Yes, THE Meg Swansen

This week I break the mold of previous shows and do an interview with Meg Swansen of Schoolhouse Press. Her mother, Elizabeth Zimmermann, was an inventive, charming and math-inclined knitter who created EPS, the Elizabeth Percentage System. You use EPS to design a custom sweater using your gauge and the desired chest size to reach a key (K) number. It turns out that Meg is every bit as inventive, charming and math-inclined as her mother.

Download Episode 8

A look into my notes

Ok, first



A graph of short-row shaping and how it can form triangles to make the top of a hat.



A graph of a square made with two short-row triangles, worked one after another.



Some of the math I did to make the slippers.



My first page of notes about the slippers.



Second page.



Third page.



The final product, all you need is your gauge and the foot measurements of the recipient.

Promised Pics

They look like wookies, right?



I haven't talked about these, but they're also for my dad (his birthday is in June). They're based on "Fair Isle Fairway" from Knitty.

My Dad's Slippers

I'm very proud because I designed slippers that were fun to make and actually look like slippers! I walk you through my obnoxiously overwrought and confusing design process. I hope it's not too torturous.

Things you need to know:
1) How to weave.
2) How to do a temporary cast on. (or invisible cast on or whatever you do that can get you live stitches to knit in the opposite direction).
3) That instead of whatever I said, I should have told you to place the markers 16 stitches away from the center-stitch markers before the first decrease round.

Also, please have a listen to my Fibonocci segment on Brenda Dayne's Cast-On. I appear in episode 23, but you should listen to them all, as she is wonderful.

Download Episode Seven

And, as promised, pictures:


Both slippers, one finished, the other ungrafted (weaving is also called grafting or kitchener stitch).


The sole.


The toe.


A close-up of the undone weaving.

Felted slipper photos and my sketchbook coming soon...

Switching

The website here will remain the same, so don't worry about finding me. The only difference will be where the files are actually stored in cyberspace.

Server Issues

Site is up again. For now.

Fear Not the Remainder

This week, a short podcast about increasing or decreasing evenly. You could choose to do long division, a calculator or both. Thanks to Christine of pointysticks for playing my promo. I am very glad to see her back after a haitus for her finals.

Small correction: When I said "increases" when I was talking about dealing with a remainder, I should have said "extra increases". Sorry about that.

Download Episode 6

Smaller file size

I'm rapidly approaching my bandwidth limit, so I've had to resave episode #5 at a smaller size. I hope this doesn't create problems for anyone. Thanks for listening!

Episode 5: Reaching for Clarity

I listened to last week's podcast and I thought it wasn't very clear. So, this week, I walk you through making a worksheet for your bust short-row shaping. I repeat myself a little bit. I also talk about design considerations, a fantastic book, Heirloom Knitting, by Sharon Miller, which is available at Schoolhouse Press. At the very end of the podcast, I share a knitterly review of a film where the knitwear was more interesting than the actual movie and a song by Enoch Kent that I have loved for years. "Edinburgh Maggie" is on the CD Songs of Love, Lust and Loathing. He has a new CD out just now and you can buy his CDs on his website.

If you hear about "wraps" and are perplexed because you don't know what that means, please listen to podcast #4.

You can find the raglan pattern I mentioned here.

Download Fifth Episode