Supporting the Fiber Community during the Pandemic
As I’ve mentioned a couple times now, I haven’t found myself with oodles of extra time during our shelter in place/self isolation. I still have a full time job, for which I am really very thankful, and if anything, it’s a little extra busy and hectic at work. In addition. I now have to cook more since we can’t do lunch at the university cafeteria (my husband gets more dishes to do) and we are generally messing up the house more, which means a little more attention to tidying. Frankly, the fact that I started this post 3 days 5days a week ago and am only just now finishing it proves that I’m more, not less, busy.
And really, I have plenty of yarn and patterns to keep me busy for quite awhile. I did put in one small yarn purchase for a specific project I want to get started and for which I genuinely had nothing suitable:
I hope to get started on it over my Easter holiday (why yes, I am indeed looking forward to four days stuck at home with no work).
And of course, my latest Clan of Igors colorway arrived a little while back (and now that it’s April nobody can cry fowl about spoilers for March):
Sooo yellow. I was really hoping Undercover Otter wouldn’t get too clever and not pick yellow for Deadly Bees because I like yellow. I am thoroughly satisfied with its extreme yellowness!
Anyhow – I want to support some of the people who rely on us home crafters for their living and who may either be unable to work, or may suddenly find themselves the sole breadwinner because a partner/spouse is out of work. But I don’t need (or particularly want) much at the moment.
Pattern Giveaway
So, here’s the deal: pattern giveaway. Do you have a patterns you’d like to make, but can’t afford to buy it right now? As long as it’s available via the Ravelry store, use my contact form to let me know what you want and I’ll gift it to you.
- Pattern must be available for download via Raverly so I can use the Raverly gift option.
- You’ll need to provide me with either the email address you want me to send it to or your Ravelry name, but that’s it for the Gift function
- Patterns can be any of the craft types Ravelry offers and may be an individual pattern or small collection of patterns/eBook.
- I’ll fill requests in the order I receive them & I don’t need to know why you wouldn’t be comfortable buying it for yourself right now.
- I won’t share or publish any information on about who received a gift, but I may share some of the patterns people requested.
- I can veto a specific pattern and offer an alternative if I choose.
- There are a few designers I don’t want to support due to their past harmful behavior towards vulnerable communities. If you pick a pattern from one of these designers, I’ll suggest an alternative and if you like it, I’ll send that instead.
My goal is to give away patterns to as many as I can. I’ll update this post when I’ve hit my limit.
Current Knitting
So want to see what I have managed to do with the knitting time I’ve had? I think I must enjoy using the knitting belt, because now that the Twisted Lines top is finished (ok ok, I have a few ends to trim after a final blocking) I’ve promptly cast on the next top in my queue:
The pattern is the Arequita Tunic, and I’m doing the lace section in a contrast yarn. It took a little experimentation, but I’m happy with how I’m moving from one color to the next and creating a sturdy and tidy seam between the two as I go. I suspect somewhere out there are instructions for doing this, but I was too lazy to look for any.
The yarn is a wool/linen blend I picked up at the Wonderwool Wales yarn festival last year. It’s more or less a sport weight, so this would be a quicker knit than the last except one potential factor: my digital pattern. For whatever bizarre reason, I cannot get the PDF to load properly on my iPad. I’ve tried a fresh download from various browsers, downloading to my PC first, then moving it, etc… and each time when I open it on the iPad, the chart grid is there but it’s missing ALL the symbols! It’s just empty squares. So I have to work from my laptop. It’s not a huge problem, but the laptop is older, bulkier, and slower than the iPad so it’s just a little less convenient. Normally this is where I’d get my husband to print it at his work (they can pay for personal use of the printer), but uh… pandemic = office closed. So… laptop it is.
Front and back pieces are written to be identical. Any guesses how I’m going to alter the pattern? You did guess I would alter it right?
Very interested in vertical change of colors; it seems natural to add to the overall look of your sweater and draw ones eye up to the face. What kind of knitting transition is there between colors? Any tutorials?
I am thinking of starting on a sweater pattern with textured lacy details in the center panels front and back and on the sleeves. ( See Vermont Fiber Designs; Top-Down Cable and Diamond Pullover)
I am an architect and you can see some of my knitting at SagamoreLane
I should have mentioned – the technique is intarsia, and it’s not hard. You are just twisting the yarns at each color change. I just bring the “new” color up under the “old” and start knitting away. I have found it works better if the switch happens between two knit stitches. It is easiest to do flat though, rather than in the round, because when you come back around to your color panel in the round, your yarn is at the wrong end!
I haven’t done it in the round yet, but I know there are WAYS – this site has a couple https://ariannafrasca.com/2020/01/17/how-to-knit-intarsia-in-the-round/
Lastly, you DID reply to the “pattern giveaway” – is the pattern you want to make something currently outside your budget?
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