Debbie Bliss Workshop

Hi Everyone!

I promised to give some details on my Debbie Bliss workshop so here it is-

It was called making the most of your knitting so was largely about tips and
techniques to improve you knitting, and a chance to play with Debbies yarn and
obviously ask her questions.

First of all she introduced and discussed her new ranges of yarn and showed us
a large selection of knitted up samples. For those of you that know her yarns,
she has expanded the cashmerino and brought out a super chunky, and has also
launched a tweed range.

The Superchunky (i have it in my hand now) has a beautifully soft handle and i
saw it knitted up very effectively into a blanket. There was also a cardigan
with a collar which could be brought up or down the shoulders (depending on how
saucy you wanted to be) which i appreciated but didn't long for- i find that
chunky cables or ribs are less than flattering if you have any curves.

The tweed was fabulous- lots of colour without being variegated- purple with
turquiose and orange flecks, brown with autumny flecks, green with blue flecks,
plus grey, fuscia, teal shades as well...if i remember correctly. It is aran
weight and i really loved the combination of vibrant and neutral colours. One
of the samples was a ribbed swing jacket and the fit was so lovely that i had
to buy the book- there are also patterns for a Chanel inspired ribbon-edged
jacket, a biker jacket and an adorable handbag.

Into the workshop proper we got to choose some merino yarn and she checked out
our tension. Gratifyingly mine was perfect. We had a worksheet and she had us
do neck shaping and pick up and knit stitches. I have always disliked necks
the most because they never reach my high expectations (plus I have been
further confused by the direction to pick up and knit- i used to wonder if they
could really mean to pick up a stitch and then knit into this...)

It was nice to have some pointers to neaten out necks- such as use 2 size
smaller needles. Also on the curved edge of neck pick up and K in the centre
of the st below the shaping so that you get a continuation between the vertical
lines of stitches and the sts in the neckband. It sounds very obvious but it
was interesting to see the difference this makes. Another pointer was to avoid
picking up under to the loop between the side edge and the centre sts.

We also got to play with using short rows (and how to hide the wraps)- e.g. to
shape shoulders so you can leave the sts live, and also got to try a number of
buttonholes to see which looked best. My favourite was and still is to use the
thumb cast on method- seeing a few together reinforced that.

We had a nice lunch together- Debbie is charming and very helpful although she
must have felt slightly overwhelmed because all of the knitting advisers were
off ill so she was left to deal with every single problem. She dealt with it
very well and was incredibly nice and helpful.

I really feel as if i benefitted from the class as it allowed me to discuss and
hone finishing techniques which can add so much to a garment. My development
as a knitter has been largely self taught and it is fun to find out what you
are doing right, and also really helpful to see what you could do to improve.
Plus it is nice to meet up with other knitters and be able to talk yarn.

Kaffe Fasset is plugging his new book with Debbie Abrahams in a couple of weeks
and half of me wants to go but half jibs at paying to hear a book being
plugged. I will ponder some more...lol

Regards
Sarah

Sarah,
I think that you had a great time. Wish I could have gone. I have sent your
report to myself so that I can have a look at that neck thing for the next
sweater I make, so thanks for sharing that.
the Kaffe thing - if he is going to give tips as well as plug the book,
I'd go!
Katherine

Sarah, would it be alright with you if I included these tips on the rcty
website? They would go on the 'Tip &Tricks' page with a credit that they
were by Debbie Bliss and another credit that they were shared by you. If
you'd rather not, that's ok but I just wanted to ask.

Melody

"Sarah Grace" wrote in message
...
Hi Everyone!

I promised to give some details on my Debbie Bliss workshop so here it is-

It was called making the most of your knitting so was largely about tips
and
techniques to improve you knitting, and a chance to play with Debbies yarn
and
obviously ask her questions.

First of all she introduced and discussed her new ranges of yarn and
showed us
a large selection of knitted up samples. For those of you that know her
yarns,
she has expanded the cashmerino and brought out a super chunky, and has
also
launched a tweed range.

The Superchunky (i have it in my hand now) has a beautifully soft handle
and i
saw it knitted up very effectively into a blanket. There was also a
cardigan
with a collar which could be brought up or down the shoulders (depending
on how
saucy you wanted to be) which i appreciated but didn't long for- i find
that
chunky cables or ribs are less than flattering if you have any curves.

The tweed was fabulous- lots of colour without being variegated- purple
with
turquiose and orange flecks, brown with autumny flecks, green with blue
flecks,
plus grey, fuscia, teal shades as well...if i remember correctly. It is
aran
weight and i really loved the combination of vibrant and neutral colours.
One
of the samples was a ribbed swing jacket and the fit was so lovely that i
had
to buy the book- there are also patterns for a Chanel inspired
ribbon-edged
jacket, a biker jacket and an adorable handbag.

Into the workshop proper we got to choose some merino yarn and she checked
out
our tension. Gratifyingly mine was perfect. We had a worksheet and she
had us
do neck shaping and pick up and knit stitches. I have always disliked
necks
the most because they never reach my high expectations (plus I have been
further confused by the direction to pick up and knit- i used to wonder if
they
could really mean to pick up a stitch and then knit into this...)

It was nice to have some pointers to neaten out necks- such as use 2 size
smaller needles. Also on the curved edge of neck pick up and K in the
centre
of the st below the shaping so that you get a continuation between the
vertical
lines of stitches and the sts in the neckband. It sounds very obvious but
it
was interesting to see the difference this makes. Another pointer was to
avoid
picking up under to the loop between the side edge and the centre sts.

We also got to play with using short rows (and how to hide the wraps)-
e.g. to
shape shoulders so you can leave the sts live, and also got to try a
number of
buttonholes to see which looked best. My favourite was and still is to
use the
thumb cast on method- seeing a few together reinforced that.

We had a nice lunch together- Debbie is charming and very helpful although
she
must have felt slightly overwhelmed because all of the knitting advisers
were
off ill so she was left to deal with every single problem. She dealt with
it
very well and was incredibly nice and helpful.

I really feel as if i benefitted from the class as it allowed me to
discuss and
hone finishing techniques which can add so much to a garment. My
development
as a knitter has been largely self taught and it is fun to find out what
you
are doing right, and also really helpful to see what you could do to
improve.
Plus it is nice to meet up with other knitters and be able to talk yarn.

Kaffe Fasset is plugging his new book with Debbie Abrahams in a couple of
weeks
and half of me wants to go but half jibs at paying to hear a book being
plugged. I will ponder some more...lol

Regards
Sarah

Melody wrote:
Sarah, would it be alright with you if I included these tips on the rcty
website? They would go on the 'Tip &Tricks' page with a credit that they
were by Debbie Bliss and another credit that they were shared by you. If
you'd rather not, that's ok but I just wanted to ask.

I am sure that there would be no problem with sharing these as i can't forsee
any copywrite issue and if they were credited to Debbie then even better. I
will email her and double check that she is ok with this first though.

Regards
Sarah

Katherine wrote:
I think that you had a great time. Wish I could have gone. I have sent your
report to myself so that I can have a look at that neck thing for the next
sweater I make, so thanks for sharing that.
the Kaffe thing - if he is going to give tips as well as plug the book,
I'd go!

I had a great time, Katherine! You are welcome about the tips on techniques- i
am sure quite a few will already know but i found them really useful and have
made notes in my knitting notebook.

As for the KF thing- i am not sure about the amount of tips but i think the
tickets are only £5 so i should probably go...but then i will probably feel the
*need* to buy the book as well lol. I don't think it is going to be anything
like as comprehensive as Maggie's workshop.

Regards
Sarah

Sarah, sounds not only like a wonderful time, but a very productive workshop as
well. Thanks for the great description! Glad you had fun, and got to see new
yarns as well as picking up some tricks. Good going!

Monica
CMMPDX2 at aol
remove 'eat.spam' to email me
---------
"No, that isn't me you saw - I'm not here, I'm incognito!" (Me, Myself & I)
Support our Troops!!
http://www.wtv-zone.com/kjsb/bataan.html

Thanks Sarah!

Hugs,
Melody

"Sarah Grace" wrote in message
...
Melody wrote:
Sarah, would it be alright with you if I included these tips on the rcty
website? They would go on the 'Tip &Tricks' page with a credit that they
were by Debbie Bliss and another credit that they were shared by you. If
you'd rather not, that's ok but I just wanted to ask.

I am sure that there would be no problem with sharing these as i can't
forsee
any copywrite issue and if they were credited to Debbie then even better.
I
will email her and double check that she is ok with this first though.

Regards
Sarah

Melody wrote:
Sarah, would it be alright with you if I included these tips on the rcty
website? They would go on the 'Tip &Tricks' page with a credit that they
were by Debbie Bliss and another credit that they were shared by you. If
you'd rather not, that's ok but I just wanted to ask.

Hi Melody

I emailed Debbie to ask for her consent and she kindly said that you could post
the neckline tips but that rather than crediting it to just her, please will
you credit it to the book it came from- Baby Knits for Beginners (Ebury Press,
£12.99).

HTH

regards
Sarah

Thanks Sarah for taking the time and trouble to ask permission for me, you
are so sweet! And yes I will definitely give the book credit for the tips.
Many blessings and big hugs for taking the time and effort for me!!

Melody

"Sarah Grace" wrote in message
...
Melody wrote:
Sarah, would it be alright with you if I included these tips on the rcty
website? They would go on the 'Tip &Tricks' page with a credit that they
were by Debbie Bliss and another credit that they were shared by you. If
you'd rather not, that's ok but I just wanted to ask.

Hi Melody

I emailed Debbie to ask for her consent and she kindly said that you could
post
the neckline tips but that rather than crediting it to just her, please
will
you credit it to the book it came from- Baby Knits for Beginners (Ebury
Press,
£12.99).

HTH

regards
Sarah

Melody wrote:
Thanks Sarah for taking the time and trouble to ask permission for me, you
are so sweet! And yes I will definitely give the book credit for the tips.
Many blessings and big hugs for taking the time and effort for me!!

It was no trouble at all and i was pleased to be able to help- Debbie is a
charming lady.

Regards
Sarah