Gauging Emotion

Isa - ice / pronounced EE-sa - as created by my talented sister in Zentangle

Friday was my birthday and well, it was a little different this year but that is okay.  Of course, I spent it with my family.  I FaceTimed my sister and we hung out for a good bit of the day and that was nice.  Friends texted and called and I felt really blessed to be surrounded and supported by so many wonderful people.

I asked my son to pull a card for me to give me some guidance when he didn't know what to give me this year.  The card he pulled read, "This is not the time for action.  Be patient and still for now."

To me, this echoed the teachings of the Norse Rune Isa and I feel that "stillness" has been with me for a while now in this quarantine.

For my birthday we watched Frozen II and I highly recommend it.  And idea that is central to that mythos is that water has memory.  

If you have read The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto then this is not a new idea.  Dr. Emoto found that beautiful crystals would form in water as it froze when positive thoughts were directed at that water.  After reading this book, I created a positive sticky note that sat under my water with messages of love and support.  

For me, water has always been a symbol of the emotions and anything that can bring in more love and happiness is something worth adding to my routine.  Since to me, water is liquid emotion this whole idea rings true.

So when you freeze all that emotion...you get Isa.  Isa is ice, stillness, inertia, stasis, and serenity...

When we are "frozen" our physical energy can seem low.  We feel like we want to move forward but under our feet, the ice is slippery and makes us move out of control.

I have always had many minds about Isa as you can see in this post.  

In Return of the Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker, "What I told you was true, from a certain point of view.  You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."

When things are frozen you can look at them from a new perspective.  You can see them from all sides and create a whole concept based on more than just seeing one face and basing your information on that one thing.

Isa is the goal of meditation.  Cultivating this stillness helps to build our spiritual muscles so we can go deeper into ourselves.  But staying in this state of stillness outside of our spiritual time can cause an imbalance when the individual no longer wants to be part of or interact with the outside world.

Isa can also calm confusion or hysteria and help to numb pain.  Think of when you put an ice pack on a sore muscle how that numbness brought you relief.  Isa can do this for an overworked mental state as well allowing you a moment to breathe and regroup and find your footing again.

Another face of standstill is a nurturing one.  Like the bear who settles in their cave as winter rages outside, this is a time to go within and restore and renew ourselves so that when Spring comes again we can emerge rested and whole.

Zentangle I made on the computer to demonstrate bridges in an active mind.

Isa also serves as a bridge.  A line is made up of two points and a connection between those points.  This connection forms a bridge between point A and point B.  This line then can be used over and over to create the other runes which vary in diversity and complexity but all of them start from a single line.  All of them start from Isa.

It might be interesting to note if you think of the "bridge" as a string and take one end and affix it down and attach a pen to the other end.  You can now draw a circle using the two points...ta da...now you are practicing sacred geometry or actual geometry...it is all the same really.

This bridge can also be used by your consciousness to move you from one thought to another when you are practicing stillness through meditation or contemplation.   With practice, we can move from point to point across each bridge and watch our mind's process without getting caught up in the distraction of it.

My sister shared something that I want to share with you...ice sings.  As the ice expands or contracts it can cause vibrations that are so strong that you could feel them if you were lying on it and so loud that they can be heard as high and low notes that are hauntingly beautiful.

I always thought that ice was silent but now I know that is not true. 


Right now, I feel frozen, I feel stuck in place and find it hard to focus on anything.  But I know at some point I will thaw.  Inertia and motion are at opposite ends of the spectrum and usually, I fall in the center of them.  One can't stay on one end forever so I know at some point I will have energy and drive again.

But right now I don't.  The cards said it was okay.  Isa said it is okay.  And whatever you are feeling is okay too.  There is no right way to feel right now.  You do you boo.  

🤗 (socially distanced hugs)

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Sending love and light to everyone being affected by this virus.  
May you be safe.  
May your loved ones be safe.  
🙏
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I am going to say a word...swatch.  How does that make you feel?  😀

For many, swatching is something that brings up feelings of dread or they feel it is totally unnecessary.

So what is swatching?

When you want your fabric to resemble the size and shape of a specific pattern's gauge, you make a sample of what that fabric would look like called a swatch.

Gauge is the number of stitches and rows per inch in your fabric.  Gauge comes out differently for each person even if they are using the exact same needles and yan.  Some knitters knit tighter, some looser and others have an even gauge.

Gauge is formed by three things:

• The size of the yarn
• The size of the needles
• The tension of the knitter (BTW tension can change in stressful situations or moments of calm)

The person that created the pattern you are using could be a tight knitter and her gauge will be totally different than a loose knitter, which is one of the reasons why we need to knit a gauge swatch.

Obtaining gauge allows any knitter; tight, loose or even to all be able to create the same fabric using their way of knitting without having to adapt or change the way they knit. 

So how do you make a gauge swatch?

My gauge swatch with 3 different types of gage measuring tools.  
Of course, you can just use a ruler or tape measure.

The most common way to make a swatch is to knit a four-inch by four-inch stockinette piece and then measure it using a ruler or a tool designed for just that purpose. I include a little four stitch garter stitch border because stockinette tends to curl making it hard to measure.

When measuring do not stretch your fabric and include all measurements without rounding up or down.

If you have more stitches then are called for in the pattern it could mean you are knitting too tightly or that you need to go up a needle size.

Conversely, if you have fewer stitches then are called for in the pattern it could mean that you are knitting too loosely or that you need to go down a needle size.

Note:  If you have to go down more then three needle sizes to get gauge, the stitches will start to compact and the fabric will become denser and less drapey.  This could change the movement of the garment and make it feel heavier even if you are getting gauge.  This might not be the best yarn for that particular project.  You might find a lighter weight yarn works better.

Conversely, if you have to go up three needle sizes you might find your fabric has become loosey-goosey and has no real shape.  This could change the movement of the garment to be billowy and lacey.  There will probably be little holes throughout the fabric.  Sometimes, this is exactly the fabric we are looking for, but if not you will need to find a heavier yarn.

I hate saying that.  I know that if you picked out a yarn you love for a project and then it just won't work, well, it can be heart-wrenching.  But knitting something where the fabric is all wrong and doesn't fit at all is even more devastating in my opinion.  You can always use that fabulous yarn to make something that fits its personality perfectly.

One more note, if your gauge is only one or two stitches off and you didn't opt to block the swatch, you might consider it.  You might find out that you obtain your gauge just by blocking your swatch.

Your ball band contains a lot of information about the yarn you have chosen.  It suggests the needle size, how to care for your yarn, the color and dye lot, how many yards or grams your yarn is, the gauge of the yarn and there is a skein with a number on it.  

This numbered skein is the standard yarn weight for this yarn.  This information is put out by the Craft Yarn Council as a way to standardize the terminology for yarns so that consumers, crafters, and dealers are all on the same page.  

Not too long ago a pattern might say, use a worsted yarn.  A worsted yarn could be light worsted or worsted and they are very different when trying to get gauge.  It would cause confusion between the consumer and the designer.  Now a light worsted yarn has a number 3 rating and a worsted yarn has a number 4 rating.  

The consumer can easily follow the yarn weight standard and know which of these 'worsted" yarns the designer used.

You can find a more detailed chart at this link.

For instance, in the above example, my ball band is a "4".  This means:

Type: worsted, afghan, Aran
Gauge:  16 - 20 stitches in a four-inch swatch
Recommended needle size range in metric: 4.5 to 5.5 mm
Recommended needle size range in a U.S.: 7-9

There is also hook info for crocheters listed in this chart.

By now I think you can see why making a swatch is important in getting the precise fabric you need for a pattern.  Without a swatch, you could spend hours creating something that ends up being too tight or too loose and that would be a tragedy.  

I'd like to note here that some people recommend washing and blocking your swatch.  My opinion on the matter is that if it is something fitted I will wash and then block my swatch.  Fitted items need to be precise in order, to well, fit.  Other things like scarves, don't necessarily have to conform to a specific size and have some wiggle room should your gauge change in the wash.

Blocking A Swatch

If you've never blocked anything before then don't worry, blocking is easy.  Wet your swatch.  Really get it wet.  Some natural fibers will repel water so you might need to soak it for a bit in clean cool water.  

Take it out and gently press the water out of it.  Do not agitate the swatch or wring out the water.  You might want to use a big fluffy towel and gently press the water out of the swatch.

Next, lay it on a flat pinnable surface, I use a blocking board but you can use anything that works for you and pin it in the shape of a square.  Don't pull too much but make sure you have all the edges even.

After the swatch dries you can take your gauge reading.  It is that simple.

If my yarn is a cellulose yarn or wool I will consider washing and blocking since both of these types of fiber can change shape...acrylics...not so much, they usually stay the same and are washable as well.

Some cellulose yarns will stretch as they are worn like flax, hemp, soy, bamboo, cotton, and corn to name a few.  I have found that "stretch" might be a simplified word when it comes to what some of my cotton projects have done in the past.  I had a market bag that literally stretched down to my ankles.  Talk about throw it over your shoulder...

Sheep's wool or natural animal fibers like angora, alpaca, cashmere, yak merino, mohair to name a few, might need blocking constantly to retain their shape because the fibers tend to relax when they get wet.  I have some socks like that.

Superwash wool is an alternative.  It can be washed safely.  But, for ecologically friendly people, this yarn may be a bad option.  Superwash wool is made by either or both using a chlorinated acid bath that dissolves the scales on the fiber and/or by coating the fiber with polyamide or nylon to keep the scales from being able to join together and create shrinkage.  The first process creates toxic bathwater that is not accepted into the water treatment centers in the U.S.  This means that much of superwash wool has to be treated outside the country before being imported back for selling.

To be fair I have to say the same thing about acrylic yarn.  These synthetic fibers are basically plastic yarn.  Acrylic yarn is petroleum-based as it uses propylene which is a byproduct of petroleum refining as the main ingredient.  Then many toxic chemicals are added to make the acrylic more yarn-like.  There are chemicals for making it softer, chemicals for making it flame retardant, chemicals to make it wrinkle-free and stain-resistant.  These chemicals end up in our water supply and every time garments made of acrylic are washed they release microplastics into our waterways.  Lastly, acrylic yarn is not biodegradable.

****I'm not advocating one yarn or another here.  I am just posting the facts.  In truth, until I researched the way these yarns are created I really hadn't thought about it one way or another.  But, when I started doing these tutorials I have made sure to research each subject thoroughly to give you, the reader, honest information.  I'm not going to throw away the scads of yarn I have in these types.  But after I finish knitting with them, I think I need to have a good hard look at what yarns are best for the planet and the environment before restocking my stash.****

By washing, drying and blocking your swatch you get a true reading of your fabric before you sink all your time and energy in making it.  

Note: If you choose to wash your swatch, make sure to follow the directions on your ball band for washing.  Wool, for example, can shrink dramatically if you wash in heated water and then agitate it.  Most wool has to be hand washed and then reblocked when drying.  Some new washers have wool settings but please test yours with something you don't care about first before placing your beautiful finished project in the wash.

Also, I would be remiss in stating that when you have a pattern such as lace or a cable then you should make a swatch that contains those elements.  Lace can add extra stretch to your fabric and cables can pull your fabric in.  Knowing the characteristics of your pattern ahead of time can save you a lot of time in the long run.

A gauge related question I always get asked is, 
"How can I use yarn X in my project instead of the one recommended?"

There are a lot of things to consider when converting yarns.  If it is a fitted item then you will need to go through the pattern and change each instance of instruction.  For example, if it says decrease 12 stitches and the pattern gets 6 stitches to the inch, you know you are decreasing 2 inches.  

If your new gauge is 4 stitches to the inch then you will be decreasing 8 stitches (4 stitches per inch x 2 inches) instead of the original 12.

But let's talk about a cowl to keep this simple.

If yarn X is the same yarn weight as the one in the pattern then you just need to make a gauge swatch to determine you are knitting in gauge and you are good to go.

If yarn X is not the same yarn weight then you have to do a little math.  

Let's say the original cowl pattern recommends a #4 yarn weight.  You want to use a #5 because you want to make it up quick.  There are no fancy stitches like lace, cables or stitch repeats which would add or detract to the final number of cast-on stitches to maintain the fabric.

The recommended cast on number is 120 stitches and there are 5 stitches to the inch.  That means it is 24 inches in length.  120 stitches divided by 5 stitches to the inch is 24 inches.

Your yarn gets 4 stitches to the inch and each row gets 6 stitches to the inch.  We know our cowl needs to be 24 inches around so we multiply 24 (the circumference of the cowl) x 4 (stitches per inch) and get 96 stitches as our cast on.

The next thing that has to be determined is how much of the new yarn do you need?  Let's say that it takes an inch of yarn to form a stitch.

We know that the pattern says it uses 80 yards which is 2,880 inches or stitches (80 yards x 36 (the number of inches in a yard).

2,880 stitches divided by (120) the number of stitches in a row gives us 24 rows which is equal to 4 inches in height (24 rows divided by 6 stitch rows to the inch).

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Now we want to convert all this info to the new #5 gauge.

Things we know:

The circumference of the cowl is 24 inches

The height of the cowl is 4 inches

The new gauge is 3.5 stitches per inch and 5 stitch rows to the inch (we learned this from a gauge swatch)

The circumference x the new gauge is 24 x 3.5 = 84 stitches to cast on

The row gauge is 5 stitches to the inch.  4 inches of height x the row gauge of 5 = 20 rows

From this, we know that 20 rows x 84 stitches on each of those rows is a total of 1,680 stitches.  After our gauge swatch, we can unravel a stitch and see that each stitch is 1.25 inches in yarn length.  

1.25 inches per stitch of yarn used x 1,680 stitches is 2,100 inches divided by 36 to convert it back to yards -  gives you 58.3333 yards.  I would round it to 60 yards just for good measure.

So, 60 yards of the new size #5 bulky yarn would be enough to complete this project.

You might also want to add a bit to those final numbers of yardage to pad out any wonky gauge.  I think an extra foot of yardage might be a good idea.

Math is not my thing guys so I hope this all makes sense.  It took me a whole day of head-scratching and driving my hubby absolutely bonkers.  I mean, we were into quantum physics of the 9th degree and it got unreal for a few moments here.

So here is a swatch I knit while watching how to make split pea soup, so my tension was kinda all wonky.  I had no idea what this yarn size was...well, I do because I can usually tell by feel, but there was no ball band.  Also, I apologize because none of these gauge tools would photograph well.

So this tool shows you 2 inches of your swatch.  I have 9 1/2 stitches, which would be 19 stitches for 4 inches.   If you look at the chart I linked to or the info for the ball band above you will see that my 19 stitches fall in line with the number 4 yarn.  This was totally a random coincidence as I grabbed the first yarn in my ball bag but regardless we know that the gauge for this yarn is 16 to 20 stitches in a four-inch swatch and that a 7 - 9 size needle is called for.  I used a size seven needle to make my swatch.

So there you go, swatching may seem like a lot of hassle but in the end, it could save you hours of frogging and reknitting a project.

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Next week we will talk about feather-and-fan vs old shale.

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions regarding this or any of my other tutorials, please feel free to leave a question in the comments.

Happy crafting!

Ruinwen

😀

Note:  I took excerpts and added my twist to them from the following books

The Runes - Ralph Blum
Runelore - Edred Thorsson
Taking Up The Runes - Diana Paxson