[Nfb-krafters-korner] Want To Know Wednesday 2/7/18

Thu Feb 8 20:29:20 UTC 2018

I never, ever quit either, even when I could see.
Quitting wasn't something that my Family never, ever taught me.

-----Original Message----- 
From: Amy Herstein via Nfb-krafters-korner
Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2018 3:01 PM
To: List for blind crafters and artists
Cc: Amy Herstein
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Want To Know Wednesday 2/7/18

As am I. Crafting has been very rewarding.

Ant

On 2/8/18, Zimmer, Cindy via Nfb-krafters-korner
<nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Wow Amy, I'm glad you never gave up!
>
> Cindy Zimmer, CVRCB
> Client Services Counselor
> NCBVI (Lincoln)
> 4600 Valley Road, Suite 100
> Lincoln, NE 68510
> 402.471.8123  Fax:  402.471.3009
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nfb-krafters-korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] 
> On
> Behalf Of Amy Herstein via Nfb-krafters-korner
> Sent: Thursday, February 8, 2018 9:39 AM
> To: hList for blind crafters and artists <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Amy Herstein <maria830 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Want To Know Wednesday 2/7/18
>
> Very definitely, I can think of a failed project I had to save. This one 
> is
> from long ago when I first learned how to knit; I had more enthusiasm and
> ambition than sense, and though the enthusiasm has never died, the lack of
> sense fortunately did.
>
> I decided to knit a baby afghan for a friend. It would be my first one, a
> chance to experiment with stitch patterns and maybe show off a little. The
> yarn I had for it was precious, very fluffy, light, and cushy, with plenty
> of loft. I cast on and went to work. I was trying out a pattern for a moss
> stitch diamond, enthralled with how easily I could transition from knits 
> to
> purls. Oh, sure, I was doing great, no longer increasing stitches
> inadvertently during those switches. I was unstoppable! However, I started
> to realize that my pattern stitch was not showing up. What I know now but
> did not then was that although this yarn was cuddly and sweet, it had bad
> stitch definition. For anyone out there who does not work much with yarn,
> this quality isn't a bad thing, just a fact you must account for; it means
> you'd be wasting your efforts if you were to work a complicated pattern
> stitch with it because your handiwork doesn't show up well. Fuzzy, fluffy,
> and novelty yarns often, though not necessarily always, have less stitch
> definition than smooth, classic-style yarns, some more or less than 
> others.
> That is why I undid my marvelous work and opted for a simple stitch 
> pattern,
> just plain, unadorned knits, for the second go-around. I tried circular
> needles because I was already finding that straight needles tend to give 
> me
> wrist cramps. I knitted about six inches; this wasn't going according to 
> my
> plan, but this blanket would be just as warm and soft as I thought it 
> would
> be.
>
> Then, my whole project started going to the dogs. My beautiful yarn 
> started
> fraying, then actually splitting. I fumbled and dropped a bunch of 
> stitches,
> not just two or three but half the stitches on my needles. It was one of 
> my
> first times working with circular needles, and I was not yet used to them
> and the wires that connect them. I somehow managed to tangle everything in 
> a
> knot and twist my work, knitting in the wrong direction and ending up with 
> a
> hiccup in the completed fabric. My awkwardness resulted in knots in the 
> yarn
> itself, and trying to undo them probably brought on my splitting-yarn
> issues.
> Tugging at the fabric as I tried to retrieve my fallen stitches caused me 
> to
> jerk half the thing off the tips so my stitches tumbled past the point of 
> no
> return. I could have cried, but it wouldn't have done me any good, so I
> resigned myself to frogging. When I ripped out my bumbled attempt, little
> hairs and fibers came away from the yarn. It was not drastic, but when I
> asked for my mother's opinion, she did tell me she thought that whole 
> rather
> large amount of yarn, the stuff I'd ripped out, shouldn't be used again. 
> Mom
> was and is an adept craftswoman; I trusted her opinion and was glad I 
> asked
> her before casting on again.
>
> The long and short of this was that I no longer had enough yarn to finish 
> up
> a baby afghan. In hindsight, I don't really think I had enough to begin
> with. With a little luck, I could have produced a doll blanket, assuming 
> fat
> needles and not too many stitches. (Did I mention I was still a rather 
> green
> knitter?) Bummed out, I cut away all the used yarn, sadly stuffing it into
> the nearest trash can. Then, I cast on for a baby scarf. The stitch
> definition did allow me to use ribbing, and the smaller number of stitches
> let me go back to using straight needles. The unused yarn never split on 
> me.
> The scarf was done, and my friend said it was cute, though at the time, I
> still wished I could have presented her with a full baby blanket.
>
> By the way, I have since come to hate straight needles. They hurt my 
> wrists,
> they jab people sitting next to you, and they never hold as many stitches 
> as
> circulars do, important when you make larger items. I also can't use
> double-pointed ones without losing all my stitches. And the upshot of that
> baby scarf? Well, chalk that up to a beginner's foibles. I did learn not 
> to
> underestimate the quantity of yarn you need for a project and to keep in
> mind the stitch pattern you mean to use, and though I have never heard of 
> a
> baby scarf in my life since then, it's better to find a use for too-little
> yarn than to waste it.
> Not a spectacular success but a salvage well made.
>
> Amy
>
> On 2/7/18, Nella Foster via Nfb-krafters-korner
> <nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Happy Wednesday to all you crafters out there.  I hope this message
>> makes it to you; I've been having internet issues and never know if it
>> is really going to work.
>>
>>
>>
>> Today's question is from Cindy Z.
>>
>>
>>
>> Can you think of a craft project that failed but you were able to save
>> it by turning it into something else?
>>
>>
>>
>> I have a feeling the responses are going to be fun to read.
>>
>>
>>
>> Nella
>>
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