Category Archives: knitting & crochet

Lengthening

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I made this vest/top back in 2006:

The yarn is a particularly soft and luscious cotton. I had just enough to make the vest. My, er, assets were a size smaller back then, and the bottom of the ribbing was at about waist height.

Time passes. Bodies change. The vest has been too short for a while now, and while I can wear it with something beneath, generally I don’t wear fests unless I need warmth, and then I don’t want a chilly gap around my waist.

I haven’t knitted beyond finishing machine knitted garments and the occasional accessory for (yikes!) ten years. A while back I bought some cotton from the Great Ocean Road Woolen Mill that had the same softness, and it occurred to me later that I could use it to lengthen the vest. Recently I finally got around to it.

The process was slow and laborious. I put in a thread just above the ribbing, then one several rows below to reduce the band width, cut and unravelled the yarn. Then I slowly knitted the simple pattern bands. I only dared to knit a few rows at a time, every two or three days, in case my rsi flared up. Even so, my back was not happy with me looking down so much.

After several weeks I had the pattern section complete. I needed to unravel a bit more of the body to end the pattern in a balanced way. Then halfway through Kitchenering the top to the bottom I discovered that there were increases in the extra section I’d unravelled, so I had to pull the stitches out and add the increases before restarting the joining.

So when I finally finished, I was very relieved that the vest still fit, and the ribbing meets the waistband of my jeans and skirts.

Fidget vs Focus

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The sewing I’ve done this year has been different to the occasional bunches of projects over the last decade. I’ve taught myself how to sew stretch fabric, done some challenging refashions and sewn more handwoven fabric than ever before.

My aim had been to have well made clothes from organic cloth, but the long-term benefit of that has been getting my sewing mojo back. You see, when I was in my 20s sewing was my main hobby, but I pushed myself too hard and wound up hating and avoiding it. Then in my late 30s I discovered refashioning, which was a great way to get back into sewing because it isn’t making a garment from scratch so there’s often a lot of construction already done.

This renewed enthusiasm is a much quieter thing than the obsession I had as a young sewer. Recently, I judged it enough to upgrade my machines. My Jenome is great, but it isn’t strong enough to sew many layers of fabric. My overlocker is good, but it has only three threads so only sews the edge, not the seam. I’ve also found that the stretch seams sewn with a double needle on the sewing machine keep breaking, and I concluded that the only way to get the quality I want is to use a coverstitch machine.

Of course, being locked down meant ordering without trying, so I did my research and aimed for robust machines. Which meant heavy machines I don’t want to be hauling out of the cupboard when I use them. To set them up permanently, some shuffling of the craft room furniture was required. Which led to a review of all the crafts I do, whether new, current and old.

That inevitably turned my attention to the Passap knitting machine. I searched for the email from the seller and was shocked to discover I’d bought it nearly ten years ago. I probably only used it regularly for the first year. The main reason I bought it was to make socks, of which I made a few then stopped because I already had so many socks.

I’ve used the Bond over and over, and it can be packed away into its carrier, so it’s well worth keeping. But I think the Passap has to go. Ironically, it’s home isn’t in the craft room, so selling it has no bearing on the furniture shuffling except to empty the cupboard of the magazines and parts that came with it.

Of course, selling it will have to wait until after lockdown ends. Even if I found someone willing to hire a courier, I can’t get out to collect the packaging needed.

Cranking

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Switching from making possum pouches to beanies has had a huge added benefit. Though I used the knitting machine to do most of the work for the pouches, it still took me an hour to add garter stitch to the top and knit the tapered base. I’d been wondering for a while now if I could go back to knitting again without rsi flaring up, but the answer is a definite “NO”. I couldn’t even finish one hat per night without my hands burning.

Still, I managed seven of them. And sewed up about ten liners. My sewing pal has made a great deal more. We’ll put them aside until the call goes out for more possum pouches.

But I really needed something to do instead, as Melbourne was swathed in smoke for days and days and I couldn’t go out. (Last year I discovered the cough I’d had for three years was due to asthma, which I’d had no idea I had.) I was twitchy with cabin fever and the knitting machine was set up and ready to go. So… beanies.

A screen grab from the EPA website on the worst of the days.

The first ones I made had latched up ribbing brims. Even that was enough to set my hands on fire. Then I remembered that you could make a long tube, gather the ends then turn one half inside out within the other to make a lined beanie. Hardly any hand work to do. Crank half of the tube from a complementary colour yarn and you had a reversible hat.

Also, I had lots of leftover yarn I’d bought for the workshop in case students hadn’t brought anything suitable. This is what’s left after making several beanies already:

I’m having fun matching colours. Though all the cranking is making my neck and shoulder hurt.

There’s no hurry. Winter is months away.

Start Stop

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Everything creative seems to be stop start lately. Or start stop. Trying things. Failing. Trying something else.

I warped up the AKL with my homemade divided heddle reed to weave a deflected doubleweave sampler only to discover what I was going wasn’t quite doubleweave. So I cut it off the loom and made a cowl, then removed that bit from the class sampler and information sheets. I didn’t have enough time to make any other example items for the class, so I put on a warp to demonstrate one of the methods.

Then I went through everything for the class and extracted anything I didn’t think I needed so I could pack it in such a way that I can carry and roll it all from the car to the hall in one go without wrenching my back.

I’ve been slowly turning knitted tubes into possum pouches, and recruited a friend to sew around 60 pouch linings for them that I cut out of old sheets and pillow cases. Though one pouch took only an hour to finish, I’m getting RSI twinges. Then a post appeared on the Facebook group saying that the number of donations were getting out of hand, and though that post disappeared again I’ve switched to making beanies. Latching up dropped stitches to form a ribbed band then cinching the top of a beanie is much easier on my wrists and hands than knitting a garter stitch top and decrease rows for the base of a pouch.

In other news… A few weeks ago I knocked together a still from an old pressure cooker, copper tubing and an electric stove, and extracted lavender oil. My english lavender hedge had produced a huge amount of flowers, and I had to find another way to process it than spending many hours rubbing dried flowers off heads. I got one small brown essential oil jar’s worth of lavender oil over three distilling batches, and nearly 2 litres of lavender water, so I’m pretty chuffed.

Then today I tried distilling geranium oil since I have heaps of geranium plants that need pruning… and got too little oil to extract anything from the hydrosol (oil infused water). Oh well.

I’m hoping to find some fallen gum tree branches and try extracting eucalyptus oil. I don’t want to cut any branches from my trees, and certainly not from anyone else’s so I must wait. Even if I don’t get much oil, the water that boils the leaves in the pressure cooker should be usable as dye.

I spent a few days last week tackling the sewing pile, shortening a skirt, taking the collar off a dress, fixing a carry bag for outdoor furniture mattresses, refashioning a cardigan. Then I started an idea for a convertible dress/top/skirt. I stopped at dinner time, and the next day all my enthusiasm had dried up. So that’s sitting there in the craft room, looking forlorn and abandoned. But it was good to make a dint in the pile while the urge was there.

In the next few weeks I have a workshop to teach, another to attend as a student, and then the first 4 shaft weaving class of the year. It seems like all the looms are occupied. But not quite… I’d warped the Lotus for five tea towels but wove three. I didn’t feel like making more tea towels and we certainly don’t need them, so I looked at the crazy long straight twill sampler I did a couple of years ago and decided to weave one of my favourite drafts from it, and just make a long piece of white cotton fabric. Who knows what it’ll be. I’m just enjoying the no-pressure weaving.

The Osbourne loom? It’s still empty. I have an idea for something to weave on it, after I ask a particular question at the rug weaving workshop I’m doing next week. If the answer is ‘no’, I’ll move on to my next idea… weaving canvas for paintings.

Start. Stop. Start. Trying things might mean failing, but it might also mean success. It might be a little frustrating, but I’m learning stuff in the process.

Distractions

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For the weeks leading up to the start of the weaving course I was in a bit of project limbo. The Katie loom was out of bounds, as I needed it for class. I didn’t want to put anything on the floor loom, as there might be a task set in the class to do at home that I’d more easily weave on it. The knitters loom was free now, but I’d been intending to use it to teach a friend weaving so I didn’t want to put something on that yet.

I did a lot of planning of projects on my To-Do List, but you can only do that for so long. I bought some leather conditioner and, with Paul’s help, treated the leather sofas. I baked. I did some mending. I planned out some knitting machine projects. And finally, I knit a scarf out of some colourful i-cord I bought at a destash sale.

And then forgot to take a photo.

Three weeks ago my Dad’s neighbour died, at 87. Last year she decided he should adopt her cat when she died. He agreed so long as it was written in her will – no chance of fights with her relatives over who got the cat. Off they went to a solicitor and it was revealed that her last will had everything going to a cult she had been involved in previously but wasn’t any more, and didn’t want her estate going to now. When it came to choosing a new executor she didn’t know who to choose, so Dad volunteered.

Oh boy, is he regretting that now. So much work. So much stress. When it first happened he was so wound up that I was truly afraid he’d have a heart attack. And the woman’s house… tiny but filled with so much stuff, all mixed in together. Like a fractal, really. Every room, every cupboard, every drawer, every shelf, every box, every bag, every basket filled with the same combination of objects: cards, letters, cat calendars, Christmas decorations, ornaments, jewellery, stationary, craft supplies, crocheted and knitted soft toys, snacks, religious item, table linens like doilies and such, scarves, candles, soaps, money and documents. The only kinds of objects that weren’t mixed together and spread through most parts of the house were her clothes (her wardrobe was surprisingly well-ordered) and cooking utensils (she didn’t cook).

It was like someone had got her old house, picked it up and shaken it vigorously, and tipped it into this one.

She had no children, her niece is sick and her nephew said “just chuck it all in a skip”. That’s the point where Paul and I got sucked into the vortex that is clearing someone’s house. And it’s a good thing we did. Among the mess we’ve found some amazing old things.

Most of the work has been sorting things into categories. I spent half a day with a friend culling and sorting craft supplies, only to find several baskets and boxes of it later. I spend another half of a day sorting Christmas decorations, only to find several baskets and boxes of it later. She had eleven Christmas trees. ELEVEN. I think she’d saved every greeting card and letter and calendar of her entire 87 years – all mixed in with everything else – as it filled two large recycling bins. I never want to see another greeting card, and my dislike of Christmas has deepened into a full-bodied loathing. I’m beginning to shudder when I see yet another cute picture of a cat or a dog, cut from a magazine or calendar or pet food packaging.

And yet… everything about her belongings spoke of a woman who loved life. And people. And animals. She had a zany and colourful fashion sense and was creative and artistic. She was spiritual but not set in her beliefs, as she had items relating to just about every religion that exists and even a book on alien abduction. She lived in the moment. She didn’t own much of worth but she enjoyed what she had. People near and far loved her. There wasn’t a snobby bone in her frail old body. I’d like to have met her more than just the once.

But I am very thankful that Dad has agreed that he won’t become anyone’s executor again!

It’s a Given

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Post accessory overhaul, I had lots of repurposing and rehoming to do. Mostly rehoming, but I had put aside a few things to frog, unweave, or refashion. I also kept finding more scarves! All were in the craft room, already awaiting refashioning or frogging.

I didn’t want to add a pile of yarn to my stash. Neither did I want to turn everything into new accessories for me. I was fine with making some to give away, so that’s mostly what I set out to do.

One very long scarf was shortened to make two. A scarf, neckwarmer and two pairs of wristwarmers were frogged. A scarf was unwoven. Out came the circular knitting machines. I turned the neckwarmer and wristwarmer yarns into a beanies to give away:

I bought an extra ball of yarn so I could add pompoms to the ends of this scarf:

And I brought out the Knitters Loom and warped up to weave a honeycomb scarf using handspun from a frogged scarf as the feature yarn:

That left me with a ball of very colourful handspun and a batch of blue speckled alpaca to repurpose.

The blue speckled yarn has already been knit on the circular machines several times, and is beginning to feel a bit worse for wear. Though I love the yarn, I’ve just not loved anything I’ve made from it so far. Time to try weaving it, I think.

A Stranglehold of Scarves

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When I started entering clothing into the Stylebook app I figured I might put in scarves, gloves and beanies eventually, but I was in no rush to. When I started, I thought I’d only use the app to put together new combinations of clothing, and I figured I didn’t need any help matching accessories to outfits – they would only be an addition to any look anyway.

But I didn’t know then how useful the app would be for getting an overview of what I own. Once I did well… I still put off tackling scarves, gloves and beanies. Why? Because they come with baggage. Well, to be honest, not the gloves and beanies. The scarves.

Gosh, did I have a lot of scarves.

Some I’d made, some were gifts and some were souvenirs. Two were given to me by a secret admirer when I was a teen (and only found out years later who sent them). Ten I’d bought on trips overseas. Nine were from my silk painting days of my twenties and, in my eyes now, are irreplaceable works of art. Ten or so I knitted or crocheted before RSI set in. Some were made from yarns spun by me and by friends. Some were made from yarn I’d bought on holidays. A few were made with luxurious, expensive yarn. A couple had been from garments I’d loved and refashioned into scarves.

More than 80 scarves in total.

How many scarves is too many? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having lots of scarves, especially when they’re handmade or have a personal story. But I’ve had this thought, itching at the back of my mind, that I didn’t actually like quite a few of mine. So lots of quick phone snaps and some photo tweaking in Stylebook followed, then sorting them into categories. One for the artistic silk-painted ones, one for keepers, one for outs.

I told myself to be ruthless but mostly I didn’t have to be. You see, I didn’t really like the scarves my mystery admirer had given to me, though I liked the guy. Some of the ones I’d bought on holidays were nasty polyester, and I have other, better souvenirs from the same trip. I usually buy more than one batch of yarn on a trip so I don’t need to keep all the objects made with all the yarn. The scarf made from my first ever handspun and another using a friend’s handspun could be frogged and unwoven and used again.

Of the scarves I’ve made… well, the rule for all handmade items applies: I tend to keep what I love, and what turns out so badly I can’t really sell or gift it. I decided the latter had to go.

I got my collection down to 50 scarves, including 5 shawls. I was hoping to halve it, but didn’t really expect to get there. I could be more ruthless, but I decided to wear every scarf once this winter and see whether any aren’t comfortable or practical. I’m also thinking of framing some of the better silk-painted ones.

What to do with the ‘out’ scarves? Well, I’m going to wash everything then do the usual round of clothing adoption prospects – friends, acquaintances, op shop – or else frog/unweave and make something new. Maybe even more scarves.

Red at Night Cardigan

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It’s taken me months to sew this up. I’d do a seam, find a mistake, unpick it, sew it again, find a mistake, unpick it, sew it again, spend the next few days with a sore back, forget the jacket exists, remember it exists but don’t want to stuff up my back again, finally get the courage up again to work on it and… repeat.

But it couldn’t last forever, and last Friday I finally finished.

Yarn: Bendigo Woollen Mills 8ply Cotton in pomegranate… and a darker, purpler shade of the same yarn from a very different dye lot.
Pattern: Seaview, with a plain collar and a garter stitch row added to the cuffs and hem.
Notes: If I made this again I’d do the body in one piece. I like the structural support side seams give, but the fronts are pretty narrow so I could have relied on just the collar seam for that.

It’s very comfy. I think I’d like some sort of closure. There’s a small safety pin holding the fronts together in the photo.

It pilled like crazy under the arms the first time I wore it. I hope that isn’t going to be an issue. It’s made me reconsider my idea of finishing off the rest of the Bendigo Cotton on the machine. The new ball was noticeably lower in quality to the old, with some very thin spots in the yarn in a few places. I’ll be watching for holes.

Well, if I do machine knit some more summer clothing, it’ll have to wait a while. We have some guests staying soon so will need the dining table clear for a while.

A Filling in Time Saves Nine

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Or so we hope!

During a recent trip to the dentist for a checkup and clean I was listening to a happy commentary about how great my teeth were when there was a pause, and then the apologetic news that a filling had fallen out and I needed a replacement.

Yeah, well, stuff happens, and often seems to happen in clusters. I’d rather have a filling than back surgery, though there have definitely been times at the dentist when I wished for a general anaesthetic.

I’d noticed that the dentist’s tools came wrapped in plastic, so I asked if they threw them away at the end of each day. No, thankfully they are sterilised then repackaged. Later I asked if he had one past its use-by and would be thrown out, as they are very handy for manipulating stitches on a knitting machine. He popped out of the room and came back with three.

So that weekend I gave them a try on the Addi Express. Oh, so much easier than the little plastic needle supplied! I cranked out the above hat using tuck stitches – which is a simple technique where you make the machine skip a stitch.

The yarn is something I picked up at Bendigo Woollen Mills. It’s labelled as ’16 ply recycled yarn’. Which is about as thick as I’d go for these machines. It makes a nice, cushy hat.

But it definitely is too warm for hats here now!

Gardening Hat & Cowl

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Hat Yarn: by Kathy’s Fibres
Hat Pattern: Latu

Some time ago I tried cranking the base for the Latu hat on the larger circular knitting machine with the intention of dropping and latching up the rib and cables. But the gauge was way off and I ended up slowly knitting it by hand.

Most of my knitted hats are fitted. The slouchy volume of this design appealed to me. I can pull it down over my ears if I want to.

Of course, it’s now getting a bit on the warm side for hats.

My Stylebooking continues. Yes, it has become a verb. I’ve added bags and jackets and travel clothes and summer hats and belts. I’ve culled a piece or two almost every time I added a category, but not a lot. Except for the belts. I had heaps of belts. I don’t wear belts so why the heck did I have so many? Most of those went the op shop.

I got rid of a black bag that I bought because it has all the pockets and handles I like and was the right size… but I finally admitted to myself that I hated it. So. Ugly. I found one I liked on the way out of the op shop. Bag in, bag out.

(And then when I went through box of things I reserve for travelling I discovered I already had a bag just like it. Doh!)

Oh, and that cowl? It was once a bag:

I never used it. I took it apart and sewed the ends together. Ta-dah! Cowl. Which happens to go nicely with the gardening hat.

It’s not been all about the culling and refashioning, though. When I added my jackets to Stylebook I realised I wasn’t using my denim jacket, even though I like it. Why not? Well, it turns out I’m deathly afraid of double-deniming. So I used the ‘looks’ feature of the app to come up with outfits that I could wear the jacket with. And then I wore one. Win.

All this has been a welcome distraction whenever I have a few minutes free. I’m back working on the book. Paul has had back surgery. I’m going to have my first tooth filling in years on Monday. The weeds are going nuts. I haven’t done much weaving in ages. I haven’t even finished sewing up the red cardigan. I’ve run out of energy and inspiration, just getting through each week. But we’re not unhappy. Just exhausted.