Yarn Review: Patons SWS – Way better than Tofu! (by Jen Chambers)

Decided to try and felt using Patons SWS yarn.  It’s 70% Wool, 30% Soy, so I thought it would probably felt up nicely.   I had a couple of skeins of SWS which stands for Soy Wool Stripes in colorway Natural Earth and thought I’d try making an iPad cover.  I don’t have an iPad, but one day I hope to and I’ll have a beautiful cover to keep it safe from scratches.  I didn’t have a pattern, but figured I just try and see if I could work it out.

I cast on 45 stitches on size 8 needles.  I knit the piece in garter stitch and it used just about the entire 2 skeins of yarn.  The yarn itself is soft and knits up nicely.  The yarn has a slightly different  “twist” then normal worsted weight yarn.  It’s not twisted as tightly and when untwisted it doesn’t consist of 4 threads like most worsted weight.  Instead it untwists into about 50 very fine “hairs” that create a fuzz when separated.  The yarn is self striping and the color changes were subtle from row to row and the pattern repeat was easy to anticipate when it came time to join the 2^nd skein of yarn.

Finished size before felting was 22.5” x 9.5”.  I sewed up the side seams and began the felting process.

I watched closely as the piece felted to make sure I didn’t go too far.  The finished measurement I was shooting for was about 9.5” x 7.5”. I felted this in the washing machine and it took 2 wash cycles to get to the measurement I wanted.

I pulled out the piece and rinsed with cold water then used the book in the picture as my drying form.  I put the book into a zip-top bag, and slid it inside the iPad cover while it dried over the next few days.

After the piece was dry, the felting process had made the finished piece quite fuzzy all over.  So I took a disposable razor and cut away the fuzz and the finished piece was exactly what I wanted.

Overall, I was very pleased with this yarn.  It’s a beautiful yarn that looks great whether you decide to use it for felting or just a normal knitting project.

Keep on Knitting! (by Robyn Devine)

People often marvel that I’m able to complete as many knitting projects as I do. I didn’t think I was knitting all that much and then I started to add up what I’d gotten accomplished. From August until now I’ve finished over 50 items!

I haven’t always been this accomplished of a finisher but deadlines and a desire to push myself has proven very helpful. However, my strategy of being a stern, whip-bearing task-master, may not work for everyone.  I’ve come up with a handy list of five ways to finish more knitting projects.

Have a “project” bag you can take with you - Be sure you’ve got either a purse big enough to carry your project or a designated “project bag” you carry with you everywhere. This way you can knit while in line at the post office, while others are driving, while waiting for a child’s ballet class to get finished, etc. An extra five or ten minutes here and there will get you closer to your goal of finished knitting projects!

Keep it simple – This can mean knitting up a pair of stockinette stitch socks, letting self-patterning yarn do all the hard work for you or it could mean ribbed scarves. Figure out what you can knit blindfolded and let that stitch or project type dominate your “to knit” list. If you love to knit scarves then knit scarves.  You can give them to everyone for the holidays.  Don’t force yourself to knit items you’ll stress about and won’t enjoy!

Make it small – If you take a close look at the projects I’m finishing not one of them is large-scale. I don’t knit many sweaters and if I do they’re of the baby variety. Much of my knitting is hats, hats, hats. Many are for the One Hundred Hats project but I’m also getting into the habit of knitting hats for everyone around me. I’d love to be known as the hat lady passing out hats all year ‘round to friends, loved ones, and even strangers! By keeping my knitting small I’m able to bust through projects faster!

Keep a list – I find that I get more knitting done when I write out a list of what I’d like to accomplish. This works great around the holidays, or if you have several birthdays arriving at once. My “holiday knit list” has been a life-saver this season – I don’t have to wonder what’s next to make, I just consult the list! I’ve got everything from One Hundred Hats projects to gifts for friends and family added, so I’ve just been working down the list, one project at a time!

Set BIG goals – Sounds strange to “make it small” and “keep it simple” and also to set big goals but not to me! Deciding to knit One Hundred Hats was a huge goal and one I entered into quite lightly to be honest. I arbitrarily picked a number and a time-frame. It has really changed my life. I find I’m more goal-oriented now. I’m constantly thinking about my “main things” and I’m focusing my life around something I’ve become extremely passionate about.

People have asked me what I’ll do if I don’t make my goal. All I say is, “But I will make it!”!  That’s the only way I’ll allow myself to think about it. Setting this challenge is forcing me to focus.  My thinking about the best way for me to use my time has pushed me to not only knit One Hundred Hats but a lot of other items too.

Maybe you don’t want to set as big a goal for yourself.  Whatever goal you set for yourself be sure there’s a bit of danger to it.  You know, “Can I really do that?”  …and remember to always enjoy the ride!

Best knitting project of 2009 (video)

We Naughty Knitterz voted on a number of knitting projects submitted by members.  We selected a colorful afghan createded by an experienced knitting enthusiast as the best knitting project of 2009. The winner has many years of experience and enjoys being the instructor for her local knitting circle.  She wishes to remain anonymous.

The afghan she created is featured in the following video.  We hope to be able to select a best knitting project, given enough submissions, every three months.   If you’d like to submit one of your knitting efforts to our contest send a brief write up, including a bit about yourself, along with pictures to info@naughtyknitterz.com.

If your project wins we’ll send you your choice of coffee mug or tee shirt from our Naughty Stuff.  We will also create a video of your project or you can send your own video. Good luck!  Here’s is the video we created for the 2009 winner.