🧶Andrea's colorwork tips

posts / 🧶Andrea’s colorwork tips

🧶Andrea’s colorwork tips

August 1, 2023

This is the “do what the Knit Star says, not what I do” edition. 🙃

In Season 3, Knit Star Andrea Rangel shared some simple, but critical stranded colorwork tips. Watch this 2-minute clip for her “stop and spread,” “block before you judge” and most importantly, “colorwork gauge” tips.

In my defense, I did swatch before starting “The Owen Hat” by Jill Zielinski with 4 our Loops Luxe Chunky. I was just a little lazy and swatched in stockinette, instead of in the colorwork pattern.

To quote Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman: Big mistake. BIG mistake. 😬

And as Andrea explains in the clip, you often need to go up a needle size or two when working the colorwork part of a pattern. In my case, this resulted in a hat two sizes too small. My gauge over the colorwork was 24 instead of the 21 I got with my stockinette swatch.

The good news for you is: I found out that, by using the colors judiciously, one Owen Hat kit will make 2 hats! Just swap the colors as shown, and you can make a medium adult hat + a child hat. (To get the correct gauge, I used #5 and #7 needles throughout).

More good news: This is absolutely my favorite hat I’ve ever made. You know how some hats can be itchy around your face? Not this one! The Royal Alpaca + Silk is like butter against your tender temple skin.

Get your kit (peachy-pink or green options) here.

(And yes, we have the perfect peachy-pink pompom available as an option! Or use your leftover yarn and make your own).

Here’s another great 2-in-1 “hat trick!”

When Cassidy made this “Semblance” hat by Hunter Hammersen, she noticed she had still had lots of Yana Journeys yarn leftover. So she weighed the leftover and voila!

She discovered there’s enough yarn in 1 skein of Yana Journeys to make two hats. WHOA.

That delightful little faux cable hat is shockingly simple. If you’ve done basic decreases like an ssk or a k2tog, you’ve totally already got the skills you’ll need, and there are even diagrams to walk you through it so you won’t ever feel lost.

Choose from 9 colors of Yana Journeys here. Find the pattern for sale on Ravelry.

Did you know that, before she was a superstar pattern designer…

Ambah O’Brien was a body painter? 🎨

When I first met Ambah, we talked about how her knitting journey began. That’s when she shared that she used to paint bodies for a living! She became quite accomplished, traveling for artistic exhibitions and shows.

And in the upcoming Knit Stars Club mystery kit, Ambah has created a very special pattern with an embroidery option – so you can learn to “paint” with yarn! 🎨

Our next mystery kit ships in March and will include:

A new, exclusive pattern by Ambah, inspired by an Australian flower
Tutorial videos created by Ambah with project tips, including the optional embroidery
A full skein + coordinating mini skein of a luxury yarn blend from Australian hand-dyer Terina Eastman of Love & Speckles
A collectible enamel pin that coordinates with the kit
An extra surprise – something consumable that Ambah and Terina both love!
Plus an optional “expander set” of 5 colorful mini-skeins that we’ll be offering to Club Kit members only. It’s spectacular!

“So, what’s this Knit Stars Club?”

Knit Stars Club is a membership that brings the magic of Knit Stars into your everyday, year-round.

💫 Special access to more in-depth Star interviews and Zoom events

💫 Members-only perks and online order discounts (including
Marketplace kits!)

💫 StarMag digital magazines with Club insider info and upcoming events

💫 Exclusive access to add the optional Quarterly “Blue Bag” kits

I’d love for you to join us for this creative deep dive with Ambah + Terina, and stick around to experience the joy, camaraderie and inspiration of our premium Club!

Join Knit Stars Club before enrollment closes at midnight tonight, here.

ICYMI…

(That’s In Case You Missed It – I had to look that one up!)

The Afterparty Replay of our first-ever Knit Stars Live event, starring Louis Boria in a 3-hour-long, intimate talk, class and Q+A, is now available for you to add to your personal library.

Pick up the replay, with or without the exclusive kit, here.

For every replay sold, Louis will earn $20 which helps support his move to full-time designing in Madrid. And no…he won’t be changing his name to MadridBoyKnits anytime soon. He’s always @brooklynboyknits at heart! ❤️

Oh, what I would’ve given to have this cookbook in my life when my kids were young. And oh, how glad I am to have it in my library now!

My friend Cyndi Kane (also known to Pioneer Woman fans as Hyacinth) has her first cookbook coming out this week, and it is beyond brilliant. The concept of Save-It-Forward Suppers is to transform leftover components from each meal into a fresh new dish, and put a home-cooked dinner on the table every night. You get 15 different weekly plans (100+ recipes in all). It’s a huge time-saver (read: more knitting time)!

Cindy writes about this recipe: Though I’m a fan of ground beef tacos, these tacos made with a slow-cooked chuck roast are intensely flavored and hold up well for a save-it-forward meal later in the week. Here in Oklahoma, we are accustomed to the heat of chipotles, and I love the smoky flavor, but if you’re not in love with spicy foods, use a smaller amount of adobo sauce (or skip it entirely, though that would be shame!).

Chipotle Beef Tacos

Ingredients:
Seasoning Mix

1-3 tablespoons sauce from a can of chipotle chiles in adobo
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons table salt

Tacos

One 3- to 4-pound chuck roast (a bone-in roast adds flavor, but is often hard to find; a SAVE-IT-FORWARD item)
1 cup Overnight Chicken Broth (page 268) or other chicken broth
Taco fixins, for serving: shredded cheese, sliced or diced avocado, shredded lettuce, diced tomato, sour cream
Torillas, for serving

Directions:

Combine the adobo sauce, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, oregano and salt in a small bowl and then rub it all over the chuck roast.
Pour the chicken broth into a slow cooker and set the seasoned roast inside. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours, until the meat shreds easily with a fork. Shred the meat, removing the fat, and place it back into the juices in the cooker. Set the cooker to warm.
Prep your favorite taco fixins and warm the tortillas by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and microwaving for 30 seconds, or until warm and pliable.
Serve the beef in the tortillas and let everyone top them as desired.

SAVE-IT-FORWARD – BEEF: Reserve 1 cup of the beef for Beef, Black Bean, and Quinoa Enchiladas (page 97).