Pattern? We don't need no stinkin' pattern!

We had our SnB group last night, or should I say, two of us met.  It was an ugly, rainy and windy night, which I think kept people away.  The parking lot of our local Starbucks quickly transformed itself into a small pond, and we remarked that we were probably going to need an ark to get home again. 

That being neither here nor there, my friend was working on a mug cozy.  It was a crochet pattern in the round.  She was following the pattern, but the cozy wasn’t quite fitting correctly (she used her latte cup as a guide), despite being according to gauge.  That’s when I suggested she a) rip it out and start over again, using less stitches, and b) keep fitting it to the cup and use common sense—if the cozy didn’t fit that right, chances are, it would be useless with any other mug.  Sure enough, using less stitches and less increases than the pattern dictated yielded a perfectly-fitting cozy. 

This brings me to the topic du jour…madly ad libbing a pattern.  Honestly, I do this all the time.  I constantly come across patterns I just LOVE, except: 

1)  It’s too long or short.  Usually too short—I hate the current trend of shrugs and short sweaters.  It always looks like you couldn’t quite afford the whole sweater (I feel similarly about capri pants and tea-length skirts).  Also, sweater sleeves are usually too short for my taste and have to be lengthened. 

2)  It’s too tight or too loose.  I know myself and I know 40” around is a good sweater size for me.  If a pattern is 38” around and declaring itself a “medium,” I throw in extra stitches to make it 40”. 

3)  It’s not wide enough.  I find I like a nice LARGE afghan, but too often, afghans are too narrow.  How is 36” across supposed to be good enough???  If the pattern is in blocks, it’s simple enough to add another row of blocks.  If not, I puzzle out the repeat pattern to add width.

4)  And don’t get me started on scarves that aren’t long or wide enough…

Of course, any of these alterations usually necessitates recalculating how much yarn is needed—I’m awfully happy I paid attention in math when they were teaching ratios.  Sometimes, it’s just a simple matter of one more or less skein of yarn.  I usually try to buy over the amount—much easier to return a skein or find another use for it, than to hunt all over area stores and online, looking for another skein in the same dye lot…not that I’ve ever had to do this…noooooo…

Procrastination...

So, I'm FINALLY getting around to blogging again.




I haven't been blogging for two reasons:



a) I've been working on a stealth knitting project that I couldn't publicly write about, so as a result, I got sort of blocked when it came to writing about anything else.

b) I’ve been putting off finishing the pillows for my Granny Square Afghan and Pillows project, which I’ve been feeling massively guilty about; so again, I wasn’t inspired to write anything else.



Lame excuses, I know!



I finished my stealth project (I still can’t write about it or post pictures), which is a relief. I’m also plugging along now with the Granny Square pillows. I was stuck on the bolster pillow—I couldn’t get the correct size, but decided the only possible way out of my predicament with the pattern was to just change it up a bit and add another column of granny squares. So far, it’s looking good! I’m hoping to be done soon and post some pictures. Actually, this project is sort of stealth, too, as this set is going to a friend for Christmas.



It’s amazing how we tend to put things off that we think are going to be a chore, horrible, or just plain impossible; and then they turn out to be nothing at all! Here I was letting a little mismatched bolster pillow jettison my blogging schedule.

Sweet Tomato Heel Socks Finally Done!

I'm happy to report that my Sweet Tomato Heel Socks from my class are done!  This is Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato Heel technique.  I liked the technique so much that I decided to start another plain pair using the same heel.  What I really like about Cat's heel is that there's no picking up stitches and endlessly decreasing to get back to your original sock width.  When you're done, you're done!  Also, the heel can be worked on either toe-up or toe-down socks.

Ravelry link

New Class Schedule for Creative Fibers in Windsor, CT!!!

For those of you knitters and crocheters in CT, Creative Fibers just put out their Summer Newsletter and Class Schedule!

In particular, they have a Tunisian class this time around, and they are going to make baby blanket squares! I'm tempted to try that one, as I haven't really done much with Tunisian Crochet at all.

Just go to their site and click on "Newsletter" and "Class Schedule."

http://www.creativefibersonline.com/

Mad Sock Mania!

I seem to have been bitten with a mad, mad, MAD urge…to knit socks. I don’t even particularly need to knit socks that are patterned—I seem to be content just knitting plain old stockinette socks with a 1x1 ribbing at the top for grip, and perhaps another session with the Sweet Tomato Heel. I do confess I loved the fact that once I was done with the Sweet Tomato Heel, that was it—I was DONE. No picking up stitches and endlessly decreasing to get back to the original width of the sock.

I think my sock mania is related to the fact that I just LOVE the actual sock yarn itself. I love the colors—it is the only yarn where I don’t necessarily go for a particular brand…I tend to be drawn by the colorway. In fact, sometimes I can’t even remember the brand because I’ve tossed the ball band way inside the project bag, in my haste to cast on. I also love the fact that you can splurge on a $20 skein of sock yarn and that’s enough for an entire project, versus spending $150+ on wool for a sweater project. I usually can’t wear wool right next to my skin, but I don’t seem to have that issue with sock yarn. I’m not sure if it’s due to the nylon in the yarn or the fact that perhaps sock yarn is just made out of softer, less scratchy wool.

It may be the time of year, but I love the fact that socks are a small project that’s not sitting in your lap on a very hot day, making you swelter.

Also, socks are the best KIP (knit in public) project ever!

Baby's First Jacket - Done!

This is a baby sweater I made for a coworker's new baby.  It's a pattern by Julie Cashin (Buttonjar Knits).

The details are out on my Ravelry page:

http://ravel.me/PBELKNAP/bfj

It was a fun knit and the recipient was as pleased as punch over it!

Knitting is useful for…

In addition to being relaxing, therapeutic—and just plain fun—I find that there are ENDLESS uses for yarn craft…and I don’t mean the final product.


1) You have something to do, look down at, and escape into when a scary, gory, or just plain gross scene appears in a movie or TV show. This happens to me all the time with “CSI” and “Bones.”


2) Ditto for those times you are crafting in at a public meeting that is getting entirely too controversial and heated.


3) You know that book by Susan Cain entitled Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking? Yeah, that’s me. I find knitting in public is a great ice-breaker when I have no idea what to say to people in any new situation. It is amazing how many knitters and crocheters I’ve met at the doctor’s office.


4) In this same vein, if you want to be highly entertained by some of the craziest comments people can make about our craft, KIP can’t be beat. For some reason, around here, the allergist’s office is the place to be to experience truly deranged assumptions about knitting (like the lady who insisted I was “doing it wrong” when she saw me knitting a sleeve in the round versus flat). I personally think it’s because my allergist keeps people waiting entirely too long; and people just start going loopy after a while, especially if little Jimmy is attempting to take out a pamphlet display with his toy airplane.


5) Knitting or crocheting a complicated pattern is the best way I know to alleviate boredom. Also, the boost in your self-esteem can’t be beat, once you master it.


6) I hate to say it, but our craft is a very quick way to ascertain who is and isn’t supportive of you. I mean, really, it’s not like you’ve taken up something dangerous, sinful, or evil…you’re just knitting a sock, for heaven’s sake (I think people get frightened by the DPNs).


7) Going to Stitch ‘n’ B**** groups is a great way to meet new people, whom you may not have met any other way. As many have figured out from my Twitter posts, I’m decidedly left-wing. However, my perspective has broadened greatly from meeting many different people with different viewpoints…we all seem to be capable of listening to each other’s opinions, and we all happily bond over our communal love of yarn.


Now if the rest of the world could just work together in the same way…

Pullover Done...Just In Time for Spring...

It’s been ages since I posted. Life, as it has a way of doing, threw me for a loop last month, and I’m still trying to process the situation, and to do the next right thing.

But, getting back to more cheerful knitting matters…In time-honored tradition, I’ve managed to get a big, bulky, ludicrously warm pullover completed—just in time for the warm weather! I’m going to have to put it away for the season, as we are having a freakishly early spring.

The details are out on my Ravelry page:

http://ravel.me/PBELKNAP/9bndpfw

I used a Pure and Simple pattern, which was just that—Pure and Simple! It was a lot of fun to knit, and so easy that I was able to bring it anywhere as a KIP project. I used Misti Alpaca Chunky yarn. Normally, if I’m making a garment for just myself, I tend to go cheap. In fact, with the amount of scraps and stray balls in my stash, it’s almost time for another “Stash Sweater.” Come to think of it, if I modified the Pure and Simple pattern I just used for worsted weight yarn, I could probably use it for the next Stash Sweater. But, I digress. As you saw in a previous post, the day our LYS was having a major sale, friends talked me into taking the rubber band off the money and splurging on Misti Alpaca instead of my usual mainstays Plymouth Encore or Cascade 220 (or if I’m feeling really cheap, Patons Classic Wool, but only if it’s on sale at Michaels that week).

Misti Alpaca was great to work with! I found I got a firmer knit with a 10½ needle, so I slightly modified the pattern, adding on a few more extra stitches to make it roomy enough. The wonderful thing about a top-down sweater pattern is that you can continuously try on the sweater as you go, adjusting for size/length.

Note to self: It DOES freak out members of the household when you try on a sweater with the double-pointed needles still attached to the sleeves…

In Praise of the Lowly Garter Stitch!

I found myself today at the doctor's office. We won't dwell on the utter pain in the nether regions it is to drive down to Hartford, find a spot in the hospital ramp garage, and then sit around for ages, waiting for my doctor. He's an absolutely wonderful neurologist, but today he was running woefully behind schedule...

Anyway, I had brought (yet another) Special Olympics scarf to work on (thank heavens, as I definitely had the TIME). I decided to use up the last remaining yarn by doubling it and making my infamous "Scarf from He**" which can be found at:

http://wildknitter.blogspot.com/2011/04/scarf-from-he-finally-done-pattern.html

I have to say, it looks really nice in red and blue--I figure I'm going to trim it in the red.

ANYWAY, I was happily knitting away when a woman came into the doctor's office and remarked favorably on my scarf. Immediately, instead of simply thanking her, I had to launch into a lengthy dissertation to defend my choice of garter stitch. "Really," I declared, "I'm really capable of much more complicated work! I can cable and everything! I make socks, too! I'm just doing this because I knew it would be a quick knit..." I went on and on.

Afterwards, I had to stop and consider. WHY am I defending my great love of garter stitch??? I know it's the stitch of grade-school children, but it's also the basis for Sally Melville's The Knitting Experience Book 1: The Knit Stitch, Inspiration & Instruction. I think we can all agree that she turns out a mean pattern. I just love the soft, bouncy, squishiness of garter stitch. Blankets, scarves, and casual sweaters made from it are just so cozy. I love to make scarves where I stripe garter stitch vertically, which makes a nice effect. I'd love to try a log cabin afghan someday, as that's more garter stitching!

So, what is your favorite knitting stitch, and why?

P.S. I was mortified to find that if you Google "Scarf from he**" and "WildKnitter" my pattern comes right up...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Hectic Holidays

I find, every year, that this is a season of hustle and bustle—that has NOTHING to do with the usual holiday preparations people make.

Never mind the tree-trimming, wrapping, cooking, baking, etc. If you are a crafter of any kind, this is the time of year where stringent deadlines MUST be met. Knitted and crocheted items must be finished, washed, blocked, and, in some cases, shipped to other parts of the country. I have three things I’m frantically trying to complete for this year.

1) I have a baby blanket and baby sweater I made for a coworker that needs to be washed and dried. I have to find some sort of box for this, wrap it, and then find out if we are doing a shower for my coworker or if I should just give this to her.  If this is the case, I need to find out her maternity leave date—unless I want to ship the entire thing to India.

2) I have an afghan knitted in washable wool that I need to toss into the machine and PRAY that it is indeed as washable as the label claims. It’s enormous, so I have to figure out somewhere to dry it, too. Then I have to find a suitable box, bring it to the post office, and hope it’s not too much money to ship to my niece.

3) I’m also engaged in selfish crafting. I’m finishing up a crocheted jacket that I’m hoping to have ready for the holidays. I’m still struggling to get the collar and button band crocheted correctly. You can’t tell from the picture (the model has long hair that is obscuring the collar), but it appears I’m supposed to be making a shawl collar. The pattern is a little fuzzy on how to go about this, so I’m actually winging it.

Next year, I plan to start this process in JANUARY…

Seriously, I’m the authority???

I don’t know about the rest of you, but since I’ve started knitting and crocheting in public (KIP or CIP), I’ve discovered an odd thing. People start to think of you as the authority on your craft.

Now, I’m not even close to being the authority. While I love to knit and crochet and love a good challenge (my next plan is to learn Entrelac), I’m far from being an expert. I have one friend who’s capable of not only knitting two sleeves at the same time using two circular needles—she’s capable of doing this and carrying on a conversation at the same time! I have as of yet to figure out how to knit garter stitch and talk, let alone anything else. I have friends who have mastered the art of felting, lace, and still others who are complete experts at stranded knitting. I can do these things, too, but there is usually a liberal use of life-lines, swearing, and honestly, I’ve only ever felted by accident.

In spite of this, I find I constantly have people approach me about knitting, like I’m some sort of ambassador the Kingdom of Yarndom. I’ve had people come up to me at doctor’s offices, Starbucks, support groups, work—work is the funniest. One time, a manager burst into one of my work meetings, clutching a granny square afghan. She spread it out on the conference table, and asked, “Why is this CROOKED?” Just recently, one of my coworkers asked if it would be possible for me to teach her how to knit. Right now, I have her checking the needles she bought for size, so that I can bring in suitable yarn for her. One person came up to me yesterday, wanting to know how to sew knitted sweater pieces together.

In some cases, it doesn’t even matter if they’ve seen me KIP—sometimes, the people are complete strangers who just happen to have heard about me through a coworker or friend.

Now, if I could just figure out how to make money from this…

Knitting, Crocheting, and “Snowpocalypse”

Last Saturday, we in New England were all hit by Storm “Alfred.” What started out as a freak snowstorm, where we thought the worst would happen was that we’d have to shovel our way out of 8” of snow, quickly turned into a nightmare. Due to heavy snow on limbs still covered with leaves, several of our trees came down; along with enormous pine branches (we have 100-foot pine trees on our property). The entire night you could hear popping and cracking up in the trees as more and more debris rained down onto the house. About two hours into the storm, we lost our power—which means we lost our electricity, our heat, and our running water.

The next morning we ventured outside and found that our two beautiful trees in the front yard were decimated to the point where there’s hardly anything left but the trunks. The ENTIRE front yard was filled with debris. Dogwood trees came down in the backyard, and again, the entire area was covered with branches and limbs. The roof was covered, to the point where I couldn’t tell the people at CL&P whether or not our electrical wires were still attached to the house. It was the sort of fall-out that we couldn’t possibly clear out ourselves, but would need professionals ($$$).

Despite all this, we count ourselves lucky in that a) we were unhurt, and b) the house and cars were fine. We STILL don’t have power, but there is a shelter in town where we can get warm, charge up things, get coffee, etc. The seniors in town are bunking there overnight.

An odd thing happened…I didn’t want to knit or crochet. I’m not sure why this is. It might be because I usually do my yarn work with others, and that was impossible, as NO ONE had power, and certainly not the usual hangouts at which we congregate. My other favorite thing is to knit or crochet in front of the TV (out of the question), or listening to a podcast (I couldn’t waste the battery power on my Blackberry listening to podcasts). Also, everything I’m working on, except for the socks, is sort of complicated, which means I can’t work under low light, and I didn’t feel like doing the socks—too boring.

Also, I think I was (and still am) in a state of shock. At most, in the past, we’ve lost power for a day or two—not SEVEN, and we’ve never had the house and yard in the kind of shape they’re in.

I’m hoping to get back to normal yarn work next week, when (hopefully) we’ll have power and things will be (quasi) normal again.

Helpful Hint #20: Simple projects don’t necessarily require a pattern

I had a spiritual awakening the other day.

Once again, we have a coworker who is showing every sign of having a little bun in the oven. I’d love to knit her a baby blanket, but in keeping with my earlier post, I really want to make a very SIMPLE baby blanket this time around. I stumbled upon a blanket online that completely meets my needs–Stockinette Stitch with a Seed Stitch border. It looks like one can just either knit two worsted weight strands together or use a bulky yarn. It’s just PERFECT.

I remembered that I had this pattern in a booklet at home, but after scouring my entire book and pattern collection (this took a while); I came to the conclusion that I must have either tossed it out with the recycling or accidentally given it away with all my old knitting and crocheting magazines. I contemplating spending more $$$ to buy another one…but then I had my spiritual awakening. Wait for it…wait for it…

IT’S A RECTANGLE.

The way I figure it, I usually knit 2.75 per inch in Stockinette Stitch for worsted weight yarn, using Size 13 needles, and 2.75 x 30 = 82.5. Therefore, I’ll need to cast on 82 stitches for a baby blanket that’s 30 inches wide. Actually, to account for the differing Seed Stitch gauge, I will just cast on 8 less stitches (74), do 10 rows of Seed Stitch, and then add the 8 stitches evenly across the row when I get to the Stockinette section with 5 Seed Stitches on either side. I’ll keep going until I get to around 38–39 inches, then decrease 8 stitches evenly across the row before I do another 10 rows of Seed Stitch. DONE.

As far as colors go, I may go crazy and buy more yarn, or I may just take yarn I already have and mix and match for stripes.

There. I just saved myself money on a booklet that I’m probably going to find again someday when cleaning…

Helpful Hint #19: Lifelines...not just for lace

I discovered the "life" saving value of a lifeline the time I was knitting the Estonian Lullaby Baby Blanket (pattern here:  http://www.fibertrends.com/product/149447/CH41/_/CH41_Estonian_Lullaby_Baby_Blanket). It's a beautiful pattern, but I was fairly new to knitting, so I was just mortified when I had to rip back several rows because I had made a major mistake further down the blanket. It was even MORE mortifying when I had to then put all those stitches back onto the needle. It wasn't very long after this that my yearly eye exam revealed that I needed reading glasses. Coincidence?

Anyway, a friend suggested that I use a lifeline for the rest of the project. For those who do not know, a lifeline in knitting is a long piece of yarn that you thread through the live stitches on your needle for a row. It doesn't affect the gauge (I usually use a much thinner piece of yarn than the working yarn). The beautiful thing is that if you make a mistake, you can just rip out the knitting down to that row, and then easily thread those stitches off the lifeline back onto your needle. After you've completed your project, you can then gently pull the lifeline out. No more picking through the knitting, using a crochet hook to pick up all the stitches that you're trying to get back onto the needle, because of course they've dropped--cursing and swearing the entire time.

People usually associate a lifeline with lace, but you can use it for any complicated knitting pattern. In choosing a row for your lifeline, it's best to pick one from which it's easy to start over, say Row 1 of an 18-row repeating pattern. For instance, if you have to rip back any cable pattern, it's almost impossible to figure out how far down "Row 1" is, I don't care how easy the repeat. Ditto for any "holey" pattern or any complicated repeating pattern.

Happy Knitting!

Helpful Hint #18: It's not a mystery novel...read the pattern through!

Stop me if you've read this before:

"k2,p2,k2tog..."

Then the next row:

"k2, p3, p2tog..."

THEN you read:

"At the SAME TIME" or "Concurrently"...

...and then you throw the pattern across the room and scream a bunch of bad words that would have gotten your mouth washed out with soap, once upon a time (some of us are older knitters than others).

We knitters and crocheters have all, at one time or another, been zapped by "simultaneous instructions." A very common place for this is in a pattern where you are making a sweater or a vest with a V-neck, where you are supposed to be decreasing for the set-in sleeve and for the neck at the same time.

This is why it is always best to read a pattern from beginning to end before you start. Some crafters are of the mindset that this will only overwhelm you and make you less apt to persevere. My feeling is that if you read ahead you can be alerted to:

a) Those pesky concurrent instructions.

b) Any stitch patterns you are unfamiliar with.

c) Where you are supposed to change yarns, if applicable. In other words, do you need to buy ALL the yarn at the beginning of the project, or is the pattern going to go on and on with the "MC" for 14 inches? This may necessitate multiple trips to the yarn store, but this is only to the good...

d) Any other odd instructions. Now is probably the time to know if you are going to need to felt the item (some of us would need further instruction on this).

Now, get reading!

Helpful Hint #17: Wearables—aim for complimentary over complex

You know how it is. Some book, magazine, or on-line pattern comes out, touting some new knitting or crocheting technique. You get excited, thinking “WOW! I can make an entire sweater using Bavarian crochet!” Sometimes it’s a tried-and-true older technique.

Before you get too crazy, you need to step back from the yarn and implements. You need to THINK.

I found out a while back that it’s possible to knit an adult-sized “Baby Surprise Jacket.” Upon an honest, searching, and fearless appraisal, I decided that—while I thought the IDEA of an adult-sized “Baby Surprise Jacket” was really awesome and would probably be fun to knit—there was no way I’d look well in multi-directional stripes, especially seeing as the horizontal stripes fall at the hips. I don’t think I know anyone who would look well in multi-directional stripes, except maybe a Size 4 model, or the baby for whom the sweater was originally designed.

Ditto with any other unusual sweater design. I fell in love with the “Spoke” sweater from Knitty when it came out. I’m sure it would be a wonderful and challenging pattern to knit, but really, I’d look like a moose. I also have a granny square sweater in my Ravelry queue that I’m probably never going to make, for the same reason. I think the idea of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s “Hurry-Up Last Minute Sweater” is a cool concept, but again, I’m guessing that a man would look better in this than a woman—probably a male model.

So, the next time you see some fascinating wearable design—THINK before you cast or chain on!

Helpful Hint #15: Presents—Ask before executing!

Now a word about presents—specifically, knitted and crocheted presents. Actually, this applies to any craft present upon which you have devoted hours upon hours of your free time—forsaking food, sleep, and bathing in some instances—to get it completed by the appointed due date. For us procrastinators, this would be Christmas Eve, the night before the wedding, as the baby is being born, etc.

Always, ALWAYS, check first to see if the recipient is interested in a handmade item. Over the years, I have heard horror stories about people who suffered terrible disappointments over the reception of their present. One woman I met once told me that she had sweat blood for SIX MONTHS making a shawl for her prospective daughter-in-law. She triumphantly presented the finished item to her at the bridal shower. The bride-to-be’s response? “I’ll never wear anything like that!” Another friend of mine once found a handmade item in the local thrift shop. Yes, you guessed it…she had given the item to someone several months back.

I find the best thing to do is to either wait until someone requests something, or just ask. It is better to find out ahead of time that either the person would LOVE something handcrafted by you; or, frankly, they’d rather have a Playstation.

Then I go into Business Analyst mode. I ask them what they would like for colors, how large or small they want the item (“blanket” usually means “afghan” – check, to make sure they don’t want something large enough to cover the bed), what type of fiber (some people do not want wool in any form, other people would sooner pet a live tarantula rather than touch acrylic), etc. Just ask anything that occurs to you, no matter how trivial. Clarify statements like, “I want the colors mixed in together.” This could mean they want a variegated yarn, or they want big blocks of color or stripes—you just don’t know until you ask.

Then go for it! I’ve had very good results sticking to the above technique, so much so that one person has asked me for more than one thing…LOL!

The Quick and Dirty iPad Cover - Free Pattern

If you went wild and crazy and bought an iPad for yourself or a loved one (as in my case), and you suddenly realize you should have bought a cover (you thought that rolling, accordian thingy Apple promotes for the cover would suffice), and UPS is due at your front door ANY TIME NOW, then you need a quick and dirty iPad cover that can be whipped up in no time:

Quick and Dirty iPad Cover

Measurements:  8" wide x 11” long

Gauge:   12 stitches = 3” in garter stitch.  Row gauge is not critical.

Materials: 

2 skeins of Plymouth Encore Worsted in #0848, or color of preference

Needles:  Size 13 (9 mm) needles

2 buttons, size 7/8”

Stitch explanation:

Garter St Patt

Row 1 (RS): Knit across.

Patt Row: As Row 1.

Seed St Patt
Row 1 (RS):  *k,p; rep from * across
Row 2 (WS):  *p,k; rep from * across
K2tog:  knit two together
SSK:  Slip, slip, knit.  Slip first stitch as if to knit, slip second stitch as if to knit, then return both stitches to left needle and knit them together through the back loop.
Inc:  knit through the front and back of stitch 

NOTE:  You will be knitting holding two strands of yarn together.

Begin:

Cast on 22 stitches.

Rows 1 – 5:  Seed St

Row 6:  inc 1, k across, inc 1 on last stitch.  24 stitches.

Row 7:  k

Continue in garter st until the article measures 20.5 inches from the edge.

Next row:  k2tog, k across to the last 2 stitches, ssk the last two stitches.  22 stitches.

Next 2 rows:  Seed St

Next row (button hole row):  K5, k2tog, yo,k8, yo, ssk, k5

Next 2 rows:  Seed st

Cast off in pattern.

Fold the article over (Button Holes on top) and sew up the sides.  Sew buttons into place.

Helpful Hint #13: Keep your supplies organized!

The other day, I decided to make something that required doubling up worsted weight yarn—which in turn required Size 13 knitting needles. My original idea was to do the project in the round, but using a 16” circular wasn’t going to cut it. I dove into my under-the-bed bin to search for my #13 dpns (double-point needles). Yes, you guessed it…I couldn’t find them! I rooted around in the bin for ages. I found every other size dpn in creation, in every conceivable material (wood, bamboo, aluminum, etc.), but NO SIZE 13s! I ended up having to go with Size 13 straights and just knit the project in a different way.

This brings me to my hint: For God’s sake, organize your supplies!

This is a clear-cut case of “Do as I say, not as I do.” I have my circular needles in my closet in one of those hanging organizers, I have my yarn grouped according to quality (nice yarn in one large bin, rot-gut acrylic in another), and all my crochet hooks are in a special pouch I crocheted. My straight needles and dpns, however, are in a haphazard MESS in one of the bins. The best thing I could probably do is to find containers for the straights and dpns, and perhaps rubber-band needles together so that I don’t keep ending up with one size 8 and one size 13.

Finding the time for this is another matter…

Helpful Hiint #12: UFOs…frog or finish!

Okay, this is clearly a case of “Do as I say, not as I do.” Seriously, though, UFOs (Unfinished Objects) are a sad reality in craft-dom. We start out a project with the best of intentions. We spend oodles of money on the yarn (the LYS was having a sale—$100—a bargain!), we scour the earth for the perfect pattern, we spend MORE money on just the right needles, we cast on or make the starting chain, and then—   

Well, there are many reasons why a project becomes a UFO. It could be that:

1. You suddenly needed to make something else for someone’s shower (people always seem to be breeding), tossed this project aside, and just never got around to it again.
2. You quickly discovered that the stitch pattern is almost impossible for you to master, short of an advanced degree from MIT.
3. Partway through, you discovered that the item is just NOT going to be quite what was advertised—that model looked WAY better in that sweater than you ever will, even if you go on a crash diet.
4. You ran out of yarn and not only can’t you find the same dye lot again—you can’t find the same COLOR period because it’s been discontinued! 

This (d) happened to me recently (okay, months ago) with the Granny Stripe Afghan. Patons no longer makes one of the colors I was using. So, I’m faced with my own helpful hint. I need to either find the other yarn colors and at least crochet up to the point of the missing color, and just have the item be a Granny Stripe Shawl instead of an afghan; or I need to just rip out the whole thing and use the yarn for something else.

I need to do this soon as UFOs do have a tendency to haunt you…and they DO attract MORE UFOs!