Life has taken over.

 Life has taken over.  It’s the only excuse I have for not posting in the last 6+ months!  

Caring for my husband still takes up much of my day.  He has 1.5 more months of physical therapy to do, and even once he’s done, he still won’t be able to dress and get his prosthetic leg and brace strapped on by himself.  

As doing this requires many trips up and down off the floor and requires exertion to get the leg pulled up all the way onto the shrinker, it takes a bit too much energy from me, so we’ve begun to look into getting an aide for an hour or so every morning, to get him showered, dressed, and get his leg on.  At which point, he can get about using the walker, with the arm extensions I bought recently.  These should help him be more stable, as his hands are so twisted with arthritis, he can’t grab and hold onto anything easily any more.

Of course, the problem with getting an aide is that Medicare doesn’t cover it, and they all charge more per hour than I have been able to earn with my patterns and handspun yarns.  

But, to this end, I bought a used original Louet S10, which allows me to spin 200 g/7 oz skeins of my Falkland wool yarns, which turns out to have been a good idea – I’m finding that crafters are preferring the larger skeins.  

I just got in a new 29 lb. bump of wool top, which I’ll be spinning up, even as the warmer weather descends (causing sales to plummet).  I plan on weaving with my handspun, as soon as I can get to it, after an AC is installed upstairs, as that’s where the 45” floor loom now resides! 

As it’s May, I *want* to be outside working in the garden, as I couldn’t at all last summer, but I don’t have the luxury of using up my energy on gardening, not yet anyway, when I need to tend to his needs, which includes bringing him food, liquids, and pills 6x/day.  I am NOT a happy camper when I get overwrought from too much work!  Not the least because it makes it impossible to fall asleep, even with the plethora of things I take so I *can* sleep.  

But if I’m lucky, and we can find a reasonably priced aide to come every day, starting in June, it should free up some of my time, so I can re-mulch the beds, feed all the perennials, plant the tomatoes, and make the bamboo teepees for them.  And get to weave.  I’m 67, but I sure could use the energy I had when I was 37!  

Onward, to, hopefully, better times!
Dawn

Are We Having Fun Yet? Life Update

For those who aren’t already aware, my husband had a leg amputated, then spent a couple months in various rehab nursing homes, esp. as his remaining leg also needed some minor surgery, and has had wounds that are slowly healing, with the help of a leg vac.

We’ve been trying to simplify the day’s onerous demands on me, and have made some progress, but not nearly enough, for someone my age, with a heart condition and adrenal insufficiency.  

Doing absolutely everything for an invalid is exhausting.  Doing absolutely everything with a limited amount of energy means an unhealthily elevated HR and an inability to fall asleep, despite being well medicated.  8.28 weeks in and I’ve had it.  I’m ready to book a flight to somewhere beautiful and chill.

I’ve seen mention of resources for caregivers to manage their time and deal with feelings of guilt.  Ha.  I don’t believe in guilt – I’m just fed up with being exhausted from having to be on-demand from the moment I wake until I go to bed, trying to squeeze my basic needs into the time available.

It’ll be another 2 weeks before he sees the vascular dr., and *hopefully* gets the stump shaper, so he can *eventually* get fitted with a prosthetic leg.  

They give no timeline for this process – it goes on as long as it needs to, but *I* need a timeline.  I need to know when I can get some semblance of my life back.  In lieu of that, they can hurry up and get us an aide to take over the morning duties, as there’s way too much to do in the mornings, before I have the energy to do it.  

This wouldn’t be such a burden if he could just sleep closer to the time I get up (which is already earlier than I used to get up), but no, he’s awake up to 2 hrs earlier than me, so, delaying all the fetching and doing can’t wait.

I don’t like to gripe – it solves nothing – so, this is more for me than the few who might be reading this.  Sometimes I just need to say it or write it, to get it out of my body, even if it does still hang around in my psyche.

I should have some knitting pattern related news to relate the next time I post!  

Onward,
Dawn

Warm Wool Winter Slacks

   

 

In my previous post, I mentioned having begun a pair of bottom-up wool pants/slacks.  In this post, I’ll lay out the pattern, such as it is.  It’s really such basic knitting, that a pattern is almost not needed!

The legs are easily tried on for length and circ., and once the legs have been joined, the whole shebang can be tried on, if half the sts are first slipped to another long ckn.

As mentioned, I’ve used 3 different worsted wt. wool yarns.  

Materials
3 skeins YarnUndyed worsted/aran wt. non-superwash extra fine merino (A)

3 skeins Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted in Buckskin (B)

1 skein Kelbourne Woolens Germantown, in Pink (a salmony pink) (C)

The pants weigh 22.4 ozs. (635 g), not incl’g the tie.

Size 7 (4.5 mm) ckns (16” and 29-32”)
3 different color stitch markers
Stitch holders or waste yarn
Tapestry ndl
Length of t-shirt yarn – for the tie

Gauge: 5 sts and 7 rnds/1” in St st, and 6.5 sts/1”, in  k2, p1 rib, with size 7 ndls or size to give gauge.

Size: about size 8.

Finished Dimensions
Leg Inseam: 29”
Leg Circ. from Lower Edge to Mid-Knee: 17.5”
Circ. of Upper Thighs (mid-knee to crotch): 20”
Hips: 36”
Rise: 10”, measured along the front
Waist: 32”

Legs (make 2)
With C and shorter ckn, long tail CO 114 sts, place rnd marker.

Setup Rib: (K2, p1) around.
Work rib until 2” from CO edge.

Dec Rnd: (K2, k2tog)28x, k2 = 86 sts.

With B, knit 2 rnds.
With C, knit 2 rnds.

Rep last 4 rnds 3x more = approx. 4.5” from CO edge.

With B, knit 2 rnds.
With A, knit 2 rnds.

Rep last 4 rnds 16x more, then knit 2 rnds B = approx. 16.25” from CO edge.  

Try On: At any point, you can slip the sts to a long ckn and try the leg on, to make sure it has the amount of ease you desire.

Thigh Shaping
On the next rnd, with A, k1, m1, knit to end of rnd, m1 = 88 sts.
Work 11 rnds in est. stripe patt.
Rep last 12 rnds 6x more = 100 sts.

Try On: At this point, you can slip the sts to a long ckn and try the leg on again, to ascertain if enough sts have been inc’d.

Knit around in stripe patt for 20 more rnds, end after finishing the 2-rnd B stripe = 29” from CO edge, or knit to desired length.  Break both colors.

Crotch
Slip the first and last 10 sts of the rnd onto a holder or waste yarn.  Rep for the 2nd leg. The crotch sts will be seamed or 3-ndl BO, later.

On the next rnd, with B and the longer ckn, join yarn and knit around on the rem 90 sts, then knit the 2nd leg’s 90 sts onto the same ckn = 180 sts.

Hips
Knit around in stripe patt for 39 more rnds = approx. 5.75” from the crotch.

Waist Shaping
Place a different color stitch marker at the outer right hip (between sts 90 and 91), so that the front and rear each have 90 sts, to facilitate the waist shaping, as well as the short rows that need to be worked across the rear only.

Rnds still begin at outer left thigh.

Keeping to stripe patt, on the next rnd, k1, k2tog, knit to 2 sts before the next marker (at right hip), ssk, k1, k2tog, knit to 2 sts before the end of rnd, ssk = 176 sts.

Patt 3 rnds even.

Rep last 4 rnds 3x more, then rep the dec rnd with A, then knit 1 rnd in A = 160 sts, 8.75” from the crotch and has approx. a 32” circ.  Break A.  

With B, knit 1 rnd, dec 1 st = 159 sts.

Short Rows
The short rows will be worked within the ribbed waistband.  If working the pants in one color, the short rows could be worked earlier, if desired, at approx.   4 to 5” from the crotch.

Short Row 1
With B (k2, p1) all the way around to 3 sts before the first (rnd) marker at outer left thigh, W&T, rib to 3 sts before the marker at outer right thigh, W&T.

Short Row 2
Rib to 6 sts before the rnd marker at outer left thigh, W&T, purl to 6 sts before the marker at outer right thigh, W&T.

Rib 1 rnd, ending at the right hip marker, working the wraps along with their sts.

Short Row 3
Rib to 9 sts before the first (rnd) marker at outer left thigh, W&T, rib to 9 sts before the marker at outer right thigh, W&T.

Short Row 4
Rib to 12 sts before the first (rnd) marker at outer left thigh, W&T, rib to 12 sts before the marker at outer right thigh, W&T.

Rib 1 rnd, ending at the right hip marker, working the wraps along with their sts.

Short Row 5
Rib to 15 sts before the first (rnd) marker at outer left thigh, W&T, rib to 15 sts before the marker at outer right thigh, W&T.

Rib 1 rnd, ending at the right hip marker, working the wraps along with their sts.

At this point, the rear has 15 rows worked, while just 5 rows have been worked across the front = a 10 row (1.4”) difference in height.

Try On: At this point, you can slip half the sts to another long ckn and try the pants on, to see of you need more short rows worked.  

Eyelets for Waist Cord/Tie
Place the 3rd marker at center front, between sts 40 and 41.

On the next rnd (k2tog, yo, p1) to the center front marker, k2, then (p1, yo, k2tog) to the end of the rnd.

Work 3 more rnds in rib = a 11.75” rise at the rear and a 10.25” rise at the front.  BO in rib on the next rnd.

Finishing
To seam the crotch, you can either place the sts onto 2 ndls and work 3-needle BO from the WS, with B, or weave the 2 edges together.  By leaving a tail at the beg and end of your joining method, the tails can be used to sew up the gaps at both ends of the crotch seam.

Waistband Tie
When it comes to waistband ties, I have become very fond of this simple solution – just cut a length of t-shirt yarn, like Hoooked Zpagetti or Ribbon XL.  Thread through the eyelets, then tie a couple overhand knots into each end.  Every time I need to replace the tie in some sweat pants or PJs, a length of t-shirt yarn does the job, as it stretches so well!

Naturally, if you prefer, you can knit an I-cord tie or crochet a slip stitch tie.

Drops Nepal, in  a med. grey mix, is on its way to me, for a 2nd pair.  As it will mainly be in a solid color, I will likely work the short rows within the hip area.  Will post pics when they are done, although it will take quite awhile, as life, right now, isn’t allowing for hardly anything enjoyable, but that’s for another post, if I decide to actually post how I feel about the current situation.

Here's to somehow finding the time and energy to work on new knitting designs, or at least finish up the 4-design set I began last year!

Onward!
Dawn

This and That

I am nearing the end of the current spate of household projects.  8 of the 10 new LR and DR curtain panels have been shortened and re-hemmed, my bedroom curtains have been turned into Swedish blinds, another Swedish blind was made for the bathroom cabinet, and I revamped some disused curtains for the kitchen.

I still need to finish the last 2 curtains and sew new heat packs. But I needed a break from sewing, to re-knit several pairs of house socks that have worn out, and am knitting a couple/few more pairs, as I must have thick socks to wear around the house, but can run out of time as the holidays draw near.  

The re-knitting of socks seems to taunt me!  I get a pair re-knit, check that off the list, so I can get onto other work, then a week later, another pair needs re-knitting, then another.  It’s like laundry, cleaning, and cooking – they’re never done.

In between, I am trying to focus on knit designs, as I need some of them done, so I can get back to getting the floor loom put together and re-warped for the rest of the rugs I began  before the loom had to be dismantled and moved.

There’s 3 designs in the works with more to CO, which I won’t start until some of these projects are done and published.

After 30+ yrs of knitting socks, they are second nature to me, so sock knitting is a good way to fill the hours when I’m too tired to work on ‘real’ projects.  LOL, with everything I am responsible for, becoming too tired for ‘real’ work can sometimes be the rule, not the exception.  

Digression – I have recently taken notice of a well-known knit designer, who, in just 8 years or so has amassed hundreds of patterns, translated into a handful of languages.  

Granted, most of her work is uncomplicated stockinette, but I don’t know where she finds the time!  I’d love to be able to work full-time on my designs, whether knit, weaving, or spinning, but then nothing would ever get cooked or washed, as well as things done for hubby that he can no longer do.  I’d be lucky to have the time to squeeze in paying the bills and ordering ‘all’ the things we need ordered, and forget about having a garden!

Such production, and her massive popularity, has been making me feel small, like I’m wasting my time.  I don’t normally compare myself to others, eh, until now.  

I realize I am not her, I don’t have her life, and although a plain stockinette sweater or two are welcome additions to any wardrobe, I’d be bored to tears *only* making plain sweaters or plain anything.  I love cables and color patterns, especially the latter.  I need to honor that, and remember that.

Back to socks – the DK, worsted, and heavy worsted wt. socks last longer than the bulky wt. ones as I don’t wear them as often.  The bulky wt. ones give a nice padding underfoot, esp. on hard floors, so they wear out more quickly.

They can either be knit with a bulky wt. yarn or stranding a chunky wt. yarn (around 130 yds/100 gr), which gives the thickness of a bulky to SB wt., with even more squishy padding than when using a single yarn!  As with this latest pair of re-knit socks.  

I pulled out some old Cascade Yarns Pastaza and a skein of their Sitka, both discontinued, both soft singles, which one doesn’t ordinarily think of using in socks, but I thought, What the heck, I’ll try them together.  I chose the smallest possible stranding pattern of K1A, K1B, alternated on the following rnd with K1B, K1A, creating a tiny dice, and used US size 5 (3.75 mm) dpns, if I remember correctly, though it could have been US 4's.  Bad on me, I didn't keep notes.

 

 

Yes, I could have kept the pattern repeating the same rnd for stripes, but, as with heel stitch vs eye of partridge stitch, stranded stripes tend to pull in more than alternating the color placement on each rnd.

Thus far, they are soft, cozy, and warm.  They do pill, but I expected that.  We shall see how long they last.

Onward!
Dawn

Favorite Movies

 I thought I’d post all the movies I love, and have watched more times than I can recall!  These aren’t all the movies I’ve ever seen, of course, just the ones I enjoy re-watching.  I tend not to re-watch high drama or sad stories, much preferring comedies or romantic comedies.

In alphabetical order:

27 Days
84 Charing Cross Road
9 to 5

About Time
A Fish Called Wanda
A Good Woman
A Good Year
A Knight’s Tale
A League of Their Own
Always
Amadeus
Amelie
A Month by the Lake
An Affair to Remember
Anne of Green Gables (1985)
A Room with a View
Arsenic and Old Lace
Auntie Mame

Baby Boom
Back to the Future trilogy
Barefoot in the Park
Becoming Jane
Bed & Breakfast
Beetlejuice
Beverly Hills Cop
Big
Biloxi Blues
Blame it on Rio
Blazing Saddles
Blind Date
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Bringing up Baby

Caddyshack
Casablanca
Catch Me If You Can
Chances Are
Charade
Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)
Chocolat
Christmas In Connecticut
Christmas Vacation
City of Angels
Clara’s Heart
Clue
Clueless
Coco Before Chanel
Cold Comfort Farm
Cousins

Dangerous Liaisons
Death at a Funeral
Death Becomes Her
Defending Your Life
Dejå Vu
Demolition Man
Desk Set
Desperately Seeking Susan
Dirty Dancing
Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood
Doctor Zhivago
Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead

Easy Virtue
Eat Pray Love
Emma (1996)
Enchanted April
Erin Brokovich
Ever After

Family Stone
Father Goose
Feds
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Field of Dreams
Flying Down to Rio
Follow the Fleet
For Keeps
For Pete’s Sake
Foul Play
Four Weddings and a Funeral
French Kiss
From Time to Time
Funny Farm
Funny Girl

Gaslight
Ghostbusters
Gigi
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Gosford Park
Guarding Tess

Hannah and Her Sisters
Harry Potter (all of them)
Heartburn
Hello Dolly
He Said, She Said
His Girl Friday
Hope Floats
Houseboat
Howard’s End
Hysteria

Indiana Jones movies
I.Q.
Immortal Beloved
Indiana Jones (all 4 mvcies)
Inner Space
I Remember Mama
I Was a Male War Bride

James Bond movies (all of them)
Jewel of the Nile
Joy Luck Club
Julie & Julia
Jumpin’ Jack Flash
Just Like Heaven

Kiss Me Goodbye

Ladies in Black
Ladies in Lavender
Legally Blonde
Leap Year
Life with Father
Love Actually
Love Punch
Love’s Kitchen

Mamma Mia
Mannequin
Mansfield Park
Meet John Doe
Mermaids
Milk Money
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Mission Impossible
Miss Congeniality
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Mona Lisa Smile
Monkey Business
Moonstruck
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House
Mr. Lucky
Mr. Mom
Mrs. Dalloway
Mrs. Doubtfire
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Mrs. Miniver
Murder Ahoy
Murder at the Gallop
Murder by Death
Murder Most Foul
Murder on the Nile
Murder She Said
Murphy’s Romance
My Cousin Vinny
My Blue Heaven
My Fair Lady
My Favorite Wife
My Old Lady
Mystic Pizza

Nadine
Nanny McPhee
None but the Lonely Heart
Notorious
Notting Hill

Ocean’s Eleven
Ocean’s Twelve

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Out of Africa
Overboard

Peggy Sue Got Married
Penny Serenade
Persuasion
Peter’s Friends
Postcards From the Edge
Practical Magic
Pretty in Pink
Pretty Woman
Prime
P.S. I Love You

Radio Days
Rain Man
Raising Arizona
Real Genius
Remains of the Day
Roberta
Robin Hood Men in Tights
Romancing the Stone
Roxanne
Runaway Bride

Scrooged
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Seems Like Old Times
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Shadowlands (1993)
Shall We Dance
Shining Through
Shirley Valentie
Sister Act
Sixteen Candles
Sleepless in Seattle
Soap Dish
Something to Talk About
Somewhere in Time
Star Wars (ßoriginal trilogy)
Steel Magnolias
Stranger Than Fiction
Sunday in New York
Suspicion
Sweet Charity
Sweet Home Alabama
Swing Time

The Age of Innocence
The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer
The Best Years of Our Lives
The Big Chill
The Bishop’s Wife (1948)
The Breakfast Club
The Bridges of Madison County
The Color Purple
The Colour Room
The Devil Wears Prada
The Divorce of Lady X
The End of the Affair
The Favor
The Fifth Element
The First Wives Club
The French Lieutenant’s Woman
The Gathering Storm
The Gay Divorceé
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
The Goodbye Girl
The Help
The Holiday
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness
The Italian Job (2003)
The Lake House
The Last of the Blonde Bombshells
The Long Walk Home
The Love Letter
The Magic of Ordinary Dats
The Money Pit
The Notebook
The Odd Couple
The Pelican Brief
The Philadelphia Story
The Prince and I
The Prince and the Showgirl
The Princess Bride
The Proposal
The Quiet Man
The Red Violin
The Saint
The Talk of the Town
The Thin Man
The Thomas Crown Affair (1990)
The Trouble with Angels
The Trouble with Harry

The Way We Were
The Winslow Boy (1999)
The Winter Guest
The Women (2008)
Titanic
Tootsie
Top Hat
Trading Places
Troop Beverly Hills
Two If by Sea
Two Weeks Notice

Under the Tuscan Sun

Victor/Victoria

Waking Ned Devine
Weekend at Bernie’s
What a Girl Wants

What's Up Doc?
When Harry Met Sally
Where Angels Go…Trouble Follows
While You Were Sleeping
Who’s That Girl
Witness
Woman of the Year
Working Girl

Yentl
Young Frankenstein
You’ve Got Mail

Onward!
Dawn

Windows to the World

Now and then I’ve been looking online for fabric so to sew new living room and dining room curtains.  The rooms are open to each other, bisected by the upstairs staircase, so the rooms need coordinating decor.  The wine colored swag valances, which we’ve had since we moved in now remind hubby of a funeral home!  So, they need to go into storage, aka the too small linen closet.

We both like the Waverly Charmed Life and Rustic Life toiles, but I actually found it to be far less costly to just buy the curtain panels and tie backs, then the fabric, to sew them myself.

Amazon has the curtain panels reasonably enough.  As they didn’t have a 54” length, which we need to clear the top of the long radiators under the windows, I bought the 84” length, which I’ll trim and re-hem. This will also give me extra fabric for pillows and whatnot.

Caveat:  The listing says the color is cornflower.  It isn’t, it’s much closer to navy.  I have this toile in cornflower, which is much lighter.  The color isn’t what I prefer, but hubby doesn’t mind it, so I’ll live with it.

They are unlined, but a heavy enough fabric which doesn’t necessarily need lining.  So, I’ll press, cut and re-hem and hang them as they are, BUT, 4 of the 5 windows face south, with no trees out front to block any of the sun.  The 5th window faces west, so is only slightly less sunny.  Sun = fading. 

Even the curtains on the east-facing kitchen window and kitchen door window have all faded, and that’s just east light!  SO, one pair at a time will come back down and get a muslin lining.  It will be a less onerous task to tackle that project a bit a time instead of lining all 10 panels at this particular point in time.  Sewing is done in the dining room, which is warm in the summer with no AC in that room, so, small doses of working there is preferable.

As the sewing machine was coming out anyway, I figured I’d tackle all the other windows that needed a redo.

I began with the bathroom cupboard, which stores toiletries and medical supplies.  The sink is a pedestal, so there’s no built-in vanity to put all this stuff.  I’ve been wanting to make a Swedish blind for the cupboard for quite awhile, ever since I sewed new bathroom curtains and a shelf topper in this blue, white. and yellow plaid fabric.

So, this was the first project to get done.  Swedish blinds are great – they only need a face and lining fabrics not much wider than the window, which can contrast or coordinate, a couple of 1” plastic O or D rings, some cotton cord, a window cleat, and about a 1/2” dowel or scrap length of narrow wood for the bottom of the blind.  As the blinds use far less fabric than a pair of panels, they are less costly to sew.

Traditionally, the blinds were attached to a wood batten and secured to the top of the window frame, as shown in "Swedish Style" by Katrin Cargill.

I prefer something more impermanent, so I just hang the Swedish blind from a tension rod.  This makes it super easy to take down, vacuum or wash the fabric and cording.

The cotton cord on this blind, and the 2 coming up below, was some soft cotton 2-ply yarn I had no other use for.  I ran it through my spinning wheel, adding a lot more twist, then cabled it back onto itself.  Although I have some proper cotton cording, I find it to be rough on the hands.

Next up was revamping my bedroom curtains.  I sewed plain, lined panels with ties several/many? years ago, but not only did I get tired of tying the curtains up every morning, then letting them down at night, but, even with the double layers of fabric, they still let in too much light at this time of year.  

So, they came down, got washed and pressed, then cut down to size.  The face fabric then became the reverse side fabric, and I added a darker allover print to the face, then sewed tabs from the wide selvedge.  As we were all out of scrap wood or dowels, I temporarily used the rollers I saved from the old living room and dining room roller shades, when the vinyl went kaput and we needed to replace them.  

As you can see, I need to take the shade down and resew the tabs at the top that hold the 'O' rings.  I should have sewn the tabs down much closer to the rings, to the tabs don't pull over, as you can see in the photo.

I am seriously no fan of vinyl, and avoid it if I can, but I share the house with hubby who needs the living room as dark as possible at night, as he’s needed to sleep there since the first of the recent bout of surgeries, with more to come.

Next up is making new curtains for the kitchen, the toughest project, as the kitchen window is 70” wide x 33” deep.  This window needs a plain, light blocking panel that ties up at 2 places, as the window faces east.  All that light is far too bright in the morning, especially for someone (not me) who tends to wake with a massive headache.  So, it needs to tie up and then be let down at night.  It’s too wide a span to easily have a Swedish blind.

Whatever I sew for the window, though, also needs to coordinate with the kitchen door window and the valance for the sliding glass doors in the breakfast room.  LOL, all using just what I have on hand.

All for another post!

Onward!
Dawn

Who Did Do It?

In a recent post, I mentioned my January mini veg out, watching whodunits. To be specific, they’re mostly British mystery series.  I’m not an Anglofile, per se, but there’s just something about British productions.

Maybe it’s the real-looking people, who aren’t forced to be a size 0, and are pulled and lip-plumped to within an inch of their lives.  These same actors I’ve seen over and over in various series since the ‘80s.  Maybe it’s the acting.  I really think, though, good acting is only half the job – it’s the writing and directing that make for a really good series.  If only Hollywood was more British in their approach to television!

I’m sure you all know about these, but I just thought I’d list all the mysteries I so love to watch.  Maybe you do too, and will see something new to enjoy.

Inspector Morse.  I’ve loved, and watched the series *so many* times since 1987, and used to hum the entire Barrington Pheloung Morse theme song, to my husband’s amazement.

Then came, in more or less descending order:
Poirot, another long-time fav
Foyle’s War
Marple
Midsomer Murders
Father Brown
Inspector Lewis
Inspector Lynley
Endeavour
Sherlock
Death in Paradise
Zen (because Rufus Sewell is just so handsome!)
Rosemary & Thyme
Pie in the Sky
Murder in Provence
Shakespeare & Hathaway
Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

and very recently added these:
Magpie Murders
Vienna Blood
Unforgotten
Professor T
Annika
Miss Scarlet and the Duke

In scanning my Watchlist, it’s amazing how many *other* British productions I also return to again and again.

If you’re also into legal shows, I recently re-watched The Good Wife, which I hadn’t seen in years, and the sequel, The Good Fight - both excellent!

Happy Viewing!
Dawn

Lip Balmed!

Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity, as hubby had a doctor’s appointment 2 hrs away, which meant that I could make hay while the cat was away (I know, one of my mixed metaphors!) Many chores got tackled, including the making of lip balm.

I no longer need body moisturizer, since switching to Dr. Woods coconut milk soap, but lip balm I use all the time.  I had been using Sierra Bees lip balms, which are inexpensive enough and organic.  But with 2 empty tubes, I decide to Google to see if they are recyclable. I used to toss empty tubes into the recycling bin, but if hubby’s around, he catches me out on what can actually be recycled, as I want to toss *everything* into recycling.  So, this time, I decided to check first.

It turns out there’s apparently 200 million lip balm tubes removed to trash each year, as the tubes are too small - they clog up the machinery.  Egads.  So, these tubes will get reused until they no longer work properly.

I then checked online DIY recipes.  I had made a small batch years ago, which was also just about used up, but I’d forgotten how much of what I had used.  I do remember that the recipe was a bit of a hassle.

One recipe was super simple - 1 TBL each of shea butter, coconut oil, and beeswax into a microwaveable container, stir, then pour into jars or tubes.  Other recipes used cocoa butter instead of shea, some added raw honey, many added essential oil for scent/flavor, one recipe used a double boiler, but using the microwave makes it a quick process, with far less clean up.

As I was out of shea butter, and I have no sweet almond, avocado, or jojoba oil on hand, I substituted 1 TBL of grapeseed oil which I do have, but the mix ended up too oily - it wouldn’t set properly, so I scooped it all back out, and remelted it with an additional TBL of beeswax.  This blend turned out perfectly.  

So, 1 TBL each grapeseed oil and (solid) coconut oil, with about 2 TBLs of beeswax filled 2 small glass jars, which I use at home, and refilled 2 lip balm tubes, to use when going out.  When the tubes need refilling, I can remelt the mix in one of the jars.  

The cost was almost nil - the jars I had (one was a jam sample, the other was a face moisturizer sample), the grapeseed oil was a gift, the beeswax came from what was left of 2 handmade rolled beeswax candles I made 20 or 30 years ago!, and the coconut oil was here, as it’s the only oil I use for my occasional scrambled eggs. 

The microwave method is SO quick and easy, I will experiment with more formulas, and as small glass jars are easily available, they could make nice stocking stuffer gifts!
Onward!
Dawn  

A Summer of Socks

My sock WIPs have multiplied this summer, like bunnies!  It began as one pair, as a distraction from the cardigan I’m knitting, but then they quickly took over

Many sock knitters will likely have a drawer full of hand knit socks, and I am no exception, although I almost exclusively knit socks in DK to super bulky weight, instead of fingering or sport weight, and prefer non-superwash wool yarns, which I find to be warmer.  I’ve knit hubby several pairs of fingering and sport weight socks, but as he tends to be warmer than me, his socks last much longer, simply from lack of use!

I wear hand knit wool socks all year long – nothing is as comfortable and breathable, but I don’t have to tell sock knitters that!

The wide range of yarn weights I use covers all the seasons, with the bulky to super bulky socks knit larger, to be worn over a thinner pair, in the winter.  

One of my favorite yarns for socks (and sweaters and afghans) is Lamb’s Pride, worsted and bulky weights.  The mohair in the blend adds to warmth and wear, even though they’re single ply yarns, and they just feel cozy!  

I’ve loved other wools for socks, like Lopi, the defunct Woolpak Perendale, yarn I spun from a blend of 44% Mohair, 28% Romney, and 28% Leicester wools, which is also no longer available, but which lasted several years and were so warm, and the single skein of British BFL (Bluefaced Leicester, for non-knitters) I bought from Iriss of Penzance in Cornwall, England many years ago. 

Oh how I wish I could have bought a kilo (or 2, or 10!) of that beautiful yarn – it was heaven to knit and wear.  British BFL yarns these days all seem to be superwashed, unfortunately.  To my mind, and after many years of wearing wool socks, nothing beats long wools for socks.

These 2 most recent pairs are in a simple pattern, which has quickly become a favorite!  They fill a thickness gap in my sock drawer between the plain all stockinette LPW socks and the bulky wt. socks, as the pattern has two rounds of stockinette followed by one round of stranded color work, so it’s not as thick as an all color work pattern, but thicker than all stockinette. 

I mistakenly worked the first pair with the same 42 sts I would normally use for stockinette LPW socks.  They fit, but they are a bit snug, so I used 46 sts for the 2nd pair.  Stranding, even on occasional rounds, does take the fabric in a bit more than stockinette.  The summer heat must have made me forget this fact! 

Here is the 42-st pair, with slightly shorter leg than I usually knit. After knitting them, I decided the heel flap didn't look organic.  It didn't *flow* from the sock patterning, so I changed it in the 2nd pair, below.

     

 

This 2nd pair is on 46 sts, and I worked a few more rounds in the leg, so that when working the heel flap in the darkest color, the color flowed from the center of the stripe panel. A 1/2 repeat was needed just before the toe shaping, to give the desired foot length. This, too, flows into the dark toe color, and will be how I knit this pattern hereon in!

It’s a simple 2 stitch by 12 round pattern, which works well with hue/shade changes within a color family.  A 2 stitch repeat means the design can be easily adjusted smaller or larger as needed, and will work with any weight of yarn. 

Such designs are also ideal for using up bits of stash.  I used just 5 colors, but each color panel could be knit using a different set of colors, depending on your stash, or each panel could use the same 2 colors with a 3rd color as the background.

The other socks I’ve knit this summer (shown in the 1st photo above) are:
a 2-ply handspun Romney worsted wt. pair,
a super bulky handspun Romney pair (still in progress),
a Lamb’s Pride Bulky pair,
a re-knitting of the heels and feet of both a LPW pair and a Cascade 220 pair, and
a palindrome striped pair just begun.

I’ve knit many hundreds of socks since the very early ’90’s, and they’re still one of my favorite things to knit.

I love how they’re lightweight in the hands, so they don’t tend to stress joints, they’re small and portable, so they’re finished must faster than a sweater, they don’t use much yarn, and one can play with all manner of patterning or just enjoy plain knitting around. And who doesn’t like warm feet!

Onward!
Dawn

Made In The Shade

I’m always looking for ways to tweak our decor.  Knit afghans and pillow covers are the usual ways to add color and texture to a room, but I’ve also turned my attention to many of the plain (and inexpensive) off-white lampshades on our small table lamps and vintage floor lamps.

Plain white store bought shades are rather boring and add no character to a space.  They also tend to allow the light to be too bright.

Now, we’re not ones to use 75 watt or larger bulbs. Most of our lamps are fitted with 25 or 40 watt bulbs, a few have 60 watt bulbs, but with even the lower wattage bulbs, I prefer the light to be a bit softer.

Years ago, I achieved this softness by wrapping the shade with wool yarn – it may well have been an idea I saw on a Martha Stewart episode, or in her magazine.

Years later I decided that I would improve on this idea by knitting shade covers.  Of course I could sew them, and I may well get to that one day.  I’ve had these 2 Katrin Cargill books a long time, waiting on me to utilize some of the ideas.

Knitters, though, can create anything they wish while comfortably planted on the sofa or in a comfy chair, where sewing always seems to require standing to measure, cut, pin, and iron.  I don’t mind the process so long as I’m sewing en masse!  I tend to not want to deal with the process just to sew one thing.  Hence, knitting.

I knit these lampshade covers years ago, but never got around to finishing the pattern!  I am offering it here for free.

 

 

I particularly like that the shade covers can easily pop on and off, as needed, to swap out for another color cover, or just when more light is needed.

My favorite is the pale yellow one, which covers the shade on the floor lamp in my bedroom/office.  It softens the light *just enough*, and complements the yellow of the counterpane afghan on my bed.

The striped shades came next and show how the shaping within the shade can be highlighted with color.

I used heavy worsted/aran wt. wool yarn for all 3 shades, as it is the weight of yarn I always have on hand.  Naturally, one can knit the shades in a lighter or heavier wt. yarn – just do a gauge swatch and apply it to the size of the shade needed, to get your CO stitch count.

About The Design
The shades are knit flat and shaped with short rows. The CO and BO edges are seamed or grafted, then the top and bottom edges are finished with I-cord.

Measure the top and bottom circumferences of the shade you wish to cover, then determine the ratio of increases needed (via short rows).

It is easiest to measure the top and bottom diameters, then use an online calculator to find the circumferences, such as this one.

The next step is to work a garter stitch swatch.  Garter stitch *tends* to have twice the # of rows for the stitch count, or said another way, it tends to have the same # of *ridges* as sts per inch.  (If your swatch fabric appeals to you and the # of ridges is slightly less, as mine is, don’t fret – it is not critical.)

Then multiply your sts per inch by the depth of your desired shade.  

It is best to err on the side of an extra st or two, rather than less sts.  Even though the I-cord trim at the top and bottom adds a smidge of depth, and despite that knitting IS stretchy and malleable, a couple extra sts will help maintain the needed depth if a bit of width-wise stretching is needed to fit your lampshade.

Shade Style: Empire

Sizes and Yarn Amounts
Sample 1: The yellow cover has approx. a 15” top circ. a 28” bottom circ., and is 7.3” deep.  The shade it fits has a 4” diam. at the top and a 10” diam. at the bottom.

It was knit with Kraemer Yarns Naturally Nazareth Aran wt. (184 yds/100 gr.) in Y1323 Sunshine, and took 85 gr. (3 ozs. yarn.  (This yarn is now discontinued, but some colors can still be found in Ravelry stashes.)

Samples 2 and 3: The blue and cream covers were knit with Peace Fleece Worsted in Galooboy Blue and Antarctic White.

Sample 2 (the narrow blue and white striped cover) has approx. a 13” top circ., a 26” bottom circ., is 7.66” deep, and used 93 gr. (3.25 ozs.) yarn.  This cover also fits the specified lamp shade.

Sample 3 (the wider striped cover) has approx. a 16” top circ. a 29” bottom circ., is 8” deep, and used 113 gr. (4 ozs.) yarn.

One less pattern rep would yield approx. the same size cover as the others.

Needles
Straights, circular, or long dpns, size 8 or 9
Shorter dpns in the same size
Tapestry ndl

Gauge
Naturally Nazareth: 18 sts and 16 rows (8 ridges)/4” in garter stitch with US size 8 or 9 ndls or size to give gauge.

Peace Fleece Worsted: 18 sts and 20 rows (10 ridges)/4” in garter stitch with US size 8 or 9 ndls or size to give gauge.

(I either used a smaller ndl for the Peace Fleece covers OR the 2-ply PF knit denser rows than the Naturally Nazareth, which is a 4-ply yarn.)

Note
I am specifying wool, just for safety’s sake, as lightbulbs, at least the old style, give off quite a bit of heat, and wool is much more fire resistant than synthetics or cotton.  I am likely just being extra cautious, as commercial lampshades certainly *aren’t* made of wool, and are often made of some kind of synthetic fabric or plastic.  I also find that wool doesn’t seem to get dusty.

Special technique - Wrap and Turn (w&t)

Directions - Single Color Cover

Long Tail CO 30 sts, which counts as row 1.
Knit 3 rows = 2 ridges.

* Short Row 1: K10, w&t, k10.
Short Row 2: K20 (knitting the wrap with its st), w&t, k20.

Knit 2 rows = 1 ridge, knitting the wrap with its st on the first row.

Short Row 3: K20, w&t, k20.
Short Row 4: K10, w&t, k10.

Knit 8 rows (4 ridges), knitting the wraps with their sts, on the first row.

Rep from * 23x more.

There will be 60 ridges around the top of the cover and 108 ridges around the bottom of the cover (5 ridges at the top for every 9 ridges at the bottom – a 5/9 wedge.)

BO, then seam the CO and BO edges together (or graft the edges together).

Applied I-Cord

Using 2 shorter dpns, CO 3 sts, then slide the sts to the other end of the ndl.
* K2, slip 3rd st, and with same ndl, pick up 1 st along the edge, then ssk the slipped st with the picked up st. Slide the sts to the other end of the ndl.

Rep from * around the edge.  Graft the end of the I-cord to the beg.

Rep for the other edge.

Directions - Two Color, Narrow Stripe Cover

With blue (A), Long Tail CO 30 sts, which counts as row 1.
Knit 1 row = 1 ridge.

* Short Row 1: K10, w&t, k10.
Short Row 2: K20 (knitting the wrap with its st), w&t, k20.

Knit 2 rows = 1 ridge, knitting the wrap with its st on the first row.  Break A.

Short Row 3: With white (B), K20, w&t, k20.
Short Row 4: K10, w&t, k10.

Knit 2 rows = 1 ridge, knitting the wraps with their sts, on the first row. Break B.

Rep A and B wedges 15x more. There will be 64 ridges around the top of the cover and 128 ridges around the bottom of the cover (2 ridges at the top for every 4 ridges at the bottom – a 2/4 wedge.)

BO, then seam the CO and BO edges together (or graft the edges together), then work Applied I-cord.

Directions - Two Color, Wide Stripe Cover

With blue (A), Long Tail CO 33 sts, which counts as row 1.
Knit 1 row = 1 ridge. Don’t break A.

With B, knit 2 rows = 1 ridge. Break B.

With A, knit 2 rows = 1 ridge..

Short Row 1: K11, w&t, k11.
Short Row 2: K22 (knitting the wrap with its st), w&t, k22.

Knit 2 rows = 1 ridge, knitting the wrap with its st on the first row

Short Row 3: K22, w&t, k22.
Short Row 4: K11, w&t, k11.

Knit 2 rows = 1 ridge, knitting the wraps with their sts, on the first row. Don’t break A.

With B, knit 2 rows = 1 ridge. Don’t break B.
With A, knit 2 rows = 1 ridge.  Break A.

With B, knit 2 rows = 1 ridge.

Short Row 1: K11, w&t, k11.
Short Row 2: K22 (knitting the wrap with its st), w&t, k22.

Knit 2 rows = 1 ridge, knitting the wrap with its st on the first row

Short Row 3: K22, w&t, k22.
Short Row 4: K11, w&t, k11.

Knit 2 rows = 1 ridge, knitting the wraps with their sts, on the first row. Don’t break A.

Alternate the A and B wedges with the all B wedges 7x more.

There will be 80 ridges around the top of the cover and 144 ridges around the bottom of the cover (10 ridges at the top for every 18 ridges at the bottom – a 5/9 wedge.)

BO, then seam the CO and BO edges together (or graft the edges together), then work Applied I-cord.

Happy Knitting!
Dawn

The Completed Interlocking Ribs Counterpane!

The Specs

Finished Size: 60” x 77“

Which needed 8.5 lbs. of hand spun Falkland bulky weight singles and took more hours than I bothered to count!

My last post covered sewing up the center blanket units and knitting up the 4 cable and seed stitch borders.  Since then, I’ve sewn the borders on and edged the entire thing in Applied I-cord.

Here’s pics of how I decided to deal with the disparity between the seed stitch cable edges and the main body edges, which varies from knit and purl rib sections to BO knit stitch sections.

These photos were taken on my bed, atop a hand spun, indigo dyed, and handwoven blanket, and my “Golden Ferns Counterpane” design, which was in “101 Knitting-To-Go Projects”, 2001.

Now, I could have counted exactly how many stitches were along the main body sides and the lengths of cable edging, so to determine an exact ratio between the two, for sewing up, but I’m not that retentive!  

 Instead, I tried to divide the number of cable crossings into more or less even sections, and basted the 2 pieces together using a tapestry needle and a smooth (non-wool) yarn.  I found I needed to stretch the denser seed stitch edge when basting across the wide BO knit sections, but stretch the knit and purl rib sections, when basting along them.

This worked well enough.  As I pulled out the basting for each small section, I counted how many seed stitches there were and how many body stitches they would be sewn to, then adjusted the sewing-up ratio to suit.

The Applied I-cord was one of the easier parts of the entire process.  As I was using the same yarn for the I-cord as for the afghan, I didn’t need to add a yarn over on each row, which is done, when using a different color, so to avoid a color blip showing.

In all, the entire afghan was easy to work, so not only does it look modern, but once you work one repeat of the main afghan unit, you don’t need to refer to the book again.  Same goes for the cable borders, which are easy peasy.

As it’s heavy (8.5 lbs.), to block it, I laid an extra blanket on the queen bed, laid out the afghan and spritzed it with water, to dampen, but not soak it, then pulled here and there, to make the afghan square up as best it could, considering that the body patterns do ebb and flow.  

The last touch was the duplicate stitching on the 4 corner stockinette squares.  I used Lamb’s pride Worsted, held double, in Oatmeal, so that the stitching would be seen but not overwhelm.  Bride and groom’s initials on the upper 2 corners, a heart, and the year on the lower 2 corners.

I need to find a very large gift box.  Large shipping boxes we have, as I save the boxes that anything large comes in, knowing they will be useful one day.  

I *may* take a brief respite from knitting.  Then again, I may not!  More sewing for the house needs doing, and my floor loom has been sitting empty for well over a year, and I want to get this stash of t-shirt yarn woven up into small area rugs.  

Hand spinning is also an ongoing activity, at least until I send my flyer out to a woodworker sometime this summer to get it fitted with a higher speed whorl.  My wheel is a Country Craftsman, vintage, and no longer made.  It’s a wonderful wheel, but only has 10:1 and 13:1 ratios, which isn’t nearly fast enough to spin the singles for a 2-ply worsted to aran wt. yarn, without treading like the dickens for an hour, then a half hour to ply it.  It’s way too tiring!

More closeups!

Onward!

Dawn

The counterpane project continues!

My first post about the Counterpane Project is here, in case you haven't read it yet.  This first photo shows the main, central part of the pattern seamed up.  I love how the light catches on the vertical rib placement!

If you’re not familiar with this book, it’s filled with great patterns for traditional counterpane blankets.  I used the Alsacian Scallops stitch pattern in a scarf and mitten design many years ago, as the curviness of the scallops lend themselves to be used as an edging, which became the gauntlet on the mittens.

Now, when I say “patterns” I mean stitch patterns.  Each blanket design has several elements, usually a center motif, with several border motifs.  Each element has line-by-line instructions, but there’s no instructions included for how large, long, or wide to work the elements, nor how many are needed.

So, one needs to CO with the yarn of choice and appropriate size needles, and work a couple repeats of the main element, then do the math to figure out how many are needed, and approximately how much yarn will be needed.

Most of the patterns are worked in fine cottons on small needles, which I would never be inclined to use!  Instead, I spun about 6 or 7 lbs. of bulky weight Falkland wool singles, knit with US size 10 (6 mm) Addi Turbo circulars, working flat.  (I have yet to weigh all the parts to see the final weight.)

I knit 80 main motifs, knitting 4 together in each *square* grouping, then made 20 groups.  I laid them out 4 groups across and 5 groups down, which gives a 56” wide x 68” long large afghan.

This ribbed counterpane pattern has 2 borders – a cable and seed stitch border, then an interlocking ribs border.

I decided to leave off the last border, as the afghan would be large enough (and heavy enough) without it.  Instead, as the main ribbed pattern is more modern-looking than the other counterpane patterns in the book, I decided that the final edging would be Applied I-cord.

I also decided not to lay out the motif groups on their axis, as shown in the above photo, as that would have required the knitting of all those small triangles to create straight  top and side edges to the afghan.

The book mentions an option to leave a corner in plain stockinette, so to stitch on the year the afghan was made.  I decided to go one step further and have a plain corner on all 4 corners.  This way, one corner will have the year, one corner will have the bride’s initials, one will have the groom’s initials, and the last corner will have a heart.

To keep the stockinette on all 4 plain corners going in the same direction, I knit 2 lengths of just the cable and seed stitch patterns for the top and bottom edges.  The side edges begin and end with the stockinette sections.

I need to dig through stash for a tan or camel color, for the corner stitching, as I want it to be seen, but not stand out like a sore thumb against the white wool.

The cable borders are 3.5” wide, which will make the afghan 63” wide x 75”.  The I-cord may add 1/4 - 1/2” around.  It’s a generous size for snuggling up together on the sofa, or can be used either lengthwise or crosswise on a queen size bed.

One last blanket post will be forthcoming, showing how I’m attaching the cable border to the wavy body piece, then working the Applied I-cord, and showing the finished afghan.

Onward!
Dawn