I ❤️ MATH

 

WIP WEDNESDAY /  I ❤️ MATH !!!

Educational post on yarn substitution.

The story:

I was given a big ball of yellow Malabrigo worsted weight yarn with the request for a hat.

We decided on a Fair Isle Hat ( yellow and blue) and very quickly settled on the Bernat Winter Weekend Knit Hat For Him by Yarnspirations.

The challenge:  

I did a deep dive into my yarn remnants and stash and thought about combining the Ullcentrum 2-ply Sport with Rowan Kidsilk Haze to get to the same weight.

How exactly do I do that?

I came across an article which explains it so clearly and logical that I wondered why I never looked at it this way before.  You basically calculate weight per one yard for the yarns in question and see how you can get to the same weight/ yard ratio.  In my case I would have had to combine two strands of the Rowan Kidsilk Haze with the Ullcentrum to get to the same weight as the Malabrigo.  Since I did not want to do that, I went back and looked some more and found the Tahki Yarns Chelsea Silk which comes to the exact same weight as the Malabrigo.

Problem solved, and it shows in the knitted hat how well these two work together.

Here is a link to the full article:

https://www.susannawinter.net/post/2019/12/20/math-for-knitters-knitting-with-yarn-held-double

And these are the yarns I had looked at:

A-  Malabrigo Worsted   210yd/ 100g

B- Ullcentrum 2-ply Sport 328 yd/ 100g

C- Rowan Kidsilk Haze. 229 yd/ 25 g

D- TahkiYarns Chelsea Silk  105 yd/ 50g

And last, but not least a link to my project on Ravelry:

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Strickliese/winter-weekend-hat-man

Shortening socks/ re-using yarn

 I think this is a worthwhile post on my blog as it can be looked up easily when you find yourself in a similar predicament.

It all started about 1 1/2 years ago when a fellow knitter mentioned that the most durable sock yarn has nettle in its fiber.  After some research I ordered Nettle sock yarn from “ ONION Knit” in a pretty blue.  I went through some trouble to combine different cabled designs in the leg of the socks to make them look special and hubby really liked them when they were done.  What I had not considered was that nettle does not stretch and the socks are not too comfortable for Tony.

He gave them back to me after trying for a year but not wearing them much and said that they are a tad tight and no stretch.

So, I took out 14 rows on the foot, Kitchener stitched the toe and foot back together in a yarn I will be using to knit Tony a pair of replacement socks.  Then, after getting the kinks ( stitch memory) out of the harvested yarn, I used it for the toes on a new pair of socks.  And just to make it interesting I am trying out a different heel construction.

The old pair, shortened now, fit me loosely and are nice for around the house or to use in my Wellingtons.

Here is a little photo tutorial, I compiled and links to both pairs of socks ( one of them still in the making).

I will have to take out a little less than 1.5 inches

Kitchener stitching the toe and the foot back together.

One sock done… and it fits.

On to the next sock.

After soaking the yarn ( over night) I am wrapping it loosely around a tin to dry.

Nice and smooth, ready for knitting.

Humble beginnings 🥰

Here is a link to the original blue socks:

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Strickliese/fish-lips-kiss-heel-18

And the socks I am knitting him now with the original yarn in the toe and a different heel construction  because I wanted to try something new, because yes, this is the 42nd pair of socks I am knitting.  😂 

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Strickliese/hg-socks

Life after Covid

 I suppose it was only a matter of time to test positive for Covid, but it still took me by surprise.  After all, I had two vaccinations and a booster shot.  Without that it would most likely have been a worst experience, but even so it was a tough couple of weeks.

One of the hardest things for me was feeling extremely listless and sleeping a lot.  I had no desire to knit and at one point wondered if I ever would again.

My journey back

I finally picked up a crochet hook and crocheted a swiffer cover and then another. To crochet was somewhat easier at that point and especially easier to put down and pick up at random.

Then I read about a knitalong for a shawl, the January 2022 Neon Shawl KAL, and since I already had one skein of Merino Cloud, I started looking up on line which other multi color would go well with it.  My husband said he’d treat me to that second skein of yarn.  There was the first spark to knit again.  And so I went down the road to my LYS as soon as quarantine was over and had a look at the two colors I considered.  One just really popped next to the yarn I already had, the lemon slice and Mood ring seemed a match made in heaven. 

 And so I began again.  Within a couple of days I finished part one.

 Right away part two was emailed to me and after printing that out at my local library, I finished that rather quickly.  

This pattern was like medicine to me, it pulled me right back into knitting and the colors brought such joy just looking at them. Holding the yarn, was my lifeline.  That yarn is really nice to knit with!!!

Before I knew it, the shawl was finished and blocking.

So it took me just ten days from start to finish and Tony ( hubby) was a good sport and did two photo sessions with me, one in our backyard and one by the Hudson River. 

Well, Iris Schreier, the pattern designer, liked my photos so much that she shared them not only on ravelry but other social media ( Facebook and Instagram).  That in turn gave me a huge boost of confidence and put a smile on my face.

I am back now to knitting and giving lessons and the moderater of a knitting group on zoom just commented yesterday that I look like my old self again.

After all that I picked up a sweater again which I had started in October ( the Weekender Light in BT Loft) and started a baby blanket for a niece ( Honeycomb stroller blanket).

I hope that you ( the reader of my little story) can find inspiration in this that if you are going through any kind of blues, knitting can see you through it if you let it. 💖🥰 🙏🏻 

Let’s stay in touch

 

As you can see, I am not very active on my Blog any more, but please let’s stay in touch through my Page on Facebook.

I also always try my best to respond to emails or comments.

And of course for those of you who live close by, let’s get together for a lesson.  

It’s always fun to learn new things.

Pandemic, snow and knitting

What better way to spend a day than knitting in the safety of your home, especially when you are snowed in and during this pandemic.

The only thing to make it even better is knitting with likeminded friends through zoom right in your own living room.

If you agree with this statement, send an email to Nan Jackson for a link to our Knit and Natter. Once you have the link, it’s the same for each of the sessions. Hope to see you. 🧶 ❄️ 💬 

Creating a knitting community one stitch at a time.

The making of an heirloom / About letting go and holding on

Three stories in pictures

This post has been marinating for quite a while.

In a way it is a follow-up, Part II of my last post which was inspired by Cat Bordhi who since has left this earthly realm, leaving us with much to remember her by.  In my last post I mused about letting go of expectations and living with what is.

Memories are a special gift if they are of good times and loved ones and holding on to those memories can often see us through the darkest days.  They can be triggered in a moment’s notice. They can be triggered by a scent, a taste, a sound, an image and by touch.  As a knitter we can probably relate most to touch, the tactile memory.

In order to not make this post too long, I am telling about three heirloom knits mostly in pictures, but as always you can find more notes on the projects ( except the last one) on my ravelry page; links are provided.

The wedding blanket/ the new piece with a twist from the past 

Many years ago my Mother in law gifted me with two huge balls of yarn.  They took up almost half of the space in my husband’s suitcase and I stored the yarn away for a special occasion.

Mum passed away since, but not before meeting my son’s girlfriend whom he married this summer.

After they announced their engagement, I thought how nice it would be to knit up a wedding blanket for them.  I had to procrastinate on the project when I broke my wrist, but was able to finish in just under one year using Mum’s yarn for the three panels in the middle of the blanket and ordering more of the same yarn from England.More notes on this on ravelry:  Gift of Love Wedding Blanket.

The heirloom layette set/ finishing a set across time and a generation later

When I received this email , I was right on-board with the project.

So special to finish the set ♥️

“ I was wondering if I could hire you to knit a baby bonnet for me.

My mom started a set for my niece before she was born, unfortunately my mom passed away 2 months before she was born and the bonnet was not made.  We did not find it until after my dad also passed when we cleaned out the house.  Well now 35 years later, my niece is having a baby and I thought it would be a lovely gift to give her the complete set.”

On ravelry: Baby bonnet

The Baby Blanket/ repair

When my eldest son and his wife moved into their new home, they came across a baby blanket my mother in law had knitted some 35 years ago when I was pregnant with him.  

It had holes ( luckily not from moths) and some stains.

It looked like the yarn itself had become frail and large areas of stitches had dropped.

First I did some reversed engineering and wrote down the pattern as I read the stitches in a complete area, then I found some yarn which best matched the original yarn ( not all whites are the same!).  Then I finally  fixed holes and other weak areas in the knitting.

After giving it a good wash ( using Mrs Stewart’s liquid bluing) , it came out as good as new.

#4CatBordhi

 

One of the knitting greats, Cat Bordhi, is battling cancer with such poise and grace that if I didn’t already admire her for all of her knitting wisdom , I would respect her “just” for that, but as it is she has given so much and still is giving wholeheartedly..

You may have already read her letter to the knitting community which includes this very lovely cowl pattern for free, but let me share her letter with you again ( click on the link for both the letter and the pattern):

A letter from Cat and the Rio Calina Cowl

I felt drawn to knit up the cowl and it became more than a knitting project, but my own journey to let go and to find my inner peace and drive with each bend of the cables.

No two of these cowls will look alike, just like each one of us has a different life path, as you place the cables seemingly randomly to your design and liking.

Here are some pictures of my cowl and a link to my project notes on ravelry which go a little more into depth:  Strickliese’s “Letting go”

I hope to sit with Cat and knit and chat one day in the afterlife as I feel a kindred spirit.

Here is to Cat in gratitude, praying that her path will be smooth and gentle as she is.