DAR red, white and blue wrap

 Suddenly it popped into my head as I prepared for my first DAR meeting as regent this month that I want a red, white, and blue wrap to  wear on occasion to a meeting.  I found suitable yarn in my stash.  I will add the yarn at a future date.  However, one huge question came to my mind as I read about different patterns that might be suitable:  Are these yarns colorfast?  Will my stripes bleed to pink when I try to block the shawl?

A google search found this you tube explaining how to test for colorfastness from Very Pink:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w7iMenFGBc

The yarns proved to be very colorfast so I am ready to start.  I am using Springtime Wrap by Diane L. Augustin for the shape.  The yarn is DK.  However, I am going to use Lewisian Shawl and Hindsight shawl by Rose Mogerman as the color inspiration.  

I have decided to make the width 22 inches.  This is double the size of the spring time wrap.  So the amount of stitches that I am casting on is 128

Quaker Yarn Stretcher

 I bought some jeans for Mary's wedding that I did not end up wearing.  I hope to wear them a bit this fall. They have a very pretty pattern on them....and I thought it would be fun to have something knitted to wear with them.  I love both possible projects.  I will start them tonight.  

First is going to be the Quaker yarn stretcher.  I used this pattern several years ago.  This time I am going to make it with a Cascade Yarn called Tangier.  I have approx 440 yards and it is an Aran weight yarn.  The yarn says US 8-9 needles.  The pattern calls for using size 10 needles for worsted weight yarn.  The loose guage causes the yarn  to go further.  Below is a photo of a finished shawl in a different yarn but somewhat similar to the yarn I will use.

Hopefully it will be as pretty as the one above and the one below:

Here is the finished Wrap:

Overtone/Undertone

 Churchmouse sent an e-mail with Brooklyn Tweed yarn information.  I found it very interesting.  

Knitting for World War I

 Harps and Thistles sent newsletter today that included a link to a really great article about knitting in WWI.  Here is a photo from the article followed by the link to read the entire article.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/when-knitting-was-a-patriotic-duty-wwi-homefront-wool-brigades?utm_source=Customers&utm_campaign=e712bcf5da-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_05_02_38_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e25910db8b-e712bcf5da-508883713&mc_cid=e712bcf5da&mc_eid=178c0f918a

Lakeside Phairo Wrap

I am finishing a Lakeside Phairo Wrap today.  Perhaps I won't do the actual cutting, but the knitting is done.  I bought this as a kit after Sally told me how much she had enjoyed knitting this.  It is knitted in Linen and extremely mindless which has made it a good summer project.   

Using my pretty basket as a pattern

This spring I started a new shawl that uses  my basket as a pattern.  I have owned the basket for several years.  At some point I bought linen yarn in like colors to knit a shawl that matches the basket.  And I began to knit.

My best guess is that I cast on 127 stitches and then did garter stitches n the straw color for about seven rows.Then I began to copy the pattern from the basket.  However as I am counting stitches after knitting for a while it seems that my count is about 10 stitches more.  I am not sure if I have picked up a few stitches as I have gone or if I have miscounted my cast on stitches.  However, my advice if someone (including me) is trying to make a copy of this shawl, is to write down cast on stitches and try to stay close to this number,

Today I picked the shawl up again after having laid it down before Mary's wedding.  I am ready to start the next section and it is a lace section and I can not remember what the pattern was that I was using.  So I decided it was time to document my pattern here on the blog site.  Below is the photo of the basket that I am using as the pattern:

My notes say that I used the pattern in the Wendy's Fern Shawl for the lace panels.  And that I copied the shape from several wraps that I have done lately that have a knit one, knit front and back on the front side beginning and a knit two together knit one on the end of the right side rows,  I have picked this up in July 2024 again.  I have decided to use the method to make the bias:  P1, kfb, k to last 2 sts, k2tog .  Then the ws knit or purl across with not increase or decrease.  Hope this works.  This causes the shawl to have stripes on the bias.  You will see what this means when I take a photo of the finished shawl.

This morning I am working on the lace pattern part.  My pattern is not as airy as the basket.  But I think that I like it well enough to proceed.  The lace pattern is k2tog, yo, knit three after the initial beginning on the right side of k1, knit front and back.  The row ends with knit tog, k1,  You have to kind of make it work at the end and front to keep right pattern.  But here is where the k2tog goes:

The two stitches knit together are the stitch over the yo in the row below with the next stitch that would have been the first of the knit three stitches.  

The wrong side rows are just knit across with the k1 knit front and back at beginning of row and k2tog, knit 1 at end of row.

Repeat these two rows six times or as many rows as you want the lace pattern to be,

 

Knitting in the Waiting room

 Harps and Thistles sent a link to a post that spoke to me this morning:

https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/2022/06/15/knitters-notebook-waiting-room-knitting/?utm_source=Customers&utm_campaign=e7bdae489d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_05_02_38_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e25910db8b-e7bdae489d-508883713&mc_cid=e7bdae489d&mc_eid=178c0f918a

I sent the link to my knitting group with the comment below:

I think this speaks to many of us…..Certainly I would never have made it through my husband’s year of treatment without my knitting and my computer.  And what a crazy thing  it is that I can almost not knit any time except when passing hours in some waiting room or event?  

Sally sent me the following comment that made me want to blog these thoughts:

Thank you Marsha.  This is so true both as the waiter and the patient. Socks are my waiting room project.  Sometimes just one row.  Sometimes knit so tightly that you can notice the gauge change.  Sometimes many weird stitches that are repaired at a calmer moment or left as a sort of a scar and a reminder.  Socks never seem to just be socks.

And I added to her:

Your words call me to put a blog post together…..It is almost like a life line to know that your knitting is with you if you end up all night at the hospital instead of just an hour or two in the waiting room.  A comfort to have it with you even if you don’t actually knit or even knit poorly.

I am preparing to spend many hours on a plane in the next week...and one of the most important things I will have with me is my knitting.  A project not so hard that I will have trouble....and not so large as to have to lug it...and not so easy as to not be of interest.  It needs to fit easily into my back pack.