Wednesday, March 24, 2021

The First Stirrings of Spring

the obligatory first crocuses of spring photo

Things have been a little hectic around chez Silverdragon the last few weeks.  But thankfully, things are back to normal.

We celebrated Ostara with steak, baked potatoes, and asparagus.  It was delish on a beautiful warm day that was a promise of the sunny days to come.

I planted new seeds that I hope will bear beautiful fruit over the coming year.  I am going to do my best to water them and nurture them with love, light, compassion, and understanding.

In that vein, I am taking a crystal reiki class.  Reiki is something that I have been doing for as long as I can remember.  It is an important part of every day.

I have loved crystals since my Daddy took me hunting for shiny rocks in the newly developed dirt of a housing development.  I still have that piece of quartz and it is one of my little treasures from my childhood.

It only makes sense that I would find crystal reiki interesting and engaging especially since it is taught by a scientist and healer.

I am also gathering all the pieces parts that I need for the taxes.  I want to finish those up soonish.

I have not knit more than a few stitches here and there in the last week since my attention has been directed in a bunch of different directions and might still be for the next few weeks as I work on lessons and taxes and spring cleaning.

Oh, I also made myself a new Ostara anklet.  I have been wearing these for three or four years and it is nice to have my Ostara seeds present with me all the time as touchstones for the things that I am hoping to plant this year.

To make one of these you first need to know what issues you are focusing on.

Say, you have this affirmation:  "I am worth it"

1     2     3    4     5     6    7     8     9

A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I

J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R

S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z

You substitute a number for each letter from the above chart and get the following:

9  14  56928  92

Then you add up all those numbers and get 55

Then you add 5 + 5 to get 10 and 1 + 0 to get 1

"I am worth it" has the color energy of 1

1 - red

2 - orange

3 - yellow

4 - green

5 - blue

6 - indigo

7 - violet

8 - rose

9 - gold

"I am worth it" equals red as the color energy provided by numerology.

I just followed this process for all of my five main affirmations and then I took those five colors and created an anklet so each step I take is guided by my goals.

Wishing you tons of bright blessings!

πŸ’«

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So, the photo above is a close-up of the sleeve portion of my top (pardon the cat hair).  This is a commercial knit and has very tiny stitches but you can tell that it is ribbing.

Ribbing is such an amazing thing that we take for granted in our clothes and accessories.

Ribbing is made up of vertical columns of knit and purl stitches (or stockinette and reverse stockinette) that are alternated based on the amount of stretch that your pattern needs in a specific area.  That is why ribbing is used on hems, cuffs, waistlines, and necklines.

If the area that the ribbing is on is not stretched you might only see the knit stitches since the purl stitches tend to recede into the fabric.

I find being able to read my knitting is a truly valuable skill.  Being able to identify different stitches really helps me when having to fix mistakes or double-checking a pattern row.  

If you are new to ribbing a little mantra that might help you to remember how to knit ribbing is, "knit the knits and purl the purls."

When knitting the rib the working yarn is in the back and when purling the rib the working yarn is in the front.

One of my knitting friends today was talking about she sometimes found a yarn over in her work and didn't know where it was coming from.

We sussed out that sometimes when she was switching from purl to knit that she would forget to move the working yarn to the back of her work before making the knit stitch.  This resulted in a yarn over.

If one only does this once and a while you can just drop the yarn over when you come to it and it will be reabsorbed into the fabric. 

1 x 1 Ribbing

The ribbing on my sleeve is 1 x 1 ribbing.  This reversible ribbing has a decent stretch and looks nice.

Even number of stitches (cast on multiples of 2):

Row 1:  *K1, P1* repeat ** to end of row

This pattern is the same for in-the-round knitting.  1x1 ribbing in the round only works with an even amount of stitches since having an odd amount will allow two knits or purls to be next to each other on the first and last stitches of the round.

Odd number of stitches (cast on any odd number 3 or greater):

Row 1:  K1, *P1, K1* repeat ** to end of row

Row 2:  P1, *K1, P1* repeat ** to end of row

2 x 2 Ribbing

IMHO reversible 2 x 2 ribbing is much more stretchy than the 1 x 1 ribbing.  I use it all the time for socks, cuff, and anything that I want to make sure I can get on.

Even number of stitches (cast on multiples of 4):

Row 1:  *K2, P2* repeat ** to end of row

This pattern is the same for in-the-round knitting.

my Caitlin pattern shows how ribbing can be used with
cables to create a stretchy interesting fabric

Ribbing is not limited to 1 x 1 or 2 x 2 it can be any combination of stitches you want as long as you knit the knits and purl the purls on every row.  

The above photo of Catlin shows how a cable was used in every other vertical knit column to add texture and interest to the pattern.  The ribbing and the cable used in this pattern is 4 x 4.

my Stressless Mitts pattern uses ribbing to create a snug fit to the
fingerless mitts, this pattern uses 2 x 2 and 4 x 1 ribbing and 
can be found here on the blog from 2007 - at some point, I want to 
retest the pattern - but I still have these and I wear them 
quite a bit

Some things to note about ribbing:

Many patterns will ask you to go down a needle size for cuffs, hems, or other ribbed items to help the fabric to be a little tighter in those areas.  I find that swatching for these types of fitted garments is very necessary.  Making a swatch in the smaller ribbing size and then regular ribbing size can save hours of having to rip back later.

Swatching your ribbing to see it behaves the way you want can also save you tons of time in the long run.  You might also find that you like a 1 x 1 ribbing over a 2 x 2 ribbing in your application even though the other one is called for.

While bigger needles and yarn will still yield an elastic fabric, the stretch will not be as generous as it would be on smaller needles with smaller yarn.  Again, test swatching can save you a lot of hassle and let you see if your desired fabric can be achieved.

Bright blessings and happy crafting!


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If you have any questions or comments on this or any of my other tutorials, please leave me a comment.

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Safe socially-distanced hugs  πŸ€—


****************************
Sending love and light to everyone being affected by this virus.  

May you be safe.  

May your loved ones be safe.  

πŸ™

***************************

Sending love and light to everyone facing discrimination, hate, prejudice, inequality, or racism.
πŸ™πŸ™πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ™πŸ™


Wednesday, March 10, 2021

The Universe, Knitting and a Girl Trying to Repair A Blanket


This morning the Universe is having a giggle with me.

As promised I promptly got out my tools at 7:30 am on Friday and prepared to repair my friend's blanket.

This is the text I sent my friend at 8:35 am the same morning...

Progress update:

I thought I would knit across in seed stitch to the stitches that needed fixing to save some time.

But...

First, the needle came undone from the cable and all the stitches dropped off the cable.  

I train for things like this so I got another needle and picked them all up temporarily in a calm-like manner.  

I am thinking to myself, "where are all my size sevens?"  The only needles that I have are straights and by golly, this blanket is going to fit on it come hell or high water.

When I started knitting many years ago I never knew about cable needles, that knowledge came later.  In the beginning, if I was making a blanket I would cram it on a straight needle and use stoppers to keep it from falling off when I wasn't working on it.

Good times.

I got to relive those glory days as I proceeded to fit the blanket on my straights.  I was so happy to rescue all those stitches that it didn't matter what they were on.

Second, there were seven stitches that needed to be dropped seven rows down, so I did that seven times.  

I think that it might either be the beginning of a spell or a mathematical equation.

Third, the top three rows have little gaps.

I know she has fought the little gaps the entire time so I have to rip back three rows.  This isn't too bad since I tink as fast as I knit.

8:47 am: my friend calls about some advice on the second of these blankets that she is casting on.  I end up trying to show a cast on in PJs and bass-akwards and am actually successful.  Yay!  πŸ˜€

I also managed to not drop any additional stitches as I watch the stitches try to evacuate the needle during my conversation and minor tutorial.

9:00 am: I am back on track with the tinking and start actually knitting and purling the seed stitch border.

9:30 am: I have lost the ability to distinguish a knit from a purl

9:45 am: I make a silent prayer to all the knitting Goddesses that guide my journey to please let there be enough yarn to finish the bind off.

9:50 am: Thank you Universe!  I had enough yarn to bind off...and there was much rejoicing!

10:00 am:  After giving the blanket a quick once over to check on ends and such I put it on the knit setting in our washer.  I love the fact when picking out a washer my DH made sure it had a knit setting so I could wash my knitting without worrying about it felting.  Such a sweetie!

11:12 am:  Washer is done, time to wet-block.

11:45 am: Been working as fast as I can to get all the wires in before the cats wake up.  

blocking

11:46 am:  Cats are awake.  Managed to get it all blocked anyway as I guarded the blanket like a momma bear to keep it safe.

Will leave it to dry and check back in a bit.

Took longer to dry than I thought.  Left it to dry overnight and it was still damp in the morning.

8 am Saturday - wove in ends and then texted my friend that her blanket was still a bit damp but it was clean and finished as requested.

12 pm - blanket was picked up and my job was done.

Whew!  πŸ˜€

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Continuing on our dropped stitch journey,  I just wanted to share another way to create a uniquely beautiful fabric.

dropped stitches break up the solid stockinette fabric
adding a bit of whimsy to the scarf

Do you like to color outside of the lines every once and a while?  Here is a pattern for a simple thin little scarf that uses dropped stitches in a controlled and fun manner.  You could easily make it wider or add more drops to suit your creativity.

It has that distressed look that lets a little light dance into your fabric.  Plus you get to drop some stitches, which can be a lot of fun!  Don't worry they are held in place by the yarn overs and will not drop any further than you want them to.  πŸ˜€

Scarf In Distress

CO 31 stitches

All the first stitches on a row are to be slipped with the yarn in front (WYIF) purlwise.  This makes a nice edge IMHO and helps with the side curl of the stockinette which I tried to minimize with a garter stitch border.  

Abbreviations:

drop - drop the next stitch, pick up the top bar with your right-hand needle from back to front and place it on the left-hand needle with the left leg of the stitch positioned in front on the right.  Then you will knit that stitch through the back loop.  
K - knit
K2tog - knit the next two stitches together
P - purl
sl - slip 
WYIF - with yarn in front
YO - yarn over

Rows 1 - 4:  sl 1 WYIF, knit across row

Row 5:  sl 1 WYIF, K7, K2tog, YO, K11, YO, K2tog, K8

Rows 6, 8, 10, 12, 14:  sl 1 WYIF, K2, purl across row to last three stitches, K3

Rows 7, 9, 11, 13:  sl 1 WYIF, knit across row

Row 15:  sl 1 WYIF, K2, YO, K2tog, K4, drop 1, K5, YO, K2tog, K4, drop, K4, k2tog, YO, K3

Rows 16, 18, 20, 22, 24:  sl 1 WYIF, K2, purl across row to last three stitches, K3

Rows 17, 19, 21, 23:  sl 1 WYIF, knit across row

Row 25:  sl 1, K2, drop, K4, K2tog, YO, K5, drop, K5, YO, K2tog, K4, drop, K3

Repeat rows 6-25 for the length desired

Finishing Rows


Rows 1 - 4:  sl 1 WYIF, knit across row


Bind off loosely.


Open up all drops.


Block gently.


Weave in and secure ends.


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I wanted to add another pattern here but it just wasn't working so I'm going to distance myself from it for a while and catch up on taxes, chores, and laundry.


Bright blessings and happy crafting!


**************

If you have any questions or comments on this or any of my other tutorials, please leave me a comment.

****************************

Safe socially-distanced hugs  πŸ€—


****************************
Sending love and light to everyone being affected by this virus.  

May you be safe.  

May your loved ones be safe.  

πŸ™

***************************

Sending love and light to everyone facing discrimination, hate, prejudice, inequality, or racism.
πŸ™πŸ™πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ™πŸ™