Tag Archives: knitting

Repair or replace

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Slippers-1I don’t remember when I started wearing these slippers.  Three, four, five, or more years ago.

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Well worn, they are.

 

 

The soles have holes.

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The toes have holes.

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The heels have holes.

 

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My aunt has a pair of pajamas that have been patched and repaired so many times I don’t think any of the original fabric is there any more.

I must confess that I have repaired the toes of these slippers several times.  The one heel is in pretty bad shape.  I’m not sure if that part can be salvaged.

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I just happen to have three new pairs sitting in my stash…

At what point do you repair or replace?

DPN substitution

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I have some last-minute knitting (as usual) to do before Christmas.  This morning before I left for work, I grabbed a bag of yarn and double point knitting needles to knit a small bunny.

Only the knitting needles that were in the bag of yarn (US 5) were not the size needed (US 1).

So I had to substitute with what I had.

Mini-bunnyCable needles.  And they were the correct size albeit shorter than I like.  Only four inches in length.  Fortunately it’s a small knit and I’m managing.

 

Progress, sorta

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My Bacardi Cardi is a slow go.  I’ve got seven different balls of yarn tethered to my needles at all times.

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I’ve done a lot of Fair Isle knitting before but not with so many different colors of yarn at the same time.

It took a full seven minutes to untangle the mess last evening before I went to bed.  Granted I was tired.  And frustrated.

Do you have a secret for keeping things neat and untangled when you do Fair Isle knitting?  Please share in the comments.  Or commiserate with me.

Bacardi Cardi

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I knew I wanted to knit this sweater the very first time I laid eyes on it.  In 2007.

(c) Barbara Gregory

(c) Barbara Gregory

This sweater was the reason I bought the book: No Sheep for You by Amy Singer.

No Sheep for You

I loved everything about it.  Colors.  Style.  Over-all look.  And the name: Bacardi Cardigan

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The original yarn was not available anymore when I decided it was time for me to knit.  So I had to find a substitute.

I checked out the various projects on Ravelry to see what yarn other knitters used and narrowed it down to one.

With six different colors of yarn required I knew I had to be budget conscious.  My LYS was having a 20% off sale store-wide.  Yes!  They carried the Cascade Ultra Pima that I wanted to use.  I’ve knit with this yarn before and it is divine.

But my plan quickly vanished when they had only one of the six colors I needed.

Yes, the LYS could order the colors I wanted but the policy in the past was that I would have to buy all 12 skeins/hanks/balls per color as they did not want to be stuck with weird colors.   It’s a small store and while I understand that policy, (in my opinion) it’s a dumb one.  The owner was not available to question the policy so I decided to search throughout the store hoping I could find yet another substitute.  I found many yarns that I could use.  Not in the right colors for me.  Or way out of my price range.

Back to the drawing board.

Wait.  Someone used Drops Muskat.  After some quick (or not so quick) math, I figured out what  amounts I would need and the colors.  And it all came in under budget!  I wasn’t sure about two of the colors so I bought enough of each to make that decision when I saw them together with the rest of the colors.

I’ve never ordered yarn on-line before as I like to use all my senses, well, maybe not taste, when I buy yarn.  It was a giant step for me to go ahead with it.

The yarn was shipped on a Thursday and arrived the following Monday!  Fast, fast, fast turnaround.

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I love the feel, smell, sight, and sound of the yarn.

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I love the colors though if I had seen them in person, I might have chosen a lighter yellow.

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What I bought will work for sure.

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From the top and going clockwise: Warm Yellow #51, Light Olive #45, Apple Green #53, Light Beighe #61, Yellow #30, Dark Olive #44, and Khaki Green #77.  I can’t decide on whether to use the light olive…

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…or the bluer khaki green.  Color in the photo is off.

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Khaki green

Either one will look great.  The warm olive will play off the other warm colors.  The cooler khaki green will add another dimension.

What’s your opinion?

I have other knitting to do before I can get started on this.  In the meantime I might just go ahead with some mindless knitting swatch knitting so when I am ready to go, that part will already be done.

I can’t wait to get started!