No substitution for happiness

I'd better start this post by acknowledging Suge Knight as the source of this quote. Mr Knight runs Black Kapital and Death Row Records, looks after a number of major U.S. gangsta rap acts, gave us such gems of wisdom as "In prison, you get the chance to see who really loves you" and (perhaps more relevantly) has a rap sheet going back to 1996 for various violent offences. So thank you Mr Knight for our tag line, please don't come and visit me to talk about copyright infringements*...

This post is actually about yarn substitution. That wonderful journey of discovery, that begins when you find the absolute perfect pattern - in a yarn that you just cannot find anywhere!! Sometimes the yarn is an exotic something-or-other that isn't imported into Australia: sometimes the yarn has been discontinued and you can't find a shop that has enough of it to make your dream garment.

In this scenario, the internet is your friend. Once upon a time, things that weren't imported into Australia were as hard to get hold of as bunyips. Nowadays, a quick internet search will normally turn up a little Midwest shop that stocks the exact brand of quiviut required for your pattern, and Ravelry has a page where crafters can sell or swap from their stash, so 'discontinued' doesn't necessarily mean 'gone forever'.

However, sometimes even the internet can't save you, and you need to find an acceptable substitute yarn. In that case, read on...

Step 1: Go to Yarndex and find out all you can about the original yarn. Yarndex has data for an amazing number of current and discontinued yarns, and you should be able to find the yardage, fibre, texture, gauge and recommended needle size for the majority of yarns here. (If you can't, Google the original yarn name - this information will be out there somewhere!).

Step 2: Google for yarns with a similar fibre content. This will find you a bunch of yarns that (at least in theory) will behave like the original yarn. You can substitute across fibres, but you may find that the garment does not turn out as intended - for example, if you substitute a cotton or silk yarn for wool, you will find that the garment becomes much stiffer and less elastic. A different fibre may also detract from a decorative stitch pattern: the example below relies on a bulky cotton yarn to give very sharp stitch definition. Wool is always somewhat fuzzier than cotton, which would make the lace less distinctive.

Step 3: Find yarns that knit to the same gauge as your original yarn on the same size needles. This also applies if you crochet or tricot - if it knits up the same (in theory), it will also crochet or tricot to the correct tension.

Wendy's Chunky Cotton - Lace Pattern

Step 4: Work out the yardage/meterage - will you need more or fewer balls than the original pattern? Even experienced knitters can get caught out and buy the number of balls/grams required - only to find that the substitute yarn is a couple of metres/ball shorter than the original and they can't complete their garment.

You now have a selection of yarns which are theoretically acceptable substitutes for the original. Go forth and yarn-shop!! However, you need to be prepared to knit test swatches and to accept the risk that you'll end up with a lemon. The guidelines above have mostly worked for me, but now and then you find that 'similar to' is a long way from 'the same as'. If that happens, I usually turn back to the internet to find a pattern for my new acquisition - and another substitute for my dream yarn.

* Suge Knight is notorious (among other things) for allegedly threatening to toss Vanilla Ice off a hotel balcony because Vanilla Ice had used some material from one of Suge's clients in his song "Ice Ice Baby".

Sleeves

In the end, I decided to bite the bullet and finish the Green Chai Cardi. I need to have faith in my skills as a crocheter and assume that it will fit - instead of leaving my options open, then spending Mum's entire next visit frantically trying to get it finished.

Did I mention that I hated the sleeves? I hated the sleeves.

The reason was that they didn't come out even. They weren't badly out of alignment, but they were visibly different. I looked at them for a week, then cracked and ripped them out. Then, while the unravelled wool was soaking in a mix of warm water and wool mix to get the crinkles out, I sat down to see if I could work out a way of setting the sleeves straight into the garment. As you may have guessed from the photo below, yes I could. :)

Green Chai Cardi with crocheted-in sleeves

To provide a foundation for the sleeves, I did a row of double crochet into the broomstick lace (one dc for each chain in the foundation chain in the original sleeve pattern). I made sure that the double crochets were evenly spaced to either side of the seam (8 dc each side and 1 dc on the seam). Then I simply followed the pattern, working into the double crochets.

When the pattern changed from rows to rounds, I worked more double crochets to form a foundation for the round. It was actually easier than following the pattern - I found the whole "row of chain and join with a treble" a bit confusing, it took me a couple of goes to get it each time.

I also adapted an old knitter's trick of doing both the sleeves at once. This is a great tip that I got from my great-aunt, who was still knitting strong into her 90s. Her tip was to cast on both the sleeves at once (using two separate balls of yarn) and to work them at the same time. The idea is that you're unlikely to end up increasing on the right sleeve, then forgetting to increase on the left if you have both the sleeves on the needles at the same time.

Shawl Collar Cardigan - sleeves

This also works well for cardigan fronts - in fact, for pretty much anything where you have two knitted pieces that need to be absolutely identical. (Of course, it's no guarantee that they won't be identically wrong - but that is easier to hide that two uneven sleeves or fronts).

The crochet equivalent is to work a round - put a stitch marker or safety pin into the stitch to stop your work unravelling - take the hook out, then work the same round on the other sleeve. It seems to working quite well - I feel like the sleeves look far more even, and this also saves me from having to scribble notes about any 'fixes' that I've needed to make the pattern work out.

Lady Eleanor stole

While I was waiting for the wool to dry out after I frogged the sleeves, I had some time to spend on the Lady Eleanor Entrelac Stole.

Once I'd worked two tiers, the logic of it suddenly clicked and now I'm happily picking the stole up whenever I've got a spare moment and working a couple of rectangles. The Noro yarn is lovely and warm - very much looking forward to having this in my wardrobe by winter time! The pattern says to work 35 tiers, but I'm hoping I might have the yarn to make it 40. Not because I need a particularly long stole, but just because I'm really enjoying the pattern now that I've mastered it. :)

Stop taking photos and give us back our sofa!!

My next step will be to put together a simple entrelac design and block in at least one class for the winter. I'm thinking of doing something with one of the Jo Sharp tweeds... but more on that in another blog post. For now, I need to open the shop and give the sofa back to its rightful owners (see photo left!).

Planning your projects

Well, here we are again - winter is coming up, and suddenly our shop is full of people planning projects. So, since I haven't finished my next wool report project, I thought now would be a great time to share some tips on how to find the perfect project for winter 2011. The main questions you need to answer are:

How patient are you/how much time do you have?

I had a bad moment a couple of months ago when a lass who'd just purchased a ball of 4ply wool asked how many rows she had to knit to finish a garment. I went through the pattern with her and when she realised she'd need to knit about 100 rows, she nearly passed out in horror! Unfortunately, she'd already started to knit the yarn, or I'd have taken it back and exchanged it. The moral is, always have a good think about how much time (or patience) you have before you select your project!

1. Unlimited (not working or knitting/crochet/tricot is your number one priority - or you are using public transport to travel!) - buy anything. Buy 2, 3 and 4ply yarns, lace patterns, complex intarsia - whatever takes your fancy!
   

   Designers: Try Marie Wallan or Kim Hargreaves (Rowan) - both favour very feminine designs in fine yarns. There are also some good books available from Interweave with very fine, intricate lace patterns (knitted and crocheted).
   

   Yarns: Misti Alpaca 2ply and 4ply have been flying out the door lately - try Rowan 4ply cottons for summer or Kidsilk Haze for a light, warm winter knit.



2. Moderate (knitting is one of several hobbies - need time for work and family!) - stick with 8 (DK) or 10 ply (Aran) projects with the odd chunky weight hat or scarf to give yourself a quick win or for an emergency present. A reasonably fast knitter should be able to finish an 8 or 10 ply garment over winter (I'm an average knitter and crocheter, but I can usually knock over a garment every six months - three if I'm using public transport a lot or involved in a show).
   

   Designers: Jo Sharp has a good range of DK and Aran weight patterns. The Sirdar Eco Wool pattern books have also been popular, and the recent Cleckheaton pattern books have some really nice 8ply patterns that are also quite easy to knit.

   
   

   Yarns: the Jo Sharp Silkroad DK and Aran Tweeds are probably our most popular yarns at this point. Filatura di Crosa's Zara range makes a nice change if you want something with a smoother, less "woolly" finish, and the Sirdar Eco Wool has a lovely range of gentle, natural shades. At a lower price point, we have the Heirloom Merino Magic, which is lovely to knit and has a great colour range.



3. None (you are flat out with other things, or you just cannot handle chipping away at a project for months and months) - chunky weight yarns are your friend. So are big needles and small projects such as hats, neckwarmers, slippers, amigurumi toys (any toys!), shrugs and so forth. Lace patterns with fine yarns can be another winner, but some knitters find these too fiddly. Hint: learn to crochet or tricot. Both these crafts are usually faster than knitting!
   

   Designers: try the Rowan design team again - any of the Big Wool pattern books will be perfect for you! The Garnstudio site is another good resource - look for projects in Polaris, Ice, Eskimo or Igloo (select search groups D, E or F on the search panel).

   
   

   Yarns: Big Wool, Misti Alpaca Chunky.

What is your goal?

We often get knitters and crocheters in here who want to learn a new technique. If you are learning a new technique, please let us know that you are looking for a beginner project! Generally, if someone is starting with a techique, I point them towards Cleckheatons and Patons - both brands have very clear, simple patterns aimed at the beginner. If someone is looking to move on to more challenging patterns, I would suggest that they might want to look at some of the Rowan pattern books, where you can find some very complex colourwork, beaded patterns, tricky lace patterns and cable combinations. Some of the advanced Jo Sharp projects are also good if you are wanting a challenge. Anyone who wants the knitter's equivalent of climbing Everest will find Kaffe Fassett's colourwork patterns in our shop and on the Rowan website (http://www.knitrowan.com/). Good luck! :)

Oh and by the way (shameless self promotion time!) - we offer regular classes in knitting, crochet, tricot and broomstick lace. So we can get you started on your challenge with a class, as well as with wool and patterns...

What are your likes/dislikes?

If we know what you like, we will be able to recommend other, similar yarns and designers. And we won't waste your time by waving chunky weight, undyed wool in your face if we know that you love bright cottons!

Can you help us to help others?

Another quick self promotion moment - please use the Reviews feature if you visit our website (http://www.ccck.com.au/). It is very helpful for others to be able to see comments and feedback from people who have actually worked with the yarns and patterns - whether good or bad. I'm not going to censor the site - however, I will email unfavourable feedback to our suppliers and pass it on to their sales reps!

All the best for your winter projects!

Stash gym III - Australia's biggest (wool) loser

Once again, the stash has defeated me.

I have been planning to take some photos of my new garments for the past four weeks and put them up on Ravelry. Unfortunately (?), I've now got a backlog of stuff to photograph and I don't know where to start. I could get photos of the poncho, the melange shawl and the shrug, but the shrug is currently on the mannequin and the poncho and shawl are stuffed into the drawer so tightly I can barely get them out (something to do with the drawer being full of other knitted garments...). I could photograph the cardigan, but it's not finished - I am hoping to get some more Ribbon Twist from the US to finish off the trim or (failing that!), I need to scrounge two balls of grey or white Big Wool. I have the fronts of two jumpers, but have not been able to get the wool I need to do the backs and the sleeves (still on order). I have a shrug that is slightly too long and needs to be modified, not sure how. The vest is accessible - I am wearing it at present - but it is a timely reminder that a large woman should not wear garments that draw attention to her chest. It looks like I am trying to smuggle two footballs into the shop... or maybe that should be two footballers...

My solution has been to knit or crochet more garments (singlet top, another LONGER knitted vest, a crochet vest which will probably be another disaster and a jumper for the Significant Other). This won't get the UFOs over the line, but at least it will keep the stash on its steady downward path. The other day (drumroll, please!), I hopped up onto the end of my bed, reached up and touched... THE SHELF!! That's right, I have cleared enough of my stash that the shelf has become visible. Maybe instead of photographing the finished objects, I should take a photo of the shelf!! Finished objects are ten a penny around here at present, but a shrinking stash has rarity value!

Stash-gym - the weigh-in

I figured that a picture is worth 1,000 words...

Before

**This is a representation only. I have a wide angle lens, but it was not quite wide enough to manage The Stash.***

After