What It's Like to Knit a Kino Knits Pattern
Isn't it great when your intentions align with your results?I am fortunate to have diligent test knitters who try out every size of every pattern I design before I make it public. These test knitters make sure all the numbers for their assigned size check out, but they also let me know where they have questions, because if even one person has a question about something I wrote, then I'm committed to fixing it so that no one else will ever be confused.I'm also fortunate, in that several of these test knitters keep coming back for more. That's right - they choose to knit several Kino Knits patterns for fun. That's why I'm so delighted to have a guest post today from one of them - Jen of the Jen Knitting Around blog. Jen has successfully tested a couple of my designs, and she has recently started tech editing for me, so I invited her to share a few words about why she likes to knit Kino Knits patterns. Here's Jen:________________________________________________________________________I first started listening to the Kino Knits podcast about a year ago. I quickly became a fan and worked my through the back episodes. I also joined the Ravelry group so I could enter contests and keep up on all things Kino Knits. When Mary put out a call for test knitters I was in!!The first test knit I did was for the Rybka (Wee Fishie) pattern. With Mary being in Africa, her e-mails often arrived early in the morning. She sent out on the call on what ended up being a very snowy day at my house, perfect for settling in for a long day of knitting. Note - this project did not take up an entire day of snowy knitting, unless I had made an entire school of wee fishies. It’s a quick knit and I love that you can use whatever scrap yarn you have hanging around. I think it’s cute on its own as a little gift or I could see knitting a number of them and making some type of bunting or mobile or other decoration. I used worsted weight and it still came out in a wee size so using sock yarn would totally make them easy to use for decorative purposes.
Click here to download Rybka for free!
I finished another test knitting a pair of fingerless mitts called Rainy Season, part of the Point/Counterpoint, Volume 1 collection. They are designed for a long gradient. I happened to have a lot of extra gradient yarn that I had intended for another project. In the end, that turned out to be a bad yarn/pattern combo. So I was happy to put it use in a much better yarn/pattern combo. It was perfect for these mitts. While I usually find mitts with sock yarn to be a slog, I felt this really kept moving with the pattern stitch and with the work of involving the thumb which was a little different than I had used in the past. Keep your eye out for this one, especially if you love all the great gradients that are out there right now.
Click here to see Rainy Season in Ravelry!
I love the Kino Knits patterns because they are easy, yet interesting, and I always learn something new, which for me is the perfect recipe for a good pattern. The Rybka used Judy’s Magic Cast on, a new to me cast on so it took me a few minutes to get that down. She also uses a slightly different version of increasing stitches than I’ve previously used. Even with all that I think it took me a couple of hours, at most, to knit up. The Rainy Season mitts have a very interesting stitch pattern that was new to me. Again, it’s a fairly easy pattern once you get it down, but it’s nice to be doing something just a little different. I think this is something you can see in all her patterns – she tries to make them just a little more interesting. If you’re tired of knitting just plain socks, cowls, or hats check out her Ravelry store for something to spice up your knitting!!!________________________________________________________________________Mary here again. I could not be more pleased with Jen's description. The bold and italicized emphasis in Jen's post is mine, because one of my goals as a designer is to give my knitters a little something different. There are many kinds of knitters out there, but I always like figuring out something new when I knit, and my patterns are for those knitters. I was thrilled when I discovered that my intentions - patterns that are a little different but totally manageable - lined up with Jen's perception of them.If this kind of knitting sounds like fun for you, then I'd encourage you to check out my patterns.
Click here to visit the Kino Knits Ravelry store!
Also, if you're interested in test-knitting future Kino Knits designs, just click here to contact me and let me know! You're not committed to anything - it just puts you on my list for future test calls.Thanks so much to Jen for sharing her experiences knitting my patterns. If you'd like to read more of Jen's work, please visit her blog here!