Knitting With Granny LJ

Good morning.

I have been asked about taking out stitches that are on circular needles.  Taking out stitches in a knitted work is tricky.  When I first started knitting I would discover a mistake and say a few rude things to the project I was working on and tear the whole thing out and start again.  I really do not like starting things over.  But I was still tearing out projects that I discovered a mistake in when I started shopping at Yarn for All Seasons.

Dodie, my friend and mentor, taught me how to tink.  It is as important as learning to knit and purl.  It is easy and a skill that every knitter, in my opinion, should have.

Tinking:

Examine the piece you are working on and find the problem.  The problem is, of course, what needs to be taken out and reknit.  I usually mark the problem with a stitch marker.  If the candidate for thinking is in the same row you may want to skip the marker.  If it is several rows back, trust me, mark the place.

Put the point of the left hand needle in the stitch below the row you had been working on.  Pull the stitch onto the left hand needle and slip the upper stitch (the one on the right hand needle) off and pull the yarn so that the upper stitch is gone.  

Because the word  “purl”  comes out “lrup”  I use  the word tinking for taking out both knitting and purling. 

The one thing to remember is to get those lower row stitches back onto the left needle in the same direction they were knit or purled onto the right needle.  Otherwise, when you get to replacing the stitches, they are difficult to re-knit or re-purl.   And those re-knit/re-purled stitches  are visible in the finished work.  I have done that frequently in my early knitting days and have ended up taking  out work that I wanted to avoid taking out by the tinking.  Some of my more frustrating knitting moments. 

So that is tinking.  I work on circular needles, as I have said before, and switch to double point needles for topping off.  I have tinked on the double points, too.  And the method is the same as on the circular. 

Until I learned to tink, I was seriously considering crocheting my caps because crochet is so easy to pull out and redo.  But thanks to Dodie, I can now tink my projects, if necessary, as well as I can knit  or purl them in the first place. 

Happy knitting.  Granny LJ

Good morning.

I have had the question come up about making a career out of knitting — as in how to.

I am not really a very good person to ask about careers in knitting. Those of you who have read my earlier blog entries know that I sort of stumbled into this capping career. 

First let me say that I am not sure that a younger person could make a career knitting.  Knitting is more of a cottage craft and the income is so variable and unpredictable that I would not recommend it as career opportunity.  Knitting and/or crafting is a great way to express your artistic side and bring in a little money while doing it.  Don’t expect to get rich, because except in rare occasions does getting rich happen.

That said, this is how I do it. 

I selected caps because I know myself well enough to know that if I did sweaters, I would probably do a back and move on to the back of another sweater.  I mean, with sweaters you have to do 2 of everything…. A front AND a back, 2 sleeves that also have a front and a back.   Mittens and socks are the same — you have to make 2 mittens and 2 socks.  And I know that I would make one mitten or one sock and never get to the other one.  I tried making long straight things that end up being mufflers.  Those were totally boring and I really do not like working on straight needles. 

I settled on caps because people only  have 1 head, I like to work in really wonderful yarns and I can work in those wonderful yarns without exhausting my budget getting enough yarn to do a larger project.  A cap takes only about 200 yards of yarn. And the left-over yarns from one cap project can be used in another cap project.  Caps are limitless.  There is no end to what can be done with 200 yards of yarn and a pair of circular needles. So I have always told myself and anyone else who would listen that when I ran out of cap ideas, I would try knitting something else.

I try to knit at least 4 hours a day.  I have set up this schedule because, given my Creaky Body Syndrome (CBS), those 4 hours are when I am most alert and focused.  I work in  some  patterns that are pretty complicated, and alternate those with simple projects like guy caps. 

My record keeping is as easy as I can make it.  Right now I am experimenting with 3 x 5 cards which give me the cap number, and where the cap is located. 

I sell my caps at markets and shows and at Shorebirds.  As noted above, the sales are really sporadic and one time you go to a market and sell nothing and the next time you sell maybe 3 or 4.  It is unpredictable. And if I were making the caps my sole source of income, I would not need to be going to Weight Watchers. 

I am retired and so I have a bit of income each  month from other sources and I am able to put my earnings from sales back into  yarn and have a pretty good sized yarn stash. 

Also, I live in a county, Lincoln County, which runs real high to retired folks and it has 2 good connections to the Willamette Valley, which  adds up to  lots of tourists in the summer and fall months.  Not only does this mean customers, it also means that the Lincoln County retired people who have been waiting until retirement to do that thing that they have always wanted to do (wood carving, furniture making, herbal remedies, jewelry creating and so forth)  are also in high supply. As a result it is possible to work the shows and markets year round if you have enough time to keep the product as plentiful as the potential customers. 

Well, that is an overview of things and I will continue later with some more details and a look at other crafters, artisans and artists that I know and how they do their art and sell it, too. 

Happy knitting.  Granny LJ

Good morning.

When I wrote yesterday’s Blog entry, I only  mentioned 1 place to be able to find kid cap patterns.  I did that partially because I did not think things through very well and partially because I figured that anyone who would be looking at my site for kid cap patterns would not, probably, have access to a yarn store.  And yarn stores are full of patterns for kids — from the infant up through most of childhood.  And once a kid gets to be a teenager, then they have, pretty much, an adult body.  So please excuse the failure to suggest  your local yarn stores as source of patterns for kids.  Also, now that I think about it, most yarn catalogs I get have patterns for kid caps and other kid clothing, as well.

On to topic 2:  Topping off.

I do a 7-point top off.  And have for most of my capping career.  I do this top off because I like the way it looks and because I hope that it will bring good luck to the person who wears a cap that I made. 

Directions for a 7-point top off:

1.     Count the stitches on the needle.  Remember, too, that I work on circular needles. I count and put markers at the end of each set of 50 stitches. 

2.      Divide the total stitch count by 7.  And a  set stitch  marker at each 7 stitch repeat.  If the stitch count is not evenly divisble  by 7, I fudge and add or decrease the number of stitches necessary to make a count divisible by 7.

3.      Then I switch to double point needles.  The first needle holds 2 sets of the top-off count.  The second needle holds the second 2 sets of the count.  The third needle holds the last 3 of the top off spaces.

4.       I use loops of yarn  to mark off the stitch where the K2tog is to be for each top pattern section.

5.      A handy tip:  When I first started using this top-off method the seams at the beginning of each change of the needles was floppier than the other top off seams.  To make them all beautiful with no sloppy seams, be sure to pull the last K2tog of the needle very tight before starting to knit the next section of top off area.

6.      Work around  doing a K2tog at every marker until the total stitch count is 5.  Two of the double pointed needles should have only one stitch and the third needle should have 3 stitches. 

7.     Move the remaining stitches to one double point needle and the work an I-cord to bring all the areas together in a nice closure.  The length of the I-cord depends on what you want to do with the top.  I leave a pretty short I-cord — maybe 3 or 4 repeats — and pull the I-cord back through the top of the cap when I do the finish work.  If I want to make kind of a nubbin at that point, I pull the I-cord to the top of the cap and just pull the tail of the I-cord through to the underside.   Work in the ends as necessary. 

I don’t do bobbles of yarn on the top of my caps.  For some reason I have a thing about those bobbles.  Other people like the yarn bobbles.  If you do like them then make a bobble and attach it to the top of the cap.

Also, Ann Budd has written a book, The Knitter’s Handy Book of Patterns, published by Interweave Press, in 2003, which is a great resource if you are doing caps and other projects.  Also, Interweave Knits magazine, spring 2002, has an article about tams by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts which I have found very helpful in my  knitting efforts.

Have a great day.  Happy knitting.  Granny LJ

Good morning.

Several things have happened since I wrote last.  First and foremost is that I am down 2 whole pounds from where I was when I joined Weight Watchers.

The second is that my first mail order yarn got here last week and I have been emptying out the box it came in and looking at the yarns.  The colorways are not as bright as the picture in the catalog, but it is still really nice to have some new yarns.  I got so excited about them that I forgot the empty needle I had was really for a special order that I have and cast on a cap in a soft yellow green.  I am not, normally, a fan of the greens and earth tones, but I like this green and will do it up in something that looks like a winter forest.  I just  have not figured that out yet.

The special order is for a black and pink cap similar to the one that I did a year or so ago.  Karen had a customer who wanted the pink and black cap that is in the shop, but she has long, naturally curly hair and the one in the shop did not fit.  I agreed to make a black and pink one for her that will, hopefully, fit her head.   I got a navy blue guy cap on double pointed needles yesterday and used the newly freed up circular needles to cast on the base of the next black and pink cap.  I have about 1/4 of an inch of base done and will probably go to at least 2 inches before I start the pattern. 

The weather has not been cooperating with me for my walkabouts with the boys (Parker and Red), so I have found an exercise bike in a second hand store that looks to be in good condition.  I plan to buy the bike and use it when the weather does not cooperate with my new and healthier self.

And I think I have figured out how to pedal and knit at the same time, but I will have to experiment and see if it works before talking about it.  At any rate, today — so far — looks like I’ll be able to get the boys out for a walkabout.  We all three need to get out and enjoy the ocean and the fresh air.

Have a great day.  Happy knitting.  Granny LJ

Good morning.

We  have another storm blowing through here on the coast.  Lots of rain and some pretty intense winds.  That is what is so nice about knitting.  I can sit in my comfy chair and knit the caps and imagine all the wonderful heads that will be glad to get a warm cap for these windy and wet days. 

I started one out of Mano yarn the day before yesterday.  I started it as a simple beanie kind of a cap.  But when the winds kicked up  I decided would take a different tack.  I have 2 skeins of the 100% wool in the Mano”s color 114.  This is a varigated red with some light and darker colors.  The Mano is a fun yarn to work in.   The rolled brim caps are fun to wear too. 

On the beach you can never be sure whether the wind will get you or not, even on clear days.  That is reason I have started doing the rolled  brim caps.  This is the pattern:

1.    Cast on 92 stitches.  Again, I am working with size 6 circular needles (20 inches). Cast on 1 extra stitch. Then join the two ends of the base by pulling the 93rd stitch over to sit beside the first stitch.  Then knit the two stitches together.  And set your row marker.

2.    Purl the first row.

3.   Knit the second row.

4.   Knit 2 and increase 1 stitch in the 3rd stitch around the base of the cap.

5.   Knit 2 rows or 3 rows. 

6.   Increase again every 4th stitch.

7.   Knit  about 4 inches.

8.   Decrease every 4th stitch. 

9.   Knit another inch.

10.  Decrease every 4th stitch.

11.   Then  knit until the body of the cap is deep enough to fit a head and top off in your usual way. 

This is, of course, the basic cap.  I tend to let the yarn carry the design but you could do it in 2 color, 3 color,  a knit/purl combination.  The choice is yours. 

What this basic rolled brim cap provides is a hat that can be worn with the brim rolled up on casual weather days, and if you need extra coverage for your ears, roll the brim down and cover those ears up. 

Happy knitting.  Granny LJ

Good morning.

The weather was wonderful this morning and Karen and I were able to get Red and Parker down on the beach for a run.  The first in a couple of weeks for all of us.  The storms have been  pretty strong recently  and the beach looks like one of the old lumber mill yards where the bark and the discarded wood used to be tossed before it went into the  scrap burner.  The burners are all gone now.  But as you can see on the beach there is plenty of scrap coming from somewhere up river. 

An after-the-storm walk on the beach is a thing of wonder.  It is a treasure hunter’s delight.  This morning we found a small orange float that is just right for a fetch-it game with the boys,  a dead pelican,  a few pretty rocks, and, of course, the drift wood.  When I wasn’t being pulled by Parker down the beach and I had a minute or two to look at the beautiful debris, I wished that knitting were not quite so back and forth. 

Karen took her camera and got some good pictures of the boys and some of the other treasures we saw. But I kept seeing the way the storm surf had carved the sand around the drift wood and the way it had worn the wood away on some of the logs and branches and stumps.  The one thing about knitting is that it is so back-and-forth.  Unless you are using circular needles, of course.  But it would be wonderful to be able to recreate the ripples of the sand from  the water or the erosion of  the wood on a long submerged log, or an image of a beautiful collection of sand and wood in the body of the cap.

Knitting  does not lend itself well to really fanciful kinds of designs.   I’ll have to think about it some  more.  Maybe I can come up with a way of making a wearable and practical cap with some of the casual beauty of the beach after a storm.

In the meantime, I have the EB to work on.  I got some really gorgeous olive green wool out of the stash yesterday and cast on a new EB.  This is going to be the prototype for the rest of the EBs that I do.  I hope.  I have the lenght and the width and the cast-off figured out.  The last hurdle on the EB is connecting the two ends.   But I don’t really see any problems with that. 

Well, that is about all from here for this morning.  It  was good to be able to get back down on the beach again and walk and watch the boys gallop around smelling things.  In fact, the way they treat the beach is a little like the way I go about looking for yarn in a new yarn shop. 

Hope you have a good day.  Good knitting,  Granny LJ

Good morning.

Well, we are having our day or two of winter right now.  I will bet that the people who walked past all my caps, at the market, are, right now, wishing for one of them. 

We don’t really get winter here on the coast.  We get rain, usually.  But a cold front wandered in and now we have cold and ice on everything.  There is even snow up the Alsea River at Tidewater.  Mostly a winter here is rain, and rain and then some more rain.  Last winter,  by this time,  we had had a major storm blow through with the  necesssary  power outages and leaky roofs. 

While the weather was working up to this cold, yesterday, I sat and knit.   I worked some on the new, pink EB, but mis-knit on one row and did not find it until I was about 4 rows further along.  So I had to tink those rows and find the error and correct it.  I don’t mind tinking on a cap because the caps are done on circular needles.  But tinking on straights is a real challenge.  It’s that business of trying to figure out which side to tink on.  I finally figured it out and tinked those 4 rows and then did a knit row to see if I had really gotten to the mis-knit place.   I had.  Then I put the EB down on my works-in-progress table, and went to work on the cap from Saturday.

That project is going along well.  I thought I would not have enough of the red  background  yarn to do the whole cap.  I am almost done with the fuzzy yarn  skein,  and it looks like I won’t have to figure out how to get it topped in another color yarn.  I think it is going to be a very striking looking cap and,  so far,  am pleased with it. 

I really miss having another knitter close at hand.   When I first started on the caps, if  I struck problem, I could  take the work to my yarn shop and the owner of the shop would look over what I was doing, figure out what I needed to do and then I would do it.  Sort of like a high wire walker has a net down below,  just in case.  Now, when I hit a snag on something, I usually end up tinking or just tearing the whole thing out and starting again. 

What  is tinking, you ask.  Tinking is knitting backward.  Both the skill and the name. And, truthfully,   I am almost as fast at tinking as I am at knitting.  Have had a lot of practice at it.  It is a highly difficult skill and can only be learned with diligent practice because if you tink the purl stitches like  you tink the knit stitches,  the tinked purl stitches get smaller and reknitting that area is not a great deal of fun. But on the whole, tinking can be a time-saver, at least for someone like me who is well-practiced in skill.  Otherwise, the whole project has to be ripped out and started again. 

Well, I am hoping whoever knit this winter weather here on the coast will decide to tink it out and we can have some normal winter weather starting about 5 minutes ago. 

Happy knitting and tinking.  Granny LJ