Why flexibility wins in crafting and life!
The life lessons hiding in your crafting basket.
INSIDE: tricky yarn substitutions, brilliant practice projects, luxuries, being awe-inspired, a neat trick + food for thought.
Good morning from Chiang Mai! Because I’m living in a hot climate, knitting with animal fibers wasn’t going to be the go, so I’m using with plant fibers, which is new to me. I haven’t ever knitted a garment with cotton or bamboo.
My last project was the Tara Top and I knitted that in a 4 ply Milk cotton. The fabric was much stiffer, with nowhere near the amount of drape depicted in the pictures of the pattern. But I love wearing it on cooler mornings.
The best thing is I can put it in the washing machine and hang it on a coat hanger to dry with no detrimental effects. So that’s a win!
My next project is going to be the True Nature Tee by Stephanie Lotven, and that’s also knitted in animal fibers. But I’ve chosen 70% Bamboo/30% Cotton, and I’ve just knitted up a swatch to see what that turns out like.
I had to check what yarn weight it was because Thai yarns don’t use the Craft Yarn Council’s standard yarn weight system.
So I used the wraps-per-inch (WPI) and I measured it as 18 wraps per inch which is a fingering weight yarn. It’s probably a little thinner than a commercial fingering weight, but I think it’ll work out.
The other thing I’ve found challenging is when you’re knitting with a different fiber than what the pattern says and also a different or lighter weight, that effects gauge and what size you should choose.
I found a helpful post by
of Nourishing Things on using different weights than what’s recommended. She talked about gauge ratios.Once a swatch is dry I’ll measure it and find out what my gauge is compared to what the pattern is in terms of how many stitches per row. Then, I’ll choose the size that matches my gauge in the bamboo and cotton yarn blend.
I’m looking forward to practicing the lace knitting pattern that’s part of the True Nature Tee. It’s amazing how these stitches, yarnovers, increases and decreases, make these beautiful effects.
It’s much more interesting than just plain stockinette.
One of the techniques shown on my YouTube video had a question about where the i-cord edge I demonstrated works on stockinette. I did it on garter stitch.
I was pleased to see after I tested it, indeed, it does!
If you’d like to look at that, please head over to the YouTube video.
A trip down memory lane…
Many years ago I lived in Mexico with my family, and my knitting projects were mainly knitted dishcloths. They were a chance to try different stitch patterns.
This is because there’s a huge resource of free patterns on Knit Picks. I used Omega cotton yarn I found from a haberdashery shop. The colors were lovely and that yarn was easy to knit with.
My plan was the dishcloths would be gifted to the local people I met while living there. I’d often knit while my kids attended Crece Verde which is an outdoor school.
The classes were held in Spanish so my kids learned much more and their language skills improved.
Mine did too because the parents who also sat around while their kids were doing their classes would speak to me. I had to practice my basic Spanish! They were kind and helped me with my pronunciation and vocabulary.
One of the teachers was an excellent crocheter and she made the most gorgeous amigurumi. She asked me if I would help in one of her textile art classes to teach the kids basic crochet. That was fun!
Playa Del Carmen (where I lived) has a real soft spot in my heart. I felt connected to the nature: there’s beaches, beautiful jungles and cenotes (which are limestone sinkholes like a natural swimming pool.)
I’ll always have fond memories of swimming in Cenote Azul which is outside of Playa Del Carmen. I remember jumping off one of the cliffs into the icy blue waters below and I felt super exhilarated after doing that!
What I’ve loved this week: reads, listens, visuals and gratitudes…
Anne Vally of Nourishing Things (who I mentioned earlier) shared the lovely quote below in her recent post “Time Is The Real Luxury.”
In Jennifer Edward’s post, Intention & Flow, she describes moments as “must-dos” and “wanna-dos”.
Currently I’m listening to an audiobook by an Australian author, Julia Baird, and its title is Phosphorescence, on awe, wonder, and resilience. It’s highlighting nature on our mental wellbeing.
I have a lot of respect for nature and how it helps keep me balanced.
When I’m out on my daily walks I’m aware of the change in seasons. Also, the plants in the gardens and whether they’re flowering, the clouds in the sky, the different birdcalls, I find that soothing and fascinating.
It’s so different in a tropical climate compared to other places I’ve lived.
I try to bring nature inside by drawing flowers, and one of the flowers I’ve tried is cornflowers. I love their color blue because it sings to my creative heart.
I’m pleased with how the color blending turned out on that sketch, and the rest of the sketches I’ve done are up on my wall above my work desk.
Laura Nelkin, who’s a knitwear designer, had a tutorial posted on her Instagram reels about swatching with less yarn. Her technique is swatching with a little bit of yarn at one edge and not taking the floats around the back.
I gave it a go.
She measures out the length each time and knits with that and then goes back to the working yarn.
But I found that a little fiddly with the bamboo/cotton yarn I swatched. It’s slipperier and I felt it wasn’t working as I wanted it to, so I just went back to using the method with the floats at the back.
I’d be interested to know what you think about swatching in the round, whether you prefer the traditional method or you’ve given Laura’s one a go.
I’m so grateful for the knitting experts who share tutorials on techniques, because if I’m not sure of something, I can go on the internet and search.
And sure enough, there’s some gracious and generous knitter who’s got either a written or visual tutorial! I find them super helpful.
If you have a yarn store nearby or in your area, I’m sure you appreciate the wonderful owners and staff who more than likely have knowledge to share and can always help you out.
And now, knitting with coffee. That’s something I’m super grateful for, and there’s nothing better than sitting down to a delicious coffee (with cream!) and having a knit. Do you also love coffee, or are you a tea drinker?
A thought for you to ponder this coming week…
I was reflecting on a festival I attended in 2021, which was online. It was run and hosted by Felicia Semple of The Craft Sessions, and it was over four weeks.
There were fascinating interviews with makers and all sorts of topics. Not just knitting! I found them so informative and I learned so much!
What I loved were the weekly Zoom meetups, with participants interested in getting together and talking about the interviews held through that week.
One of those topics we discussed was the debate about knitting as mindfulness or knitting and mindlessness when we’re doing simple stitches. I believe no matter what you’re doing in knitting it’s mindful.
I find when I knit I don’t just zone out, I feel very connected to what I’m doing and there’s a rhythm, and my mind becomes calmer and quieter.
I just feel at peace.
I wondered what you think about this. Do you think doing stockinette row upon row is mindless or mindful? I’d be interested in your thoughts.
So, may you find joy in the things you have to do and want to do this coming week. You matter and so does your craft.
How’s your crafting going? Leave a comment or press reply!
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