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All About Yarn Online Workshop

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I’m proud to announce the release of my class All About Yarn with Interweave.  This class has been a long time in coming!  It’s a version of one of my most popular topics to talk about: why yarns act the way they do.  I’ve been working to get this information to a wider audience, and I feel that this fits that niche.  Let me tell you a little bit more about the class:

 Ever find what you think is the perfect yarn for the perfect project, only to find that they are not perfect together at all? Ever fret over substituting one yarn for another? Join Jennifer Raymond and discover why a yarn that is luscious for lace can be a fail when it comes to cables. Look at your stash with fresh eyes, and visit your LYS knowing how to choose and use the right yarn for whatever you want to make. Prepare to learn All About Yarn.

In this Online Workshop you’ll:

 

  • Learn about the 3 building blocks of all yarns–ply, weight, and fiber content—and how they work together.
  • Determine the weight of any yarn, from handspun to those mystery yarns in your stash.
  • Explore a whole menagerie of fiber animals–from angora to yak–along with cotton, linen, silk and more.
  • Gain new confidence in choosing and using yarns, whether for a new pattern or for your own design
  • Get tips on how to care for your finished projects.

 

Lesson Outline:

 

  • Introduction
  • Meet Your Instructor
  • Understanding Ply:

 

  • Singles
  • 2 Ply Yarns
  • 3 & 4 Ply Yarns
  • A Weighty Matter: Yarn Weights Explained
  • Yarn Weight Standards
  • Wraps per Inch
  • A Small Detour: Worsted vs. Woolen Yarns
  • Fiber: Protein, Cellulose, and Other Types of Fiber
  • Quick Guide: Types of Wool
  • Quick Guide: Other Animal Fibers
  • Quick Guide: Cotton, Linen, & Silk
  • Quick Guide: Synthetic Fibers
  • Fiber Care

 

  • Wrapping Up

 

 

 

Skill Level: Beginner on up. Though aimed at knitters, this workshop is also appropriate for crocheters or any maker interested in yarn.

Materials required: None! Though you may find it helpful to rummage through your yarn stash while watching.

 

About the Instructor:
Jennifer Raymond is a knitter, crocheter, and spinner based in Ashland, Virginia, with more than 20 years of stitching experience. A teacher and designer, she also has a business repairing and restoring heirloom knit and crochet pieces.

All About Yarns in October!

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All About Yarns with Jennifer Raymond

If you follow my blog, you know that one of my favorite classes to teach is Yarns 101.  Yarns 101 is normally a 3-hour class on why yarns behave the way they do: why some yarn substitutions work, why your alpaca sweater is super saggy, and how we can make more informed decisions about pairing yarns with projects.  I love teaching the class, and often one of the responses I get back on my evals is… “When will you teach a Yarns 201?”

So many people enjoy the class, and would love to delve even further into the material.

I’ve been thinking for a while about how to go about doing that, and in the spring I pitched a class to Interweave that was my answer.

All About Yarns is an online seminar I’ll be teaching with Interweave’s online learning platform, Craft University.  From October 3rd to October 21st, we’ll explore and learn the different factors that influence how yarn behaves: ply, weight & fiber.

How does this differ from Yarns 101?  Yarns 101 is 3 hours.  All About Yarns is 3 weeks.  We’ll be able to do things I wouldn’t be able to do in a workshop.  There will be further learning assignments, swatching and sampling, and the creating of yarn cards.

Take a look at some of the topics we’ll cover:

  • How to determine the weight and size of your yarn.
  • Discover how ply and yarn weight influence the final presentation of your colorwork or lace.
  • How to look at yarns to determine which ones is suited for which project.
  • Determine which yarns will be suited for high-wear items, and which yarns would be better for next-to-skin wearing.
  • Understand how fibers in yarns influence the final look, drape and sturdiness of your garment.
  • How to figure out what your “mystery yarns” are made of, and how best to use them in your projects.

I’d love to have you.  If you’re interested in the course, you can sign up for it here.  Come join me!

My Pattern is On TV! And it’s currently Free!

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Stained Glass Rug recently came out in the Interweave Crochet Home 2015, which is a simply gorgeous issue of the magazine.  I’ve recently been interested in padded crochet.  It’s a technique most commonly used in Irish Crochet Lace, but I’ve been fascinated with it’s potential on a larger scale, hence the rug.

Well, the producers at KDTV were interested in the pattern too, and decided to feature it on an episode of the show.  Take a peek:


Marcy Smith, the editor of Interweave Crochet, demonstrates the technique beautifully in Episode 1409!  I simply can’t say enough how well Interweave photographed the pattern and showed off the rug.

So, you might ask, when and where can I watch the episode live? Knitting Daily TV runs on may PBS stations, though it’s scheduling is different depending on where you live. Which is the long way of saying, I have absolutely no clue.

 BUT! I did find a search tool so you can find out when the episode airs!  You can look up the air date here: Listing For Knitting Daily TV.

If you do have Knitting Daily TV, let me know, so I can put the times it airs up here! I’d love to be able to catch the episode if possible. The 14th season’s 9th episode is when Stained Glass Rug will be featured!

Finally, while the show is running, Stained Glass Rug will be offered as a free download here: http://www.knittingdaily.com/media/p/131342.aspx!

Time Travler

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Time Traveler released early last week, but I’m only now getting to talk and share it with you!  It’s a pattern based off of a historical knitting pattern (which is a secret love of mine).  But, I digress!  Let me give you the deets:

Time Traveler
by Jennifer Raymond

Published in: Sockupied, Fall 2014
Craft: Knitting
Category: Feet / Legs → Socks → Mid-calf
Published: July 2014
Suggested yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock
Yarn weight: Fingering / 4 ply (14 wpi)
Gauge: 32 stitches and 46 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch
Needle size: US 0 – 2.0 mm
Yardage: 400 yards (366 m)
Sizes available: 7 (8½, 9½)” (18 [21.5, 24] cm) foot circumference and 8½ (9¾, 10¾)” (21.5 [25, 27.5] cm) long from back of heel to tip of toe; foot length is adjustable.

Jennifer updated a stitch pattern from a vintage book to create a new twist in simple lace socks. The zigzag effect is found in many vintage patterns, but also feels right at home in these everyday socks.

Buy Here: http://www.interweavestore.com/sockupied-fall-2014-emag-for-mac-and-pc

New pattern: Victoria’s Riflebird

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It is with pleasure I’d like to introduce you to the newest addition to the Tinking Turtle lineup, Victoria’s Riflebird.

Some details:

Victoria’s Riflebird Wrap

by Jennifer Raymond

Printed in: Crochet World Magazine, August 2014
Craft: Crochet
Category: Neck / Torso → Shawl / Wrap
Published: June 2014
Suggested yarn: Berroco Weekend DK
Yarn weight: DK / 8 ply (11 wpi)
Hook size: 3.75 mm (F)
Yardage: 1340 yards (1225 m)
Sizes available: 61 inches wide at widest point x 17 inches deep at deepest point
Skill Level: Intermediate

Materials:
Berroco Weekend DK (light) acrylic/cotton yarn (31/2 oz/268 yds/100g per skein): 3 skeins #2904 pebble 1 skein each #2926 clothesline and #2902 vanilla
Size F/5/3.75mm crochet hook or size needed to obtain Gauge
Tapestry needle
Locking stitch markers: 2 of 1 color, 6 of another color
Gauge: 18 rows = 4 inches; 17 sts = 4 inches

Right now the design is only available in print, though that might change.

Isis Wings

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by Jennifer Raymond

Published by: Three Irish Girls
Craft: Knitting
Category: Feet / Legs → Socks → Mid-calf
Published: September 2013
Yarns suggested: Three Irish Girls Glenhaven CashMerino Sock
Yarn weight: Fingering / 4 ply (14 wpi)
Gauge: 9 stitches and 14 rows = 1 inch in stockinette or lacework
Needle size: US 1 – 2.25 mm
Yardage: 350 – 420 yards (320 – 384 m)
Sizes available: Women’s Small (3-6), Medium (6-9), Large (8-12)

This pattern is available for download for $5.95.

Isis Wings was created almost three years ago, on a porch in North Carolina. It was summer, which was sock time, and I wanted a pattern that was easily memorize-able while still being interesting. Isis Wings is the result. The socks are worked toe-up with an afterthought heel– one of my favorite ways to work socks. The little fun challenge lies in the yarn overs. Instead of working them like the rest of the stitches, whenever you come across a yarn over from the previous row, you knit it through the back loop, creating a twisted stitch. This pattern is written using the magic loop, though it could easily be worked with dpns or two circular needles.

For More Information, Go Here

I’m Married – I’m now Jennifer Raymond

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I’m getting back into the swing of things, two weeks after getting married.  I’ve started the process of changing my name, from Jennifer Thomasin Crowley to Jennifer Thomasin Crowley Raymond. No hyphen, just two middle names.  That means for a while it’s going to be a little rough, as all my worksheets, information, etc. change over from Jennifer Crowley to Jennifer Raymond.  So if you see anywhere on the website that I’ve missed, let me know.

I’m still waiting on the pictures from the photographer, but I thought I’d give you a bit of a sneak peek:

It started raining halfway through the rehearsal the night before.

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