When it All comes together

 Elizabeth Zimmermann, Andrew Wyeth, Betsy Wyeth, Mary Landa and an unknown shepherdess during the 2024 New York Sheep and Wool Festival, oh and me

I love it when seemingly random things or people come together harmoniously giving inspiration.

I stumbled upon and took a picture of the scene of a shepherdess and her sheep during the NY Sheep and Wool Festival just a couple of weekends ago.  The feeling of the scene was so serene and it drew me in emotionally.  

It made me think of Andrew Wyeth’s painting “Arctic Circle” of his curator Mary Landa wearing a hat she knitted following Elizabeth Zimmermann’s directions for the Maltese Fisherman’s Hat while Andrew Wyeth was wearing his own Maltese Fisherman’s Hat which his wife Betsy had knitted for him.

I came across the pattern and the story when I had borrowed the book “ The Opinionated Knitter” from my local library to find the pattern for her Baby Surprise Jacket.

Ever since then I have been wanting to give that hat a go, especially since I had some suitable wool in my stash.

And here is the result.  A very wam hat which may become my go-to this Winter.

Check out my project notes on ravelry for more information.

And before anyone says it:  yes, the shepherdess does not wear a Maltese Fisherman’s Hat ( maybe I should knit her one).

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Strickliese/maltese-fishermans-hat-wg08-so9

#sheepandwoolfestival #rhinebecksheepandwool #ez #zimmermann #Maltese #fisher #maltesefishermanshat #maltesefisherman #andrewwyeth #wyeth #y #betsywyeth #marylanda

HOT OFF THE NEEDLES

 HOT OFF THE NEEDLES and I am stoked!

Rocky joggers by Tin Can Knits; now all that’s missing is the diaper bum to put in these.

This was a surprisingly fast and fun knit.

A few steps when I veered off the instructions:

1) Cast on. Instead of a provisional cast on, I used two circular needles and cast on with Judy’s magic cast on , just like I do for toe-up socks.  This made it easier and quicker to work the joining round later.

2) I worked the increases M1L,…., M1R for the crotch.

3) I worked the two legs two at the same time.  Again, much as I do for socks, sleeves etc.

4) When I got to the ankle cuffs, I knitted one full round before continuing in a 1x1 ribbing.

5) Lastly instead of binding off loosely, I used Jenny’s stretchy bind off method.

You can find more detailed notes in my project on ravelry:

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Strickliese/rocky

This is such a fun knit, I am sure I will knit more of these.  TinCanKnits are one of my favorite patterns!

#rocky #maxandbodhiswardrobe #tin #a #tincan #tincanknits #baby #joggers #babyjoggers

Two sock stories

 I recently had two challenges with my sock knitting.

The first is the story of the socks which were too long and I amputated and re-knitted the toe.

SOME SERIOUS SOCK SURGERY 

or The Tale About the Socks which kept on going 🧦 

Who here remembers the socks I knitted while on a road trip?

Bonus points if you remember that I was worried about the length of the foot.

It is so easy to just keep knitting round and round while the wheels go round and round and the countryside flies by. Perhaps socks are not the best project to take on a road trip or at least it is best to keep checking and stop early on, in this case since they were toe-up waaay before the heel.

You would think I know by now since this is not my first pair ( more like my 47th!) 😂 

Anyway, I finished them, then had Julie try them on and yes, the foot was too long by about 14 rounds!

What to do?  

It takes 22 rounds to knit the toe, then add 14 rounds to that and I amputated the toe 36 rounds in from the top.

Then I picked up the underside of the life stitches to knit in the other direction and finish the socks as cuff down socks.

Meanwhile I unraveled the cut off toe parts , then soaked and dried the yarn to get out all the kinks.

Once the yarn was ready to be re-used I knitted the toes.  I doubled the yarn with re-enforcing yarn to give the toe some extra durability.

And voila, here they are hopefully the right length.  Easy peasy, right?!

It just shows, there is always a way to fix problems or mistakes and make things work; at least in knitting.  And perhaps also in life.

#sockknitting #socks #sock #sockschallenge #sockknittersofinstagram #fixingknittingmistakes #fixingknittingerrors #fixingknitting #fixingknittingdisasters #fixingknittingproblems #socksizing

And my other story is a about a pair of socks in super soft yarn which I started by knitting reinforced toes with two strands of yarn each from only three balls of yarn 🤯

Cats Cradle or knitting socks?

With all six gifts finished and waiting to be blocked, I started on a pair of socks in the scrumptious yarn my friend gifted me.  

Artyarns Cashmere Sock yarn in pink and gray; 67% Cashmere Goat, 25% Wool and 8% Nylon.

I wanted to make sure the toe box is nice and sturdy and used leftover yarn from a previous project, Emma‘s Yarn; 80% Merino Wool, 10% Cashmere Goat and 10% Nylon.

I also used an additional strand of reinforcing yarn ( Beilauffaden) by Regia.

Since I only had one ball of Emma left, I pulled yarn from the inside for one sock and from the outside for the other sock for TWO-AT-A-TIME.  

I also only had one card of Regia and halved that measuring the total length, then dividing it.

So,…are you still with me at his point?  I had a total of four strands, two for each sock with the added challenge of pulling two of the strands from the same ball of yarn 🤯 mind blowing 😆 

It really did feel like playing cats cradle, but I managed in the end.

The question remains:  why do I do this to myself? 

Have you knitted something in a more convoluted way than absolutely necessary?

#socks #sockknittersofinstagram #sockknitting #sockschallenge #sock #christmasinjuly

I ❤️ MATH

 

WIP WEDNESDAY /  I ❤️ MATH !!!

Educational post on yarn substitution.

The story:

I was given a big ball of yellow Malabrigo worsted weight yarn with the request for a hat.

We decided on a Fair Isle Hat ( yellow and blue) and very quickly settled on the Bernat Winter Weekend Knit Hat For Him by Yarnspirations.

The challenge:  

I did a deep dive into my yarn remnants and stash and thought about combining the Ullcentrum 2-ply Sport with Rowan Kidsilk Haze to get to the same weight.

How exactly do I do that?

I came across an article which explains it so clearly and logical that I wondered why I never looked at it this way before.  You basically calculate weight per one yard for the yarns in question and see how you can get to the same weight/ yard ratio.  In my case I would have had to combine two strands of the Rowan Kidsilk Haze with the Ullcentrum to get to the same weight as the Malabrigo.  Since I did not want to do that, I went back and looked some more and found the Tahki Yarns Chelsea Silk which comes to the exact same weight as the Malabrigo.

Problem solved, and it shows in the knitted hat how well these two work together.

Here is a link to the full article:

https://www.susannawinter.net/post/2019/12/20/math-for-knitters-knitting-with-yarn-held-double

And these are the yarns I had looked at:

A-  Malabrigo Worsted   210yd/ 100g

B- Ullcentrum 2-ply Sport 328 yd/ 100g

C- Rowan Kidsilk Haze. 229 yd/ 25 g

D- TahkiYarns Chelsea Silk  105 yd/ 50g

And last, but not least a link to my project on Ravelry:

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Strickliese/winter-weekend-hat-man

Shortening socks/ re-using yarn

 I think this is a worthwhile post on my blog as it can be looked up easily when you find yourself in a similar predicament.

It all started about 1 1/2 years ago when a fellow knitter mentioned that the most durable sock yarn has nettle in its fiber.  After some research I ordered Nettle sock yarn from “ ONION Knit” in a pretty blue.  I went through some trouble to combine different cabled designs in the leg of the socks to make them look special and hubby really liked them when they were done.  What I had not considered was that nettle does not stretch and the socks are not too comfortable for Tony.

He gave them back to me after trying for a year but not wearing them much and said that they are a tad tight and no stretch.

So, I took out 14 rows on the foot, Kitchener stitched the toe and foot back together in a yarn I will be using to knit Tony a pair of replacement socks.  Then, after getting the kinks ( stitch memory) out of the harvested yarn, I used it for the toes on a new pair of socks.  And just to make it interesting I am trying out a different heel construction.

The old pair, shortened now, fit me loosely and are nice for around the house or to use in my Wellingtons.

Here is a little photo tutorial, I compiled and links to both pairs of socks ( one of them still in the making).

I will have to take out a little less than 1.5 inches

Kitchener stitching the toe and the foot back together.

One sock done… and it fits.

On to the next sock.

After soaking the yarn ( over night) I am wrapping it loosely around a tin to dry.

Nice and smooth, ready for knitting.

Humble beginnings 🥰

Here is a link to the original blue socks:

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Strickliese/fish-lips-kiss-heel-18

And the socks I am knitting him now with the original yarn in the toe and a different heel construction  because I wanted to try something new, because yes, this is the 42nd pair of socks I am knitting.  😂 

https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Strickliese/hg-socks

Life after Covid

 I suppose it was only a matter of time to test positive for Covid, but it still took me by surprise.  After all, I had two vaccinations and a booster shot.  Without that it would most likely have been a worst experience, but even so it was a tough couple of weeks.

One of the hardest things for me was feeling extremely listless and sleeping a lot.  I had no desire to knit and at one point wondered if I ever would again.

My journey back

I finally picked up a crochet hook and crocheted a swiffer cover and then another. To crochet was somewhat easier at that point and especially easier to put down and pick up at random.

Then I read about a knitalong for a shawl, the January 2022 Neon Shawl KAL, and since I already had one skein of Merino Cloud, I started looking up on line which other multi color would go well with it.  My husband said he’d treat me to that second skein of yarn.  There was the first spark to knit again.  And so I went down the road to my LYS as soon as quarantine was over and had a look at the two colors I considered.  One just really popped next to the yarn I already had, the lemon slice and Mood ring seemed a match made in heaven. 

 And so I began again.  Within a couple of days I finished part one.

 Right away part two was emailed to me and after printing that out at my local library, I finished that rather quickly.  

This pattern was like medicine to me, it pulled me right back into knitting and the colors brought such joy just looking at them. Holding the yarn, was my lifeline.  That yarn is really nice to knit with!!!

Before I knew it, the shawl was finished and blocking.

So it took me just ten days from start to finish and Tony ( hubby) was a good sport and did two photo sessions with me, one in our backyard and one by the Hudson River. 

Well, Iris Schreier, the pattern designer, liked my photos so much that she shared them not only on ravelry but other social media ( Facebook and Instagram).  That in turn gave me a huge boost of confidence and put a smile on my face.

I am back now to knitting and giving lessons and the moderater of a knitting group on zoom just commented yesterday that I look like my old self again.

After all that I picked up a sweater again which I had started in October ( the Weekender Light in BT Loft) and started a baby blanket for a niece ( Honeycomb stroller blanket).

I hope that you ( the reader of my little story) can find inspiration in this that if you are going through any kind of blues, knitting can see you through it if you let it. 💖🥰 🙏🏻 

Let’s stay in touch

 

As you can see, I am not very active on my Blog any more, but please let’s stay in touch through my Page on Facebook.

I also always try my best to respond to emails or comments.

And of course for those of you who live close by, let’s get together for a lesson.  

It’s always fun to learn new things.