New design from Laura Nelkin "Lolly Pod"

I have been privileged to knit for a very talented designer named Laura Nelkin.  She is not only creatively gifted, she is also a dear person and I have really been happy to get acquainted with over the last few years.  She recently left her position as Design Director for Schafer Yarns to pursue her own design career full-time.  I can't wait to see her first book.  But, along with working on a future book, she is keeping busy traveling the country doing workshops and creating new patterns.  Here is her latest design called "Lolly Pod." Is it not just the cutest thing ever?!

She calls this design "Lolly Pod"and you can purchase it here at Laura Nelkin Designs  or here on Ravelry:

What about that baby, too?  Precious.  I had to buy this pattern immediately even though at the moment I don't have any newborns to knit for.  But then on Ravelry I saw this sweet picture of a little girl snuggling her stuffed animal in a Lolly Pod and that opens the opportunity to knit Lollys for a much wider number of kids.

What little girl, or little boy for that matter, would not love a cozy little sleeping bag for their favorite stuffed animal?  I am definitely going to have to show this to my 11-year old niece who took up knitting two Christmases ago while I was home.  She looks like she might be about the same age as the little girl in the photo.

More knitting news:

If you are not already receiving Clara Parke's e-newsletter "Knitting News" I highly recommend signing up for it.  This week Clara shares her seven-minute video tour of the 38th Annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.  For those of us who couldn't make it to Maryland, she provides a fast and fun little taste of the festival that you can take without having to leave your desk.  Watch it right here.

Clara Parkes probably knows more about fiber than just about any other living person and her Knitter's Forum is a great place to find answers to any knitting question you can imagine.  It's a great resource and one that I have used often.  Clara is the author of The Knitter's Book of Socks, The Knitter's Book of Yarn, and her latest, The Knitter's Book of Wool.  She has such a genuine appreciation for the sheep who provide us with so much warmth and cozy comfort and her writing style is entertaining and easy as well as being very educational.

Finished one sleeve on my Susan sweater yesterday and the next one is on my needles so I'm on track to have it finished in this next week.  Signing off now to work on some swatches for a beginning crochet class that I am teaching at Gourmet Yarn in the morning.  I really do love introducing knitters to the few simple crochet stitches and techniques can add so much creativity, and really pretty edges, to their knitted projects.

Happy Knitting, Josey

Kolache Festival

Hi Knitters,

The Kolache Festival was everything I had hoped it would be.  We had a beautiful sunny day in Oklahoma, not too windy, which is something rare this time of year.  It was a bit hot but we were in a lovely shaded area for a good part of the day.

Yes, the kolaches were fresh and yummy and sweet and yeasty.  Did I tell you my son-in-law's father was in charge of the judging committee to determine the ribbon winners for best home-made beer, home-made wine, kielbasa, yeast breads, and kolaches?  Tough job.  Here are the entries waiting to be sampled.  My hubby was invited to help taste which he was happy to do.

The judges discuss their plan of attack.

Yes, the judges did work their way down the entire line-up over the course of the morning, but as several had a long drive home, did not swallow many.  I am happy to say that, although I am completely incapable of judging a good wine or beer from a not-as-good one, I was happy to sample both the first-place winning kolaches and I even got to bring home what was left of the first-place winning yeast bread.  We have had the yummiest toast the last two mornings.  Pays to know people in high places.

My favorite part of the day was watching the young girls (and a few boys as well) in their  traditional Czech dress.  The colors, the lovely lace, the embroidered ribbon and sashes, the beautiful bows and flowered hair wreaths captivated me and I spent most of my time in the pavilion watching all the participants chattering away happily as they waited to do the traditional dance in the street just before the parade.

The backs of their dresses were just as beautiful as the fronts:

The children were precious.  As soon as I asked to take their picture, they would place their hands in the traditional before the dance stance and smile for the camera.  They seemed to be really enjoying themselves.  The moms were all nearby checking their bows, hair and make-up before they went out to dance.

The embroidery on the dress on the left was extraordinary.  Many of their dresses are hand-sewn by mothers, grandmothers, aunts, etc.  Love the little blonde on the right with her missing teeth:

These two pretty young girls are last year's Kolache Queen and Jr. Kolache Queen.  Each of the past Queens wore their sashes and I think the earliest one I saw was from 1992.

Time to dance:

I really loved the embroidered fabric used for this dress:

It was very hot by this time and I am sure their layered dresses were not to comfy at this point but they all looked wonderful and kept up the pace through several traditional dances:

This little one was so charming, so tiny, but knew all the steps as well as any of the dancers.  I am sure there is a sash in her future.

Most of the dresses were in the red/black fabrics with colored embroidery, so this color combination really stood out.  I think it's beautiful.

There was an import pavilion with beautiful glassware and jewelry, and some of the Czech ribbons and fabrics -- really high quality.

And, of course, I loved the quilt samplers:

This was one of my favorites:

All-in-all a wonderful day.  I can see why so many people make it a tradition to attend every year.  And I did get a little knitting done on the way to Prague.  One more sleeve to go on my sweater.

Happy Knitting, Josey

A few tips on sweater knitting

Hi Knitters:

I have made quite a bit of progress on my sweater over the last week.  As I was knitting I thought of a few things that I have found helpful over the years that I hope you find helpful as well.

Tip #1.  Most sweater patterns call for you to knit the back first.  I am not sure why that is the case but a while back I started knitting the front first.  I find it much easier to get an idea of how the fit is working out.  I hold the front up to myself frequently as I knit to check the length and width.  I even occasionally will lightly block the front with a little steam while it is still on the needles if I have some doubts about whether I have enough ease around the sides, etc.  It's also easier to check your armhole depth, fit around the bust, etc., when working with the front piece.

Tip #2.  Once I have finished the front to my liking, I block it before starting the back.  This way it is very easy to count the rows.  For years I did exactly what the patterns called for and that was to knit according to measurements.  For example, knit until garment measures 12 inches  and begin armhole shaping.  Or continue knitting until armhole measures 9 inches from first bind-off.  I do knit the front according to measurements and then check by the holding it up and around me method.  But then for the back I actually knit by duplicating the # of rows in the front.  Maybe it was me, but I always ended up with the front or back, or armhole  being a little bit different length, even though my tape measure said it was the same.  There are just too many variables when measuring something that by it's very nature is flexible and stretchy.  So, after completing the front, I count rows and make a note of exactly how many rows I have knit to the first increases, the first decreases, the beginning of the armhole shaping, and the first bind-off -- anywhere the back needs to correspond exactly to the front.

Then I knit the back to match exactly to row # instead of measurement.  This really helps when it comes to the sewing time because I don't have to ease in extra stitches here and there.  Now someone may write me and let me know exactly why it is important to knit the back first and it may be for a very good reason.  If so, I will humbly swallow my words, but this is what I have found works really well for me.

Tip #3.  Another little tip if you would like to use this method is to put yarn markers at the edge of your work as you count the rows which saves you from having to recount over and over as you knit.  I might place a marker every 25 or 50 rows, depending on the project.

Tip #4.   I discovered a nice-sized hole in my knitting after I had knit a good bit further than the hole.  This one really puzzles me.  I didn't discover it until I did a stitch count several rows later and found I was off by one.  When I spread the piece out to have a look at where I lost the stitch I saw the hole.  There was no dropped stitch, the hole was just there, right smack in the middle with no loose end anywhere to be found. I can't account for the mysterious little circle.  I guess that's what I get for knitting while mesmerized by Orange County Housewife Peggy's amazingly orchestrated gourmet dinner party on her fabulous candle-lit patio with her disastrously dysfunctional guest list.

There it is in all its holey glory.  Moral of the story and Tip #4: When watching reality TV, check your work at every commercial break!

Anyway, I had knit enough that I didn't want to tear back, but because it wasn't actually a dropped stitch, I couldn't weave it back up to the current row with a crochet hook.  After pondering my options I decided to try weaving through the stitches immediately before and after the hole on the back of the fabric, seeing if I could just close up the hole by snugging the stitches close together.

I threaded a length of yarn on a tapestry needle and wove it in and out of the stitches to the right and left of the hole, following over the path of the yarn.

It was a little like doing the "kitchener" stitch or graftin.  When I got to the hole, I continued into the next stitch just after it and gently snugged it together.  I wound my way through three or four more stitches and then cut the ends leaving a little length so the ends won't pop through to the front.  It's not perfect but I decided that since it is in the back in a not-very-noticeable  spot that I would knit on without frogging.

I am liking the sweater a lot so far.  The yarn is so cool and summery.  But am a bit concerned I may have overdone it on the depth of the vee.  We'll see when it's all sewn together.  I can always add a few buttons or maybe a knitted inset if necessary.

Tomorrow we are headed to the Kolache Festival in Prague, Oklahoma.  It will be my first Kolache Festival, but not my first kolache.  I tried one for the first time last year at festival time when a friend brought one home for me and have decided kolaches are worth the drive.  All of the churches in Prague bake for many months in preparation for the festival.  My daughter's new sister-in-law helps with the baking at the Baptist Church where she said it is not unusual for them to bake 2400 dozen in the months just before festival time.  Each of the town churches claims to have the best recipe and I am going to do my part in trying as many as possible.

The drive should give me plenty of knitting time tomorrow.

Happy Knitting, Josey