Ilga's Knitting World

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Glorious Garter

One of the workshops I offer is called "Glorious Garter: New Dimensions to a Basic Stitch ". Last week we met for a class at the Loop Craft Cafe in downtown Halifax.

Here you can see the industrious group of knitters, hard at work on their samplers.

I ask myself: How can they sit there and simply ignore the selection of luscious yarns around them?

Could it be that they are fascinated by all the possibilities of Garter Stitch?

Well, we did explore all lots of possibilities with the versatile Garter Stitch...













Here you can see Maria's beautiful sample which started out with a series of stripes. She then moved in another direction to incorporate some slipped stitches--for a totally different effect.



Meanwhile Myrna decided to use the time to work on her own Garter Stitch project, a stunning version of the Diamonds on the Diagonal . She has added additional repeats in both width and length to convert this simple scarf pattern into an elegant stole.

She is working it with a delicious yarn, a pale lavender grey so sublty variegated that you really have to see it in person.
It is a Tilli Tomas yarn. A silk yarn studded with tiny sequins that sparkle like diamonds.



















Here Maria (in the yellow sweater) takes a break to browse some literature while Suzanne plows ahead with her sampler.

Suzanne brought a lot of energy to the class as she described how she has embraced the practice of knitting Garter Stitch scarves sideways. A great way to use up bits of left-over yarn.

Simply cast on enough stitches for the full length of a scarf. Begin to knit every row, alternating colours as you go--in any sequence you like. Leave the ends dangling--at both the beginning and end of each row. These will form a natural fringe which you can then tie together in groups after you are finished knitting.

Added bonus: No weaving in of loose ends!

This can be a colour extravaganza. Try it.