Stitch Adventures

What is blocking?

If you could learn a technique that would even-out your knitting stitches, would you want to learn it?  If you found that there was a way to make the edges on your crocheted afghan lay flat, would you do it?  If the squares that you got back from your weaving group were all different sizes, and they weren't supposed to be, would you know how to fix them?

I'm asking these questions because many fiber hobbyists don't seem to know what the one answer is for all of these problems.  Blocking!

Blocking is the final shaping of your finished or nearly finished garment, afghan, purse, etc.  It fixes all the little "oops" problems, straightens edges, gives you the right size, and evens your stitches.  It definitely makes your item look finished and professional.

Last week, I was a judge at the county fair, and only one crocheted afghan had been blocked - it was wool, so presumably the stitcher knew that it should be blocked, and the finishing showed.  I gave the afghan a first place ribbon.

The other 35 crocheted afghans that I looked at had curled corners, or unstraight edges, or bubbles and uneven stitches.  If the stitchers who worked so hard on their afghans had taken just one more step - and blocked their afghans, none of these distracting results would have remained. 

It doesn't take much time to block your item, except drying time. 

For lightweight items, you can spray with water, then shape to the desired size.  For heavier items, like afghans, submerge in water to get completely wet, roll in several towels to blot excess water, and shape onto a flat surface like a bed, couch, or dry towel covered floor. 

In both cases, hold the desired shape with pins that won't rust (alot of people use flower pins for this) and let dry flat.  Depending upon the weather and temperature, this could take awhile - a day or two. 

Here's a crocheted baby vest that my daughter just made - her first!  She used rust proof pins to block the sweater to shape, then let it dry on her ironing board - for a day.

 

For small items, you can steam with an iron on your ironing board, making sure to hold the iron ABOVE the item, not on the item.  You definitely don't want to flatten your stitches.  Again, pin and let dry completely - just because it's not hot, doesn't mean it's dry.

Don't hang or drape the item!  That will stretch it out of shape.

There are a lot of great videos online that talk about blocking.  Here's a simple set of knit blocking instructions that I think are good:  Blocking tutorial. 

Whether you are knitting, crocheting, weaving or embroidering, you really should consider blocking as your final step.  Without it, your item is just not complete!

 

 

One skein wonders

My youngest daughter gave me a wonderful Christmas present - a ball of yarn that she said looked like me.  Meaning the colors (or maybe that I'm usually pretty fuzzy because I always have a project going, and I'm covered with fibers and threads, etc.)

I was so inspired by the colors, and was excited because it was a ball of self-striping yarn, which I've never worked with before.  So I immediately set out to make something on Christmas Day.  Think about it - all your presents are done, so you can finally make something for yourself!

I looked for an inspirational pattern in my book One Skein: 30 Quick Projects to Knit or Crochet, and chose an easy scarf.  Within a few hours I had completed the scarf pictured here:

I used a simple rib pattern (k1,p1) on each row, and then made a cable cross about every 14 rows or so.  Here's a closeup:

A very easy pattern - which I've done before.  The yarn is Mochi plus, a wonderful wool blend yarn, made by Crystal Palace Yarns. 

Now that it's completed, I'm wishing I had another ball, so I can make the scarf longer, or maybe take this apart, and make a scarf that's a more open weave. The ribbing scrunches the stitches together, making it narrower.  So many possibilities!

 

How big is this purse going to be?

Since cleaning my yarn closet (and remembering I've got a whole bunch more garage sale wool in the trunk of my car), I decided it was time to start making felted purses again. 

Felted purses/totes are great because they knit or crochet up quickly and use up a lot of yarn.  And that's just what I need right now - use up some of that wool yarn!  

I decided to use up the yarn that I painted in a yarn painting class a few weeks ago.  I was so disappointed in the results from that class - instead of vibrant beautiful reds and browns, I achieved two hanks of pale pinks and tans.  So, instead of using it for the intended sweater vest, I doubled it up with another wool to make really thick yarn for a felted purse.

Here's a closeup of the handpainted yarn, near the top half of the picture, doubled up with a dark pink rug yarn that I had in stock.  The base, near the bottom of the picture, is some random thick wools that I had in stock too.

When I finished the knitting, using double strands of thick wools, the purse was as big as the whole seat cushion on the bottom of this chair!

Here's a closeup of the whole purse, before felting.  You can see the color change, where I had to add some other wools to try and blend with the original hand painted yarn, which I ran out of! Then, I put the whole thing in the washing machine, and using hot water and heavy duty agitation, ran the purse through 3 full cycles.  Used a cold water rinse, checking after each cycle to see how much felting had occurred.

Here's the felted purse.  Much bigger than I thought it would be - more of a satchel, but once it dries, I can add handles, brush it to bring out the fuzziness, and I'll have another carryall.  I kind of like the homemade look, and the various pinks. 

Cleaning the Yarn Closet

Now here's the kind of cleaning I like - organizing my walk-in yarn closet took days, but it was fun! 

It all started with an email from a new weaving teacher looking for donations for the weaving and knitting classes opening at U.C. Santa Barbara, my alma mater.  I decided to give up a lot of weaving books (make room for more quilting and sewing books), because I only have one large loom left in my house. 

Then, I decided to donate some yarn - because I have so much thin weaving cotton on cones.  The coned yarns are not real practical for knitting, except knitting by machine, or if you want to knit with small needles and double-up on the # of strands. 

So here are some pictures of what I have left! 

The walk-in custom yarn closet  was built for me by a dear friend many years ago.  The back wall has cedar lined shelves, and that's where I put my wools.  As you can see, I color code them.  At the bottom, in all the sacks, are my spinning fleece - mostly wools too.  And beneath that are unfinished knitting projects.

Here's the other side of the back wall, with some of the rest of the knitting weight wools.  I say some, because I had pulled out all the boxes stored in front of the shelves, and realized later that the wool in those boxes couldn't be put on shelves, because I've outgrown the shelf space.

Then, there's the cottons, silks and rayons, which are on the shelves on the sides of the closet.

The white cotton is in a large box at the bottom of the shelf.  The box next to it has all the sparkly stuff, and yarns with metallics.

Yes, I know, I know.  But I do have an excuse!  I've been buying yarn since I was a teenager, and used to own a yarn-selling business, so I could buy wholesale.

I keep telling my daughters that they need to take up knitting and crocheting.  Some day, they say.  Meanwhile, I do knit and crochet every day.  And I've found that knitting and crocheting wool purses uses up a lot of the wool yarn. 

Would you tear it all out and start over?

Have you ever heard of the theory that knitters are either process knitters or project knitters?  And why would you want to know?  

First, figure out which you are by answering this question:

If you were marooned on an island with your just finished knitting project and no other yarn, would you go find something else to do (basketweaving, shell collecting?).  Or would you tear out all your knitting and make something else? 

If you would keep your project intact, you’re a project knitter.  If you’d tear it out, you’re a process knitter. 

 

Here's the back of a sweater I seriously considered taking apart, because I liked the yarn.  But then, I changed my mind, and knit a band on the bottom so it's more wearable.  I have to admit, knitting the sweater was a challenge, and I really do like it now.

Here are some more ways to figure out if you are a process knitter or a project knitter. 

How many projects do you have going right now?  One or two?  - You’re a project knitter.  Do you love the final ta-dah of completing the item?  Do you make sure it’s useable or wearable before starting your next project?  Do you love making socks, and reuse your favorite knitting patterns over and over?  Bet you wouldn’t mind making 10 knit hats for your kids athletic team. 

If you just went argh – no way – to the making of 10 knit hats, you’re probably a process knitter.  You relish new stitches, new ways of doing things. You either know, or want to know all 100 ways to cast on.  You probably have untold numbers of partially knit projects.  You just need to take the time to put the last few rows on or stitch the seams together.  If you HAD to make ten hats, all of them would be different, using different stitches, patterns, and design.  You never make the same thing twice – which is why you knit so many single socks.

So what difference does it make once you understand what kind of knitter you are? 

If you’re a process knitter, you’ll start to pat yourself on the back for learning a new stitch, or exploring a new yarn.  No more feeling guilty because you have so many unfinished knitting projects in your closet.  You can say no when someone asks you to make ten of something.  You’ll relax, knowing that you’ve got plenty of yarn, because you can always tear out that sweater from the thrift store to make a new one.  You can choose to make the most challenging sweater, and not worry if you don’t like the way it’s turning out.  There are always more patterns to try.

If you’re a project knitter, all your relatives will love you.  They get wonderful, completed presents.  People will ask you to make one “just like that one, but in blue”, and you’ll be glad to do it.  You don’t have to feel bad because you don’t want to work on an afghan for two years, or make a too-challenging project.  And, you have permission to buy more yarn because you use up what you have, and know exactly what’s next.  I bet you could even get paid to complete stuff for movie sets and consignment stores.

And me?  I’m a process knitter, for sure.  I have an entire walk-in closet of yarn for unknown future projects.  I’ll spend months working on a sweater, and then want to use the yarn for something else, so I’ll pull it all out.  I’ve never made the same thing twice.  And I am the queen of one-off knit socks.  Who says your hand knit socks have to match?