In the Bag Upcycling Project

 When our friend came for Thanksgiving, he said he'd brought something hoping I'd look at it. It was a jumper (pullover sweater) that his late wife had knitted using some fluffy yarn with slubs. He wondered whether I'd be able to take it apart and unravel it to use the yarn for something else. I said I could and he happily left it with me.

I started by removing the seams holding all the parts together. There was a front, back, and 2 sleeves--pretty basic, which was good. The neckline was knit longer, then folded over and sewed down so I took that seam out, too.

I started with the back then moved on to the front. Ripping the knitting back was a bit fiddly at first because the bind-off edges were tighter than the knitting itself, as you'd expect. But it went quite smoothly once I got below the armhole shaping because it was straight knitting from there with no more bind-offs. The yarn was much easier to pull out than I thought it might be and this gave me a clue as to the possible fibre content, but more on that below.

I'd set the sleeves aside, because I wanted to preserve some of our friend's wife's work. 

As I ripped back the knitting, I thought about how I wanted to use one or both of them. I decided to make a bag.

I sewed the top of the sleeve closed and it became the bottom of the bag. You can see in the bottom right corner of the picture where it's not quite even--that's where some shaping was done. I considered evening it out, but decided to leave it as she knitted it. I used the yarn from the accent stripes to crochet a strap and a slip stitch border around the edge of the bag. 

I am quite happy with this project (and so is our friend). I am not sure if I will keep the second sleeve or rip it back. I have the rest of the sweater done and now have a bag full of fuzzy yarn balls. I plan to use my pin loom to weave squares with it. It held up well to the unraveling even when I tugged fairly hard, so I think it should be strong enough for that.

As for fibre content, I did the burn test on the yarn. It did burn (wool is flame resistant) and there was a bit of a hard black knob on the end, which indicates synthetic, but it wasn't as large as I'd expect if it was all synthetic. There was a significant amount of ash as well which indicates natural fibres. Based on all of that, I would say it's a blend with mostly natural fibres (some kind of animal hair). The burn test doesn't tell me specifically what the fibres are. But as an educated guess and based on the burn test I would say that both the fuzzy and smooth yarns are a blend of primarily natural fibres with some synthetic blended in. I would guess that the fuzzy yarn has a nylon core strand plied with the fuzzy strand, which feels and looks like mohair. Also, both nylon and mohair are very strong and the yarn held up quite well to the pulling. The fuzzy bits stick to each other and the slubs catch, so at times I had to tug fairly hard and the yarn did not break, which is part of why I would guess that it's a blend of nylon and mohair. The smooth yarn is also a blend based on the burn test and I would guess that is mostly wool with some acrylic.

This is a very satisfying project for me in many different ways. When I use the bag and weave with the yarn, I will think of our friend's wife. Sadly, I never met her, but from what our friend and another friend who knew her say, we have a lot in common. I suspect that we would have been friends. I wish I'd known her.

Share

A Few Rounds Here and a Few Rounds There

 I always try to have a mindless project or two on the go--something I can pick up and work on for a while when the mood strikes, whether I have a few minutes or want something to work on while listening to a podcast or audiobook. Often at least one of these projects is socks. It can take me months to actually complete a pair if I am working in this way, but that's OK. If I need a pair fast, I can make them my main project and have them in a few days, otherwise a round here and a round there eventually leads to toasty toes.

For sockists or other interested readers, here are a few of my sock-making quirks. i knit my socks on double points. I've tried two circulars and magic loop and don't like them, so I stick with my double points for socks. I often use regular superwash fingering weight wool for the cuffs (excellent use for leftovers) and sock yarn (usually in a 75% wool/25% nylon ratio) for the rest where the strength of the nylon is needed for longer wear. I cast on 68 stitches using US size 1 or 2 needles 2.25mm and 2.75mm respectively), depending on the yarn and I knit the cuff using whatever stitch pattern comes into my head. In this case, I alternated 5 rounds of 2x2 rib with 3 rounds of plain knitting.

When the cuff is as long as I want it to be, I switch to the sock yarn and knit a few rounds before setting up for the heel, when I switch to size 0 (2mm) needles. This means a tighter knit for better wear. I make a standard heel flap alternating slip stitches with knit stitches on the right side, then pick up the gusset stitches and knit on, decreasing until I have 72 stitches altogether. I may or may not decide to do some sort of stitch pattern on the top of the foot. In this case, I continued the cuff pattern until a few rounds before the toe decreases.

I always use a star toe, because that fits better and is more comfortable for me to wear than others.

Socks are good for my mindless project pile, because there is a lot of knitting around and around, punctuated by heels and toes that require slightly more attention. It's fun to see how the stitch patterns will develop and how the stripes and patterns in the sock yarn will appear. I like to be doing something with my hands while I am listening to stuff. And we get to have warm feet at the end of it all 😁 Bill and I both have quite a sock wardrobe and every pair has come off my needles. I have the yarn for the next pair pulled and ready to go. 

Share

Scraps to Socks

A few weeks ago, I finished knitting a pair of socks for Bill out of some self-patterning sock yarn. I had leftovers. There wasn't enough left for an entire pair of socks, but I was pretty sure I had enough for two feet. I rummaged around among my scrap yarn ball collection and came up with some rust-coloured lace weight boucle-ish yarn with bits of light brown. This was part of what remains from a giant cone of yarn brought back for me by a friend from a thrift shop in Boston. I made a sweater and a pair of fingerless gloves and still have more. The sock yarn had a rusty brown stripe, so that would work well. I decided to use crocheted ribbing for the cuffs, so I chained the number of stitches I wanted and then worked 3rd loop half double crochets back and forth in rows. When this was long enough to reach around my ankle comfortably when slightly stretched, I slip stitched the last row to the beginning chain to form a tube. Then I got out my (US) size 0 double points, picked up 68 stitched around one end of the tube, knit a couple of rounds, and proceeded with the heel flap, making the foot as usual. Then I repeated for sock 2, which I finished Tuesday, with less than a foot of yarn to spare. I've been wearing them for the past couple of days and love them!

The ribbing curled on the edges (which became the top and bottom of the cuff when joined into a tube), but the rest of the sock eliminated that on the foot side. I had planned to do some rounds of crochet on the top to tame the curl there, but I found I quite liked it, so I left it alone.

I also have a large thread crochet project that I work on at night when listening to podcasts and audiobooks. I like to have projects using different techniques on the go at the same time so I can avoid making the same hand/arm movements all the time.

I'm on something of a sock kick at the moment, though, so this afternoon, I listened to a couple more chapters in an audiobook and cast on for another pair of socks. I always make them cuff-down and here's the start of the first sock, knit in a cable rib.

This is fingering weight superwash wool leftover from previous projects. It turns out that I added this cone of yarn to my collection 5 years ago today. I remember because I found it at a charity shop when we were in a town waiting to hear from a letting agent about whether we'd be able to rent the place we'd looked at the day before. It seemed like a really good sign when we walked into the charity shop and I spotted three big cones of yarn for a few euro. Two cones were wool and one was mohair. As I was paying for them, Bill asked how I was going to carry them home, since the backpacks we'd brought with us were full. I said I didn't know, but one way or another, they were coming to live with me! It was meant to be, because there was no issue. We got the call that we could rent the place and I asked the lovely woman at the B&B if I could leave the yarn there and pick it up when we came back. 'Of course you can!' she said. So I did.

When we went to pick it up a few weeks later, there was a German woman in the lounge. She was staying at the B&B. She knew about the yarn and, being a knitter herself, was pretty pleased to know where I got it. She made plans to go down to the charity shop to see what she could find. I don't know whether she got lucky that day or not, but in the time that we lived there, I found lots of great yarn at that shop, some of which I still have.

I've never found any sock yarn at a charity shop, but I can make the sock yarn I get elsewhere go farther by using different yarn for the cuffs, as long as it won't shrink in the wash. The nylon in sock yarn adds strength and helps the socks to not wear out quickly, so using that for the feet is important, but not so much for the cuffs. For the new socks on my needles, the cuffs will be in this light grey and the feet will be in sock yarn that knits up into forest green and grey stripes.

I hope the day brings you some moments of peace and contentment even in the midst of the crisis that is unfolding around us.

Share

A Few Bits

I wanted a cord for a pendant I have, so the other day I grabbed a scrap ball of size 10 crochet thread in a variegated purple colour and a 1.5 mm steel crochet hook and started on a Romanian cord, which I finished off yesterday.

 I am quite smitten with these cords, whether done in thicker yarn or thinner thread.

The other day, I was scrolling through a knitting e-magazine that I got through the library website. This particular publication has a regular yarn review feature. As part of that, they always have a page that has pictures of a small motif made with each of the yarns under review, as well as instructions for making the motif. In this issue, it was a butterfly, which I quite liked, so I got a small scrap ball of cotton yarn and some 4.5 mm knitting needles and made one.

It's cute and simple and can be done with any yarn. I'll probably make some more--maybe try with thread and some really small needles one day when I'm feeling particularly nimble in the fingers.

Today on our walk, I spotted a patch of fireweed I'd not noticed before. I love fireweed. We used to have lots of it in our yard in the woods when we lived in Fairbanks. I was told to watch it blooming from the bottom up and when it gets to the top, summer is over. I eagerly look to see where the blossoms are whenever I see some. This vacant lot was so striking with the stone wall, the fireweed, and the yellow flowers in front, all against the dark green backdrop.

I hope that you come across some bright, beautiful surprises as you go through this day.

Share

It Wanted to Be a Hat

Several weeks ago, when we were in Buncrana, we stopped in at a little shop that sells various stitching supplies--threads, fabric, yarn, tools, and a bunch of other stuff. I bought some forest green crochet thread there. I also had to rummage around in the single skein clearance box (of course!), which contained lots of yarns in many different textures and colours. I did not see any two alike, but I found a couple skeins to bring home with me. One of the skeins told me right away that it wanted to be a warm and fuzzy hat. It was a skein of something called 'winter cotton'--a blend of cotton and acrylic with a fuzzy halo. Ten days ago it was getting impatient and telling me that the time was right  to cast on for the simple roll brim hat I'd decided on. I worked on it a little bit each day for 2 or 3 days and I finished it last Saturday.

Because the yarn has so much going on and I did not have that much of it, I kept things extremely simple.

Using a 6.5 mm circular needle, I cast on 72 stitches, joined, placed a stitch marker, and just knit around and around. I kept checking to see how much yarn I had left and decided to add the stripe using a bit of navy blue wool from the scrap stash. I did 5 rounds with the blue and carried on with the winter cotton--I did not cut it and rejoin it after the stripe, but just carried it up inside. I knit until the piece was the same height as the space between where my wrist meets my hand to the tip of my middle finger. In her book, Knitting Rules, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (who blogs as The Yarn Harlot) gives this as a rule of thumb for hat heights from brim to the start of the crown decreases. I made sure to keep the natural curl at the bottom, since that is how it will be worn. Had I stretched that out, my measurement would have been off.

Then I began my crown decreases by alternating decrease rounds and knit even rounds as follows:
Round 1: (knit 10, k2tog) around
Round 2 and all even rounds: knit even
Round 3: (knit 9, k2tog) around
Round 5: (knit 8, k2tog) around
Round 7: (knit 7, k2tog) around
Round 9: (knit 6, k2tog) around
Round 11: (knit 5, k2tog) around
Round 13: (knit 4, k2tog) around
Round 15: (knit 3, k2tog) around
Round 17: (knit 2, k2tog) around
Round 19: (knit 1, k2tog) around
Round 21: (k2tog) around

When there are no longer enough stitches to go around the circulars, I switch to double pointed needles and continue.  This means a decrease of 6 stitches in each decrease round, which creates a more gentle slope at the top of the hat--it is a beanie shape. If I'd wanted a different sort of transition/crown, I could have knit around for more rounds before starting to decrease--this would have made the crown itself smaller, with more decreases in each round. For example, I could have started my decreases in what is round 7 above. This would give me 8 decreases in each round. Or to decrease very quickly, I could start with what it round 13. These quicker decreases make a flatter crown, as in these hats:

 I opted for the slower decreases because I wanted to make sure I had enough yarn, and more decreases means fewer stitches to knit and less yarn used. I ended up having enough, with a small ball left to go into the scrap stash. I probably could have gotten away with making the whole hat in the winter cotton if I had cast on fewer stitches to start, but as it happens, I like the navy blue stripe, so I am glad it's in there. All's well that ends well!

Share

The Beauty of Bach

It is not yet noon and I am prepared to declare the day weird.  First of all, it is brilliantly sunny outside and I always find that a very agitating start to the day.  Then there were several petty and minor annoyances that were easily dealt with along with the usual morning routine.  There was nothing large and I am reminding myself that I am lucky to have only minor annoyances rather than major crises.  Days like this make me realize anew that I am not a morning person.  It took me a couple of hours to do what I had to do but by the time I was done I was feeling agitated.  I much prefer to ease into my days quietly.  So while I had some plans for the morning, I scrapped them, wisely accepting that I would just get even more frustrated if I did things that required attention--my mind was just too scattered.  I was pondering what I should do instead when it dawned on me!  Put on some Bach!  So I did.  Then I picked up the current mindless knitting project and knit a couple of long rows.  I could feel my mind quiet as the agitation departed and my body calmed.  It's like magic!  Mind you, I really know nothing about classical music in general and Bach in particular, except that I know what I like--and I particularly like Bach.  There is just something about his music that creates an atmosphere of peace for me.  In the past when I would feel creatively blocked or generally agitated I would lay on my bed, close my eyes, and listen to Bach.  It put me in a place that was not conscious and not unconscious--it was somewhere in between.  I would come out of this state to find myself renewed and refreshed with ideas flowing freely.  So here's to Bach and mindless knitting and here's to a calmer afternoon!

Share

Hooks, Too

Yesterday I mentioned my book problem. Today I will confess to also having a hook problem! I am an avid crocheter. I do many yarny/ thready things on occasion. In fact, at one time, it was my primary interest. I had grown up fascinated by my grandmother who could sew anything. I still marvel at the fact that she would go to rummage sales, buy drapes, and turn them into slipcovers. By the time I knew her, she didn't have to do this out of financial necessity, but frugality was just a part of her, given her past life, which included 8 children and a depression. So when I grew up, I was going to be like Nana. I bought a low end sewing machine and gave it a try. And I kept trying. And I didn't like it at all. I consoled myself with latch hook kits and crewel embroidery, which were OK but not something that inspired passion in my soul. My other grandmother was a knitter. I would always see her with her thin yarn and aluminum needles clicking away. So maybe I could try yarn. I sat down with yarn, magazines, books, knitting needles, and crochet hooks. Stitch by stitch I taught myself both techniques. Knitting was OK. I could get into it. Sometimes I could get excited about it. Ah, but crocheting—there was a different story! I found my creative passion when I picked up a crochet hook and started pulling those loops of yarn through one another and a blanket or a sweater or a stuffed animal appeared. Use thin yarn or small thread and I could make lace and Christmas ornaments. It's been 25 years since then and I haven't stopped. I have cut way back at times, but crocheting has always served to excite me, comfort me, and provide me with a way to express myself creatively. I usually listen to podcasts or music when I crochet and sometimes I get lost in my own world when I get into a project. I still knit sometimes. I needle tat—or I did. My needles are currently residing in a box in a friend's shed in Oregon, so I won't be doing that anytime soon. I do these other things. I have even taught classes in these other techniques. But I never get as excited about them as I do about crocheting. I think in crochet. I will suddenly have an idea and begin playing around with texture or color or whatever. So when a woman at church said that they were going to put a tree in the narthex and decorate it with hats, scarves, and mittens, and she wanted to know if I could make some, I happily said I would. That was a few weeks ago and I walked in Sunday to see the tree up. I had been planning to finish the thread work I have been doing for the past several weeks—got into playing with color by mixing different colors and weights of thread (some of the results can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/burkejunior/sets/72157622850008540/ )—and then start on stuff for the tree. On Sunday night, though, my elbow began hurting after I'd crocheted for a few hours. So I reluctantly put my hook away and turned to weaving in ends. I decided that the next day I would knit a hat for the tree and give my hands and elbow a break by making different movements with the knitting needles than the usual crochet. So after supper and a bit of time spent finishing the book I was reading, I dug out some knitting needles and started in on a hat. Halfway through, I decided that one knitted hat would be enough. So when the hat was done, I put away the needles and got out one of my favorite hooks, my wooden J. And I started crocheting a hat, hoping that the fact that the hook was wood and quite a bit larger than the small thread hooks I'd been using would be enough of a change to prevent pain and soreness. It was. I made another hat. I enjoyed the process much more and I find the hat itself to be more interesting. I will dig out the knitting needles again at some point. Maybe I will even feel like knitting more than doing anything else one day. But I will always be addicted to my hooks first. It's good to know this about myself. There is much that I am interested in. But I discovered that I have a tendency to want to immerse myself in everything and then I burn out. It's good to follow interests and passions, but also good to know what can be skimmed over or left alone in favor of the things that are really important. And living the way I do, without a lot of possessions, it is good to know that I can let go of stuff that I probably will not use—fabric, sewing machine, embroidery floss, etc. But my hooks will always be with me!

Share