theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Thanks, Wendy, for the nice comments about the free mini-purse pattern.  In response: Do your own thing!  Be creative!  Consider the pattern a starting point.  I am already working on a very different version of the bag which I will share in a day or so.  It is a Victorian lace spin on the same bag (for a wedding).

I work one day a week in a yarn store, sometimes more if they need me. I do it for fun, for the contact with other knitters, and for the discount. Ahem. One of my favorite things to do is to help a knitter solve a problem. Some are easy, some are hard, and some demand to be shared.

Earlier this week, I helped a very sweet elderly woman who was trying to knit a top down raglan cardigan for her granddaughter. One reason she had apparently chosen the pattern was that she wanted to do something a bit different and learn something. She had done the collar and started the sets of increases for the raglan shaping, but she wasn’t sure she was on the right track. Something looked “off.” The first thing I noticed (my vision is not what it used to be, but still) was that she had used ring markers to indicate where the increases should go. Unfortunately, she had knitted them into the sweater. They were embedded into the base of the collar and would not be removable without cutting them or unraveling all of her knitting. Unraveling is what we did because, without the markers, she had been guesstimating where to do the increases. Instead of four straight lines radiating out like spokes, she had a spiral thing going on.

I helped her unravel back to the markers. Then I picked the stitches back up, went over the directions, and watched her knit several rows to ensure she understood how to do the increases and slip the markers so that they would not longer be a decorative addition to the sweater. The underlying problem was that she hadn’t understood the true purpose of the markers or the construction of the sweater. Once I explained what the directions meant and how that created the sweater shaping, it all made sense to her. It goes back to my earlier blogs on mindful knitting.

It’s been a hectic week. I feel as if I’ve spent every spare moment in the car, which is not conducive to knitting (assuming one wants to arrive at a destination in one piece.) With so little time to concentrate on my knitting, I’ve just been working on random socks, a sleeve here and there, and my dayflower shawl.

This weekend is the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. I’m not going this year for the first time in years. Usually, I drive out to the Howard County Fairgrounds on Friday and enter some piece of knitting, and then go out on Sunday to look at the sheep, finger (and buy) the yarn, and find out if I’ve won any ribbons. (I’ve had very good luck.) But I have SO much yarn in my stash and so much going on between my daughter’s birthday and my son’s end-of-school activities that I just don’t think I’ll make it this year.

For anyone in the Washington/Baltimore area who hasn’t ever gone, it is definitely worth the trip. It makes a nice family outing. There are sheep dog trials, good fair food, beautiful yarn (as well as spinning and knitting supplies), and lots of sheep and rabbits. The parking and admission is free and the weather this weekend is supposed to be great.

Hmmm. Maybe I’ll have to find a few hours on Sunday . . .

I said I would never fix up old sweaters again, but today I did.  A woman at a work retreat today was fidgeting endlessly with the sleeve of her sweater trying to work in a loose end.  I, of course, had the perfect tool and fixed it during break.  I found many holes at that point — in fact, the collar was about to come off completely and the shoulder seam was non-existent.  So, I brought it home and fixed her up.  A favor doesn’t count, does it?  I don’t believe so, because a) I offered, and 2) I will not accept payment.   No knitting of any import and no new project yet.  I would like to get the short row heel done on my Mock Croc Sock — if I do, a picture will follow.