Updating

I know it has been a bit since we last talked.  I had a video that I was working on and I didn't really have anything that I could show you.  But that is all done now and when it comes out I will post a link in a few months.

Just a bit of brioche

I am so excited to start this project! 

I am updating my brioche tutorial pattern on Ravelry. After teaching it a lot, my students have shared how I could improve it and I want to incorporate these changes as well as add video tutorials for visual learners. 

I was watching a Minecrafter on YouTube and she is colorblind and she couldn't differentiate between the colored blocks since the colors weren't in her spectrum.  

Chat had to tell her what colors she was picking up and it was then that I realized all these accent colors that I use to define notes or important stuff may not be able to be seen by others.

Accessibility is something that I have been trying to really incorporate into my patterns and something that I never really thought about before was colorblindness.  I use color all the time to accent or show notes and people may not be able to see those colors and that is not acceptable.

To illustrate this:  here is my knit sample without a filter

Deuteranopia - green-blind

Tritanopia - blue-blind

Protanopia - red-blind

I'm using a free app Color Blind Pal which you can get on your phone or computer that can help you to see if something you are publishing can be seen by everyone.  

So that is one aspect that I am looking into, the next is all the notes I have gotten from students over the years.

I have a "cheat" sheet that I use in classes to help students to know what comes next in two-color brioche and they said I should add that to the pattern.

I had a bunch of people ask for a different edging, which is as simple as changing a K3, to a K1 but I am adding that as an option.

The sections on the bind off and weaving in ends need to be rephotographed.

The main photos need to be updated which is why I am using the fabulous soft and squishy yarn is Audubon Sock in Crab & Corn Bisque and Maci Grey by the talented Mitchells Creations.

What yarns do you love working with?

Happy crafting!

Ruinwen

😀

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Safe 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.  

🙏

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

Sending love and light to everyone facing discrimination, hate, prejudice, inequality, or racism.

🙏🙏💖💖🙏🙏

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

Vixenpath is a safe space.

If you are:

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I am a safe person and I will always hold space for you in love and light.

I Finished Something!

 

my little Kitsune was very helpful in making sure all my wires were secure

I love the mix of blues and whites in my clapotis

My clapotis is finished!  I am so happy with this yarn and how it looks in this beautiful pattern!  This means that I can cast on something new with my friend but we are waiting a week instead of jumping into a new pattern.

this is my friend's clapotis, I just love the mix
of pink and orange sherbert colors in cotton

this rainbow blanket is such a joy to work on, it is about four feet now

This is a Circle Back week and I am choosing to focus on the rainbow blanket.  I love working on this blanket with all the bright and beautiful colors.  I am on the last skein and an end is in sight.

What are you working on this week?  Did you finish any long-term projects?

Happy crafting!

Ruinwen

😀

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

Safe socially-distanced hugs  🤗

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

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

May you be safe.  

May your loved ones be safe.  

🙏

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

Sending love and light to everyone facing discrimination, hate, prejudice, inequality, or racism.

🙏🙏💖💖🙏🙏

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

Vixenpath is a safe space.

If you are:

LGBTQ+

Black

Brown

Asian

Any race

Coming out

Anything.

I am a safe person and I will always hold space for you in love and light.

I Never Have the Right Needles 🙃

I took a week off for Solstice to recharge and renew and now I am back and full of love and light and I can hold space again for everyone and everything.

I finished my goal of catching up on the clapotis and was able to knit with my friend and that was really something. We might actually be done by next week!

beautiful Knitpicks, Swish soft squishy yarn

This week I have been putting my energy towards making some PRIDE gloves for a dear girl that I have watched grow into an amazing woman.

Everything was going well until I found out that I didn't actually own any size 6 dpns.  I still can't believe this is possible!  But it was and I ordered them from Knitty Gritty Shop because we are Instagram followers of each other.

They saved me.  I ordered size 6, 7 and 8 Lykke dpns.  I have never used Lykke before and I am super pleasantly surprised.  They are smooth and feel great in my hands.  I just love these needles!  Thank you Knitty Gritty Shop for being there for me!

So, fast forward and I am here.

progress shot of glove

I want to be happy with these gloves, but the pattern is not fitting, well, like a glove if you know what I mean.

I think I need to rip back to the cuff and then continue in ribbing so that the fit will work regardless of the hand that goes in it.

I don't understand the purl line.  I think it would feel weird, ya know?  I want to get rid of that as well.

The fingers are formed straight and then seamed which I spent a lot of time trying to get as perfect as I could.  I would much rather knit them in the round and not have a seam at all.

So the question is dear readers, do I design my own gloves or look for a pattern that I can tweak a bit as a starting point?

I thought about it and found a wonderful top-down pattern by  Pamela Grossman, with ingenious construction and I am going to try it.  The only issue is it calls for dpn size 4s...here we go again.  lol

I did a swatch for the large size in the size 3 needles I do have and it came out to the medium size so I think that I am ready to go.

Excuse me as I rip out everything...

While I am doing that I was part of a conversation the other day about when do you get good enough to never have to rip, swatch, count, use lifelines, and other knitting processes.  My answer was simple, "never."

Doing these things has nothing to do with your skills or understanding of knitting, we do these things because we have been in a place where a lifeline made all the difference in not having to start from scratch, or counting lets us know right away when we miss a YO on a row.  Swatching may be the most annoying thing in existence, but IMHO will save you hours of work every single time you do it.

This is why I am ripping now instead of waiting until I finish to see if I like it.  I know right now I don't, so I am taking action now before I get any further and I am happy with my decision to do so.

Unfortunately, after getting my second dose of the vaccine I had a fever and my hands felt funny so I couldn't knit.

just a little heart swatch to make sure everything works right

Then my friend wanted to make a design I made for her like 10 years ago.  It needed updating and tweaking and I have learned so much about symmetry and design since then so I added all that in.

Just a peek right now, when she finishes the blanket in a few months I will show you as it is blocking per usual.  

five fingers with little cowls lol

With that done and dusted I got back to the gloves.  As you can see, the fingers are done for the first one and that is some progress which makes me happy.

What's on your needles this week?

Next week is a circle back week so I will be able to make some personal progress on my four projects.  Yay!

Happy crafting!

Ruinwen

😀

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

Safe socially-distanced hugs  🤗

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

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

May you be safe.  

May your loved ones be safe.  

🙏

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

Sending love and light to everyone facing discrimination, hate, prejudice, inequality, or racism.

🙏🙏💖💖🙏🙏

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

Vixenpath is a safe space.

If you are:

LGBTQ+

Black

Brown

Asian

Any race

Coming out

Anything.

I am a safe person and I will always hold space for you in love and light.