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This year has evaporated. How did that happen? I was here and active the whole time (mostly with close family and friends . . . there were significant challenges), but I have not been as present with you, my knitting friends, as I would have liked.
As the year closes, I do have a couple of gifts for you: two of my favorite recipes given to me when I was a young woman by two old women whom I loved. Now I’m an old woman and I want to to pass them on.
1) The first is for Mrs. Shubel’s Pumpkin Bread. I bake these loaves every year as gifts for local friends and family for Christmas. If you decide to make them, your home will smell of cozy winter days spent next to the wood stove knitting, drinking tea, and nibbling. I’ve been baking them for over 50 years. They’re that good and keep well in the freezer (though not for 50 years).
2) Then there are Great Aunt Shirley’s Hungarian Moon Cakes! An even older recipe that I have not made in years, but my son texted me yesterday. He needs to take a dish to his office Christmas potluck that is “from his roots.” He’ll come over the night before and we’ll make these together. (And maybe some braised cabbage because savories are always needed at these events). And yes! You must use unsalted butter for this recipe.
I wish you could have known her. Her everyday disguise was as a plump, white-haired “Old-Country” (as in Eastern European) lady in a flowered house dress. But the minute she opened her mouth she blew her cover. She was a vocal Socialist Labor Party stalwart, a force to be reckoned with in politics and in the kitchen. I scanned the 3” by 5” card she typed for me in the 60s and put it into pdf form so you should be able to download it and make it big enough to read.
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5/27/2016 A Dandy New One-Row Buttonhole . . .
1) You know how it is when you’re knitting a welcome-to-the-world sweater for your new grand-nephew on the way and you have everything under control, right?
~You’re ahead of schedule (smug smile).
~The sweater is pretty adorable (more smiles).
~And then the little guy arrives a few weeks early. (No problem. Let me sew on these buttons and this puppy is flyin’ south).
~And then . . . you see his first photos on FaceBook (that’s how we do it nowadays) and . . .
~YOU PANIC (well, that’s an exaggeration) when you realize his mother would never put this sweater on him no matter how much she loves you. He’s swaddled exclusively in whites, blacks, and grays with an occasional muted orange or mustard accent. This kid is stylin’, and it makes sense. His early-30s parents live and work in LA in the entertainment and fashion (sort of) industries and are WAYYYY sophisticated in their style. Oversized, vintage, blue buttons on a tweedy background that includes the color ‘Sky Delight Blue’ does not coordinate with his wardrobe. So you set it aside, physically and mentally, until a solution reveals itself to you . . .
~ Several days later you email your (technically ex-) sister-in-law and explain the situation. Everybody down there is ooohing over him so much, and are so sleep-deprived, that they haven’t noticed that you’re late to the party.
~So . . . new criteria: bulky yarn, machine washable and dryable, some natural fiber (wool), black, or better, grey. And a more “hip” pattern. In an unusual move (because you’re in a hurry) you buy a pattern rather than whip up your own using Sweater 101. It looks like something he will be allowed wear because it’s black and white in the photo.
~AND, ultimately, that leads to 2 new videos for YouTube and the first one is done.
CLICK HERE for more of the story, and to see “Cheryl’s Dandy One-Row Buttonhole” (for garter stitch and seed stitch) video, and to find the link to the downloadable written instructions.
I hope your late spring has been exuberant with wild roses and hummingbirds drunk on honeysuckle nectar. (Unless, of course, you live on the other side of the equator, in which case I hope you are settling in for a restful winter that smells of cinnamon and sounds like silence.)
Warm regards,
ch
Babies and Lace, Darling or Dangerous?
Over the years I’ve been asked, “How do I continue working in pattern while doing the following shaping: dec every other row 10 times?” for example. This question comes up most often about lace patterns, and my answer is usually, “Well, you just have to look at it and make a decision on every decrease row as to what looks best.”
More than once, over the years, I’ve been asked, “How do I ‘Continue to work in pattern’ while decreasing every other row 10 times,” for example, or while binding off a certain number of stitches over X number of rows. This question comes up most often about lace patterns, and my answer is usually, “Well, you just have to look at it and make a decision on every decrease row as to what looks best.”
Raglan shaping in lace patternThe process is more involved than that, but not by much. This swatch is a prop for a video-in-progress that explains in detail how I approached this problem and it’s knitted from an actual pattern sent to me by Kim with whom I had an SOS session to discuss it (and I was able to admire her knitting projects in London, England while sitting here on my little island in the Pacific Northwest of the US. It’s magic, I tell you).
But there’s a problem. For me. And it has to do with babies and lace. That combination can be dangerous.
Thus, I am on the horns of a dilemma. I want to help Kim figure out how to make this baby sweater, but I don’t think it’s a good idea in general to make lace things for babies, even though they are darling.
Knowing my tendency to overreact to things like this I decided to consult an expert, Paula. She’s not only an excellent knitter, she’s a retired nurse. Here’s my email to her.
Hi Paula,
I have this belief that having lace holes in baby sweaters or blankets can be dangerous if the holes are just the right size for a baby . . . even up to a curious toddler, to stick their fingers through as they fall asleep, for example. I’ve seen a couple of photos of strangled little blue fingers. Am I just being paranoid and unreasonable? If it’s for a baby that’s “supervised” e.g. taken for a ride in a stroller or buggy (do they even have those anymore?) that would be more OK because you’re basically there to catch something like that..
You’re the best nurse knitter I know. Watcha think?
And thanks bunches,
Cheryl
And her answer:
Hi Cheryl!
Funny you should ask about this as I just had a conversation with a new grandmom (also a nurse) about this very thing. We both agree that no holes are best for baby blankets.
She and I remember a baby that came in to the ER with a swollen, dusky great toe and it was suspected that she got it tangled in a crocheted blanket. Since then, I’ve been in the no-hole camp!
My friend’s daughter received a crocheted blanket in a large granny square style for a shower gift. She keeps it in the car for a carseat blanket. She likes the knitted ones best and feels they are safer and they are used all the time!
Happy to lend my perspective!
Your knitting buddy and biggest fan!
Paula
There are, of course, occasions when lace for babies is fine as long as the baby is being admired the whole time she or he is wearing it. There’s nothing as breathtaking as a long, knitted lace christening gown, for example. I guess I’m just urging people to use common sense.
So there you have it. You have been informed and now I can go ahead with that video and treat it strictly as a technical knitting problem.
***AND AS A BONUS*** Here’s more useful and fascinating information from Paula:
An interesting note… The most common cause of tourniquet effect of baby digits is mom’s long hair! Especially if it’s light colored and difficult to see! I’ve not seen it personally but it’s been seen in my ER on several occasions. Little rascals!
P.S. I don’t have any advice on keeping toddlers from putting things in their noses. There’s something about a nostril that seems too inviting to little boys, especially.
P.P.S. Please comment below if you think I’m totally off-base or know of a circumstance in which this happened. I’m interested in how other people react to this.
The Knitting Cruise to Alaska
What was it like?
There were glaciers . . . Continue reading “The Knitting Cruise to Alaska”
2-Fisted, 2-Color, Stranded Knitting
Here you go . . . a real, whole, 4-part video tutorial on stranded knitting, of which Fair Isle is only one flavor. I’m especially tickled because it’s the biggest project I’ve done in my new studio, it fulfills a reward for the Kickstarter campaign that helped build the studio, and it helps prepare a VIP client for the exact sweater she wants to design when she gets here next month. Enjoy! Continue reading “2-Fisted, 2-Color, Stranded Knitting”
Fixing a Big Hole in a Sweater
Several days ago my son handed me his favorite sweater. There was a hole. He knows to pay attention to such things as soon as they appear but this was near his elbow, he’s a very active fellow, and he didn’t notice it until it had grown . . . well, you see.
Cast-Ons and Bind-Offs Roundup
Remember when I told you that you didn’t need 100s of cast-ons and bind-offs? You can pretty much get by with a handful or two. Let’s count up the beginnings we’ve seen so far: Continue reading “Cast-Ons and Bind-Offs Roundup”
A Couple More Handy Cast-Ons
We’re getting toward the end (pun intended) of our exploration of cast-ons and bind-offs you really should know about. Here are two. Continue reading “A Couple More Handy Cast-Ons”
Elegant Ends: The Tubular Cast-on and Bind-Off
Here are a matching cast-on and bind-off that are worth knowing. They are easy enough to execute and they give an elegant edge to your ribbing. I highly recommend that you try them sometime soon. Like do a swatch. This week sometime. Consider it playing with yarn. And you do love to play with yarn, don’t you? So go ahead and do it. With abandon. With curiosity. With no ulterior motive other than enjoyment. It’s very freeing. Continue reading “Elegant Ends: The Tubular Cast-on and Bind-Off”
Loose at Both Ends
I have a book entitled Cast on, Bind Off: 211 Ways to Begin and End Your Knitting. It’s a fun book. I haven’t consulted it much. Most, if not all of the information in it I have in other books that I’ve been consulting for years, but it’s nice to have it all in one place. And I like the illustrations and photos. Continue reading “Loose at Both Ends”