Colorwork to Lift Your Spirits!
A cheerful colorwork project lifts our spirits and we think everyone could use some of that during these crazy times! It seems as if all of us at My Sister Knits has a project with more than one color in it on the needles right now.
From left to right: SweaterFreak’s Escher’s Dream, a mosaic cowl; Laura Reinbach’s Check This Out cowl, stranded colorwork; and Jill Zielinski’s The Owen Hat, also stranded colorwork.
We aren’t the only ones obsessed with using more than one color in a project. Several of our favorite designers have published colorful cowls, hats, sweaters, and shawls. We invite you to see their designs on display in the shop.
There are multiple techniques that use two or more colors; we’re positive you can choose one that you adore! We have samples to help you choose which techniques appeal to you.
Sunset Slouch Hat kit
A simple project with all of the color decisions already made is the Sunset Slouch kit from Hudson and West. The kit for this striped hat comes with all of the colors already wound into cute little balls. There is a note in the pattern that explains exactly how to join colors for a smooth transition from one to the next.
Mosaic knitting is a wonderful way to add more than one color just by slipping stitches! To slip a stitch, you insert your right needle into the next stitch on your left needle as if to purl and then you transfer that stitch to the right needle without working it. Voila! You’ve slipped a stitch and are ‘mosaicing’.
This technique uses only one color at a time and, unlike stripes, there are no ends to weave in (which is a plus for some people). Usually mosaic knitting creates geometric designs but as you’ll see in our Massallo Shawl sample, designed by Louis Boria, that isn’t always the case.
The Massallo Shawl
Then there is stranded colorwork where you knit with two colors at once, carrying the unused color along the back. This is the most advanced of these three colorwork techniques. It takes a little practice to get the tension correct but it’s fun to learn! There are numerous patterns that are designed for beginners; we like the free Check This Out cowl because the yarn is always carried over just one stitch.
It’s so satisfying to see the colorwork pattern grow as you knit, it’s hard to put these projects down!
We’ll have two new projects on display by the end of the week so be sure to drop by and see them! Be assured that we always have proper social distancing and follow the latest health department updates and guidelines.
We have two classes in November that will fuel your colorwork interest! One is the Nova Cowl, a mosaic pattern. The other is The Owen Hat, a stranded colorwork pattern. Both of these are on display at My Sister Knits.
Sock Drive
We have a sock drive going at the shop until December 15th! We do something each year at this time to contribute to the community. This year socks are high on the list of most wanted items. Last year we collected 300 pairs and this year our goal is 500.
When you donate socks, you are entered into a drawing to win an absolutely gorgeous muud Mars bag. We urge you to put buying socks on your to-do list and bring them into the shop as this is an urgent need! Thank you for your generosity in helping others.