[Nfb-krafters-korner] Dropped Stitches

River Woman riverwoman at zoominternet.net
Thu Dec 23 13:39:39 UTC 2010 

Thank you so much, Susan. You are so right. My frustration level last week 
was over the top. My poor husband was sitting there watching TV when I 
discovered that hole in the bottom of the shawl. He felt helpless as I had 
my anxiety attack and finally began to rip down the entire shawl. I have 
since reknitted it and it is finished. And, you are right, i still try to 
SEE my knitting - I put my eyes right onto it and try to see it - and of 
course I cannot, but I still think I can if I try hard enough.  My brain 
still has not accepted it! haha

On the happy side, my customer from Rome, Italy arrived this week to pick up 
the shawl she had commissioned me to make for her to gift to a friend. I 
made two different versions of the shawl, in two different yarns, so she 
could have a choice. She loved them both and finally picked the one that I 
had put a band of patterning in, across the back of it. I was present when 
she gifted it to our firned and she was beyond happy with the shawl. So, I 
did have a happy outcome to that one and that made me feel very proud of 
what I had done.

Still knitting,   Lynda River Woman
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Susan Roe" <dogwoodfarm at verizon.net>
To: "List for blind crafters and artists" <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2010 5:26 AM
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Dropped Stitches


> Hi Linda,
>
> I believe you will be able to eventually not only fix your own knitting 
> blunders, but be able to do just about everything knitting you did before 
> you lost your sight.  Your biggest hinderence is not your lack of sight, 
> but your level of frustration when you have a problem.  Right now, you are 
> still thinking sighted and not blind.  I can't tell you how many countless 
> projects I have ripped out for the very reasons you have described.  My 
> husband laughs at me because I won't hesitate ripping something out and 
> starting over if I have noticed a problem more than three inches below my 
> needles.  I always!!! use a safety line when I am working on repeditive or 
> complicated patterns because I can't fix dropped stitches in pattern 
> combinations other than garder, ss or k2 p2 ribbing.  I had rather be able 
> to rip back to my safety line and start back from there.  I was knitting a 
> scarf that I was repeating a shell pattern from beginning to end and I 
> must have pulled that scarf out 6 times and had gotten as far as half way 
> done before I got it through my thick skull to use the safety line between 
> each shell pattern repeat.  Frustration is going to happen, there is no 
> getting around it and I have had my husband (God bless his soul) kneeling 
> by my chair many times helping me locate in a pattern visually where I had 
> either dropped a stitch or forgot to change a pattern so I needed to know 
> how far down I would have to rip out or if I would just have to start all 
> over again.
>
> That is another reason I have multiple projects to work on because 
> sometimes when the frustration level has gotten way too high on a project, 
> I have to put it down and work on something else before I dare pick it 
> back up again. I don't like to be stumped and if I am working on something 
> new, I refuse to give up on it until I have absolutely tried it from all 
> angles and then if it just isn't working for me, then I can at least say I 
> tried, but it isn't the project for me.
>
> Don't consintrate on what you were able to do before, just consintrate on 
> each finished project as you go.  Always check your projects every three 
> inches or so to keep from finding those mistakes way, way down there when 
> you are almost finished a great project.
>
> Susan R.
> dogwoodfarm at verizon.net
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "River Woman" <riverwoman at zoominternet.net>
> To: "List for blind crafters and artists" <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 7:03 AM
> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Dropped Stitches
>
>
>> This is my biggest problem in knitting. I have been blind for three 
>> years, and have knitted all my life. I could do anything with knitting 
>> when I could see. Now, if I drop a stitch it is an emergency. I have 
>> tried and tried to catch the dropped stitches or fix a hole I find in my 
>> cloth after I have knitted a couple of inches above it. I cannot do it. 
>> It is so frustrating. Just last week, I had knitted the entire back of a 
>> shawl, and then discovered a hole near the vbeginning. I tore the entire 
>> thing out to begin all over again. This is so frustrating to me.  Later, 
>> I goofed up and dropped stitches on both sides of the front.  I struggled 
>> so much trying to fix them.  I did the best I could - it is particularly 
>> impossible for me if it is a garter stitch!  I finally emailed my friend 
>> and said I have a "knitting emergency" and she came over and fixed 
>> everything for me. I do not have the sensitivity in my fingers to find 
>> those lost stitches. My fingers are calloused from knitting and doing 
>> beadwork  and making pottery all the time. Will I EVER be able to FIX my 
>> own knitting blunders???? Lynda River Woman
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Dixie" <blueherons at sbcglobal.net>
>> To: "'List for blind crafters and artists'" 
>> <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 7:35 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Christmas Crafting Miracle!
>>
>>
>>> You, go girl!  Hmmmm, it sounds like you have another class to teach in 
>>> the
>>> new year, possibly?  Hahahahaha!
>>>
>>> No seriously, I had quite a time of it saving my dropped stitches when 
>>> my
>>> sight was 20/15, I can't begin to imagine being able to do it so
>>> successfully sighted much less by touch.  Great job!
>>>
>>> I will have to remember your patience if, or more likely,  when I come 
>>> up
>>> against that kind of challenge.
>>>
>>> Merry Christmas!!
>>>
>>> Dixie
>>> ~  @-> ~ <-@  ~
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org
>>> [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Eileen 
>>> Scrivani
>>> Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2010 11:33 PM
>>> To: Nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org
>>> Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Christmas Crafting Miracle!
>>>
>>> Okay, this is my own short story of a Christmas miracle...
>>>
>>> Since last week, I've been working on a military hat/face warmer for my
>>> brother-in-law as a Christmas present. I wanted to finish it by tonight,
>>> wash it and lay it out for blocking tomorrow and then if it stretched I
>>> could re-wet and put in the drier to try and shrink it minimally.
>>>
>>> I finished the main hat portion last night without any problems, even 
>>> was
>>> smart enough to weave in my ends at that point so I would not have minor
>>> finishing to deal  with at the end.  Then started on the face ribbing. 
>>> All
>>> was going well, except as I was sitting and working on it this afternoon
>>> while readjusting my stitch markers I thought I felt something weird!
>>>
>>> Panic!  The cable on my adjustable needle broke and about 30 or 40 
>>> stitches
>>> were just hanging there.  I felt heart sick and instantly started 
>>> thinking
>>> "Oh, s - - t" I'm going to have to rip the entire thing out and it would
>>> never get done for Christmas.  Picking up stitches has remained one of 
>>> my
>>> short comings where my knitting is concerned. I tried my best to stay 
>>> cool
>>> as best I could without letting it get the best of me. I started to 
>>> think
>>> about what would be the best way to even try to attempt getting all 
>>> those
>>> dropped stitches back on the needles with the least frustration.
>>>
>>> Instantly, I went and got 2 size 0 needles, one that I use as a life 
>>> line
>>> and one that I have just as a skinny needle tool for other tricky knots 
>>> and
>>> dropped stitches which is a straight 0 needle, the smallest crochet hook
>>> from my set. And of course a packet of the ever loved Clover locking 
>>> stitch
>>> markers.
>>>
>>> First those stitches that actually remained on the needle point I 
>>> slipped
>>> onto the size 0 circular needle, pushed them onto the cable portion and 
>>> just
>>> let it hang there while I worked on those that were in limbo.  I took up 
>>> the
>>> size 0 straight needle and no matter if I was able to grab up a single 
>>> nice
>>> loop or loops that felt doubled or triple thickness scooped them onto 
>>> the
>>> straight needle and used the clover locking markers to catch the 
>>> remaining
>>> stitches that already started running down the ribbing.
>>>
>>> Next I started to tink (knit backwards/unknit) stitch by stitch to make 
>>> them
>>> all behave and line up.  I was even able to use the crochet hook to re 
>>> hook
>>> up those stitches that were held by the locking markers.  Amazingly I
>>> finally figured out how to hook them up on both the stockinette side and 
>>> the
>>> rev st st sides. Whew!  After about 2 hours of carefully working through
>>> this I got them all back; stitch count correct and pattern in tact.  I 
>>> know
>>> 2 hours of time sounds like a lot, but keep in mind I've been working on
>>> this hat since about last Thursday.  Two hours as compared to an entire
>>> weeks work is nothing.
>>>
>>> So tonight I've been happily working on my ribbing, have bound off and 
>>> will
>>> be able to launder it tomorrow and see what the fit is like.  I'm so 
>>> happy
>>> that I could actually get them all straightened out on my own and was 
>>> able
>>> to properly use the crochet hook on both the knit & purl sides of the 
>>> fabric
>>> to keep the ribbing pattern correct!
>>>
>>> Merry Christmas to all!
>>>
>>> Eileen
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>
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>
>
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