Helix knitting
December 20, 2021
Helix knitting is a way of working jogless stripes with 3 or more colors. Since knitting in the round is creating a helix, this works with the way the knit fabric is created; so no more wonky stitches at the color change or yarn being carried up the back.
Knitting Your First Pair of Socks
January 31, 2021
There's so many questions when thinking about knitting your first pair of socks - will they fit? Do I do top-down or toe-up? What yarn? What needle size? What pattern?
One of the best things to do is jump in there. Most first pairs of socks don't fit the first time, but there are a lot of lessons to be learned because everyone's gauge is different and everyone's feet are different. Try different patterns, different needle sizes until you're happy with the end result.
Most people have good success with size US 0 or US 1. I recommend trying both toe-up and top-down to see which one you prefer. A good top-down pattern is Vanilla Latte Socks by Virginia Rose-Jeanes, available for free on Ravelry. A good toe-up pattern is Toe-up with a Fleegle heel, also available for free on Ravelry. It's good to try the different heels and see which one you prefer.
Next for yarn. The best sock yarns have at least 15% nylon. This gives them strength. Some of my favorite sock yarns are Candy Skein Yummy fingering, Ryberry and Fibrelya.
Now you're ready to start! Have fun and before you knowit, you'll have a pair of hand knit socks to enjoy.
Trunk Show with Canon Hand Dyes and Dragonfly Fibers
July 17, 2020
Many indie dyers have seen fiber festivals that they registered for cancelled due to COVID, so we put our heads together with Amy Lee and figured out how to do a trunk show amid this pandemic! She will be at Nitro Knitters on Friday July 31st and Saturday August 1st from 12-4pm.
While it will be a ton of fun as always, it will look different from our traditional trunk shows. We will be rearranging the store a bit to make room for Amy Lee to have more table tops to display all of her beautiful yarns. This will allow everyone to be able to spread out and keep our distance. And most importantly, we will be booking shopping appointments so that we can maintain our safe store occupancy. It will be like a semi-private shopping "party." Amy Lee will be there to help with project ideas and there will be so many samples for inspiration. Please call us at 503-372-9318 or email us at nitroknitters@gmail.com to book your 30-minute appointment!
Check out Canon Hand Dyes and Dragonfly Fibers on Instagram for pictures.
Here's a taste of what there will be...
For Canon:
-Gradient cakes for bulky hats, socks & mitts, lace cakes for shawls
-self striping sock yarn
-shawl kits (6 color sets on several bases)
-DK half skein sets for Moonwake Cowl
-speckled 10g minis sets
-5g minis sets
-hat kits (with Pom Pom)
For Dragonfly:
-7 skein Gradient sets (Find Your Fade & others)
-BUGGA kits for Lunenburg Pullover
-BUGGA kits for Lamimi Shawl
Traveller kits for The Shift Cowl
Sock Yarn Blanket with Candy Skein
June 25, 2020
This year Candy Skein is creating a faded rainbow with her monthly colorways, starting in February and finishing in December. Inspired by her mitered square blanket, I decided to do one as well using Yummy Fingering.
I created a project on my Ravelry profile describing my cast on number and a design sketch. Follow this link to be taken to it.
The pattern has been archived, but is still available. Follow this link to be taken directly to the pattern.
