row. Shape shoulders On first shoulder, bind off 5 (5, 6, 6) sts, work to end. Turn and work 1 row even. Rep last 2 rows. Bind off rem 4 (5, 5, 7) sts. On 2nd shoulder, work 1 row (RS) even. Continue as first shoulder, binding off at armhole edge. Back Work as for front until armhole shaping is completed. Continue even in St st until armhole measures 4 1/2 (5, 5, 5 1/2) inches from beg of shaping, ending with a WS row. Work neck shaping as for front until 14 (15, 17, 19) sts rem on each side, then work even until armhole measures same as front at shoulders. Shape shoulders as for front. Assembly Block pieces to measurements, cover with a damp cloth and leave overnight to dry. Sew shoulder seams. Neck band (worked in rnds) Beg at left shoulder with B and size 4 circular needle, RS facing, pick up and knit 31 sts along left neckline, 22 (25, 28, 31) sts across neck front, 31 sts along right neckline and 62 (65, 68, 71) sts across back neck. (146, 152, 158, 164 sts) Join and purl 1 rnd, knit 1 rnd. Bind off purlwise. Armbands (worked in rows) Beg at underarm with B and size 4 circular needle, RS facing, pick up and knit 53 (56, 57, 60) sts along front armhole edge, and same number along back armhole edge. (106, 112, 114, 120 sts) Working back and forth in rows, knit 2 rows even. Bind off knitwise on WS. Finishing Sew side seams. Copyright © June 2005 Creative Knitting. All rights reserved. Click here for printable pattern page. Back to top.

Reader Letters

Donna Hollis writes:

After reading your article about having to rip out a sweater because of the gauge change going from knitting row-by-row to knitting in the round, I starting thinking: How do you knit a gauge swatch if you plan to knit in the round? If you don't know the correct in-the-round gauge at the start, how do you even cast on the correct number of stitches? As a knitter only beginning to tackle projects where gauge is so critical, this has me concerned. I don't mind backtracking some, but this seems like a big, hard lesson to learn and overcome. I would like to save myself from this kind of discouragement.

Donna, there are several ways to make a perfect swatch to determine gauge when you plan to knit in the round, as I described in the Top With Flair newsletter. For the first one, use a 16-inch circular needle and cast on enough stitches to comfortably encircle the needle (it takes more than you might think, so the stitches are not stretched), and knit about five inches of length. You'd then either bind off the stitches or place the stitches on a piece of yarn, so you could block the swatch and measure it on a flat surface. You'd be measuring one side of the cylinder of the swatch.

Another choice would be to use double-point needles to knit a smaller swatch, but then you might have a distortion of the gauge if your knitting tightens or loosens too much at the needle intersections. Using two circular needles (one for each half of the stitches of the gauge) would be simple, especially if your stitch pattern is in Fair Isle or another detailed stitch. This method would allow you to make a more narrow gauge swatch.

The final method I'll offer is to knit one row of your normal-size swatch on a circular needle. When you come to the end of the row, allow enough yarn to reach back to the beginning of the row without making the swatch cup, slide the stitches just worked to the other end of the needle and work the next and all following rows. Yes, you'll have a lot of yarn strung from one end of your swatch to the other, but because you will not cut each strand, there is no loss. You can ravel the swatch and reuse the yarn later for your project.

Nancy suggests a correction:

In explaining why your sweater turned out too large you said: "However, because I was now working in the round, and thus knitting every row, my gauge was altered enough that there was just one stitch too many in four inches. Over the combined width of the back and front, including the extra stitches for the gussets, that one extra stitch became far too much width."

If your sweater was too large, then knitting in the round had to give you one stitch less in four inches -- your gauge was looser. I am afraid unless you correct this you will confuse people who are already totally confused by gauge, and whether they have to have more or less stitches and whether to go up or down in needle sizes. If you've got 22 sts/4 inches flat and then 21 sts/4 inches in-the-round, your sweater would be too large -- this is 1 st LESS per 4 inch, not more as you said.

When I'm dead wrong, I appreciate a reader's correction! Nancy is right: Too many stitches in my 4 inches would mean that I was knitting too tightly. Too few meant that I was knitting too loosely, and my original sweater was too large. Thanks, Nancy, for keeping me honest!

Karen from Canada asks:

As a child, my grandmother taught me to cast on and do the basic knit and purl stitches. Beyond that, I am completely self-taught and can complete any intermediate to low-advanced level pattern without trouble usually. My problem comes when I do make a mistake; it seems that my tinking or frogging causes greater problems than had I just chosen to ignore my original mistake. I just can't seem to unknit properly, and I would love to find instructions that cover this for both knit and purl. Thanks so much!

Too often tinking (undoing one stitch at a time) or frogging (removing the needle to rip out several stitches or rows at once) results in this situation, Karen. The most common problem seems to be that the stitches become twisted when you replace them on the needle. To avoid this, you need to recognize when a stitch is properly "seated" on the needle. In the way most of us knit, the stitch needs to sit on the needle with its front "leg" to the right as you look at your knitting. The left leg should be behind the needle. This is really critical, so take care to make this right!

When you tink, you should place the tip of the left needle into the hole below the stitch you want to unknit on the right needle. Go from the front of the work to the back, and slide the stitch off the right needle. Pull the yarn and the unwanted (sniff!) stitch will go away. Repeat as needed.

If you need to remove a larger number of rows quickly, take out the needle and rip away. When it's time to pick up the stitches for another go, use a needle several sizes smaller than the one you were using to knit. When you pick up the remaining stitches, you will not cause a chain reaction of pulled out stitches! Do remember to switch to the needle you require for gauge before working the next row! I start from the right of the piece (as opposed to the left, not the wrong) and pick up from the back of the stitches, making certain to establish them as described above, with their left "legs" to the back of the needle. Twisted stitches make for headaches, and this will prevent them better than aspirin.

Phyllis is seeking:

About 20 years ago I knitted a sweater for my 3-year-old daughter. The front featured a fireplace with a really little knitted stocking hanging from it. I would like to make one for my granddaughters but cannot find the instructions. I hope someone can help me find the pattern.

Readers, if you have this pattern, I'll send the information along to Phyllis.

Back to top.

Until next time, happy knitting!

Barb Bettegnies
editor, Creative Knitting magazine

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