Hi Everyone
Greetings, one and all. I’m still here and as healthy as ever and trust you are too! One good thing about staying away from everyone is that I haven’t had a cold in ages. Maybe I shouldn’t say that as it is rather tempting fate! I do miss seeing my daughter and grandchildren but we would rather see each other virtually than not at all, ever. The risks are too great with the virus in schools and elsewhere, especially as we are doing more for one of our aging parents. Stay safe, and don’t take risks, no matter how much you may miss others.
But on to more cheerful things!
We’ve now had to cancel nine meetings. I have my fingers tightly crossed that meetings can resume at some stage next year, and it would be nice to think things could start to get back to a new normal by the time Spring and the lighter evenings come around. I never dreamt restrictions would go on for this long so starting the Newsletter as a way of communicating right at the beginning a good move. Hopefully you are still finding them interesting. Sally has sent us some links this time so look out for them later on. If you’ve spotted something that might interest others please do share.
We will be having a Christmas Zoom meeting on 1st December. If you haven’t yet contacted me to say you’d like to join in then please be quick. I will be sending out the joining information to those taking part a couple of days before the meeting. Watch out for that email and check spam filters if you don’t appear to have received it. I know we all like to chat about everything, but there should be one “rule” for our meeting - talk should be predominantly relevant to knitting, crochet, things we’ve made and related crafts! Don’t forget we can’t all talk at once either which is why it is important to stay “on topic” as they say. Sally and I did think about having a quiz, but I guess you’ve all done plenty of those in the last few months! So instead we’ll just let things take a natural course and have a few ideas up our sleeves just in case we run out of things to talk about - as if!! Feel free to wear a Christmas hat; decorations are also allowed and as nobody will be driving anywhere after the meeting you could have your favourite tipple and nibbles to hand as well.
Are you someone who turns their wardrobe out frequently because they get bored with their clothes, or do you wear things until they almost fall off you? Perhaps you are someone who fluctuates in size and therefore has a range of sizes. I must admit to having favourites that I wear time and again.
I recently visited the Reknit Revolution website. The Reknit Revolution is a project by Amy Twigger Holroyd, a designer, maker and researcher who encourages us to use our knitting skills to rework the knitted garments we have in our wardrobes rather than just bin things. We might send garments that are in a good condition to a charity shop or similar, but what do you do with things that are damaged or marked? Visit the website a suggestion chart and for ideas for doing a makeover on a garment in your wardrobe. Some of these suggestions would work as a way to adapt a favourite garment so that it can continue to be worn. It doesn’t have to be something you knitted yourself; it would also work on a commercially produced garment. Some of these ideas could also extend the wearability of childrens garments. This could be especially important as the world’s resources are not going to last for ever, plus manmade fibres can be hard to recycle and will take many years to degrade naturally.
à Hand knitters—do you have problems picking up dropped stitches? Try using a latch needle like the ones that machine knitters use or a crochet hook. They’re not expensive and it make things easier.
à When knitting socks I can find that the cast on is too tight so when finished I can’t get the socks on. I’ve tried using a larger needle size just for the cast on, and working as loosely as I can but that can look uneven. A friend recommended I try a Norwegian cast on so I looked it up on YouTube. Definitely going to try it on the next pair I cast on that’s cuff down.
à If you're storing your yarn in boxes and don’t want to keep opening them to see what is inside then number each box. As you put the yarn into the box wind off a length of it and make a record of what it is, how much there is and which box it is in. Whether you record in a book, or use a card index system you will know exactly what you have, and more importantly where it is. You could also include other information like dye lot number, where you bought it and how much it cost. Don’t forget to keep the record up to date by crossing out or removing the relevant card when you take yarn out and use some or all of it.
à Machine Knitters - If you are in the habit of wearing a bracelet, or watch with a safety chain, cover it with a sports wrist band (or knit one) so that it doesn’t catch in the needle bed.
à If your tension square won’t stay uncurled for measuring, lay a sheet of coarse sand paper on the table sandy side up, and gently uncurl the swatch onto it, pressing it gently onto the sandpaper as you do so. Make sure that you don’t stretch the swatch. It should then stay uncurled long enough for you to measure accurately.
à It’s been a while since I linked to any information on copyright which is always a touchy subject. The Government information was last updated in 2015 and will change on 1st January 2021 as we leave the EU. Here’s a link to the Government website that leads on to other pages including copyright information for knitters and sewers.
Browsing the World Wide Web
More about how the way you knit affects your tension and the look of the fabric can be found on the Modern Daily Knitting website. Explore the site further to find out more about whether our tension changes or the swatch lies. Lots of other hints and tips in the How To section of this interesting American website.
I remember how much interest was shown when Joyce Meader visited the club and showed us some of her collection of military and historic knitted items. I came across a website about someone in America who has a similar interest in history -Threadwinder. One page that caught my attention was a collection of lyrics of WW1 songs, many of them rather tongue in cheek, which were written about the “comforts made for the soldiers and sailors. Sister Susie does seem to have come in for quite a bit of comment. The lyrics to many of the songs from an age when sheet music was available can be found on the website too.
Not sure if I’ve linked to this before, but for those interested in old knitting patterns, take a look at the Antique Pattern Library.
Have you ever wanted to gain a recognised qualification in hand knitting or crochet? The School of Stitched Textiles, based in Lancashire, offer City & Guilds accredited craft courses including hand knitting and crochet, completed by distance learning/home study/online.
What do you buy for the knitter who has everything? Take a look at the selection of hampers available from The Knitting Gift Shop . They also have a lovely range of items for knitters including stitch markers, yarn bowls and a yarn server. Based in the North Pennines, they source many items locally.
I found some interesting simple hand manipulated three-stitch patterns on Susan Guagliumi’s website. I’m sure hand knitters will be able to follow this and work most of the patterns too. It’s mainly down to which direction you transfer the stitches!
Lots of free ideas and downloads on the Hobbycraft website for a handmade Christmas. Many are suitable for children too.
Knitting History Forum
Sally joined in with the Knitting History Forum virtual Conference and AGM recently. This is the first year that the entire event has been online and enabled delegates and speakers from around the world to join in. Time zones didn’t seem to matter!
Rox Knits (Roxanne Richardson shared the extensive learning opportunities from knitting a 1920’s knitting pattern. You can catch up on her experiences by watching this video and also reading her posts on Ravelry. Roxanne has also worked on a 1904 Edwardian Sweater and posted about that too. Explore her pages to find information and links to downloads of these and other vintage patterns
Kirk Dunn is a self-taught knitter who loves colour and knits everything from the very simple to the blow-your-mind (taken from his website) . He is a textile artist, has knitted stained glass windows, and is interested in code hidden in knitting. He is also an actor and writer. He’s also knitted a covid mask. His website is well worth exploring.
Marleen Laag shared that the company EE Exclusives made a knitting wall handing for the King, which had a lot of media coverage.
Gillian Vogelsand-Eastwood shared a link to the Textile Research Centre, Leiden, Netherlands. This is a site that’s well worth spending time visiting and perhaps an actual visit too once we can travel freely.
Annemor Sundbo, Norway, has a small hand knitting museum. The majority of the site is not in English, but look along the menu and you’ll find a section that is. Don’t ignore the other pages as there are some beautiful pictures, or you could perhaps use a translation app to find out more.
Some members of the forum are also members of the Knitting and Crochet Guild. They were reminded that there are free patterns that can be downloaded from the members area of the KCG website once you have signed it.
Thank you Sally, these all look really interesting
Our Christmas Tree
Here's the pictures of the decorations I was sent for our for our Christmas tree. Not many, but at least the tree isn't bear.
Not many decorations on our Christmas tree!
Design for the bauble from 55 Christmas Balls to Knit by Arne & Carlos
My Stay and Home and Keep Busy List
Some things I had intended to do have remained just that—intentions. The divoré type fabric I mentioned last time is still in one piece! Maybe I’ll look at that soon but there is no urgency at the moment. I have done a bit of research and have more of an idea about size. I’m also planning to do a bit of shaping so it sits better on me, and also make it easier to run round the edges with the overlocker. There will probably be a strip of fabric left over which could be suitable for a scarf. If there is I will be looking for, or making, some fringing for it.
up, and followed the instructions to turn the cards 4 times forward and 4 back whilst passing the shuttle back and forth for the weft. I must admit I wasn’t overly impressed at first as all I could see was a vague pattern, but as I moved the band further on I saw the other side of it and that was so much nicer. Encouraged I continued and a few hours later I completed the band. Now what am I going to do with it?
I have also finished the band to go round the hat I crocheted earlier in the year. It looks so much better than the one I put on originally. The colours are much more summery and the hat looks more complete. So I’m now all ready for good weather!
I have been knitting too. A few decorations for our virtual tree and also using a ribbon yarn from my stash. I completed one cowl shawl (see Show and Tell) and started on a second one. I started increasing both sides every alternate row and then decided I wanted it to be wider and not as deep as the first one, so added a central increase after about 10 rows of increasing at the edges only. I’d soon completed it but was so surprised at the shape when it came off the needles. Needless to say it has now been undone and reknitted with increases centre and edges right from the start.
So that’s the majority of my crafting this month.
Show and Tell
Great work Gaynor and thanks for asking.
Carole said: This cardigan has been sometime in the making. I ran out of yarn during the last lockdown and then got sidetracked. The yarn is The WI Soft and Silky 4 ply from Hobbycraft and is knitted in double moss stitch with lace panel.
Lovely.
I have crocheted what seems like a zillion little blocks for a new blanket but cannot be bothered to sew it up at the moment. To many ends! Maybe doing a few every evening would be the way to go.
Thought I would get some more wool for another blanket project but discovered that the locusts had had the lot at Hobbycraft last Wednesday (the day before the lockdown) and the shelves were even more bare of wool than of toilet roll. So I have dug out a large cone of chenille that I acquired for a fiver some time ago and am trying to work out how far it will go and what tension/needles I should be using (no information on the cone). I shall look forward to seeing it.
Karen has also knitted a pair of socks. Yarns are both from West Yorkshire Spinners.
And finally, my shawl cowl. Knitted in a ribbon yarn from my stash and based on a pattern called Dream Catcher Scarf.
Don’t forget to take photos of your knitted gifts before you wrap them. We can show after Christmas so as not to spoil any surprises. Our next Newsletter will be sent around the end of January 2021.
Merry Christmas
Happy New Year
May 2021 be a good one with opportunities to knit, crochet and craft!
Until we meet again
Keep Calm
and carry on
Knitting or Crocheting!
Hands, Face, Space
Keep Active, Stay Positive - We will meet again
