Welcome to Erssie Knits
This is my blog where I write about my knitting adventures, including books and yarn reviews. It is also my website with patterns to download as well as useful links to other crafty websites. If you would like to see the Erssie Knits gallery of craft projects or a video tutorial on the ErssieKnits YouTube channel the links are all below.
Bad news....or New Opportunities?
For quite a few months, I have been panicking slightly about the low contribution my knitting work brings into the household. I do design for fun, and I do like to choose projects on merit and not worry about the finance. However, I kept questioning myself as to whether I should care about the money, or whether I should at least stop breaking even by spending any fees on new materials.A little voice kept telling me, that my partner's job that supports us both might not continue forever.The partner has not been well this week, he tried to go to work on Monday but felt too ill when he got there so decided to come home sick at lunch time. Just before he left, he was called into his department head's office and dropped a bombshell. His work is going to be outsourced, making his post redundant. He might get a chance to be redeployed in the new structure, but will have to apply for it with everyone else and also it would mean a downgraded position etc
Well, this is a blow. He had noticed, that he has not had a positive attitude towards his age of late. he is nearly 50 and if he applies for a job that he could definitely do, he does not get asked to go to interviews. For some time now, in this post, he has not been included in meetings and been part of decisions that directly affect his post. Neither had he had any positive career development or been allowed to go on any training courses. And, he was buying his own books....yes, books for work to help him develop his skills! if he gets redeployed then if he is put in a lower post, it isn't actually going to be a positive move for his career development. That is if he gets offered the post, as there will be lots of people applying for positions.
''Is it because I am 50 next year, or is it because I openly flaunt my tattoos?''
I didn't think it was a very nice thing to do when someone is going off sick, to give them news like that and for them to have to worry and brood over it whilst on sick leave. In fact, he went back to work today just because he needed to catch up on information to do with this situation, and really he was not well enough to do so.I feel really bad for him, life has not been treating us well lately. We've both had illnesses in the family plus my own illness, and I fell impotent to help him on the cash front. Losing his wage would be a terrible blow to both of us.However, he is going to try to pick himself up, when his flu symptoms have gone, dust himself off and try to use this situation as a positive step towards improving his career position.In the meantime, I suppose I had better get my skates on and just produce patterns, patterns, patterns and just try to improve the financial situation. I hope this does not mean I have to compromise, and stop doing certain projects that could be of artistic value to pursue ones that bring revenue.And, if anyone knows of a post for a senior web developer/programmer at any company, or perhaps ideally in the South West of the UK...possibly for an academic instution...then let us know so he can apply!
Just a little stock check on Brown Sheep.....
I want to make some hats, mittens and possibly sweaters in a worsted/aran yarn like Brown SheepSo am just trying to find out what is in stock in the UK, and if not, what can I use as a substitute.These are the sorts of shades. I love the coffee and natural shades, but also like the bright greens and blues. The squiggles are what is not in stock, or very low at Get Knitted.I always get stuck trying to find substitutes of these in the UK, and want to buy British.
Short Row Heels Wrapping and Picking up the Wraps
I am working on heels at the moment. Sometimes I want wraps to show as a decorative thing, and other times like now I want the wraps totally hidden from sight as the gauge is quite large. Here is what I am going to do. You can go to the ErssieKnits YouTube channel and see several videos for this, including Cat Bhordi's narrated example.
1, Making wraps
On RS of St St
K to stitch to be wrapped and bring yarn fwd
Slip next st K-wise (to change the mount*) Take yarn back bet needles again
Now slip the previously slipped stitch, back onto LH needle tip to tip without changing the mount*.
Turn work......
2. Making wraps
On WS of St StP to stitch to be wrapped and bring yarn fwd bet needles
Slip next st P-wise (without changing the mount*) Take yarn back bet needles again
Now slip the previously slipped stitch, back onto LH needle tip to tip without changing the mount.Turn work......
Cont working back and forth and on a heel, you are looking to wrap about one third of stitches each side, with the majority or biggest third in the middle.
E.g. my heel had 25 sts, I wrapped 8 on each side with 9 in the middle left unwrapped.
3. Picking up wraps
On RS of St St
On the RS of stocking stitch K to the first wrapped st
Pick up wrap from underneath at the front, and slip wrap up and over the st on the needle and sit it behind the stitch.
Your wrap is now behind the stitch it previously wrapped
K st and wrap tog tbl, this hides wrap on WS
Wrap the next st as above in 1. This means each stitch will be wrapped twice from now on.
Turn work......
3. Picking up wraps
On WS of St StOn the WS of stocking stitch P to the first wrapped st
Pick up wrap from underneath AT THE FRONT OF WORK, and slip wrap up and over the st on the needle to sit behind it.
Your wrap is now behind the stitch it previously wrapped
P st and wrap tog as normal, this hides wrap on WS
Wrap the next st as above in 2. This means each stitch will be wrapped twice
Turn work Cont working back and forth, picking up wraps from one st each side (remember to do exactly the same with your 2 wraps, as you did for one. i.e. pick them both up and over the stitch before working the wraps tog with the st)When all sts have been picked up it will then be time to continue working across the front of the foot and back into rounds.*Mount This means how the stitch 'mounts' the needle i.e. how the loop of a stitch sits on it. A stitch has two 'legs' coming down each side of the needle. A stitch can sit with its right leg in front and its left leg behind the needle like this. This would be how you are used to seeing your stitch on the RS of stocking stitch (stockinette) and you would be knitting ordinarily through the front loop.
original artwork (c) Annie Modesitt Please do not link to or use this diagram
without permission from the copyright owner.
If you were to slip the stitch above, knit-wise, the stitch would then end up like this stitch below which you can see just begs to be knitted through the back loop.
original artwork (c) Annie Modesitt Please do not link to or use this diagram without
permission from the copyright owner.
Here is a little tip which helps me avoid a 'gap' that most people get between their short row heel and their front of foot. I leave out the very last purl stitch wrapped.
When there is 1 wrapped stitch left each side, (i.e. the last 2 stitches to be picked up), I pick up the one on the RS/St st side as normal...but then I continue to work across front of foot and round the other side, and pick up the 'Purl' (now a K st on the RS) from the RS on the other side. Leaving out that very last purled row, means there is less of a step and less of a gap. Don't worry though, you can always on a Fair Isle piece just use one of the ends you are weaving in to close the gaps when you finish.This little explanation will be repeated when the pattern for this project is published. However it might help people in general to read this and at the same time go to the YouTube channel to find vids on wrapping in my Playlists in the Knitting: Wonderful World of Wrapping section.
I collect tutorial videos, and put them into useful playlists so they can be found more easily so if you subscribe to the channel and bookmark it, it can be more useful than trying to search for individual videos. I have tried to make sure, that although my videos are from various sources that they do not conflict with each other.
What to Read?If you are wondering what to read next, and think you have similar tastes to mine these are some of my fave books of all time.
However I am not that picky and enjoy almost anything.Here are some of my least favourite books
I am not a critic, it does not mean these are badly written only that I personally did not enjoy them.
BooksI have only just joined Good Reads, a social networking site for book lovers. And what a lot of work it is adding all the books I have read! I have only just touched the surface of books I have read and am adding them in all sorts of wierd orders. I was surprised to see myself as currently the 8th top reader in the UK on this site, but this is just because I am new and adding ones I have read like an OCD fiend!!Once I have got them all on there, the past books I mean, then I will be able to show on this blog what I am currently reading, and what I have recently read which might give you some book ideas. This is what I am currently reading
I can't say there are many that I have added that I really hated, most were worthwhile which is why I remember them. I have added around 300 so far but there will be more.For the moment, here is a random selection of 300 books I have read.
Provisional Cast On
Here is a little piece of advice when it comes to doing provisional cast ons and knitting in the opposite direction. Remember, when you do a short row toe it means picking up your provisional cast on stitches so when you have stocking stitch going in both directions, what you are picking up when you go downwards, i.e. in the opposite direction is NOT the actual stitch going in the right direction, it is half a stitch to the side of it...so some people find when they come to pick up say 20 sts that they cast on, going in the opposite direction it may only come up as 19.....thereby looking as if half a stitch just vanished.
You might need to pick up an extra stitch if this happens.
However, if you are 'losing' more than one stitch in the opposite direction, or on your wrapping, then that is entirely different.
You don't get this anomaly with your short row heel, because when you go to pick up stitches to knit in the round again, you are not picking up from the bottom of a provisional cast on.
Generally, people don't put things like this into patterns, it gets edited out as tutorial or technique and actually for people who don't get this problem it is just downright confusing. Patterns cannot always be littered with caveats and to some degree, you have to assume a knitter has learned to do the techniques that are included. E.g., sock patterns don't always tell you exactly how to knit in the round, or how to hold your needles.
So this mystery of the disappearance of 'half a stitch' only comes up if you read a tutorial on picking up stitches in the opposite direction. Think of it like chains that are linked with threads, and the links you pick up, are actually the threads/links of the chains you were previously knitting and not the actual chain itself. So if you have 21 sts, you only need 20 'links' to hold it together.
People may also notice this anomaly when they try to pick up the edge of a ribbed garment and knit rib in the opposite direction...it does not work. And some people find this crops up in Kitchener stitch, where you join 2 edges both those edges go in different directions.
Are you even more confused now? Don't be, if you pick up one fewer stitches when travelling in the opposite direction of a prov cast on, don't worry, and just pick up one extra stitch in the corner.
Macmillan Comfort Square
Download the Free pattern from here to make your own comfort square for the Macmillan appealdownload now
The Knitter mag had a competition in September to design a square 8 inches by 8 inches in DK. Its for a comfort blanket for a Macmillan campaign I had so many ideas straight away, it was difficult to just pick one to develop. Especially as I had been told, only one entry per person was allowed.Anyway, I came up with this simple colourwork square which has a bold African textiles feel, and the central motifl is adapted and decorated from a symbol in the Andinkra language which means Boa Me Na Me Mmoa Wo translated as Help Me and Let Me Help You, intended to convey unity through strength and co-operation, mutual support.
There are two arrowheads that face each other, and then cut out parts on the arrow match solid motifs on the opposite. I charted it totally free hand, starting from the arrows and then filled it in with some vertical patterns. They are not that commonly knit as people often prefer horizontal bands, and it did mean a lot of space between and intarsia and bobbins dangling....but actually it wasn't as difficult to knit as it would seem.
The effect is very simple.
I have got a whole list of Andinkra symbols with great meanings that will make great charts....enough for a whole blanket.
I didn't win, but I sort of became a runner up of the runners up and got a Highly Commended, which ain't bad and meant a bag of goodies with yarn and accessories plus a book arrived today. They yarn is pure silk DK, so perfect for a babe outfit.
