Tag Archives: knit

Ladders

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6

In all my knitted items in-the-round I have never, ever had ladders between my needles.

Not a knitter?  A ladder is what happens to the stitches on the ends of each double-pointed needle when the tension changes. It shows up between your double-pointed needles looking like a dropped stitch.  Click here for ways to avoid this.

henrys-hat-ladder-2

I’m not sure what happened this time except that I was using three needles and the working needle instead of four and not pulling the second stitch on the needle as tightly as I should have while I was knitting.  Plus this is knitted inside out and the laddering occurred in the purl section so it wasn’t as noticeable to me.

henrys-hat-ladder-1

So the hat will be ripped out until I get to the purl section and I’m either going to use four needles and a working needle or switch to a short circular needle.

What’s your trick to avoid ladders?

My Advent calendar

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Mr. Aitch surprised me with my own Advent/Christmas Wishes calendar.

advent-2016-001

What could it be?

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Hmmm…from Paintbox Yarns.*

advent-2016-003

Day 1…

advent-2016-004

10 grams (31 yards) of Soft Camel DK yarn.  How sweet!

*I received no compensation from Paintbox Yarns.

Stash busting again

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Ten years ago I received this yarn as a Christmas gift from someone in my office.  She knew I wanted to try felting and this yarn is great (so I’ve heard) for felting.

lopi-004

I bought a new winter coat this year and it’s not my usual red or green.  It’s called Marigold (source).

marigold-coat

Anyway I need a new hat and purse to go with this unusual (for me) color.

lopi-001

My green and blue hat just doesn’t look that good with this golden-yellow.

lopi-002Nor does my Ruby and Charcoal purse I made several years ago.  Plus it’s just too small!

lopi-003

After swatching the Lopi and holding it against my skin, it’s too scratchy for a hat but it will make a perfect purse.  I only have 320 yards so I hope I have enough for something felted that won’t be too small.

And it’s only one color.  It’s a BIG no-no to mix different brands of yarn when felting so if I want another color, I’ll either have to dye this or find it in a different color…and since that yarn is discontinued, finding some might be difficult.

No specific pattern yet for the purse.  Any suggestions?

Care and feeding

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A few years ago the choir members at Mr. Aitch’s church gifted him with a beautiful sweater, tie and dress shirt.  The dress shirt is 100% cotton and not the wrinkle-resistant kind of cotton.

Though I appreciate the gesture, I do not like the extra work involved.  I have a love-hate relationship with that shirt.  It takes me twice as long to iron it than any of the other shirts.  And I don’t mean a quick press or touch-up.  I mean IRON.  As in dampening the shirt and using spray starch.  I really dislike the care and feeding of that shirt but it does look so nice when I’m finished with it and Mr. Aitch wears it.

Finding the right yarn for a project also means looking at the care and feeding of the finished item.  Acrylic?  No problem.  Cotton?  “Most” of the time it can be machine washed BUT dried flat after reshaping.  Wool?  Depends on if it is superwash or not.  Superwash can be machine washed and dried but best to dry flat after shaping.  Not superwash wool?  Hand wash gently in cool water, roll in a towel to get as much water out, reshape and dry flat.  Of course ALWAYS check the label to see how to take care of the finished item(s).

So when I needed a superwash wool yarn for my special project, I had to go out and buy some as I know the recipient (and his wife) would appreciate an easy care item over a handwash item.

I always include care and feeding instructions with my handmade things be them knitted or sewn.

cheers-to-you-mitts-001

Do you take those into consideration when gifting something you’ve made?