Tag: workshop

Shawl Workshop

It’s shawl time around here. Who knew! Not me apparently. That’s all I want to cast on so I’m going with it because what the fingers want, the fingers want.

Impressive, right?! OK, the beginnings are often not too exciting but one must start somewhere.

This is the beginning of the 3 Tier Shawl Workshop which is free at my debgemmellmods store on ravelry. You can knit this in Any Yarn at Any Gauge. You are the boss of this shawl.

Why a workshop? Cabin Fever, a company I had with my sister Lyn (Shelridge yarns), ran a retreat at the Fern Resort for a long time. Maybe 14 years, I’m not sure. For every retreat I wrote a new class. Then we joined up to organize the Yarn Over Sleep Over retreat for another 7 years. I also ran a small retreat by myself in Northern Ontario for a couple years too. All with new workshops for every retreat. That’s a lot of workshops.

This workshop is a class for you to make your own shawl. I give you general instructions and a structure for you to follow. I tried to put in whatever I would have told you if I had been with you in person. So here goes, the first workshop: 3 Tier Shawl Workshop.

It starts with the standard garter stitch tab and then you can work in garter stitch or stockinette stitch.

That’s Tier 1.

Fancy schematics are included. More shawl goodness next week.

I am knitting this wrap as a blanket with my Lichen and Lace Rustic Heather Sports wool. It’s meant to be worked in fingering so I figured that using sports weight wool and a nice big needle would make a good sized blanket. This is the Polaris Wrap by Veera Valimaki. It’s modular which I love and garter stitch, wild, eh?

What else is on my needles? You know there’s more. I have socks on the go using Timberyarns and a mitten worked in Waxwing fingering.

Lots of colour around here. Hope it’s colourful where you are. Cheers, Deb

Cabin Fever patterns by Deb & Lyn and the Cabinfever crew.

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Deb.gemmell on instagram

debgemmellmods 435 on youtube

Cast On, Cast On, Cast On

I am right in the middle of choosing patterns. Maybe this one, maybe that. Do you love doing this?

It’s amazing how much time I can spend deciding and undeciding (is that a word?). One little voice is saying ‘make up your mind’, another voice is saying ‘let’s look at one more ravelry page’. I also scan my library of patterns over and over. I downloaded those patterns for a good reason, at least I thought so at the time.

This one is from my library. I do love a long project. I am knitting the Polaris Wrap by Veera Valimaki as a blanket. I belong to the Rustic Heather Sport Club by Lichen and Lace, where I get 2 50g skeins of rustic sports wool every month. I am going to knit the blanket out of my club wool. It will be bigger than the wrap because I’m jumping from fingering (pattern) to sports weight (my wool) and a much bigger needle. I think it will make a great blanket.

Looking good so far don’t you think, ha, ha.

Next I cast on Romi Hill‘s Winter’s Finery shawl, again in the Rustic Sport wool. I am experimenting with what this wool can do.

A lace shawl always looks a mess before it comes off the needle. I am very close to being done.

I am also knitting from one of my own workshop instructions: 3 Tier Shawl Workshop. I have taught this do-it-yourself triangular shawl at several retreats. I give you a basic structure and you choose the stitch patterns from a list in the pattern. It starts with the normal tab cast on to knit a triangle shawl with centre increases. Then it breaks into sections where you can work different stitch patterns. It’s tons of fun and I will tell you more about it as I get going.

I have knit several shawls using this pattern. Here’s one of them.

The shawl here is a stockinette based version (wrong side rows are purled). This time I decided to jump on the wool/mohair band wagon and work a garter stitch based version (all wrong side rows are knit) of the same shawl. I’ll post the pattern on ravelry this week. (The title of the workshop pattern might change since ravlery quite often doesn’t like my titles.)

How many is that, 3 so far. One long project, one almost done and one shawl just started.

I have a sock on the go, of course. I am trying to see how I can make Timberyarns stripes dance a bit. Nothing too complicated. An increase at either side of the front of the sock and a double decrease in the middle, with a short row heel. Fun to watch the stripes move.

I guess that’s enough to get on with at the moment. I have one more I want to start but nothing on the needles yet.

How about you? Is this Cast On time for you? What is taking your fancy?

Cheers, Deb

Cabin Fever patterns by Deb & Lyn and the cabinfever crew

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Debgemmell 435 on youtube

deb.gemmell on instagram

Build a Bigger V

I have been staying at home and working hard, OK not really working hard since how hard can knitting a whole lot be, but my Build a Bigger V is finished, buttons and all. I love it.

build a bigger V (10)
Knit with Hempwol by Hemp For Knitting

I hit the publish button. It’s official, it’s a done deal, the Build a Bigger V is out there. Always a big moment. Now I need to take a walk because hitting that button always gives me the jitters.

If you’re looking for an adventure during these precarious times this cardigan might fill the bill. It starts with stash diving for yarn and needles. Remember that garter stitch takes 1/4 to 1/3 more yarn. Then work the Back and 2 Fronts separately. There is lots of garter stitch knitting which is comforting but not tooooo comforting because you have to work some increases and decreases and work the I-cord edging. Just enough to keep you on your toes.build a bigger V

Pick up and knit along the sides of the Back and one Front. Knit, knit, knit. Separate for the sleeves and knit down to the wrist. Fold it over to see half of your cardigan done.build a bigger V (8)

As I was knitting I kept thinking of different things I might do with this pattern. I couldn’t knit them all but maybe you can. I’ve added Hacker Pages with more options to add to the cardigan. I added the Boxy style where you would add much more ease to the cardigan so that the width of the body reaches your elbow.Build a Bigger V regular width

Build a Bigger V Boxy

How about A-line shaping? I’m knitting this one right now. The Back and Fronts gradually widen toward the bottom.20200222_125900 - Copy

You can also knit it as a Pullover. I love this. Thanks LK. She also worked the Boxy Sloped Shoulder option of working body and sleeve decreases along the top of the sleeve instead of along the underarm seamline. It gives you a sloped shoulder line and really works here.build a bigger V pullover (2)

Build a Bigger V slopped shoulder
Boxy style with shoulder slope

I haven’t included stripes as another option for the Build a Bigger V or 3/4 sleeves which could also be done (my orange version might get these) or colour blocking the different sections or … well, I’ll leave that to your imagination.

I’m really excited about this cardigan (can you tell?) and I hope you enjoy it.

Stay well, Deb

Any Gauge and GAUGE-FREE patterns by Deb

Cabin Fever No-Sew patterns

Debgemmellmods ravelry group

Deb on instagram

A Boxy sweater detour

Do you always know what you’re really knitting as you’re knitting it? Somewhere in whatever you’re knitting there is probably a place where you can wander away from the instructions if you are so inclined. It doesn’t have to be a very big wander, but it is still a deviation from what’s written.

While I was knitting the Build a Bigger V I had the thought that since the body is knit towards the sleeve I could make the body any width I wanted. The pattern is written for a regular width of 4″- 8″ or even 10″ of ease (10-20cm or even 25cm of ease) added to your actual bust measurement. But I could make it a Boxy style, 10″- 20″ of ease (25-51cm of ease) added. I have never knit this style of sweater before and am sort of intrigued. So I knit one side of the body my regular width and the other side a Boxy style width.build a bigger V (3)Then I put it to my knitting guild members (via email), which one? Boxy width or Regular width?

The Regular width won. So I went with it because I was leaning that way myself. The Boxy style thought is still sitting somewhere at the back of my mind.

Have you knit a Boxy style sweater? Do you like it? Would you change anything if you  knit another one?

Stay well, Deb

Build a Bigger V pattern

Any Gauge and GAUGE-FREE patterns by Deb

Cabin FeverNo-Sew patterns

Debgemmellmods ravelry group

Deb on instagram

Gauge-Free FREE beginner scarf

Does this idea of Gauge-Free really seem weird to you? What do you mean you can just pick out some yarn and start with no stitch counts and no idea of a gauge you need to get? How can you knit the correct size? Any yarn at all? Any needle I think is reasonable? How can that be?!

If you are knitting at home more than usual during this time and want a stash diving  project, give this a try: Gauge-Free Triangles Scarf/Shawl. This is one of the workshops I teach and I’m offering it Free here for the duration. Knit GAUGE-FREE or, as I call it, knitting without a safety net!

The trick to knitting Gauge-Free is getting started in the right spot. You need to start where you can get to the size you need, regardless of your gauge, and measure it with a ruler (tape measure).triangle workshop height measurement

 

Here’s a beginner project, the GAUGE-FREE TRIANGLES SCARF/Shawl that totally works because it starts at the corner of the first triangle.

gauge-free triangle scarf workshop

It’s a modular, join-as-you-go project. You can use any yarn with any needle you think is reasonable. You can knit a scarf with all your odd balls or have a more thought-out plan of two colours. You can knit every triangle a different colour or knit stripes (as soon as you work stripes you have a right side and wrong side, keep that in mind). You can knit this as a large rectangular shawl (or is it called a stole?) if you make ‘Triangle I’ about 12″-14″/30-36cm deep or even deeper and then go on from there for as long as you need it to be. Add a stitch pattern or two?

If you make many scarves you can sew them together into a blanket.triangle scarf blanket

The options are endless.

Enjoy,

Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Cabin Fever No-Sew patterns