liz contesti's Page

Liz, you can do any fair isle pattern with just a few colors and without steeking. But if you are unsure of yourself, there is a great possibility for you. What about this? I don't have the pattern but it has fair isle just around the yoke. It looks like it's knit in the round and that no steeking is involved. You can check with customer service to see if it's in the round with no steeking. ♥c

Anytime, Liz. That's what we are all here for: to help each other. ♥cheryl

Liz, it took me more than a decade to be able to do any kind of provisional cast on. I was always picking out my provisional yarn when I went to put the live stitches back on the needle. Then last spring I was determined to be able to do the provisional cast on. I had always liked Lucy Neatby, but I have become her No. 1 fan since I found her showing how to do the provisional cast on and how to remove it on YouTube. So click on these links and see if they help. Just remember that in knitting there are lots of ways to the same thing. As long as it lets you pick up live sts you can use any provisional cast on.

Liz, first, I really like Knit Picks nickel plated needles. I have always had problems with my body chemistry tarnishing metals. But that can easily be remedied by making sure if your needles are tarnished to polish them before you use them. I usually just use a little toothpaste and a paper towel. For my wooden needles I use wax paper to polish them. I like the KP nickel plated better than the addi turbos. The points are about the same as the addi lace points. The KP needles are less expensive and I think their cables are more flexible than the addis. The interchangeables are really nice. I like having the keyhole for tightening them. I keep a set of sewing needle grabbers and hole the needles while tighening with the key. Plus the keyhole can be used for making life lines in your work.

What is confusing about the BSJ [baby surprise jacket] is trusting EZ. If you follow her directions it will work. I find the best tools for this pattern are the DVD [this is available from KP] and/or the A-B-C-SJ pattern [available here from Schoolhouse Press — about halfway down the page] For the one I am doing right now in the BSJ KAL I'm using Araucania Ruca Multy on a US 5. It's 100% sugar cane and feels similar to silk. Go here for my latest pictures.

I hope this helps you in your decision making. ♥cheryl

Hi! The Crazy Socks were knit from a mill end of Socks That Rock that I bought at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival last May. If you go to my Ravelry page "DrMarta" and check the project notes on the Crazy Socks, there is some discussion of the pattern. I made it up from several different patterns, but was basically working from a worksheet Cat Bordhi gave us at a sock knitting class I took last June in Columbus OH. The increasing came from the Riverbed architecture in her Sock Pathways book. I loved the yarn and need to make some adjustments to the width of the heel, but otherwise it would be a great basic sock for handpainted sock yarns.