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

[Faroe]

The sweater was delivered, and the little girl likes it and looks cute in it. It's plenty big on her - the one I'm currently working on is going to be huge.

Turns out, Frangipani yarn will ship to the US from the UK, and they claim to have the solid steel long DPN's. They also offer more colors than I see carried by the US vendors (I've bought from Tolt, and The Woolly Thistle.)

Yarn selections are a pet peeve of mine. If I were importing to sell, I'd carry fewer brands, and keep a complete collection of the select brands I did carry. TWT carries at at least couple dozen (?) vendors, but not that many colors in most ever seem to be available. If you want grey, you have... yeah, a couple dozen brands to choose from. But, the iconic Herring Girl Pink from Frangipani? Either they don't have it ever, or they are sold out. If it were my store, I'd focus on Jaimeson & Smith, Frangipani, Blacker, Birlinn, Lettilopi, and the Norwegian Rauma. Rowan is a big name, but I got burned by them once as a retail consumer, and wouldn't do business with them again even if the sales were lucrative. Given the NH location, the owner may feel almost obligated to carry Harrisville, but I own an old cone of that, and I think it is horrible stuff, and haven't seen anything else on line of theirs that looked worth buying.

 

[Melodi]

Second sock is almost done, I may invest in some larger circulars in this size; I'm doing these on five needles and I prefer having both socks done at the same time; however these go fast enough it doesn't matter too much and while this pair on the same color; I've found pattern knitting with the 2 socks at a time thing to get a bit crazy with four balls of yarn twisting around each other.

I hope to start my housemate's pair of socks tomorrow; we shall see.

Great news on the little sweater it sounds lovely!

 

[Faroe]

Congrats, if you have finished the 2ed by now. Color knitting drives me batty, with the tangled yarn. A black and white Sedestal sweater is worth the aggravation, but I don't think I could manage a Fair Isle, and I'd never spot mistakes in the distraction until it was too late.

The new needles came in. I like them, but I'm not sure I love them. A bit pointy. We'll see. All three are being used as stitch holders for the finished back and half done gussets. I am on the front panel. Going MUCH faster than the back, which seemed to be all about tediously laddering down to pick out mistakes. I did figure out how to do the cables from the reverse side, which is actually easy, but confused and intimidated me at first. Anyway, no big deal anymore which side the crosses fall, once the piece is at the point where one is knitting flat.

I found an old unidentified size 2 fixed circular that I am using now, in a very dulled satiny aluminum (?) with a smooth join, and a cord that isn't too stiff. Might have been one of my mothers - not sure. Anyway, I'm warming up to circs. I think the issues were that I HATED the super slick and blunt Addi Turobs (of which I've also broken a couple at the join), and I didn't like the joins on the interchangeable Hiyas, which also seem to dig extra against the palm of the hand. The stitches themselves can knit faster on the straights, but I find the knitting overall is going faster on the fixed circulars. There is less fussing than with the long pins, and I don't have to worry about the dogs getting poked in the eye with them when they show up.

(Lost a much loved pet this morning: Franklin, a Trans-Pecos rat snake. He was calm, very beautiful, and resided next to my desk. Rest in peace, sweet guy. I'll miss you.)

 

[Melodi]

I love circular needles and color work but I vastly prefer doing that on circular needles; I'll try to get a picture of the red socks later - they are just one color so very easy.

I have started housemates socks and hope to fit 4 greys "Yule Cats" on the top before I dip into the pattern, I've seen Nordic ski socks done this way.

The Yule Cat is an Icelandic tradition that says if you don't get some clothing or a pair of socks at Christmas a Giant Gray Cat will eat you - aka The Yule Cat.

Since she usually makes her own socks (in tiny cages) I thought I would try to make these special and not just big like slippers.

Sorry about Franklin, that is hard at any time but right now is a sad time to lose a fur, feather or scale baby.

 

[Faroe]

The pecan harvest is OVER, so I get my life back. Unfortunately, the price the wholesalers are buying at is so low, we are holding out for now. BF is thinking about not selling them at all, with the economy so jittery. Dang. I usually get some of that money to spend on stuff I want. Oh well. It will just push some things out a few months. The four foot long glass viv with sliding doors will have to wait. It does put me in a pissy mood.

Finished the shoulder bind-offs on the gansey, so, on to a sleeve this evening. Turns out I misread the instructions about the shoulder "corn row" section the first sweater, and thought they were written wrong. No, just an * I managed to see in the wrong place. SMH - I read, re-read, and re-re-read that section too. I find even precisely written directions only make sense if you basically know what you are doing, already.

Hoping to be done with this sweater in four days, or less. Next project will be a small crescent shawl in some fine lace weight Merino (something very plain and simple, and fairly small, just for around the neck), or maybe I'll finish the socks I started. I've been lurking on one of the fine lace forums on Ravelry, and jealous of the skills some of these knitters have. Would like to get some non-committal practice in with cobwebby weight yarn.

 

[Faroe]

Heavy wet snow - several inches of it. A couple of spanners on the widest hoop house snapped (bunnies inside were fine). We got lucky; other areas had 30". Anyway, I was thankful for the knee-high stockings I knitted last year in heavy wool, my big shawls, and the recent mud boot score at the local thrift store.

coulda' been worse.

Almost done with the first arm of the sweater. VERY ready to be done with the whole thing. I ordered lace weight merino, and some lace weight Shetland. UK supplier (Sharon Miller, Etsy store, author of that book on haps, and many Shetland knitting patterns), so it might be two weeks in transit. I would have purchased from a US supplier, if I could have found any. When I do run across "lace weight" from suppliers here, it is more like a light fingering. I wanted Shetland, specifically, and also wanted to try Merino. At some point, I'll get a skein of Fleegle's mixed Gryphon yarn with silk and cashmere blended in, but I'm not a big fan of blends for yarn, and silk sounds like it would make the stitches slippery.

BF would like a pair of convertible mittens, but I'm having trouble finding a pattern in anything but worsted, and I don't like those big stitches. Will probably make one per the directions, and then make my own pattern based on a smaller gage.

I joined Suzanne Bryan's technical knitting forum on Ravelry, and will be joining The Knitting Guild Association, TKGA. They have mini courses as well as the three level master's knitter correspondence course. Bryan's forum has active members who have been through it, and the course gets high praise. Sounds like the first level, would benefit me. The next two seem to be geared to knitters who want to teach, or work in the pattern business, etc. I'm not a people person (at all!), so I don't plan to be looking for any jobs in knitting.

FWIW, the TKGA also offers a course in machine knitting, the Pssat (spell?) something or other. I know a few people here have a machine, so I thought I'd mention it.

 

[Melodi]

I will look up that Passap machine knitting course my machine is still pretty much sitting there nearly a year on; a course sounds like a good idea.

Yule Cat socks are almost done, housemate has sort of seen them but I have them folded up so she can't see the pattern; I just have to finish the toe and then sew in the ends; I will leave it up to her if she wants elastic on the top or not.

She knits her own socks but only with very thin sock yarns, these will be more like slippers to wear in the rented room she uses during the week when she commutes to work - she hasn't decided yet if she will look for a job closer to home or buy a house where she is - but after five years of unemployment she's happy to be working.

We are doing gift exchanges on New Year's Eve since she was in Germany during the Yule/Christmas holidays.

For future reference I think that School House Press usually has a lot of Shetland wool but it might not have been in the combinations that you wanted; I think most of their stuff is from Shetland sheep and is imported from Scotland.

These days though ordering direct from the source can be a better idea with shipping getting easier and the world being smaller.

I want to knit one pair of Aran weight socks for myself and then it is probably back to the size 54-inch sweater...

Glad the rabbits are OK, so far since that one really early cold snap our weather has been grey and gloomy but mild (40's and 50's) that is expected to change in January though.

At least we have the good wood stove in the drawing room even if the kitchen one isn't fixed or replaced yet.

 

[Melodi]

Yule Cat Socks (in Iceland if you don't get clothing, preferably socks for Yule the Gray "Yule Cat" will eat you lol) for housemate and red socks for the husband.

Despite the guessing, they fit perfectly (I am so relieved!)

 

[Faroe]

Beautiful socks.
They look warm!

 

[Melodi]

That's what my housemate said - I just realized the red ones didn't copy let's try this again,

These were the first test pair made for my husband so they don't have the decoration, I'll probably try to find a shark or wolf pattern to put on some for him later - wolves tend to be too complicated for socks but there are options out there.

 

[Faroe]

I'm jealous! I need to knit more socks for myself.

Watched some videos demonstrating Magic Loop on 40" cables. Looks doable. Also, other knitters use two sets of needles on 24" cables for knitting in the round. Haven't actually tried either method, but will soon have the necessary cables for both.

Placed an order to try Chiaogoo interchangables, size US2, along with Hiya "sock" cables (I hope I like the Hiya "sock" cable better than their small reg. blue nylon cables that kink at the end of the ferule, but I originally ordered the Hiya cables in "small" not realizing that they don't fit tips smaller than size 2 - and I have several as yet orphaned smaller tips.) I was very tempted to just go ahead and order everything in Chiao (the cables appear to be much better quality) - mini cables, small cables, and sizes 0, 1, 1.5, and 2 - but that order was way too expensive for January. Also, some Chiao pieces were hard to find (sold by weird 3rd party vendors with lower ratings), could only get 1.5 in 4", and I'm not knitting on those. Too short, they hurt my hands. So, when the orders arrive, I'll have a useable mix.


I don't like the new Lykke wood needles smaller than US 1.5. They are too bendy, and one of the points on mine has a bit of extra resin - annoying. That particular needle should have been scrapped, not sold. Given how hyped up Lykke is, I don't think they are anything special. I do like the dull non-reflective coloration, because it is easier on my eyes, and I like the cable transition. Mine are fixed, not interchangeable.

Some knitters swear by DykeCraft (spell??) needles, so I wandered over to their site. I could live with their prices by purchasing a collection slowly, but everything I would have wanted was sold out. Maybe several months later in the year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 

[Melodi]

I love knitting socks on 2 round needles, but I find Magic Loop a bit daunting; right now I'm just using two sets of 5 double points for my "Yule Cat socks" simply because I don't have two longer round needles in the right size.

They are also easier to carry around as a project if they are on two round needles and you get both socks finished at once (which you can also do with 2 sets of double points but it isn't as easy).

It is even easier to use two long (round) needles for socks, sleeves, mittens etc if the needles are different - I am very lucky to have discovered I'd bought the smaller sizes in California when my Mom was ill but had forgotten about it (probably due to all the stress at the time).

I had since ordered the colored needles (not interchangeable but pretty colors) which now makes it very easy to know which needle I'm working on.

Good luck with the orders and Happy New Year to you too and everyone on this thread!

 

[Martinhouse]

This talk of knitting needles reminds me of what I've experienced the last few years. Mainly since an arrogant little you-know what of a cataract surgeon did things his way against my wishes and ruined my near vision. Anyway, since I've gotten older I find myself choosing the very light-colored knitting needles entirely. I can see dark yarns better on light colored needles, naturally, but I can also see the light colors just fine on the light colored needles, too, so I rarely use the dark ones any more except to hold something when I'm knitting its mate, as in socks, sleeves, like you said.

I don't have any circular needles and at my age, I'd probably hate them and not try to learn to use them. But I do have entire sets of both 10" and 14" single point needles, and also complete sets of 5 of the short double points and the longer ones, too. I had to buy an entire set of bamboo in the longer double points, but I think they will stay okay waxed and stored in a tightly sealed glass jar. I have handfuls of extra needles of all sizes and never lack one if I need another for holding a row.

I've been using large safety pins for counting rows on single-color articles, but I would like to have some colored plastic toothpicks. The only place in town I haven't tried yet is Hobby Lobby, but I wonder if they are even made any more. My mom used to use curler picks from the old mesh hair curlers but I haven't had any of those for years. I'm a horrible packrat, but those picks are one of the few things I threw away years and years ago. The ones with the little square bump in the middle don't slide out while one is knitting elsewhere along a row.

Melodi, your socks are so neat! And you've given me even more ideas to try if I can ever get back to knitting more than patches for slippers. Seems my family members can wear them out faster than I can make them and replace the worn patches with them.

If I ever can knit something for myself, the first thing might be a fingerless glove for my right hand that holds the book when I read in bed at night. It will have to cover my forearm, too, as the corners of the blankets that I wrap around the wrist and forearm keep coming loose. I will probably not bother to make a nose mitten, since it would probably be an ear mitten by the time I woke up each morning.

 

[summerthyme]

Martinhouse... what about knitting a simple "sleeve" that fits from the base of your fingers to halfway up your forearm? You could make a loop (or two) using a crochet chain that would loop around the base of your little finger (and maybe your index finger if you need to so it doesn't slide down off your hand). It would be darned simple to make.. just a tube... much simpler than making a full glove with just the fingertips missing...

Summerthyme

 

[Martinhouse]

Summerthyme, I had planned to make a simple sleeve with a slot for my thumb about two to three inches below the top edge of the cuff and then putting three crocheted chains between the four fingers. The whole thing would be rib knit maybe even with a cuff at both ends. The cuff ends would be made with smaller needles than the length between them.

Or I might put the thumb slot and the crochetd chains a couple inches further back to keep my hand warm to the center knuckles of my fingers.

And I'd need the sleeve to be up to my elbow because of the way the blankets fall away when I'm sleeping.

 

[Faroe]

I eventually put a hole in the heel of every thin commercial sock I own, and those don't get mended. The thumb goes through where the heel was. Cut the toe off for fingers to exit, and you have a mitt. Works well as a thinner first layer underneath sweaters.

Not Pinterest worthy, but works if you have too much other stuff to do in the meantime. My mitts get worn and grungy from outdoor work anyway.

I love all the beautiful hand knitted mitts on Ravelry, but as soon as this child's gansey is off the needles (today or tomorrow), I'll be swatching for BF's gansey. Any fun non-committal knitting will be smaller kerchiefs for sampling lace.

Thought I'd add for those who knit Continental (working yarn tensioned in Left hand): I've mentioned that I hate pearling - very slow and awkward, and it loosens my gauge (spell?). Norwegian pearl holds the yarn in back, and makes a normal pearl stitch. I had seen videos on this before, but never caught on. Watch Barbara Knit (IIRC, Barbara Benson) has good video on this. I was able to make the Norwegian pearl correctly from her video. It is also efficient for P1 K1 with ribbing or moss stitch. I'm going to practice this once the sweater is done.

 

[Martinhouse]

Faroe, is moss stitch like seed stitch? I can do seed stitch pretty fast because my left hand holds the yarn in such a way that pops it over the needle as I pull the new stich off of the left needle. Come to think of it, I guess I do that any time I'm switching back and forth from knit to purl. I never even thought about it.

I think sometimes my fingers figure out a way to do things that I don't even have to think of myself. I do know that when it's been a long time since I've done an upholstery slipknot and I can't remember how, I just close my eyes and let my fingers remember and they do it correctly every single time.

 

[Faroe]

I may not be using the standard term. K1, P1 to end first row, and P1, K1 to end alternate rows. Makes a tiny checkerboard effect. I've also seen it with K2, P2 on sweaters, and a double row of each.

I wish I had used one or two pearl rows to better define my bands of "moss" stitch in this piece, but the charts didn't call for it. Next time I swatch, I'll try it that way. It may block out nicely anyway, but I expect an outline of pearls on each side would still look better. As of now, the band sticks out from the rest of the round. Again, a tension/gauge issue which the Norwegian pearl should help with.

Showed BF the gansey I was planning to copy for him out of Gladys Thompson's book, the Flamborough on p.13. Beautiful classic sweater. Instead, BF preferred the one on the opposite page. Personally I think that one is one of the ugliest pieces in the entire book, but it is traditional, and will be MUCH easier to do.

Sigh. No accounting for taste is there?

 

[Martinhouse]

Faroe, I guess moss stitch and seed stitch are one and the same. I like it because it doesn't flatten with use (except on elbows, of course!) and it's thicker than a smoother stitch without being heavier.

I like any kind of checkerboard stitch where I can because it doesn't curl up on the top and bottom and under on the sides.

 

[Faroe]

Yeah, the curl is annoying.

Knitting is DONE!
I'll weave in ends and block it tomorrow.
I wish I'd done a couple little things differently. Well, don't ask, don't tell.
Looks good, overall.

 

[Martinhouse]

I have a couple of pairs of those super-thick gray work socks, the kind with the red band at the top. Someone gave them to me and they are too big to wear, so I've decided I can use a pair to make those warm sleeves I need for reading in bed. I'll make a carefully bound thumbhole and cut the front of the foot part off so it covers about half of my fingers. I'm hoping they are the really long socks.

Hey, maybe I could use the very ends, the toe parts, to make nose mittens!

Just had a thought. I could use the thinner socks of this kind and just wear them double on my right arm. I know the ones I have are the long tube socks and would reach to my elbow, which is what I'd really prefer.

Now I just have to remember where I've put them!

 

[Melodi]

You can knit long fingerless "arm socks" by basically knitting a "tube" sock so I see no reason taking the heavyweight wool socks won't work although you might keep them as socks if you ever need to wear heavy boots outside because they already have healed.

Arm "socks" do better without heals and as one of my 19th-century school books says about knitting mittens,

"Anyone who has kitted a sock should have no problem 'fittin a mitten'." The book then expects nine-year-olds of both genders to figure the mitten's out using the sock instructions!

But "fingerless" mittens or "arm socks" work better from tube sock patterns (no heal) than with them- there are a number of tube sock patterns that use spiral stitches that look good, are warm and don't curl up.

Row 1-3: K3 P3

Row 4-6: P1, K3, P3

Row 7-9: P2, K3, P3

Row 10-12: P3, K3, P3

You just keep going like this (place a marker so you can remember where you start and end each row) until you are back to K3, P3

You can make hats like this too, the result is a sort of spiral pattern that twists around the foot without a heal or your wrist without needing any shaping.

When I make no-heal socks I prefer these to just stockinette stitch as they stay on better and wear longer.

You can also just do a K3 P3 ribbing if you like or do it until you get to the foot/hand then do the spiral part.

All of this is much easier to do than to describe.

 

[Martinhouse]

Thanks, Melodi. I may try some of this if I can't find those socks. They are tube socks and I remember that the heel areas were already worn, so they would be good for converting to arm/hand mittens. If they aren't as thick as I'm remembering them, I will just use two socks for one new mitten.

 

[Faroe]

Life is short. I'm always cutting up junk clothing to re-purpose. Nothing is drearier than the thought of HAVING to knit something. Besides, if all we did was knit for utility, we wouldn't be putting cats on Yule socks, or fussing with pretty lace and gansey motifs. I mostly dress in rags. Knitting is about beauty.

So, after cleaning up the mess from obsessively knitting two sweaters over the last several weeks, I pulled out two older lace projects, because I wanted to get the needles off them and the other paraphernalia organized. Both these pieces were originally swatches that got out of hand - if it is fun to knit, I'll keep knitting. Anyway, I just bound off both as they were, and gave the diamond lace one to BF. It is long and about a foot wide. I soaked it, and this is the first project I've ever blocked. Oh My! Came out gorgeous. Easy motif to knit - I might have to make one for myself with the new yarn coming in. I have a cone of grey Jameson and Smith (spell?) shetland due to arrive in a couple of days.

 

[Melodi]

I agree no need to knit things these days you don't want to or don't have to - I just was thinking if the socks were needed as socks (which if the heal area is worn they would need to be darned anyway) the way to make a good arm sock (or bed sock) is.

My grandmother used the basic "bed sock" (healess) sock pattern during the Great Depression to trade for eggs during the Great Depression.

I think my Mom said they just did the ribbing all the way down the tube but I like twisting the spirals for the foot unless I'm trying for something very similar.

I found that the "bed/boot" socks are really useful for heavy over-socks or for keeping feet warm on cold nights; they are also a great use of homespun yarn, especially the thicker sort.

 

[Martinhouse]

If I can't find those gray and red socks for an arm sock, I'll knit one, probably cuff ribbed the whole length so it will cling better. It will be like a tube sock with a thumb slot and without a toe. I'll use three single point needles to knit this thing.

Any time I've knitted a tube before, I've used stocking needle sets, which I really hate. But I'm looking forward to trying knitting with three needles. I've always gone an extra stitch onto the next needle when I get to the end of one needle, so the break between needles works its way around the tube and I won't get a "stripe" up the tube where the stitches are a little stretched out or looser. (NOT adding a stitch!) I keep a marker at the starting point so I can tell each time I've gotten all the way around the tube and I often put a big safety pin every ten or twenty rows so it's easier to keep count if I'm not using stripes that I can count.

I wonder if I'm explaining some of these things I do in a way that anyone else knows what I'm talking about?

 

[summerthyme]

It makes sense to me! I'm far from an expert knitter... i think I've made 3-4 sweaters, several hats and maybe 6 pairs of socks, total... but I've never managed to get to the point where I don't have to watch every stitch. I wish i could, but i think I'd better get the knitting machine going again, instead.

I have been doing a lot of sewing... and giving thanks for the incredible resource the internet is! The last time i ws in the nearest JoAnns fabric store, I was shocked at the prices. All synthetics, too... I don't think there was a yard of wool, silk or linen in the store... And much of it over $20 a yard!

Meanwhile, I've been making turtlenecks (my go-to "first layer" all winter) from 100% wool jersey knit that i got for $5 a yard online!

Then, i discovered that I didn't have the right zippers for the sleepers I'm making for the baby granddaughters. Zippers are @$3 locally, last I looked. I found assorted color packs of 50-60 (depending on length) at Amazon for under $15.

It actually makes sewing worthwhile again... I got frustrated for a few years, as it made no sense yo invest the time and effort into making stuff from crappy polyester fabric that looked as bad as anything Walmart sells after a few washings!

Summerthyme

 

[Faroe]

I'm surprised JoAnne's is still in business. They are ok for notions and tools, but the fabric selection...ugh! Pricey and CHEAP at the same time. I buy all fabrics on-line. Been disappointed only once. Amazing cotton quilting fabrics on-line. Once you find a line you like, you know exactly what you are getting, sight-unseen. A gorgeous good wool at 60" wide can be well worth $20 per yard, but you won't find it at JoAnne's!

 

[summerthyme]

Yep... but there must be more people sewing than we think... the local Walmart ended up putting their (horrid!) fabric section back after removing it a few years ago. I can't imagine why anyone woukd buy fabric at WalMart... their prices aren't *that* good, and the quality is awful. I made the mistake of buying a couple of batik fat quarter sets there once. OMG! The fabric was coarse, slubby muslin, and the batik printing looked like a kindergarten class has been turned loose on it! Wax drips, blurred lines, uneven dying. I promptly dropped the stuff in the donation box for the Salvation Army ... it wasnt even worth maybe making a sample quilt block from!

And yes, when I had the funds, I did occasionally spend $15-20 a yard for a good wool or silk. I have a 3 yard length of a 50-50 cashmere-wool blend that I paid $22 a yard for... but regular retail was $150 a yard! Probably my best fabric score, ever...

Although the silk jersey knit I found for $7.50 a yard is close... I bought 20 yards, winced at the cost at the time, and now wish I'd bough a hundred! The cheapest silk jersey i can find these days is $40+.

It makes the best sleepwear, ever! And if i had more, I'd make long underwear from it...

Summerthyme

 

[Faroe]

I think sewing has definitely seen a resurgence. Pinterest inspired that, if nothing else, but also SCA, and cos-play people make their own costumes. Historical clothing is a big category, and people are practicing it at all levels, from sort-inspired to meticulously researched (and argued about) reproductions of museum pieces. Also, like knitting, there are countless blogs and videos showing you how to do some of the trickier techniques.

Never been a better time for the fiber arts.

 

[Martinhouse]

Does anyone here know if round plastic toothpicks are still being made? I just pinned a knitted patch on a pair of knitted slippers and used wooden toothpicks. Although I did manage by twirling them as I sort of forced them through the knit, it was a real pain and plastic picks would be so much better. Even the wooden ones are better than safety pins or sharp T-pins, but I could blunt the ends of plastic toothpicks just a little with an emery board and they would be perfect for this job.

 

[Melodi]

Most of my sewing skills come from the SCA, that said I've noticed a pattern over my life I call "the generation that doesn't have to."

I saw this when I moved to Mississippi at age 16, again to a degree in both Colorado and California of the '80s and early '90s and it a big way in Sweden and later Ireland.

The "Generation that Doesn't Have to" tend to be the generation of kids that grow up having "had" to perform certain tasks as children and/or associating them with poverty and drudgery.

A great example from about 24 years ago was a then 50 something man in Ireland who said, "you know I used to knit, we had to do a sweater every week or so and we got paid one pound for each sweater that was shipped to America where they sold for 50 pounds."

He then went on to explain how every family member, especially the kids male or female were expected to do the knitting because it was about the only cash income the family had, of course, he hated it.

I heard the same things about scratch cooking and food preservation (canning) in Mississippi, as well as knitting (almost no yarn shops) people, would say "why are you knitting socks when you can just buy them at Wallmart?"


When I lived in Denver it was similar though there were a couple of real yarn shops they concentrated on weaving over knitting and knitting in public was rare.

By the time I moved to California in 1989 the trend was just starting to reverse as the "Generation that Never Had To" (aka Gen X in the US) started to come of age and knitting/fiber crafts that were cheap and portable became "in" again.

When I got to the UK and Ireland (mid-90's) it was back to square one, in the year after we moved here every single yarn shop I found went out of business, one over the weekend saying "no one knits anymore except women your age" (I was with a 50 something friend)

Usually, it takes about 20 years for such a situation to recover but thankfully this time the Internet and TV intervened - by around 2,000 knitting was already starting to show up in UK Soap Operas and in celebrity magazines with US Actresses knitting on the set.

By 2010 (after the 2008 recession) yarn stores started popping up along with combination stores mostly run by ladies from Eastern Europe who sell fabric, yarn, clothing repairs and personally made wedding gowns etc.

We now have quite a number of good options for buying yarns and supplies both online and as a physical location; knitting is everywhere but sewing is quite rare and fabric nearly impossible to find unless you order it.

Why? Because until the 1990's people "had" to make just about everything that wasn't a school uniform or farmer's overall's.

You can still get certain types of fabric, like good wool from the reopened (for tourists mostly) wool mills but fabric stores are rare and often very expensive.

We tend to buy linen at Ikea these days for our SCA clothing, it is really intended for furniture but it works fine for historical clothing.

So "The Generation that Doesn't Have To" can be a shorter gap if there's a reason for something to become "in" or return to it, but I still remember a lot of Swedes my age (then in our late 30's) in 1995 or so saying,

"I really hate knitting, they made us do it in school and it had to be just exactly a certain way and I never got it right" or "I will knit anything but mittens and socks that they made us make in school, I hated every minute of that class."

I can really understand if you memories of knitting are darning a ragged sock by the fireplace in 1985; because your Mum can't afford new ones and you associate knitting with drudge work, being cold and hungry why it wouldn't be viewed as a fun adult activity.

On the other hand, even then; the sweaters of farmers and fisherman were highly decorated so people did take the time to put "Yule Cats" even on their home-produced clothing, though they didn't usually decorate items that wouldn't be seen (like toes and heels of socks).

 

[Faroe]

Took back the diamond lace scarf. I'll be making BF something more suitable. I spent two fruitless days trying to get a lace border on it, but that wasn't working with the yarn I had available, and I was trying to make my own lace border pattern....a case of too many variables.

Moved on to a 50 stitch across swatch for the Kilkenny Cable Shawl from Oberle's book. I'm using the DK wt. left over from the gansey, size 6 Hiya sharp for the body. I love this pattern! It is beautiful, and interesting to do, and EASY to do. You always know exactly which line you are on, you always know exactly when to cross the cables, when to put in the eyelet stitch, and where....there are no indecisive moments, nor any unwelcome surprises. The DK isn't the most suitable yarn. I'm thinking a rustic worsted. REALLY want to make this pattern full size. Pattern calls for 7 skeins of 220 yard = 1,540 Yards of Aran. Lopi is an exception, but I otherwise detest bulky yarns, so it'll have to be worsted, and fabric should be tight enough on the size 6 needle. CO is 308 stitches; don't know if a 36" cable is going to be long enough. I've got a 50" coming, but that is in Chiao, and I don't have a six in Chiao.....grrr. Anyway, no more yarn purchases until Feb. so cable is a moot pt. for now.

BF is trying to set up a tablet for me, and it has a camera! Maybe getting pics of the blocked gansey will be do-able. It is my best work to date.

 

[Melodi]

I'd love to see the photos!

I am on the foot of my Yule Cat socks, honestly, I think the ones I made for housemate look better but I didn't want to do identical socks and now I know the pattern is better with a single color background than two-toned as the original pattern was set up for.

I made one hat with the dancing cats but I may make another one or a sweater later as I love the basic design.

I will probably frog back to the pattern part of the socks I started for my friend from Paradise CA; now that I know how to decrease and rib them properly to get the size to work.

Then I have to decide if we really need a few more pairs of "fast" socks or if I should just finish off the 54-inch sweater, I may do some of both and have the sweater for the main project and the socks for carrying around.

 

[Martinhouse]

All the wonderful knitting you girls are discussing is making me feel inadequate!!!! (: (:

I'm still canning and dehydrating. Wondering if I'll get in any real knitting at all this winter as the gardening bug has already hit me.

I discovered 9 curler picks in my box of my mom's knitting stuff. Plus I must have bought a pack of plastic yarn needles a long time ago. They will work as well as plastic toothpicks, so I can stop looking for those. Also, my sister kept her old curlers and is giving me ten of the picks and has more if I ever need them. She also suggested there might be plastic toothpicks in the party supply section at Walmart. They might have those little cellophane pompoms on them, but I can remove those easily.

 

[Martinhouse]

Just wanted to add this as a helpful hint for prepping and homemaking...

If your local stores no longer sell seals and other parts for your pressure canners and cookers, this company is a family owned place that is very friendly and has given me excellent service.

www.pressurecooker-canner.com

There is a shipping and handling charge, but the price on the seal I wanted is still the same as I paid many years ago at my local Ace Hardware.

Hint: store your seals, both new and used, in a Ziploc bag and then in a glass canning jar with the lids screwed down well. Keep cool and dark. I believe the seals are plastic now, not rubber any more, and I'm finding they are good for only one year, so I order ten of them. Pricey, but better than needing a new one in the middle of a big canning session.

 

[Faroe]

Glad to hear you found the tools you need.

Am swatching for BF's gansey. It's a long term project, so I'm not in a hurry, and he is visiting his family for the next several days, or I'd take his measurements. So far, 7 spi on US 1, with Frangipani. According to the knitters on Ravelry, that may change significantly when blocked. Haven't bound off it yet for a wash and blocking. A bit distracted right now anyway, with a new cone of steeley/silver grey Shetland.

 

[Melodi]

My Yule Cat socks are almost done, I hope to get them finished today - I haven't been feeling all that well (neither has the husband) so that is one reason I'm getting in more knitting time - I feel a bit better today but I want to take things slowly.

The good news is someone is coming to look at our old turf/wood stove to see if it is fixable or has any trade-in value - I found a place that does do reconditioned ones even though new ones are pretty much non-existent (new pollution rules you know).

I would rather get the stove sorted while we can still do that, before the governments in Germany and Sweden where buildings were rebuilt or replaced in the 1950s and 1960s; can try to hold Irish cottages and old buildings to the same standards until the first rural families or old bachelor farmers literally freeze to death.

If I enjoyed quilting I would consider making window quilts (and I still might if TSHTF) but I can really see them being useful.

 

[summerthyme]

Hint: store your seals, both new and used, in a Ziploc bag and then in a glass canning jar with the lids screwed down well. Keep cool and dark. I believe the seals are plastic now, not rubber any more, and I'm finding they are good for only one year, so I order ten of them. Pricey, but better than needing a new one in the middle of a big canning session.

Carol... this is why i ended up investing in an All-American canner (American made in Wisconsin)... no seals! I actually have an older (bought in the 1970's) 22 quart pressure canner which is useless becauseni can NOT find a seal to fit. Any identifying model numbers, etc, were long since worn off, and after buying and returning several seals that were "guaranteed to fit", I gave up.

Because I'm a prepper, when I bought my second AA canner (i wanted a smaller one that would be convenient for canning leftover stews and soups in the winter... my 931 m9del is great, but tall and heavy. The 915 is perfect for what I wanted, and would be ideal for most people who don't can bushels of produce every year) I invested in several spare parts... a pressure gauge, overpressure plugs, a couple extra bolts and handles for securing the top. But in 20 years, I haven't needed any of it.

They literally are heirloom quality... meantbto be handed down through the generations.

Summerthyme

 

[Martinhouse]

Summer, at my age, with my health the way it is, I can't justify the expense of new canners. Plus, I don't want a pressure gauge that I have to take somewhere to be checked to be sure it's safe. I have two of the little Mirro 8 quart canners and I like the one-piece jiggler weight that I can put on without burning myself from steam. Mom and I bought the same canner at the same time and I now have hers, so if mine wears out hers will give me more years of use than I have left to live.

Sounds like you'd have to send your old canner lid to a place like the company I recommended, to have them find out if they could fit it with a seal.

My sister was given a very used canner and she used it more, until the bottom started pitting. She took the whole thing to our Ace hardware to match it and found they are selling a few used canners and she found the same exact one with the bottom not pitted. So now she has a good canner with an extra lid and all the spare parts she'd stocked up on, and her son has a nice backyard water bowl for his two huge new puppies.