Clothing The New Textile Thread (or What to Wear and How to make it when TSHTF)

[Faroe]

Faroe, I remembered something you'd posted about knitting and applied it to a problem of mine.

I am watching a neat old TV series on DVD...Mission, Impossible...and decided to knit so as to not be totally idle while watching. I found that it was too easy to lose track of either the knitting or the screen while looking at the other, so I turned myself just enough sideways so that my right elbow leans on the computer desk and if I put the button end of the left knitting needle at my waist, the knitting is held high enough that I only have to raise my eyes to see the picture instead of my whole head. I am somewhat slouched while doing this so the left needle stays fairly well at my waist just from my bunched-up clothing, but I think I will make a band to put around my waistline with something on it to hold the back end of the needle against me.

So thanks for the inspiration...I'll be able to knit anything small like this while watching movies. Right now it's headbands, as my old ones are all stretched out and getting useless, but I can also do parts of the slippers I make and also the dishtowels and dishcloths I like to knit.

I got angry at the sweater...been knitting mitered squares instead. They can serve individually as dishclothes, and people put them together for blankets. The effect can be quite pretty, and short needles work well. Found a video where the lady put them together on point, so the edge of the blanket is diamonds, and she then knit I-cord around the perimeter. That requires a provisional cast-on, which I haven't done much with (partly because everyone seems to teach them differently). I'm going to work on learning that technique tomorrow. I also spent some time knitting the "Ten Stitch Blanket" pattern. Several people on YT teach that inc. Very Pink Knits. The miters for this are made with short rows. Fun project to knit, but I found it hard to deal with mistakes. A crappy mitered square can simply be discarded, whereas the Ten Stitch Blanket is all in one piece, and if you don't count your rows, it will come out lopsided. I have no intention of making a full blanket; just messing around learning some fun new tricks.

Headbands would be fun projects to play with cables, ribbing, and lace. You could also make them wider (/taller) to become winter neck warmers. I can see short rows of garter, and then a kitchner for attatching, or knit in the round from the start, with lots of ribs.

 

[Martinhouse]

Faroe, I'd thought of cabling on the headbands, but these are strictly utility-type. I get an earache from wind blowing even if it's 95 degrees outside., plus I've lost so much weight and my hair has gotten so thin, I need the extra warmth all year round.

If I hated what I was knitting as much as you hate that sweater, I'd unravel the whole thing and use the yarn while it was still nice, and make something easy that I really liked working on.

One time I unraveled something I was working on that had been sitting around for over a year and of course the yarn was really kinky. So I rolled it into super tight balls and left it for a few weeks and then unrolled it all into a couple of dishpans. It was still a little curly so I filled the dishpans with water as hot as I knew the yarn could take. When the water cooled I emptied the dishpans into the high end of the bathtub and let the yarn drain until it was totally dry. During this whole process I was careful to keep both ends of the yarn tied securely to a plastic clothespin so they didn't get lost in the piles. Any kind of object would work as long as it didn't tangle up with the rest of the loose yarn.

When I finally rolled this yarn back into balls I did it as loosely as I could in the hope that it would relax even further.

Once I got a ball of yarn at a thrift store that was rolled so tightly that the slippers I made from it got lots smaller after the yarn pulled back to it's correct size. That was a lesson learned the hard way that I need to remember to always wind my yarn very loosely.

Anyway, don't let that sweater defeat you! It's only a "thing" and most times, people are more important than things.

 

[Faroe]

It's not that I hate it. Actually, the knitting is good. I'm proud of it, and the knitting itself is straightforward, but it has grown unwieldy in size. Takes an effort just to get the thing settled on my lap with the working yarn untangled from all the dangling circs, have the light just right, have my second pair of eye glasses on... Once I'm settled with it, I HATE interruptions. In this house, there is a minor domestic crisis every five minutes.

It'll get done eventually.

The POK (Principles of Knitting) came in. It is bigger than my college biology text book. Would like to actually read the whole thing through, but at 500 plus pages... we'll see. Glad to finally have it, coveted the thing for over a year. Found a new copy at a much lower price (and free shipping) than it is usually listed for, so sprung for it.

 

[Melodi]

The Fair Isle Sweater continues to go upward and I'm almost done with the body and will then hold my breath, cut the seeks and start the sleeves.

My husband loves it and we decided it needed designs on the sleeves too though I will use smaller ones most likely than the 20 stitch patterns I used on the body.

Meanwhile, my very favorite sweater - the one with the mitered squares and wonky square neckline that I made into a round one has gone missing; sadly I think I lost it out with my old housemate and her sister when we were driving around so it is well and truly gone if at is the case.

I have the cottage creations pattern and I can make another one but that yarn (same as I'm using on the current sweater) has been discontinued except for white/natural wool - and I have a lot of other yarn to use up.

I will think about it and decide what to do later - meanwhile, I'll have to find something to wear in Seattle, I've been there and know I need a sweater at least for evenings in the campground on Puget Sound, even at the Summer Solstice.

Faroe you might try just putting that sweater aside until the cold weather comes back in the Fall, depending on your climate - I mean it is about 45 degrees F here today, wet and cold but most places are warmer and a heavy lap full of knitting is easy to get on the nerves when it is too hot.

 

[Faroe]

Sorry to read about the missing sweater. If it is gone for good, maybe you will end up making one you like even better.

Sleeve is inching along. Also sampling some other techniques like I-cord (stupid simple, yeah, the "I" stands for "idiot," but I'd never learned how to make it before - would NEVER have thought of just dragging the working yarn over from the back end. Am trying to learn to pearl efficiently in the English method. The POK says English style pearl is easier than Continental, and gives more consistent tension. So far, my efforts suck. Maybe after another skein.

But, no more skeins for a week or two until the new card comes in. My cc got hacked, and they called me late last night to verify a $700 charge. I only use that card for a few on-line vendors, and for mostly small amounts. $700 is WAY out of my monthly budget. I'd be saving for a long time before I'd put that down in one shot. Even the pecan check isn't ever that big.

 

[Faroe]

Still on the first sleeve, but very close to finishing the pattern section of it.
Will begin the second some time today, and get it to the same spot (week or two?). Then, just a quick glide down to each cuff - decreases all the way.
Only other thing is an inch of ribbing around the neck.

Still on the first sleeve, but very close to finishing the pattern section of it.
Will begin the second some time today, and get it to the same spot (week or two?). Then, just a quick glide down to each cuff - decreases all the way.
Only other thing is an inch of ribbing around the neck.

Gordon of Gansey Nation finished and posted photos of a Cathiness style gansey last February. Amazing detail. Would love to knit one of those. He said the originals were at a smaller gauge that he can do. IIRC, he said he knits at 8-9 spi. I don't know what size needle he uses. I get 8 spi blocked on US 0 (2mm), with Frangipani (which seems to be the finest wt that I've found for "Gansey wt." yarn). I could knit closer, but I'd need at least 2X0. Chiagoo has that size in only interchangeable, from what I've found, and the reviews are not good, overall. Also, I much prefer fixed. That leaves (don't know the mfr.) the British made steel circs that Sharon Miller of Heirloom Knitting sells on Etsy. They are sold in lengths of 16" to 40", and go down to 5X 0.

I would like a 2X 0 at least for ribbing on the next gansey. The stitches on ribbing always look bigger compared to body stitches in stockinette, even if the needle size is the same.

Does any one have any leads on Cathiness ganseys? Google gave me nothing useful, and I didn't get much from looking at sites for the local museum, either. Fruity Knitting interviewed a lady that has some familiarity with it (I think she lives there, or near there) - I may watch the episode again and see if I can get any more out of that. Gladys Thompson doesn't provide an index to her book, and I can't find a ref. to the place name in there, although a few of the sweaters have some features of it. Gordon posts on one of the Ravelry groups I'm on, I may ask him directly about it.

 

[Melodi]

I am almost to the neck on the body of the Fair Isle then I have to hold my breath and cut the steeks for the arms and the front opening; I always hate that part especially since I'm not even sure where my sewing machine is and I usually just end up using a chain stitch anyway.

At least this isn't the first time, though making matching sleeves knitting down each arm will be entertaining but if I stick to the same patterns it should be OK.

My husband loves the sweater as hard as he is on them, I almost wish now I'd made it for me but with the small waist, I don't even know if I will be able to borrow it.

I do need to see if I can get some of the stains out of the "horse sweater" I wore in Germany, I need to repair just one small hole but it didn't really get clean on the wool wash so I want to do it again.

I was hoping to borrow it for the trip to Seattle, the campground is right on Puget Sound which is likely to be cold (at least at night) even on the Summer Solstice; so I figured I should bring something.

I don't know anything about knitting in a gage that tiny but I'm sure someone on Ravelry will.

I also realized I need some more lightweight hats so I may look at doing a couple of those before or during the trip.

 

[summerthyme]

Sounds great. I do wish I could hand knit with any sort of speed or efficiency... I think I've knitted maybe 5 sweaters and as many hats in my life, and I pretty much hated every minute of it. Oh, maybe not THAT bad, but it never gets easy or instinctive. I need to get my knitting machine going again!

Last week I made three dresses... I really need to get a picture of my granddaughter in the lavender pinafore style with a huge bow sash and a matching lavender jersey long sleeve t-shirt underneath. The dress had a pastel flowered bodice and band on the skirt, as well as the bow... it was absolutely gorgeous! Of course, on a very active 2 year old, it won't stay pretty for long (and I told her mother that it's NOT just "for good" (they grow too fast, although she does have an 8 month old sister coming up)... I make things to be worn! I always make sure I prewash all fabrics and try to stitch things so they will hold up under rough use, but pastel lavender batiste is just not something that will stand up to mud puddles and chocolate!

Then I made a wild colored (purple pansies, alternating with dark purple, and lined with the same lavender as her sister's dress) little dress that makes the younger girl look like a flower... the skirt is 6 petal shaped panels. It has a matching reversible hat with a ruffled brim... really adorable. In the end, I had exactly 6 hours to make myself something to wear to the baptism, so it was a quick, princess lined pullover in a light wool/poly blend crepe in a rather bright berry pink. I thought about making one from a cream flowered rayon jersey knit, but when the fabric arrived, I realized it would need a full slip underneath. I don't own a full slip! (or even a half slip! I wear a dress about once or twice a year, except it seems we're having more formal family functions lately- weddings, baptisms, graduations). I have patterns and lovely tricot knit fabrics to make a slip... but there was NO way I had the time Friday afternoon. We had to leave Saturday morning, and there was the usual chores, meals and things like packing up a couple gallons of fresh milk and eggs for family members, plus bringing some homemade strawberry wine as a gift for the other grandparents of the baby, whose house we gathered at after the restaurant buffet.

After all that, and driving 400 miles Saturday (half in the dark), getting home around midnight, feeding and medicating dogs, checking barns, etc... I was BEAT. And this constant cold, damp horrible weather is making my pain levels go through the roof! Sunday, I bottled up another 2 gallons of the Ouch liniment so I could ship a bunch today, and then crashed.

My DDIL bought a "pioneer girl" sunbonnet for the 2 year old, and oh, my, is it adorable! That girl is just an imp... extremely bright, very strong willed, but a doll who has been carefully disciplined, so is really a delight. Her huge gray eyes peeking out from under that sunbonnet are amazing. DDIL mentioned that she needs a dress in matching style (not necessarily color) and my son rolled his eyes and said "we're not dressing her like Little House on the Prairie"!! Well, of course, grandma had to put her two cents worth in, with the result that a new pattern for a lovely prairie style dress and pinafore arrived today, and I've been mentally reviewing my stash of old fashioned calicos to sew it in. DS is a wonderful father,(and he's "Mr Mom"... staying at home with two small daughters, which has been very interesting) but Moms and Dads just think differently. He thinks 'practical"... and I admit, the dress won't be the best thing for her mud puddle stomping and feeding the pigs and chickens on their small farm! But she can wear her 'shit kicker' boots underneath! LOL! And, as I said to my DDIL, she's very close to potty training, and that process goes MUCH easier if they're in a dress than overalls or jeans. It's the same reason I made her a couple flannel nightgowns. The fleece sleepers I made are definitely warmer, but are impossible for a child to get themselves out of in time (or at all) to get to the potty on their own. A nightgown and some cloth pullups (also on my list) make things much easier.

The weather is horrid... 40's and heavy rain, although we again missed out on the really heavy storms that went east of us. This Grand Solar minimum pattern is becoming very worrying. My garden has standing water, although the onion plants are looking good. Fortunately, the only thing planted are the onions, and peas in the upper (and better drained) garden. Everything else is in raised beds, which at least drain quickly. But I've got several beds of poppies that need intensive weeding, and my body is simply saying "no way" on kneeling or crouching in the wet grass and cold damp right now. Miserable... but good weather for sewing or knitting!

Summerthyme

 

[Martinhouse]

Summerthyme, I fold a cheap blue tarp the long way into a strip when I have to sit on wet ground to weed, plant, or hand till. Or sometimes I sit on an upside down metal garden pail. If I'm in a hurry I just grab a couple of empty cat food bags which I have stacked near the back door and I can move myself, and any pails and hand tools I need, along a row without getting up at all. I force myself to use a small pail when weeding so I have to get up fairly often, which helps keep me from stiffening up in the knees and hips from sitting half Indian-style for too long a time.

 

[summerthyme]

Carol... a few years ago, I found these kneelers for 10 bucks from an ad in my e-mail...https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Tree-F...s=gateway&sprefix=Garden+knee,aps,228&sr=8-14

Obviously, they were a great deal, and my only regret is not buying more than 2 of them. I gave one to my DDIL last summer, as she was heavily pregnant and I knew it would make it easier for her to weed and harvest. But before i got them, my son made me a padded kneeler from a recycled kid's sled (sort of a small "kneeling" sled made from blow molded plastic with built-in handles)... he attached some 2" thick dense foam to the top, and it was a great help to sit or kneel out of the mud.

I don't suppose kids sleds are very common at garage sales where you live, but other folks may want to keep an eye out... they'd likely be cheap (or even free) especially in the summer months when most sales are held.

The kneeler is easier for me, as the MRSA infection in my foot years ago caused a stiff ankle joint, which makes it difficult to kneel with the leg flat on the ground. But even the slight lift the homemade kneeler gives is a help.

My biggest problem in maintaining the raised beds is we have them all surrounded by 18" tall fencing, to keep the blasted chickens out. How it works, I really don't know, because the blasted things are flying out over a 4 foot tall fence that's supposed to keep them confined to the chicken yard... even though I clipped wings on all of them. But they never jump the low fences to get into the beds... go figure!

Anyway, i can remove them to weed or whatever, but its a bit of a PITA to do alone... putting them back is worse. But bending over them to weed is a true back killer, and I just can't do it anymore. The end result is they often get neglected a little too long, which only makes things worse.

It looks like our weather is going to improve greatly this week, so the sewing projects are going to have to be put on the back burner for awhile.

Summerthyme

 

[Martinhouse]

Summerthyme, I found a few kitchen chair tie pads at a thrift store and I use one in my truck and one on my desk chair and the dirtiest one for outdoor work. And when I still had my shop, a customer wanted the foam in a round throw pillow (pardon me...toss pillow...barf!) replaced with loose stuffing and I still have the round piece of foam which fits just right on an upside-down garden pail. My flat wagons are low enough for a lot of work and I can sit on them a long time without hurting the bones in my skinny ol' butt if I use one of the foam pads. Foam from an upholstery supply place lasts a long time compared to the cheap stuff from Walmart or even Hobby Lobby and Hancock Fabrics.

Our Ace Hardware store has those long narrow plastic sleds in the winter and sometimes the round ones, too. Several years ago I bought one for myself, one for my sister and one for my brother, for bringing in firewood if our winters started getting snowy again. My sister has used her sled for other things, too, and she said it works great on thick wet grass. I used mine for pulling bales of straw between some garden rows where the space was too narrow for my wagon.

 

[Melodi]

Got to the point on the Fair Isle Sweater where I need to cut and sew down the sleeves (and center neck) before I can knit on it anymore - I didn't have the greatest week healthwise (no biggie, just fibro) so I made a hat with sock yarn (my first) it is a bit too small to be the tam I wanted but it looks good.

My housemate's "start with 120" for the brim was about right, but I may have to expand out to 200 stitches to get a full tam effect on the next one.

I've got some slightly larger wool yarn I may start enough hat with and go down to 100 to 110 stitches for the brim and see what happens; I can only find the one set of needles (I have plenty they are just somewhere in a box and the box is somewhere) though since I'm feeling better I might be able to find more of them.

But I think that hats done on smaller needles tend to be warmer and more waterproof but they are also heavier so it is trade off of sorts.

My husband does most of the gardening these days, he's got tons growing and if most of it comes to harvest (never a given in our climate) I will probably be pretty busy canning, freezing and dehydrating starting in about 6 weeks.

This is a good time of year for smaller knitting projects and I need a couple of new hats for Seattle - I found my "Morro Bay California" sun hat if the weather is warm.

I gather Seattle and Washington are having the same sort of weird weather issues as Ireland the last couple of years - normally you expect rain and cold but sometimes lately you get hot and dry.

 

[Faroe]

I have done no knitting recently. Been working through two books. One is Walter Bosley's The Esoteric Napoleon. Definitely changed my understanding of the man, however, it is also VERY speculative. How well someone likes it is going to depend on their tolerance for that. I did like the ending however, and agree with Bosley on that. (It is a history, not a novel, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone.)

Also reading Civilization One, Christopher Knight and Butler. Only started it. Basically Neolithic science, linear measurement, and astro/geodetic science. Venus was the key, and the pendulum may be the most significant invention EVER. Based on her input in other threads, I think Packy would really enjoy this one. Oh, and back to textiles...isn't it interesting that all those drilled rocks they find lying around may not have been just loom or spindle weights, but perhaps some were pendulum weights.

 

[Melodi]

I've heard an interview with Bosley on the book, it sounded interesting but given that he doesn't do ebooks anymore (and yes I do understand why) I am unlikely to read it soon for costs reasons.

MOST of the rocks with holes directly in the center probably are drop spindle weights, but there is often wear on them (I have one that is from a Saxon site and it still works 1,000 years on and I use it in demos sometimes) holes at the top are usually warped weight loom weights and the can be rocks, clay, metal, large, small, etc.

But that doesn't stop some of them from being pendulum weights, heck there were steam engines being used to power "gentlemen's toys" and temple doors in Roman Alexandria. The Romans had full-scale commercial factories and boats with repeating crossbows set up like machine guns (I saw that one myself in Germany and was amazed).

Anyone who can invent the Anticatheria Mechanism can figure out a pendulum if their brain manages to think it up in the first place and they have the materials to hand.

For it to "catch on" there needs to be a visible use for it that either the elites or the peasants can see; if it is expensive and complicated (early steam power) someone has to see a reason to power ships or factories with it even when there are already slaves doing the work of rowing and working.

If it is cheap, the Peasants have to see the reason for risking doing something in a new way or using a new tool and risk failure if they get it wrong (failure equals famine). If they do see a reason to do it and can create the object themselves they will, the plow is a great example.

 

[Faroe]

STILL working on the same first sleeve! I am past the pattern, so the knitting is going fast down to the cuff, and a two stitch decrease every nine rows. I purchased Reinsel's new and revised gansey book, and am also looking forward to Elizabeth Lovick's (IIRC, that is the correct author) book on Shetland lace knitting techniques. I figure, if I find something esp. pretty, it might push me to FINISH the damn thing! (Having a routine would help, ever since BF retired, I have very little time to focus.) Historically based Northern European patterns and Historic lace are the only two knitting traditions I care much about. Can't imagine ever bothering with the newer (?) stuff like Brioche, and mosaic knitting - to each her/his own, however.

 

[Melodi]

I am taking a break from the sweater especially because one of the cats backed up an peed on it! Thankfully I was done with the body and hadn't cut the sleeves, neck yet - so I am letting it air and it seems to have very little smell, so if it stays that way I'll try to finish as is; if not I will have to wash it but in my experience the full Aran wools (not superwash) will fuzz and shrink a bit even with the best cold water wash and honestly I think this needs at least lukewarm water.

Anway, I realized I needed another hat or two for the trip to Seattle so I've got one Fair Ilse hat almost done and I found a UFO hat (unfished object) that I should be able to get done pretty fast; I will also need a small project for the trip so I'm looking for something easy.

Faroe my hat goes out to you for continuing to work on the sweater - I figure this Fall (if not before) I'll get out the 5 or 6-year-old UFO aka "The Sweater of Way Too May Cables" that was also started for husband and finish it though I may just do a plain sleeve or one with just a cable at the top.

The original pattern was from a book on "knitting for men" and of course my husband picked that one - I think men like cables but there were just so many in the pattern I wanted to throw it across the room.

I'm mostly interested in traditional Northern European knits too though I tend towards color-work rather than cables anyway; what I really like are "basic" patterns (especially knit in the round) that I can "modernize" if I want to with cat patterns or airplanes for my nephew but the basic structure is traditional or nearly so.

I have little use for what I call "edgy" knitting aimed at 20 somethings, I am glad they are knitting but I don't really want a crop top made on the diagonal; I want a nice yoke, Ragland or even cut sleeved ski sweater basic design; about as weird as I get is vertical knitting which comes in and out of fashion anyway.

 

[Faroe]

Sorry to read about the cat pee. Maybe a splash of vinegar in the cold wash water would help? Can you possibly hand wash the sweater while blocked?

I love cables, but I don't want to knit them if they go in multiple directions. Even if two cables are facing a central panel, I knit them the same way, not opposite. Otherwise: quick way to go completely insane - I simply can't keep the slant directions straight.

So true about the crop top on a slant.... although I do like looking at some Nora Gaughin (spell) pieces, and they might be fun to knit, but I'd never wear one, not ever. For much of that stuff, the directions would have to be absolutely spot on - don't see how one could chart a lot of it.

Someone I've never heard of is coming out with a book at the end of July on the historic Danish women's Natroje (spell?). Reinsel gives an in-person workshop on these, but she doesn't seem to have any printed or DVD material on them, except for one pattern on her site. The cover shown is NOT promising (an ugly modern t-shirt version), but the "Look Inside" shows lots of historic references, so it may be worth the price. No reviews yet, of course, and again - I've never heard of the author.

The other sweater I'd like more in-depth info on, is the striped Fana. Would LOVE to knit one for BF's grand daughter. Her parents are planning on another kid, so I'll have an opportunity to knit some tiny baby stuff too.

 

[Melodi]

I am thinking of trying to wash in cold water, but I'm going to see how it is when I get back - there seems to be very little smell which means I may have grabbed it from the cat fast enough - I am afraid that even cold water will still felt the wool a bit and it really needs warm water (not hot but warm) along with the vinegar I think if it does start to smell.

Anyway, it was a good time to take a break on it if I was going to.

Here's the tam I just knit for the trip, I think I'm finally getting the sizes and stitches right for this yarn.

 

[Faroe]

Pretty! Hats are so much fun to knit.
Am 1" into the ribbed cuff of the first sleeve. It is fuller in the arm than is wanted for a classic gansey look. Personally, I hate tight sleeves. I'm going to knit the other sleeve to match, and if BF really doesn't care for that, I'll re-knit both from the elbow down (maybe). It won't be the last men's gansey I knit, but he tried it on when the sleeve was half made, and the fit in the torso looked good. We have two older guests from Ireland visiting for breakfast next week. One was here before, and back then, I just had the book, and was talking about knitting the sweater, so it will be fun to show off what's done.

The two books came in. Both will be useful. I really like the new patterns in the re-written edition of Reinsel's gansey book. She refined and improved the one cardigan pattern - that is a piece I've wanted to knit for myself since the first book came out. Also bought her on-line pattern for the Danish natroje, and now have a printed copy of that.

 

[Faroe]

On row 21 of the second sleeve. I would have to check the notes...IIRC, there are 150 or so rows in the patterned section that forms the upper sleeve.
Anyway, it's easy enough to do. Fingers crossed the next cone will match the yarn. I'm apprehensive about even buying it, but this one is definitely going to run out ...my guess is somewhere around the elbow. Yes, I should have taken care of that a LONG time ago.

BF's daughter and grand daughter visited briefly. We got some cute pictures of her holding one of the snakes. I really want to knit another kid-size sweater. Ordered two more older books on traditional sweaters, edited by Debbie Bliss. The cover featured kids in sweaters, so hopefully, some good kid patterns.

 

[Faroe]

Traditional Knitting from the Scottish and Irish Isles came in yesterday. 30 patterns edited by Debbie Bliss. Almost all of them are beautiful. Directions ???

Admittedly, I'm not good with directions, and when I find an author whose directions I can understand, I tend to knit several pieces from that person, mainly because the process is easier. Failing that, I'll look at a design, and try to chart, and swatch and gage just from the photo. I can't stand it when garments are shot like fashion photography, and there isn't enough clarity in the photos to see the piece as a whole. At least provide a drawn schematic of it. This book has tiny charts for color work, and written directions for the panels of texture/lace. One pattern is for a promising looking Old Shale shawl with a pretty border. All you see of it, is entirely wound up around a baby, and there is no drawing of it. Combing through the directions, it does look do-able, based on the final measurements...a triangle??

One of the reasons I got the book was the pic of a baby in a beautiful Aran cardigan. The directions have the man's version in v-neck, the woman's version in round-neck, and the baby, all combined in ONE set of directions, and no charts for the texture work. REALLY? REALLY??? Am I the only the only intermediate knitter on the planet who thinks that combo is a bit much to ask?

Nevertheless, I'm glad I own the book. Maybe with Ann Bud's basic sweater pattern instructions, I can figure a piece or two out.

Back to the gansey, am just over halfway done with the second sleeve in the pattern section. More yarn for it is due to arrive this week.

 

[Melodi]

I hate it when books do that! It isn't always the author, often an editor will "decide" there just isn't room to "repeat" things and omits the smaller (or other) pattern.

Ann's book should help, I use the basic pattern book all the time and tell people that every seriously prepping household needs at least "Knitting Without Tears" (Elizabeth Zimmerman) and Ann Buds "Handy book of Patterns" I have it on my table right now- it has basic sweater patterns but also hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, and socks or pretty much what people are going to need quickly if the SHTF in Winter or things go on longer than a few months.

 

[Faroe]

I hate it when books do that! It isn't always the author, often an editor will "decide" there just isn't room to "repeat" things and omits the smaller (or other) pattern.

Ann's book should help, I use the basic pattern book all the time and tell people that every seriously prepping household needs at least "Knitting Without Tears" (Elizabeth Zimmerman) and Ann Buds "Handy book of Patterns" I have it on my table right now- it has basic sweater patterns but also hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, and socks or pretty much what people are going to need quickly if the SHTF in Winter or things go on longer than a few months.

yeah. I usually don't blame the authors - even for the pattern mistakes. They mostly loose control of the product after the rights are sold. There is probably a lot more publisher accountability now that it is easier for designers to publish patterns independently, and pattern instructions seem to be getting more standardized, at least from some of the larger publishers. This particular book was copyrighted 1991.

I have two of Ann's books, and the the top down sweater one is always in my cart, just haven't gotten to it yet. Same for Zimmerman. I've read Knitting w/o Tears years ago, but it was a library loaner.

Agree that people will need stuff quickly. We are awash in surplus clothing, but all of it falls apart. Outside in the sun, people will be in rags in months, even if they started out with adequate coverings. I expect many will have to move with no notice, and will be stuck with what they have on their backs.

ETA: Not sure what should be done with this thread. Leave it? Ask a mod to transfer it over to the larger sub-forum? Carry on as before?

 

[summerthyme]

What do you want me to do with this thread? It can be moved to the new room, if that's what everyone wants...

Summerthyme

 

[Faroe]

What do you want me to do with this thread? It can be moved to the new room, if that's what everyone wants...

Summerthyme

700+ posts and many photos. There is a lot of material in it. I will continue contributing to this thread if it gets moved. Moving it would be my vote, if that's easy, and no one has any objections. If it stays put, I'll just leave it as is and resume under the new sub-forum.

 

[Martinhouse]

I don't mind it being in the new room, but I hope it stays intact.

I'd hate to see it die out.

 

[summerthyme]

I think it should be moved. We might get some more contributors if its in the same place as other creative discussions. It should leave a "redirect" here, so it won't be hard to find.

Summerthyme

 

[susie0884]

This is the first time I remember seeing this thread, so it was probably a good idea to move it!

 

[Faroe]

This is the first time I remember seeing this thread, so it was probably a good idea to move it!

Yeah, it was kind of "stealthy." Even if you knew it existed, well, ...good luck finding it again. :P
Thanks, Summerthyme!

 

[Melodi]

Thank you for moving it!

As for after TSHTF, most modern clothing is tiny gage "knits" (machine) think T-shirts and part synthetic fibers (aka not warm and won't last with a few exceptions).

In addition to that issue, knitting and other fiber crafts are largely portable (again with exceptions like a large floor loom) and they keep your hands busy doing something useful.

But people are likely to need the really warm stuff a lot faster than they realize especially if they have to relocate or don't have a serious stash of backup tough clothing.

I'm sure people will go back to "inside" and "outside" clothing (they still do that on most farms and small holdings) but a scarf that is a decoration now can keep your face from freezing later, and people used to wear hats to bed for a reason (and living in a badly heated 200-year-old house in Ireland I still do and so does my husband).

Even knitted "tea cozy" which I used to think we're right up there with "dolls" to cover the extra toilet paper for useless items to knit, have a place and if you spend a winter in a drafty old farmhouse and drink tea you soon figure out why - they keep it from turning into iced tea even in the pot (which otherwise usually happens after about 5 minutes).

 

[packyderms_wife]

Glad to see it got moved to our new room!

 

[Faroe]

Ok, so continuing on with the saga of the Never Ending Gansey, am on row 101 of the second sleeve, and have just a few inches more of the pattern, and the new cone of yarn is due to arrive tomorrow - so I'll know if it matches.

Marie Wallin has come out with a kit of her specialty yarns, produced by John Arbon. You get one skein of each color, and a set of four accessory patterns: hat, neck gator, mittens, and what appear to be fingerless mits. My assumption is that there is enough yarn to complete at least one of the patterns (have to check). This is a pre-buy from The Woolly Thistle. I have no affiliations with any of these people, but I absolutely love Wallin's Fair Isle color choices, and I usually purchase from Wooly Thistle because I like her selection. (So far as I know, WT's owner has not pushed her political affiliations in her customers' faces, and I for one, DON'T WANT TO KNOW!)

The kit is expensive, but if it hasn't sold out by the first of July (budget), I am going to order it.

 

[packyderms_wife]

Ok, so continuing on with the saga of the Never Ending Gansey, am on row 101 of the second sleeve, and have just a few inches more of the pattern, and the new cone of yarn is due to arrive tomorrow - so I'll know if it matches.

Marie Wallin has come out with a kit of her specialty yarns, produced by John Arbon. You get one skein of each color, and a set of four accessory patterns: hat, neck gator, mittens, and what appear to be fingerless mits. My assumption is that there is enough yarn to complete at least one of the patterns (have to check). This is a pre-buy from The Woolly Thistle. I have no affiliations with any of these people, but I absolutely love Wallin's Fair Isle color choices, and I usually purchase from Wooly Thistle because I like her selection. (So far as I know, WT's owner has not pushed her political affiliations in her customers' faces, and I for one, DON'T WANT TO KNOW!)

The kit is expensive, but if it hasn't sold out by the first of July (budget), I am going to order it.

I don't want to know either, thank you for the product/resource information, I'll go check them out. I love knitting Fair Isle sweaters, of course they never fit me... I have guage issues.

 

[Faroe]

The know-how and printed references are good, but one thing I don't have is a "stash" I've got a few yards of various types of cotton/wool/linen for projects I never got around to, and left-over partial skeins of yarn, but I probably couldn't so much as knit a pair of matching socks from the wool on hand. The new cone of Frangipani should make good sock yarn - 5ply, fingering wt, and worsted spun; reportedly tough as nails, and no pilling nor sighs of wear so far in the knitting. I'll have about 95% of it left over once I finish this sweater.

If you know what you'll need, buying fabric by the bolt IS the best way to go. Unfortunately, after getting burned a few times, I am something of a fabric snob, and mostly go for the $11 per yard quilting/ reproduction print cottons, or the $20+ linens and wools. I also really like the big cones for knitting yarn. I have a cone of J&S shetland (gorgeous wool, but not suitable for socks) in grey for a Shetland-style shawl (someday). Harrisville Designs in NH also sells in cones, but I DO NOT care at all for that yarn - harsh, over processed feel, and weak. YMMV, but I'll never order from that place again. The usual 50g skeins bug me - WAY too many ends to eventually weave in, and and $8 or so a pop, anything bigger than mittens gets very spendy.

 

[packyderms_wife]

The know-how and printed references are good, but one thing I don't have is a "stash" I've got a few yards of various types of cotton/wool/linen for projects I never got around to, and left-over partial skeins of yarn, but I probably couldn't so much as knit a pair of matching socks from the wool on hand. The new cone of Frangipani should make good sock yarn - 5ply, fingering wt, and worsted spun; reportedly tough as nails, and no pilling nor sighs of wear so far in the knitting. I'll have about 95% of it left over once I finish this sweater.

If you know what you'll need, buying fabric by the bolt IS the best way to go. Unfortunately, after getting burned a few times, I am something of a fabric snob, and mostly go for the $11 per yard quilting/ reproduction print cottons, or the $20+ linens and wools. I also really like the big cones for knitting yarn. I have a cone of J&S shetland (gorgeous wool, but not suitable for socks) in grey for a Shetland-style shawl (someday). Harrisville Designs in NH also sells in cones, but I DO NOT care at all for that yarn - harsh, over processed feel, and weak. YMMV, but I'll never order from that place again. The usual 50g skeins bug me - WAY too many ends to eventually weave in, and and $8 or so a pop, anything bigger than mittens gets very spendy.

Harrisvilles yars has changed over the past thirty years, I no longer care for the quality.

 

[Faroe]

One inch more to go for the pattern part (I made a mistake, and had to rip back, some). Then 9 inches for the rest of the sleeve, inc. the cuff. After that, only the inch of ribbing on the neck.

The new yarn came, but is not quite a perfect color match. It looks a bit lighter in artificial light, and a bit darker in sunlight. So, it'll be sock yarn. After all that, I started wondering about the gansy yarn that came with a hat kit almost a year ago, and dug into that. They sent me far more than I needed - probably 200+ yards of that left over (basically, a skein). I had suspected that Dark Navy gansey yarn was Wendy, not Frangipani, but upon close inspection, the left over yarn is identical in structure and color to the original two cones of Frangi. The strand is slightly more relaxed, but it is coming off a loose skein (re-labeled by the kit provider), and not off a tightly wound cone. Much ado about nothing!

No time to knit today, I have to clean the house and deal with the yard. We had a bad windstorm two nights ago, and the place looks like a tornado ripped through.

 

[Faroe]

Pattern section finished, and heading down to the cuff. Plain knitting is boring and harder to keep track of rows. I actually do better in pattern. Oh well, I'm almost done.

Ordered Chiagoo Red Lace fixed in US 00. 24" and 16" . Four dividing the knitting, and a fifth working is the easiest way to handle it, although all those needles get expensive. This gansey was knitted entirely on US 0, but I think the ribbing would have looked nicer on one size down. As much as I try to wrap firmly, I am a loose knitter. This sweater came out to (before blocking) approx 8 1/2 sts/inch across, and 11 rows/inch. Produced a firm fabric. The knitters back in the day of original ganseys frequently knitted even a bit tighter.

Also, Marie Wallin's Shetland book is ordered out of the July budget along with a Jaimeson & Smith yarns kit for some pretty mits out of the book. Wallin used to publish with Rowan (I was burned 20 years ago with a Rowan pattern book that was riddled with mistakes, and won't purchase their patterns or yarn again, but Wallin has also worked with J&S as well as John Arbon for yarn. Based on a interview I saw with her, she didn't say so, but seemed to be glad to have left Rowan. A certain set to the mouth when she mentioned them, or could simply be an impression based on my own bias. I've never knitted with it, but Arbon produces what look like gorgeous yarns...I came very close to just purchasing some skeins of that instead, but I really want a smaller project right now where I don't have to make any decisions. Thus, a kit, and J&S Spindrift is the yarn used in that particular book.

 

[Faroe]

One inch into the cuff. That's good, because the Shetland yarn is coming tomorrow. Also, ordered John Arbon yarn for a neck gator for BF. Yarn is Merino, grey, in the Knit By Numbers line. Looking forward to working with it. The pattern I will be using was free, printed off Ravelry some time ago, 56Stitches, Twisted Stitch Columns Cowl, by Turin56. Pattern calls for worsted weight. I don't much care for the thickness of worsted weight, so choose the JA DK weight, and purchased twice the yarn. I'll throw in a few extra repeats around, and hey, what could go wrong. It's just a cowl. I'll do the math based on what the author says his gage was.

 

[packyderms_wife]

One inch into the cuff. That's good, because the Shetland yarn is coming tomorrow. Also, ordered John Arbon yarn for a neck gator for BF. Yarn is Merino, grey, in the Knit By Numbers line. Looking forward to working with it. The pattern I will be using was free, printed off Ravelry some time ago, 56Stitches, Twisted Stitch Columns Cowl, by Turin56. Pattern calls for worsted weight. I don't much care for the thickness of worsted weight, so choose the JA DK weight, and purchased twice the yarn. I'll throw in a few extra repeats around, and hey, what could go wrong. It's just a cowl. I'll do the math based on what the author says his gage was.

I admire your tenacity with the gansey pattern, I'll be happy just to find the scarf I was knitting for Orion Commander and get it finished.

 

[Melodi]

I am very happy, World of Wool wholesalers in the UK had a June sale and on the last day, I got 4 kilos (about 8 pounds) of various white/black/grey/dark-grey Icelandic wool to go with small bats I got in Washington State.

I am going back and forth between hat knitting (soon to morph to baby knits for friends, once this last hat is done) and spinning on the drop spindle.

I'm spinning mostly white (Southdown from a Sheep named Ma at Finnriver Farm in Washington State) because my husband grew a lot of flowers this year some of which may make good die plants and I want at least to experiment a bit - no big projects in mind but playing with the colors in small skeins and maybe getting enough to weave some trim or knit a bit of edging (or just use as an SCA project).

I was going to try washing carefully the sweater body o cat pee but it looks like the rains are moving back in, so I'll wait a day or two so I can hang it out.

I realized because I have to cut the steaks to add the sleeves a tiny bit of felting on the body probably won't matter that much, it is a traditional kind of "boxy" sweater so I think it will be OK.

Also, I've got linen in the dryer because tomorrow I'm going to an SCA sewing workshop and hope to get some help cutting out a new Norse gown or two (I totally suck at pattern drafting and my short height and larger breasts with short waist means I need patterns that fit me). I love the weight loss and 10th or 11th-century gowns are pretty forgiving (most women had to wear there for years including during pregnancy) but I'd like some that don't swallow me, or at least only use the larger ones as over-dresses (which they did) in cold weather.

I'm starting to dig out the looms and weaving yarn to make some trim for myself and then I'll see how my shoulder holds up in terms of making a few pieces to sell; I've reminded myself I don't have to do it 10 hours a day again (like most weavers the deadlines put my shoulder out) but like my old weaving teacher in Scotland if I do it moderation I can probably start doing it again.

On the other hand, I'm starting to feel a bit better and hubby's garden produce should start coming in soon, so the textiles may have to take a back burner next month to food processing - we shall see.