Happy 4th of July from New York City-Knitting Included!

Empire State Building Lit in Red, White, & BLue

Happy July 4th! I wish you all the best. Here’s the shot of the Empire State Building which gets wrapped in different colors every night. Working on the lighting must be like working a wonderful color pattern in light instead of yarn!

I hope that you all had a wonderful time.

One thing about holidays is that it gives us time off from work to spend doing the things we like most–knitting, seeing friends and eating fun foods.  My knitting friends and I met to celebrate with some roof top knitting under the shade of a large green umbrella. There was also holiday grilling and a sinfully wonderful chocolate layer cake and ice cream. Since I continued to progress slowly on my current projects so that there isn’t much new to show today.

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

Think BIG Knitting Projects-Betty’s Upper Westside Afghan

 

 

Creative Inspiration: Afghans Samples at Knitty City

Before the pain of The Point’s closing could sink in, I dropped by Knitty City to hear Betty talk about her afghan. One thing that Knitty City does a wonderful job is displaying samples of various knitting projects as well as colorful swatches to entice you to use the fibers.

I arrived just in time to see Betty proudly displaying the beautiful piece which now covers her bed. Being late to the presentation, I didn’t get the full details about the original of the project. 

While Betty had started with a rough idea of the color scheme, she modified it on the fly and added various squares as she wanted to try new things. There are two squares, one with a B for Betty and one with a D for Dick, her husband. The square that caught my attention was the one with the state of New York. Betty got the graph of the state from a playbill! Since Betty doesn’t like intarsia, the color work is embroidered not knit. 

 

Betty explaining afghan squares in detail at Knitty City

Betty's show & tell afghan at Knitty City

To create a sense of unity, Betty framed each square with a mitered garter stitch border. Further, to create a more sturdy blanket and reduce wear and tear on the seams, she did a three needle bind-off so that it created an artistic border ridge on the good side. 

While I find the idea of knitting an afghan daunting and likely to cause me to stop knitting, I think that this approach of creating multiple areas where the knitter can test new formats and/or have a small area to experiment is a great idea. I’ve been keeping my swatches of various sizes and colors in hopes of one day seaming them together.

BTW-There’s a great write up in the current issue of Vogue Knitting about Knitty City.

D is for Decreases

 

Daffodils in Bryant Park-New York City

D is for decreases which are critical to shaping knitted pieces and lace.

But D is also for daffodils which have opened their faces to the sun along the border of Bryant Park in New York City. It’s a wonderful sign that spring is here (even if it doesn’t feel that way!) Even more amazing is the fact that a bunch of yellow daffodils can brighten up your New York City apartment for a mere $2.99 at your local deli. 

Decreases are wonderful for making your knitted garments fitted. I use a combination of left leaning and right leaning decreases to add a tailored look to the garment. (Note:  Being left handed, I tend not to discuss the specific knitting directions since my are usually reversed.) Further, I place the decreases between 2 and 5 stitches in from the edge (depending on the stitch pattern) to add to the design of the sweater. For example, when using a ribbed stitch, these decreases can add a wonder line to the garment.

 

Lace swatch with decreases offset by increases

 

Armhole Decreases Create Nice Line

Where else do you use decreases to enhance your knitted projects?

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

C is for Color

Color is a critical component of any knitting project. It’s what attracts us as knitters. It’s part of the inspiration and joy. Walk into any yarn store and the first thing that strikes you is the colors of the yarn despite the fact that most stores are organized by fiber type and brand. Tess’ Designs in Portland, ME is one of the few shops that’s organized by color, At Sheep and Wool Festivals, it’s the colors that pull us from one stall to another. 

Color is at the center of the eye candy that draws us to a specific yarn. Here’s a selection of colors from The Point in New York City.

Green, blue and purple hanks

Orange, yellow & red hanks

 

Multi-colored twisted hanks of yarn

Pink, berry & purple yarn

 

Light green & light blue yarn

Valentine's pink & red yarn

Manos in light blue, purple & mixed colors

Manos yarn in oranges and brick red

 

Each knitter has colors that attract her. I tend to be attracted to reds and pinks family . I have to push myself to buy a variety of yarn from other parts of the color spectrum. I find that I can knit with the most wonderful yarn but if the project’s a color that I don’t like, I find it difficult to push myself to finish the item. 

How does color effect your ability to knit?

Submitted by Knitted Yarns Editor-in-Chief

7 Reasons to Like Subway Knitting

 

Grand Central Station Subway Sign

New York City subway rides can be long and boring, especially on weekends when it seems like at least one of the trains that you need to take is being re-routed for system repairs. I find that keeping a small knitting project in my bag is a great way to make every trip pleasurable.  Here are my reasons:

 

1] Helps make trips go faster. It beats cursing at the train that is running late.

2] Gives other subway riders a reason to engage with me. It never ceases to amaze me that people are more open to talking when you’re knitting on the subway. There’s nothing like holding a pair of sharp sticks to get a conversation going.  New Yorkers are very friendly, contrary to what you may believe.  You just need to give them a reason to start an exchange. 

3] Reduces stress. Instead of worrying why the train is stopped indefinitely at Times Square for no apparent reason, I can happily knit while others around me are getting mad. 

4] Allows me to make progress on boring knitting projects, particularly scarves. When the scarf reaches to my lap, I put the finished portion in the project bag along with the ball of yarn.

5] Amuses otherwise cranky children who seem are intrigued by the process of knitting. 

6] Influences your fellow subway riders to give you space, which can be a scarce commodity in New York City.

7] Makes me feel like I got a fun break because I had time to do something pleasurable in my otherwise busy day.

Do you knit on public transportation? If so, why do you like knitting on subways or other public transportation?  

Stay tuned for the upcoming 5 Helpful Hints for Subway Knitting.

If you found this article of interest, you may like my posting on airplane knitting,

Submitted by Heidi Cohen, Editor-in-Chief of Knitted Yarns