Fixing A Little Oopsie

This week I got to go back in time a bit to a moment when a friend gave me knitting to fix.  It was in a huge heart blanket that I designed for her, and she had forgotten a YO in one of the hearts at their base.

This was in December of 2010 and I was pretty good at fixing things but this was something I had never attempted.  I was able to do it though and that changed everything for me.

Fast forward to last week and my friend is making that heart blanket again with a new and improved design and she forgot a YO.

This time, I knew what to do and I was able to do it quickly and she said you couldn't even tell where it was fixed!  Yay experience!  

YO is missing from Row 3

This little sample is missing a YO just like the blanket was.  It is easy enough to rip this back but in a blanket of over 250 stitches you don't want to necessarily do that if you don't have to.

This sample is 6 rows.  If you would like to practice this technique then here is my sample info.

CO 11 stitches

Row 1:  K4, YO, SSK, K5

Row 2:  K2, P7, K2

Row 3:  K3, K2tog, YO, K1, (this is where your YO should be, but we are skipping it), SSK, K3

Row 4:  K2, P6, K2

Row 5:  K2, K2tog, YO, K3, YO, SSK, K1

Row 6:  K1, P7, K2

If I had been counting then I would have seen that this section was only 10 stitches instead of 11.  Also, the fact that there were not enough stitches on the edge for my 2 stitch garter border would have been a clue that something was wrong as well.

But say, that this happened while I was binge-watching something that I probably should not have tried to knit during since my eyes were on the screen, or maybe the doorbell rang and when I came back I missed that YO.  Hey, it happens all the time and it is fine.  😀

So let's fix this.  

Tools I use:

• crochet hook
• locking stitch markers
• double-pointed needles

Normally you would have a bunch of other stitches on the needle and you would slide the stitches to where you need to be and then move that section to double-pointed needles.  But with a sample, you just put a locking stitch marker through the first two stitches and the last stitch on the needle to keep the working yarn from unraveling as you are ripping back.

Now you will slowly take out row by row until you get to Row 3.  Gently remove the working strands from each of the stitches as they present themselves.  You will have to turn the SSK stitches around since they will have left facing front legs and you want right facing front legs.

using a system to keep track of your strands can save a lot of hassle

You will also have to manage your strands.  You can do this with any method you like, colored stitch markers or little pieces of yarn.  If this was on a huge needle, I just lay them in order on the right-hand needle, but we can't do that here.

The last picture shows the strands all ripped back and identified to the row that we are fixing.  My thumb is where the YO should be created.

using the strand for that row, I have reknit the row

Here we can see that I have reknit Row 3, from right to left with the strand for that row and now that row is fixed.  Using a strand to knit with can get challenging towards the end so you might need a crochet hook to work the last stitch.

For Row 4 knit all stitches right to left with that row's strand.

Work pattern Row 5 with that row's strand.

Finally, work Row 6 knitting all stitches right to left with that row's strand.

the pattern is fixed

Ta da!  The pattern is fixed the YO is where it should be and the stitch count is back to 11.

Things to consider when fixing an area of lace like this:

• Be patient
• Use as many tools as you need
• Keep your strands organized
• The final result might need a little zhushing or adjusting to make it uniform

You got this! 🤗❤️

If you would like me to make a video of this process, please drop me a comment below.

all my spices have a place now

In other news, I organized my spice cabinet and everything is now super easy to find.  Yay me!

If you have any questions or comments about this or any of my other tutorials please leave a comment and I will be happy to get back to you.

Do you have a favorite spice?  Mine is smokey paprika.

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.  

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When Life Gives you Pluots...

 

my rainbow/chakra/pride feather and fan banket 

I finished a big project this week and I had to share it with you all.  My rainbow/chakra/pride/feather and fan rainbow made of bright and happy colors blanket is finally done.  It took 5 skeins of Red Heart Super Saver Stripes in the Favorite Stripe colorway.

I adore this blanket so much.  It is so bright and cheery; I can wrap myself in it to help me absorb colors while meditating.  

So that means a new project can be started now that one of my old ones has been completed.

I was going to show you something else but if I want to get this out today it will have to wait until next week.  You see I ordered 3 pluots from our CSA and I got 3 dozen.  We barely had room in the fridge for so many little apricot/plum hybrids.  

tartlet of pluots

I didn't know what to do so I made little tarts.

You basically take your pastry dough and add a little vanilla, cinnamon, and maple syrup for sweetness and then add the filling and pile any leftover dough on top.

I could have rolled out the dough and encased them but I wanted to leave room for a lot of pluots so I just piled the little pan till it was full.

I used a glaze/drizzle of balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and cinnamon and it was really good.

So when life gives you pluots, make some little tangy tarts.  🤗

Have you made anything new this week?

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:

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It's Starting to Feel Like Fall

I spent most of today in the kitchen but I am taking a moment to get this post out to you. 

We were running low on Rosemary Gladstar's Fire Cider so I made some more.  The Tumeric always dyes everything no matter what I do but at least it was super fresh.  I need to clean the rest of it and freeze it still.

My son wanted some pumpkin bread, it is the season after all for one of my favorite fruits.  We found a gluten / dairy-free brand that we really enjoy so we are trying their pumpkin bread.  We have liked Simple Mills pancake mix, pizza dough, and crackers, so I am sure this will be no different.

Then, I whipped up some pumpkin bread at the request of my son.  Finally, I spent 5 hours roasting cherry tomatoes.

tomatoes slow roasting

My friend introduced me to these "candy" tomatoes, and I just love them.  You can make a batch and freeze them, or you can eat them like candy.  I have put them on pasta and thrown them on my salad.

They are really easy to make.  

Ingredients

4 cups cherry tomatoes, cleaned, stems removed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Italian herbs of your choice (my friend uses oregano, I use a mix)

my friend adds in a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar but I found that I liked the savory herbed flavors better and I omitted it.

I have also made this with some garlic cloves cut in half and slow roasted along with the tomatoes when I used it for pasta.

Recipe

Heat oven to 225 degrees while prepping the tomatoes.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Parchment paper is heat-proof, moisture-resistant, and non-stick.

Cut cherry tomatoes in half.

Place the cherry tomatoes in a bowl, toss with the olive oil.  Add the salt and herbs.  If you are using the sugar add that now as well.  Carefully toss to coat the tomatoes with the herb mixture.

Spread the tomatoes on your prepared baking pan in a single layer and then place them in the oven.

Every half an hour turn them so they roast evenly and jiggle them a bit to ensure they aren't sticking to the pan.

Roast for about five hours or until they shrivel and are partly dried.

Let them cool.  You can keep the tomatoes in the fridge for three days or freeze them for up to three months.  Another option is to store them in olive oil in the fridge.  The oil will solidify but you can just heat it up and throw it over pasta and it will be fabulous!

I love this Halloween themed knit

This is me trying to be ahead of the game this year for Halloween.

Here is a design by the fabulous Knitspot called Boing!  Isn't that a fun name?

I'm making this scarf with Knitpicks Felici in the Spooky color-way which, isn't available anymore.  I know, I know, every time I make something it seems to be gone from the shelves but that is the curse of having a huge stash I suppose.  Sorry.

I have about two feet done.  I am really enjoying the curves as the lace forms, it is a really fun knit.  😍

Are you making anything special for All Hallows Eve?

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.  

🙏

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

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Adulting

tree branch downed in a storm from our maple

I spent the last few weeks doing things that needed to be done or as I call it, adulting.  We had a big storm and lost a huge branch off of our tree.  Our gutters got cleaned, which is fantastic since a tree had started growing in them. 

I needed to call AAA to get a new car battery.  The car is running great now and it is so nice to have her back.  We had some mice that needed to be relocated.  Kitsune was a big help with that.

Then we had our stay-cay and we alternated cleaning up areas of the house with fun activities and yummy food.  I am happy to say that we actually achieved quite a bit of organizing and the feng shui of the house feels calmer.

finished shawl in cotton

I abandoned my other kitting to help a friend make a prayer shawl for her friend.  This pattern, Falling Leaves by Carol Rasmussen Noble is from Lavish Lace and I just love the ease of it.

Now that it is done I need to regroup and figure out where I was and where I want to be with my knitting.

I have quite a lot of things that are on the needles that I probably should focus on first.

Oh, I made a thing that was really yummy and I wished I had taken a picture but here is my Spanish Rice and Chicken recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup of rice

2 cups of chicken stock

1 cup tomato sauce

1 1/2 tsps chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp oregano

1 pound chicken (can be cut up or with bones) (chicken with bones takes about 35 minutes to cook)

Recipe

Rinse rice, start the water boiling for rice, follow directions on the packaging for water and cooking times, 

When boiling, add rice, cover, and cook

If chicken is boneless cut it up into 1-inch cubes

Drizzle a little olive oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken until it is browned on all sides and cooked through

When rice is done, set aside off of the burner without opening the lid

Heat two cups of chicken broth and add to skillet

Add tomato sauce and all spices and mix well coating all the chicken

Let simmer for 20-30 minutes turning the chicken every 5 minutes or so

The liquid will render down and get a bit thicker

Add in the rice and coat with the sauce, serve immediately

Enjoy!

This smells amazing when it is cooking.  I just love using spices in my food.

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.