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

Sat Feb 10 12:02:50 UTC 2018

Amy, I never thought of stitch definition, but I don't do complicated
patterns. Lol

Also I never thought of some of the fiber coming off the yarn either.

Nella

-----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 08, 2018 9:39 AM
To: hList for blind crafters and artists
Cc: Amy Herstein
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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