Welcome to I’ll Knit (& Spin!) If I want To! I asked y’all to send in some of your questions (from everything from fiber arts, to designing and on!) so I could put together a little video for y’all every Friday doing my best to answer your questions!

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In this week’s episode we cover:

1. Today's topic: Knitting and Body Image. Uuufff. To get straight to the point - I avoid knitting garments because I am unhappy with my body. I scroll my feed and am in absolute awe of the creativity of designers. But I avoid knitting anything except hats and shawls because I don't know how things will fit on me. All the time and investment of knitting a garment. I know, swatching is key. But do you have any advice for getting over the mental block that your body is worthy of knit wear?? I am phoning in "Counselor Andrea". :) Thank you and sending much love.

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2. Hi Andrea, I enjoy your show, so thank you! I am a fairly new spinner (about 2 months). I have noticed that my drafting has improved a lot already, but things seemed to take a big leap forward when I tried rolags. Something about this preparation seems to help me draft a much thinner single, which I like since I typically knit with yarns in the fingering to worsted range and am not really a bulky yarn girl! Can you help me understand what it is about rolags might be working well for me? Is there anything I can do to produce these sorts of nice results with combed top (the other preparation I have at home) besides just practice with it more? Thanks for any advice.

3. Help me pick my yarns, please. Arthritis and joint pain are real for me but my doctor encourages my knitting as it is a use it or lose it kind of situation. That being said, I find working with wool and woolen fibers are easiest on my hands. I experience far less fatigue. BUT, what about lighter summer knits? Is a mixed cotton and wool blend an option or does the presence of a bit of cotton null and void the affect of the wool in terms of an easier fiber with less fatigue? Can I wear mostly wool in summer going to a fingering weight, perhaps? Please share any ideas or thoughts you may have. Thank you for all you do to help educate us all. ~UpNorth in Michigan 😊

FDF Confluence Cotton: [ Ссылка ]

4. Hi Andrea. I completed the Tesselated Pullover last fall and I am in LOVE with it. It may be the prettiest sweater I’ve knit (it’s a tie with your Traveler Crewneck!). I have been wanting to start the Tesselated Cardigan, but must admit I’ve had trouble with my buttonholes not holding a stiff shape, therefore I require much larger buttons for the plackets to stay closed… do you have any tips for knitting buttonholes so that they function properly? I’ve been putting off starting this project because of the buttonhole requirement, and have even thought about using the yarn I have for another Tessellated Pullover… Should I figure out how to make better buttonholes, omit the buttonholes altogether, or stick with the pullover because I already know I love it? Thanks!

Tessellated Pullover:
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Tessellated Cardigan:
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5. I am going to make the Vellichor and trying to use stash yarn. I have enough yardage for one main color but I want to use 5, 140 yard minis for the contrasting colors. The minis are in an ombre set that go from light to dark. Any suggestions on how to use the colors? Should I follow the ombre? Mix it up? What have you found looks the best for a cohesive look?

Vellichor:
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