Sample Stitch Kimono Knit-a-long

Finally finished!

2008-06-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

I just slipped in under the wire ... I knew I had a class with Gwen on Thursday, June 12th, so what was I doing late Wednesday night? Sewing the final panel onto my SSK. I wore it to class on Thursday and everyone seemed to like it.

The huge bat-wing sleeves are a little overwhelming for my 5 foot stature and Gwen suggested removing one panel from each sleeve to make it a little less fabric. I'll probably do that and also take her suggestion that I crochet an edging around the neck and front to give it a little more structure.

I completed the jacket though, and Gwen liked it, and I'm happy. This picture is sort of crappy and doesn't show the fabulous texture of the thing. I may try to post another picture later.

Special Thanks

2007-10-31T10:40:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take a moment and thank my husband Arlis for doing all the manual labor required to get the monthly installments out this month. I am currently sitting in a Starbucks in Kansas City. The printer is going back at my office and Arlis will be stapling, folding, putting in envelopes and getting them ready to go out after he gets home from work tonight. He really is the greatest!!!

By the way, we are only a couple of folks shy of 100 participants! It would be fun to reach 100 before we close the project for the year! And by the way, I will NOT be offering the project for at least 6 months, maybe longer once the last installment in December goes out. You will no longer be able to order it after that time. So if you have friends who want to participate, they need to join NOW!!

I'm just slogging along ...

2007-09-04T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hi, guys! I just finished a strip and started a new one. The one I finished was "Little Leaf." It makes an interesting texture, but I'm too anal retentive to like the look. It looks a little messy. The one I started today is the Fisherman's Rib and I think I'll like it better because it's more symetric.

I'm getting a little worried about how all these pieces are going to fit together. I guess it'll all work out. Several of my strips turned out wider than they should have -- but I'm thinking bigger is better, especially with my figure! :) I bet I'm going to have to make my strip #12 longer than it is, though, to accomodate the extra circumference. Otherwise, it will draw in at the bottom. I guess we'll all cross that bridge when we come to it.

Happy knitting!

Penny

August Strips

2007-08-28T06:03:00.000-07:00

How is everyone doing on their August strip? I'm WAY behind - just about halfway thru JULY! Intend to spend the next few days trying to catch up! Debby

More Faces to Names

2007-08-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

So I have just returned from Stitches Midwest and was able to put a few more faces to names. Lois was in my last class of the weekend, Flat to Circular and Back Again. Her knitting buddy and fellow SSK participant Shirley was taking classes nearby and stopped in during break. It was great to get to meet them both in person.

In September I will be teaching at the Knit and Crochet Show in Oakland on Sept 27 & 28. If you will be attending, definitely come find me in class, stop in and say "hi". Then in October I will be traveling all over the Midwest and East Coast. More opportunities to find me and let me know how it is going.

Lois, of course, wanted to know what was coming up for next year. I have a plan and will be giving more information as the plan becomes a bit more fully formed! But keep watching for more details!

Faces to Names

2007-06-10T17:50:00.000-07:00

The past 10 days I have been in Columbus, OH. First for the TNNA show and then I stayed on to teach at Knitter's Connection. Columbus is a very nice place to visit and I really enjoyed my time there, but what has been the most fun is putting a few more faces to the names participating in the SSK knit a long!!

At TNNA I met Chris Gahs, owner of Cloverhill Yarn Shop in MD. She is not exactly "participating" since people in the business rarely get to actually knit, but she says she loves getting the handouts each month!!

Then, during the Knitter's Connection, I met Roberta Astroff and then later Penny Landen (WoolyWorm), which was especially fun since she had her strips with her and I got to see them in person.

I travel around a lot, if I am going to be in your area, I sure hope that you take a minute to introduce yourself, because meeting other knitters is always such a joy, especially when we all have something in common!

mockbraid was mocking me

2007-05-24T15:22:00.001-07:00

I had a hard time figuring the Mockbraid stitch out. I thought I was supposed to bind off the knit stitch and the slip stitched instead of passing the slip stitch over the knit stitch and yarn over!

I'm behind

2007-05-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

I'm behind everyone most probably. I was waiting to do some swatches of several months stitches before I made any decision on what I was going to do. This is my first strip and I'm about 2/3 done with it. It is the lozenge pattern. I am using Louisa Harding Kashmir DK in a dusty rose/lavendar color. So far I am liking how it is turning out. Happy Knitting everyone.

I'm Caught Up With the Group! Yea!

2007-04-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

I finished the April strip yesterday and, now, I'm all caught up with the rest of the group. So, here are my strips, in order from left to right:

January - roman rib
February - zig zag lace
March - mock honeycomb
April - mock braid

I can't wait for May!
Penny in Kentucky

P.S. Am I the only one participating in the blog portion of this knitalong? I feel like I'm talking to myself. PPL

Halfway through with April strip

2007-04-19T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hi. I saw from some of the posts that people were having trouble with the mock braid pattern. I, however, really like it. It must be the wool I'm using -- Knitpicks Merino Style -- but it looks to me like it has plenty of three-dimension-ality. It also feels really snuggly.

I'm really loving this project overall. The strips are narrow enough that you feel like you're really making progress with them -- and if you make a mistake it isn't too heartbreaking to rip it out. Just about the time I get really sick and tired of a pattern, it's time to change. I just hope the kimono turns out. I'm worried about putting it together.

Penny in Kentucky

Help.....

2007-04-12T16:38:00.000-07:00

I am just getting started (let's hope better late than never!!) I am having some problems figuring out the measurements. If my panel E is on 5.25 inches (I sure hope I figured that out correctly!!) and all of the patterns are given with the smallest size 3 inches...????!!!! Did I do something hideously wrong here? Do i need to adjust up? Did anyone else have this problem?? Help!!!

Making progress on the road

2007-04-09T05:25:00.000-07:00

I'm spending Spring Break in Oxford, England. We're vacationing and relaxing. So far, we've spent a lot of time at Warwick Castle where reenactors are reenacting the War of the Roses.

I've finished my first strip -- I did the Roman Rib on it.

And I'm about halfway through the second one. I chose the zig-zag lace for it. It's turning out a little wider than it should but I'm just going to go with it because I don't have any other needles with me.

Maybe it won't be as long as I thought before I catch up with everyone else!

falling behind

2007-04-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my Feb. strip. Regretting choosing to make it large sized. Want it to fit like some of my favorite hoodies, but making long strips is taking , well a long time! Too bad I can't shrink to baby sized....anyways. I ended up frogging once which didn't help either. Never figured out pulling out rows in lace. Confuses me way too much. So instead I fudged. Bet you can all see the snafu, but I figure in the end I'll know it's there and make sit all the more special.

Introduction

2007-03-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hi. I thought I'd better introduce myself to the group since I'm straggling in here late. I'm Penny from Kentucky. I ordered my yarn a couple of days ago and so I don't even have anything to swatch yet.

Even if I don't ever catch up, I still intend to have a good time and maybe I'll have the advantage of learning from those of you who are ahead of me in the process.

I'm a knitter and spinner in Northern Kentucky. I belong to the Weaver's Guild of Greater Cincinnati (which embraces all fiber arts, not just weaving) and Friendship Spinners, a regional Kentucky group.

I have two teenaged daughters, a wonderful husband, a loyal springer spaniel and an uppity French angora buck named Andy.

I'm looking forward to attending Knitters Connection in Columbus, Ohio this June, where I understand Gwen will be teaching.

I can't wait to get my yarn and get started. I ended up choosing a pale grey DK yarn because I thought it would show the stitches well and go with everything. I'm sort of wishing I had made a bolder choice now, but we'll have to see how it goes.

I'll be in touch.

Penny

Switched yarns

2007-02-28T18:17:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't like how my Welsh wool was turning out, so I went back and changed yarns. I'm nw using Pachuko naturally colored cotton in 3 shades. I plan to use darker color on the arms and get lighter toward the middle. Because this yarn shrinks when machine-dried, I plan to hang dry/dry flat the kimono. I have a lot of machine-wash-hang-dry stuff, so that's not too bad. I bought this yarn for the heck of it when Elann carried it - it' been well-aged in the stash!

Iron_knitter (Catherine) in snowy Wisconsin

A Project Summary

2007-02-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

Folks have been interested in the types of patterns we are going to use in the project. I meant to post this a couple of days ago, but I am getting ready to leave for Stitches West and prep took priority. But before I run out into the VERY RAINY day, here is the "plan" for the stitches:

Jan - Knit & Purl Combinations
Feb - Simple Lace
Mar - Slipped Stitches
Apr - Clustered Stitches
May - Patterns with Varied Stitch Counts
Jun - Ribbed Patterns (combined with other techniques)
Jul - Brioche Type Patterns
Aug - Tucked Stitches
Sep - Elongated and Dropped Stitches
Oct - Twisted Stitches
Nov - Cables
Dec - 3-D Patterns

As I stated before, each month will have 2-3 patterns. I am not giving you all the details, because that would be a bit counter to the concept, but hopefully this list will help!

Please keep in mind that this is a plan. I may need to change the order slightly based on trying to build on previously covered skills, but these will definitely be the primary topics! There will also be other tips, tricks and hints based on what we are covering that month. Hopefully this helps with planning -- or at least gets you even more excited!!!

Public outcry!

2007-02-19T18:30:00.000-08:00

I feel such a sense of accomplishment now that I've learned to knit lace patterns! I was sad when I finished the panel and wondered if anyone ever threw a temper tantrum to get the next installment early...nothing ventured, nothing gained!

I'm so glad I found this project!

SSK Plan

2007-02-17T21:43:00.000-08:00

Gwen,
Can you please give us some idea how many of each type of pattern designs are included in the kimono, so that we can plan our strip placements. So far, there have been patterns that create linear texture and a selection of three lacy designs. Will there be other pattern styles like these?
I am thinking about how I want the types of patterns to progress up the sleeve, for example. And what type of pattern I will use for the border of my front panels (down the middle).
Since my kimono is longer that yours, I want the designs to provide the appropriate effect on the front and back.
If I want to include a lacy design on the front or back, I want to make it long enough (or short enough) for that placement. I do not want to have to go back and unknit a bind-off to make a strip longer, or to unravel to make a strip shorter. There is a lot of work and time invested in this project and I am sure you want all of our kimonos to be pleasing to the knitters.
What can you tell us about the number and types of designs that will be coming up?
-Sahara

Swatches

2007-02-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

Hi all: Well, I'm not sure when I am going to start. Right now I have the 3 swatches done for January and one of the three for February done. Will have the other 2 swatches done this weekend. I keep going back and forth on waiting to get more swatches done so I can put them side by side to see how they will look together, or going for broke and starting the actual strips. The swatches are gorgeous and I'm building up the anticipation of actually starting.

It's nice to see though that I am not the only one who is still "thinking". LOL

Once I have all 6 swatches done, I'll take some pictures and post them. Maybe even move them around some and see how they look together.

Happy knitting all :)

Anticipation

2007-02-08T15:47:00.000-08:00

I have not started my project yet, as my New Year's resolution was to finish my projects before starting a new one. I am almost finished with the fingerless gloves I am knitting for the boyfriend (let's hope he doesn't break up with me, though I have knitted him a sweater vest in the past), and as soon as I finish with those, I shall begin the kimono for ME!!!

This will be one of the first garments I actually make for myself, so I am pretty excited.

Gwen, hope to see you at Stitches West!! You were my favorite teacher last year, and I have made several felted oven mitts using the pattern I took from the class.

creatively behind

2007-02-07T08:45:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I am behind for a couple of reasons. I decided to wait til I had more than one set of monthly instructions to start, just to help me visual the project. I know this is supposed to function kinda like a mystery project, but hey, I read the end of mysteries before I start the book! So it was great to see the sample completed here on the blog. I love the Feburary stitches, and was delighted to see pictures of strips from January's booklet on the Yahoo!group pictures. I am now really eager to get started.

I also delayed starting because I am going to tweak the shape a bit. I don't think my sleeves will have batwings, as intriguing as Gwen's construction appears to be. My body and batwings do NOT go well together! But I figure this party is all about creativity.

Just got it

2007-02-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

Just opened the package. I'm sitting amid packing boxes - we just moved - I'm already behind!

How is Your Progress

2007-01-31T10:59:00.000-08:00

I hope you all are progressing well! I want to see you progress on the blog if at all possible. Although I was hoping folks would all post their progress on this community blog, Sahara has created a new blog and posted her progress there.

If you have questions on how to post to this blog, please e-mail me and I will see about sending out a tutorial on the process. The next updates will be sent out tomorrow with 3 more options for stitches!

Better Detailed Photos

2007-01-20T15:43:00.000-08:00

Today I finally had a chance to get some more detailed photos of my example of the front of the kimono:

And a lot more detail on the back of the kimono:

I will be interested to see the progress of everyone else working on the project!!

A Hit at TNNA

2007-01-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

This past week/weekend I was at TNNA (The National Needlearts Association) wholesale trade show. This is a trade show exclusively for yarn shops (and needlepoint shops and counted thread shops) to see what is new for the season, place orders, see what is happening with the industry as a whole and network with one another. San Diego was unusually cold. so I was wearing my Sample Stitch Kimono quite a bit. Everyone just LOVED it!

A couple folks wanted to buy the pattern, but I informed them that this is an EXCLUSIVE project for the knit a long. I may release a pattern later, but not until at least 2008! So my wish for all of you is that you have as many compliments when yours is complete.