Allergies Part 3

 I was not able to get the perfume residue out of 2 pairs of my sleeping gloves aka my design,  Maxi Fingerless Gloves.  Also victim to this perfume problem was my sleeping sweater.  I tried everything until it was suggested that I make new sleeping gloves. I have a pair that needs to be seamed up. I have also pulled some worsted weight yarn from Misti Cotton, a beautiful cotton and silk blend. Then a special collaboration between Lola Bean Yarn and Spin Cycle Yarn in a worsted weight wool yarn.  

I have a solution for the sweater too  I have lost enough weight and inches to pull an older but still very nice sweater from my closet. Which means that everything old is new again at some point in time.  The only thing the sweater from my closet does not have is visible mending.  Maybe a few years down the road this will happen to this sweater too..

The decision was made tonight to put the charity knitting aside until I finish the new gloves and a couple of shawls that are works in progress for me.  The shawls will come with new patterns for you.  

It has been raining here for 2 days so far.  We have gotten 1 1/2 inches at the house so far. So instead of errands I spent the time finishing up my closet.  Today I found a bunch of earrings. I sorted them out to keepers and Bookman’s trade.  Since I don’t want to overwhelm them I will take in 6 pairs at a time.  I say this because I went through 50+ years of earrings.  I bet that you are not surprised that most of the earrings that I got in Junior High and High School did not make the keep pile. In fact a lot of really retro earrings are going to be leaving the house slowly for the next couple of months.  

Gloves

 It occurred to me this morning that I have a very serious shortage of gloves.  I have not shopped for new gloves for 3 years. I did get rid of the worn out gloves though.  In 2019 I was not in the mood to shop for gloves.  After losing Eric in November, it just seemed like too much work to get myself dressed and ready for shopping.  In 2020 and 2021 the COVID19 numbers were too high to go shopping.  I just can’t buy gloves online.  They must fit right and be comfortable. Glove sizing is not uniform.  They can’t have polyester or acrylic or they would be useless for me.  You would be surprised at the number of makers who just Ignore Labeling laws. They advertise wool gloves that are actually up to 95% polyester. 

So today I started knitting a pair of fingerless gloves in Ella Rae super wash wool in red.  I finished the second glove this evening and promptly started the first glove. I had a good knitting friend, Barbara who insisted that if you do the second mitten or sock first and then go back and knit the first one, you will never have the I just could not finish the second one syndrome.  You will never have a drawer of one of a kind 1/2 pair of anything. It seems to work for me too. I know it’s all about my personal perception on the project, but that’s all that matters.  So below is the picture of my second glove.  

I have already pulled the project bag with the second pair of gloves  I just have to pull everything out to cake the yarn and start. You will get to see those too. 

The Next Challenge

My next Spinning and knitting challenge is to take these 2 tubs of lace and fingering weight yarns and reaping them to make a worsted weight yarn for charity hat and scarf knitting, and scarf weaving. There was a phase in my knitting where I actually thought I could find the perfect time to knit lace work.  After adding bits of lace to some projects I found that lace knitting was not fun and not for me.   To compound the problem well meaning friends gave me a lot of wool to knit with.  I just don’t knit with those weights of yarn.  

So the first part of the challenge will be to sort the yarn between super wash and non super wash wool.  The super wash wool will be plyed to make charity hats and scarfs.  The non super wash will be plyed to make woven scarfs.  The reason for this is that when a scarf is woven and washed there is a certain amount of shrinkage that goes along with the finishing process.  So I don’t have to worry that it will shrink. The shrinkage would be a major problem with hand knit hats and scarfs.  

The first photo is how the yarn will look like after it is replyed the second picture is the first stage of the challenge. Once this is finished I will move to odd balls of dk weight yarns. If you are a spinner and want to learn how to do this and just happen to live or visit the Tucson area just call Grandmas Spinning Wheel to schedule a class. I can schedule a class with anywhere from 1 to 5 students.  If your spinning group or guild would like to learn just contact me.   It is a great stash buster.  I even make art yarns with plying.

A Wavy Cable Pattern

As promised I have just listed a new pattern on my Raverly Designer page . It is a Wavy Cable Washcloth. The key learning component of this washcloth is the 9 stitch cable. At first it did seem a bit daunting, but after doing 3 of the cables in the pattern, the fourth one was much easier. This would make a good gift for someone paired with a nice bar of soap for a birthday or the holidays. I will try to list it in my etsy shop soon, but until then this link will work well.

Please feel free to share this pattern link with friends who like to knit wash cloths and other small 1 skein projects. I have a picture of the finished washcloth below. I used Sugar and Creme in a solid color, any worsted weight yarn in cotton will do.

Well it has been a very long day and the house is quiet so it is time to call it a night.