Smalltown, USA

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I live in Smalltown USA.

That fact really hit home the other day while I was mailing something at the post office.

The postal worker and another customer were admiring my Don’t Tread on Me purse that I made last year.

Customer:  That is a really cool purse.

Postal worker:  Yeah.  I really like it.

Me:  Thanks.  I made it.

C&Pw:  Really?  How did you do it?

Me: I knit it really big then I tossed it into the washing machine with hot water and it shrunk to this size.

Customer:  Did you mean to do that?

Me:  Yes, so that it would be a smaller size.

Customer:  Was it hard?

Me:  Not really.  The wool was a bit scratchy and that made it tough on my hands but it wasn’t that hard to knit.

Customer:  Oh, you could sell those.  I bet someone would buy it for $50.

Me:  Well, I have $70 in yarn and $5 in the hardware so if I were to sell it, I’d charge $500.  It was a lot of work and it’s lined, too.

Postal worker:  If you decided to sell them, then she (customer) and I would quit our jobs and come and work for you!

Me:  Or I could sell the pattern for $30 and wouldn’t have to do all that work.

Smalltown, USA

Blocking wires

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I’ve got another Spindrift Shawl completed.  Well, except for the blocking.

Why so knit another one so soon?  Well, I wasn’t all that pleased with the colors of first one.  One of the visiting twin granddaughters loves the rainbows and unicorns so I offered it to her at Thanksgiving.  Well, I can’t give one twin something without giving the other one so I had knit another Spindrift Shawl for her.  Only we’re calling them neck wraps instead of shawls.  Nine-year-olds don’t wear shawls.

I blocked the other Spindrift with pins.  Fun? Not.

I don’t have blocking wires to help with that process but understand how useful they are.  Blocking wires are thin wires threaded through an edge stitch and making it easier to keep the edges straight during blocking, and allowing for fewer pins to shape the item.  Here is an excellent article explaining how and why this is done.

I have another shawl in my queue that I’ll talk about another time.  I’m not sure if I’ll knit any others later but I decided that want a set of flexible wires as they would be easier to store.  And blocking wires can be used on other knitted items, too.

So, when you block your knitted or crocheted items do you use pins, straight blocking wires or flexible wires?

Keeping it warm

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We’ve been experiencing a very, very cold spell on the east coast.  Our water pipes under the kitchen sink froze three four times and with the aid of a regular hairdryer, we didn’t have to call a plumber for burst pipes.  This issue was caused by a poor plumbing plan when our house was built. We know exactly where the pipes freeze and have tried to insulate that area but when the temperature gets below 15ºF and the wind blows, there is not much we can do other than be diligent…periodically run the water at that tap and keep the doors open under the sink so some warm air gets in.

We bought a new faucet when we remodeled our kitchen and it automatically shuts off after running for four minutes.  So we can’t just let the water drip all night.

If that fails, we get out the hairdryer and blast the frozen pipes with hot air.  That usually only takes a few minutes but it’s still not fun standing on a ladder, reaching into the wall cavity through the floor joists while finagling a flashlight and the hairdryer in the COLD basement wearing heavy gloves.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to the keeping warm part.

I am a tea/hot chocolate drinker.  My mornings usually consist of a cuppa tea in my new mug while leisurely reading email, blogs or doing a crossword puzzle. The only trouble with that is that the tea gets cold.

Yeah, I could get up and microwave it but I don’t want to.  Then I remembered I bought a teapot warmer several years ago.  I’ve used it in the past but out of sight, out of mind.

It’s a bit large for the mug but works just fine.  And with the little tea light, there is no need to drape an electric cord over the table.

 

I remember now

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The Bacardi Cardigan sweater is knit on circular needles though knit flat.  The reason is so the color changes don’t have to start and end on the same edge.  If the color you need is on the other side, just turn the work over and start knitting/purling from that edge. It can get tricky but it saves from weaving in hundreds of ends when finished.  And weaving in cotton yarn has challenges quite different from wool.  It’s slippery, doesn’t like to stay put and has a mind of its own.

I remember now why I put my Bacardi Cardi in hibernation.  Besides having six balls of yarn attached to the needles…

…the edges are wonky.

Some areas are nubby and the yarn doesn’t want to lay flat.

And the tension is too tight or too loose in places.

I think I must…

…rip it

and start over.

One plus is that I do have the correct gauge with US #5 needles even though I did knit a swatch earlier, it was good to know that the swatch didn’t lie.

I found a few videos on making a better selvage edge while carrying several colors of yarn that might be helpful.  I would need to add another stitch to each side but if it helps with that unevenness and bulk, it will be worth it:

  • This one is a great technique and is right to the point of what I was looking for.
  • Way #5 in this video.  This is the same technique as above and begins at 8:51 but watch the entire video if you want other to see other methods.

I also asked the designer, Barbara Gregory, for suggestions.  Her reply:

One suggestion for the edges is to occasionally work the first stitch of a row (preferably a row of a single color) with one of the yarns that is being carried up the edge. This stitch will not show once seaming and bands are completed, but it will anchor the carried yarn and help you to maintain the desired tension along that vertical edge.

 

My other thought regarding the edges is to do seaming and picking up of stitches for the band more than a single stitch in from the edge if necessary to get a clean edge.

So I’m ready to try this again!