BOYFRIEND SWEATERS - on sale in one week 12/18

Two, count 'em, TWO book launch events for BOYFRIEND SWEATERS.
Wed January 19th at Knitty City on west 79th street in NYC.
Thursday January 20th at WEBS in Northampton, MA
Come see the samples from the new book and have some incredible tahini, maple, oat, chocolate chip cookies.

http://www.yarn.com/product/boyfriend-sweaters-book-signing-event/

http://www.knittycity.com/knittyblog/index.php/kevent/view/288

Here are two of my favorite patterns in the book - She's wearing a long baby camel cabled cardigan. And he's wearing a houndstooth jacket in possum and merino. 

Dealing with Circular Needles

True confession right up front - I love circular needles. I choose them over straight needles every time. But I don't like the interchangeable sets. They come with either metal, wood, or acrylic tips, and to be honest, I can't be limited by one over the other. Some yarns just behave better on wood needles, some behave better on metal. I need more choices.

I first discovered circular needles when I brought knitting on a plane. I as working on a hat with double points and lost a needle somewhere under the seat between my seat mate and myself in our confined coach section. I couldn't retrieve it until she woke up, when we landed 3 hours later. I was stuck, and couldn't knit for the rest of the flight. A circular needle comes with it's own safety line - hanging onto the other needle on the other end. 

To date, I have about 100 circular needles in sizes from US2 (2.75mm) to US13 (9mm) in lengths from 8-inches (20.5cm) to 52-inches (132 cm). Keeping them organized is a challenge. 

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Gauge is Everything but it's also Simply a Suggestion.

I hear it all the time from students.
"I hate knitting a gauge swatch!"
And they hear this back...
"If you want to be surprised at the fit, if you want to have wasted 30 or 40 hours knitting a sweater that the recipient can never wear, then don't knit a gauge swatch.

This little icon appears on every label of yarn. It's a suggestion from the manufacturer. This one says that the manufacturer thinks this yarn looks best at 5 stitches and 6 rows per inch which can be achieved on size US 8 (5mm) needles. The only way to know if this is true for you is to knit up a 4 inch square of stockinette on size US 8 (5mm) needles. If you get 5 stitches and 6 rows per inch, great. If you get fewer stitches and rows you need to go down a needle size and try again. If you get more than 5 stitches and 6 rows per inch then you need to up a needle size.

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Adjusting A Pattern To Fit Your Taste

We've all done it—finished a sweater, following the pattern to the letter. It fit! Hurray! It even looked great. But every time we see it we think, hmmm, if only the shoulders were a tiny bit wider, it would drape so much nicer. Or the button band could be just a tiny bit wider. 

Published patterns, like recipes, are really good jumping-off points, and as a designer and a chef, I can tell you that I am never insulted when someone skews my creation to fit their own taste. Want to make my stew with chicken instead of veal? Go for it. Don't like the stripe I put in a sweatshirt? Leave it out.

That's exactly what one KNITS MEN WANT group member did with my striped hoodie from my book KNITS MEN WANT. Here's the original from the book:

 

It looks beautiful on her son in solid blue.

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