The Intentional Spinner

So you want to learn to spin. Of course you do. I did. Why? I have no idea, kind of seemed like the next direction to take my fiber addiction. And, doesn’t everyone need another hobby?

Enter Interweave Press and Judith MacKenzie McCuin’s book, “The Intentional Spinner”. First off, this book has really cool pictures, and lots of them. I’m a sucker for eye candy, what can I say, I blame it on the fiber addictions. In this book, Judith breaks it all down, from the ground up, from the different forms of fiber bases, cellulose, protein and manufactured, and puts them all together again, you actually know what you’re working with. And people! There are charts in this book! Charts!

Let that one sink in for a minute!

Are you back? Ok. In one section she talks about not only having yarn that is beautiful coming right off the wheel, but aiming for yarn that is gorgous plied, and worked up into your knitting. Knowing ahead of time how to get just the right twist so that the yarn will be just as nice in it’s final resting place as it was right off the wheel.

Preview the book, here: http://www.interweave.com/spin/books/IntentionalSpinner/preview.asp

And…. pssst…… there are patterns in this book too!!

Fall will be here before we know it, and that means there are holidays coming right behind where we might be entertaining at home. It’s always fun to have a hand knit touch in your home for other people to see, and if you’re going to be in the kitchen all day you might as well have some nice knit dish cloths to use.

I love this little plaid hand towel from Darling Jadore. Use a little bit of leftover cotton yarn from another project for the plaid portion. It looks like the horizontal stripes are worked as you knit and the vertical stripes are done with duplicate stitch, making this a quick and easy project even newer knitters can make.

Combine garter stitch and an easy eyelet pattern worked sideways to make the Annette Dish Towel from Cluck Cluck Boots, which is meant to be reminiscent of flour sack towels. It calls for DK weight yarn and you can work it in one color or two (or even three!).

Add a little more texture with this set of kitchen towels from Whileberry Creative. They’re mostly worked in garter stitch with borders in easy knit/purl patterns, and you can work them in sport or worsted weight yarn.

Two of Wands Shop has another cute allover knit and purl pattern they call the Seersucker Textured Tea Towel. It’s an easy repeating pattern worked in worsted weight yarn, and there’s a chart in the pattern you can use, but don’t have to, if you want to practice knitting from a chart.

The Classic Cloth dish towel from Handmade Home by Connie is another one that can use a little leftover yarn in a contrasting color, or you could color block it our use stripes throughout the pattern. This one uses worsted weight yarn and another easy repeating knit purl stitch pattern.

If you like to hang your towel on the oven handle or elsewhere but it’s always falling off, try the Stay Put kitchen towel from Fancy Step Knits. This project is worked in garter stitch and includes a hole partway through so you can pull the towel through itself over a rod or handle. Stripes are optional but a nice addition.

Have you read?