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Knit U: I've been bitten... Knit U: KnitU:repairing holes Re: Knit U: "Crazy Quilt Knitting" Question Knit U: knit swap: site broken? Knit U: Wetware Error Knit U: yarn quest Re: Knit U: Tech Q: help with cardigan, Tech A: Cables & Stripes, shaping ashrug Knit U: A couple of reminders Knit U: cats and chewing stuff & gloves Re: Knit U: Cats& yarn, Chart Question Re: Knit U: KIPing experience! Re: Knit U: KIPing experience! Knit U: Re: KnitU: Growing Sweater Pains - another answer Re: Knit U: Growing Ends Knit U: Jo Sharp's Anjuli cardigan Knit U: Knitting and cats Knit U: where did the list of lists come from, you may ask. Re: Knit U: Shawl Question Re: Knit U: Tech: Increase Knit U: Who is Horst Schulz? Knit U: Answer: DK, sport or worsted? Knit U: The Multi-cultural Knitters Knit U: Ans to increase problem Knit U: Re: Knit U Digest V2000 #667 Knit U: Tech Q: Fair Isle question Knit U: seeking "happy Strumpf" yarn Knit U: Re: cowl neck sweater Fw: Knit U: opinions on "view only" websites Re: Knit U: Re: knitting faster without looking Knit U: Re: Cats & Yarn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 07:01:19 PST From: "Frank Varney" <mkemale@hotmail.com> Subject: Knit U: I've been bitten... Hello List, Not sure if anyone remembers me, but I came out of lurking a few weeks ago. I am very new to knitting (since December) and taught myself to knit via a book (some kind of kit I got at WalMart). Just wanted to come out again and let everyone know that I've been bitten big time by that knitting bug! Since December I have finished one scarf (made with Lion Brand chenille, yummy!) and one pair of simple slippers for my mom. However, I have 2 afghans (a cable knit and Barbara Walker's "Learn to Knit Afghan") and a Reynold's Lopi sweater in progress! I returned home to Wisconson due to a family emergency this last week and stopped at Herschner's (www.herschners.com) to check out their knitting stuff. Walked away 1 c-note poorer and richer with the supplies for one Lopi sweater... I kinda laughed to myself thinking this sounds like something someone on the list would do. So wish me luck and be prepared for questions! best, Frank in now frigid Wisconsin but soon to be back in sunny So Cal... - --David adds-- Way to go, Frank! A few more trips to Herschner's and you'll have the makings of a real stash! We're delighted you are still knitting, and so pleased that you have given us a status report. As Meg say, "Onward!" ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 09:30:10 -0600 From: "Christopher A. Bandas" <cbandas@worldnet.att.net> Subject: Knit U: KnitU:repairing holes I need some suggestions on what I should do to repair one of the first sweaters I ever made. I gave it to my first niece about seven years ago, and my sister recently returned it for my youngest to wear. It needed some minor repairs/alterations and after completing them, it needed a good washing and reshaping. I soaked it in the washing machine with some wool wash and dried it on delicate. (The sweater is made out of a superwash baby wool.) When I took it out, I noticed it had two spots on the sleeve that had holes! One spot is located right at the cast on edge of the ribbing and the other is midway up the arm near the seam where decreases are located. Should I try to repair the holes by grafting or should I just knit a whole new sleeve and reattach it? This sweater has sentimental value and I want to fix it so other little ones can wear it. (Also, I'm not experienced in repairing holes. This will be my first time.) Thanks in advance for any advice.--Ray in South Texas ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 11:12:54 EST From: Hcsknit@AOL.COM Subject: Re: Knit U: "Crazy Quilt Knitting" Question In a message dated 2/10/00 3:33:09 PM, alamedalp@home.com writes: > I'd like to do Crazy Quilt Knitting--actually put > together different pieces as opposed to doing a large intarsia piece > that has a patchwork effect. This sounds like the kind of things Valentina Devine teaches in her workshops. I don't know if she has books published, etc. Hopefully, other KnitU folks can supply more information. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 11:06:13 -0700 From: "shan" <shannolater@alumni.williams.edu> Subject: Knit U: knit swap: site broken? Hi - Is anyone else having trouble accessing the knitter's swap areas in the knitting universe site? I get an error when I try to read topics. This started yesterday. Also, I've always had trouble understanding the subscription thing. I log in, then have to log in again each time I switch topics or discussions. Is it just me? - -shan shannolater@alumni.williams.edu knitting book & pattern reviews: http://www.users.uswest.net/~spryor1/index.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 09:25:45 -0700 From: "Elizabeth L. Rees" <rees3@ionet.net> Subject: Knit U: Wetware Error Some one on this list was talking about going to Stitches, and was going to make a "Grabbit" big enough to wear as a shawl to the Marketplace. That person even listed a source for the "Grabbit" pattern. Well, foolish me said, "Cool idea," and then hit the delete button!!! Completely forgetting my trip to Mexico this spring, where a shopping bag big enough to lay across one's shoulders until needed would be a Good Thing to Have. Would some kindly person out there take pity on me and direct me to the "Grabbit" pattern again? Beth, doing penance with the wet skein (Whap! Whap!) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 12:30:05 -0600 From: Kate Winkler <winkgro@soltec.com> Subject: Knit U: yarn quest Any weavers out there? I am in search of a couple of ounces of Jaggerspun Zephyr, color JADE (dyelot #5272, but not crucial). I had just enough for the center square of a lace shawl, and while I *could* do the borders in a darker, related shade (which I do have), I think I want to use the same color after all. Since they'll be the borders, I think different dyelots won't matter that much. (BTW, this shawl is knitted on 2.25mm needles, 8st=1" for the center square, so not actually off-topic.) Contact me off-list if you can help - TIA Kate Designs from Dove Cottage Patterns for Knitters and Needleworkers mailto:winkgro@soltec.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 11:42:47 +0000 From: Patt <grammafatt@rmci.net> Subject: Re: Knit U: Tech Q: help with cardigan, Tech A: Cables & Stripes, shaping ashrug Anne wrote: > The fronts are larger in width than the back is, yikes! That is, the fronts > overlap each other by probably more than an inch already, without any button > bands. Now what? Maybe knit the bands, fold to wrong side & use clasps rather than buttons, or work button holes in it after. Or make fasteners with kid looking buttons. Or perhaps work bh in the band, sew it to the wrong side, then when the child is older, free it. Or run a tight row of crochet slip stitch up the turn row to pull it in as much as needed & just turn & stitch the extra inch on the wrong side. Maybe one of these will work, or give you another idea. HTH I am making the chinese cardigan (#11 in Fall VK) and this is how they have done this, using frogs. Never seen this b4 but must say I really like it. Patt ------------------------------ Date: February 13, 2000 From: List.Dad Subject: Knit U: A couple of reminders Hello, fellow knitters, I wish there was some way I could let you know how much I am enjoying myself as List Dad for KnitU. Every day I get to read the notes that you all send, perhaps venture a comment, and send them out. Perhaps it's because I read everything that I get a sense of the overflowing generosity of the people connected with this list. It gives me a warm and pleasant feeling. Thank you all for your generosity, your attitude about sharing your knowledge, your willingness to lend a hand to those knitters who are newcomers. OK, now a couple of reminders. 1) Sometimes in our exuberance, we all tend to get chatty and include a good deal of personal information with our posts. While not a bad thing, this is a bit outside the intended purpose of the list. I don't want anyone to feel that they are being stifled, but if we just bear in mind that something is more personal than technical when we read over something that we are about to send to KnitU, perhaps that will influence us to...uh...stick to our knitting? <VBG> 2) Really, it is very easy to subscribe/unsubscribe on the KnitU web page. If, for some reason, you have trouble doing so there, please let us know. Otherwise, a request for me to unsubscribe you will be met with a polite note requesting you to go to the web page and do so for yourself. It will read: > Hello, > To unsubscribe from KnitU, please go to: > www.knittinguniverse.com, and click on the KnitU button on the left. That will > take you to the KnitU page where you can unsubscribe. > Thank you. > David Xenakis > Knitteršs Magazine To change from one service (regular or digest), simply unsubscribe from one and resubscribe to the other. 3) For those who subscribe to the Digest, when you send a Reply to KnitU, you may not be aware, but you are often sending back the entire digest, sometimes as an enclosure (which our server isn't crazy about). When you decide to Reply, please go through the quoted text in your mail window (that's the stuff that looks like the little message above) and delete everything but the remarks to which you are responding. That way, I know what you are replying to and can send it on without having to stop, remove the enclosure, or read the entire digest to find out what your post is about. This is really not a big chore, but it will save me quite a bit of time. Have a great Sunday and a good week! David ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 15:01:55 EST From: LoraJ8897@AOL.COM Subject: Knit U: cats and chewing stuff & gloves I've heard of the wool chewing and know my vet asked us about it because my mom and I both knit. We were asked to tell him if they ever start. I also have a chewing cat but she prefers bags. Plastic bags are her favorite especially the crinkly ones. You know the ones that rustles in your hands. She has never eaten them but does chew loudly on them. Especially in the middle of the night. Lol!!! I've knitted my first glove and can't figure out why the tips of the fingers are pointy. I've used the grafting stitch and it theoretically should be smooth. Any suggestions? I had to adapt the pattern from a men's pattern I have very wide palms and smallish sized fingers. TIA, Laura in Philly ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 13:57:10 -0600 (CST) From: "Sheila M. Thiels" <sneakyt@gpfn.sk.ca> Subject: Re: Knit U: Cats& yarn, Chart Question Hi Karen and all, About your chart question: I've often used cross-stitch patterns in my knitting and have found that with stranded knitting, the knitting stitches form almost perfect "squares", ie the row and st count are very close and sometimes the same. For this reason, IMHO, cross-stitch charts with their square grid work just fine in knitting, instead of having to rework everything on knitter's graph paper which shows stitches as rectangles, and then having to rework the chart so that it looks OK. One caution however, try to avoid charts that include a lot of backstitch and half cross-stitches, as it's impossible (as far as I know) to knit half a st in one color, and the other in another. Best Stitches, Sheila the Sneak of Regina ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 12:17:29 -0800 (PST) From: Denise Hamilton <elmo4przz@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Knit U: KIPing experience! > came up to me and said "We will have NONE OF THAT HERE!!!" I apologized and > explained that there was nothing for me to do so I wanted to occupy my mind. > She told me that I should "Read a magazine if I have nothing to do. That if > looks very bad for the students to see me knitting!" Boy, do I know how this goes!! I was knitting at work one day to fill some odd moments. In my work, I see clients on one-hour appointments and if someone is a no-show, then I have a chunk of time and there isn't anything I can do about it. I was advised by my co-worker on this occasion that I was being *watched* and I'd better not knit at work anymore. I was not happy about this since other people, when in the same down-time mode, sit and chat in the break room over coffee, order something from a catalog, pay some bills... In most jobs you can't be busy every minute of every day and it seems fair to take a few minutes to do a couple of rows. But you're right, Dixie, it seems to bother people in a way that flipping through a magazine does not. I am at a loss to explain why. Thank goodness for this list -- now on my downtime I can at least read about knitting from fellow enthusiasts!! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 14:22:44 -0600 (CST) From: "Sheila M. Thiels" <sneakyt@gpfn.sk.ca> Subject: Re: Knit U: KIPing experience! Hi Dixie, You poor thing! Although I'm taking some comfort in knowing another knitter has been badly treated. I wish to pass on a curse someone sent me after my first encounter with the fuss-pot: May she drop a hundred stitches while knitting lace, in fine mohair, using size 1 dpns. Don't worry however; it sounds like the other staff are good people and if this woman is that awful, perhaps a number of the students will take up knitting just to spite her. Teens love to do things like that (at least I did!) Best Stitches, Sheila the Sneak of Regina ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 15:42:34 -0800 From: "Jackie Ritchie" <jlritchie@mediaone.net> Subject: Knit U: Re: KnitU: Growing Sweater Pains - another answer I know this was from an older digest, but I would like add another thought to this. Many years ago when acrylic yarns were fairly new and exciting (washer and dryer! WOW!), I made a sweater for my brother who was still living at home. (I was not.) My mom washed his sweater and it was huge. I had provided them with the yarn sleeve and it said, hand wash and lie flat OR machine wash and machine dry. So she didn't hesitate to toss it into the dryer. When it came out, it was the right size again. Whew! Was she relieved. Jackie in Ann Arbor ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 15:47:02 EST From: LoraJ8897@AOL.COM Subject: Re: Knit U: Growing Ends I never had the problem of knitting into the legs of the first stitch but did have problems with purling I would wrap the yarn over the needle and cause a new stitch to be created then purl. Both could be the cause of the problem hth Laura in Philly ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 16:01:46 -0500 From: Linda.Bruce@cac.gc.ca Subject: Knit U: Jo Sharp's Anjuli cardigan I have heard that about two years ago Knitter's mag had their own colourway forJo Sharp's Anjuli cardigan - in blues and greens. I do not have the mag....so please - help....? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 16:33:35 -0500 From: "Bill and Denise Simon" <simonrn@adelphia.net> Subject: Knit U: Knitting and cats I had to use that title because I have a feeling we're the only knitters out here who have, shall we say, a much deeper appreciation for the canine than the feline. We have two German Shepard Dogs (often called GSD). They don't eat yarn, they don't touch anything unless it's left on the floor which they consider their domain. Sound boring? Well they both "talk", especially the male who loves and asks for ice cream. The female is an obsessive Frisbee champ...can your cat do that? Both can swim like Mark Spitz. And back to the subject of knitting...Martien, our Keeshond, God rest his little doggie soul, had wool so long that we could comb and spin it and we made a Keeshond/Mohair hat for Meme. Just had to mention that dogs are great too, our dogs run to the window and bark when they hear "kitty cat" and we knit fine without a cat around. Thanks. - --David adds-- And some knitters have both! I have yet to hear a ferret story (very sweet little creatures) or ones of talking birds or medium-sized snakes (corn snakes are very even-tempered and pretty affectionate). Any takers? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 16:04:08 -0600 From: Julie Dietz <cfjcd@eiu.edu> Subject: Knit U: where did the list of lists come from, you may ask. Sorry if I didn't make this clear -- I'm on digest, and it hasn't come through yet. The list of lists came from the FAQ for the Knitlist. The complete FAQ can be found at the knitlist home page. http://www.kniton.com/knitlist/ I know many of us are on both lists. Julie Julie Dietz, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Health Studies Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL 61920 cfjcd@eiu.edu *********************************************************************** "Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises." --Elizabeth Zimmermann, 1910-1999 *********************************************************************** ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 14:18:19 -0800 (PST) From: Joanna Daneman <j_daneman@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Knit U: Shawl Question > I saw a post on one of my lists, in the last few days, where someone hinted > that cotton is not a good choice in fiber for a faroese shawl. Did I > understand that correctly? I think cotton tends to "grow" so a shawl might end up as a shroud! Also, is quite heavy compared to wool. I love Icelandic lace yarn. It has less twist than Shetland lace weight and is lovely to work with. A bit coarse compared to Shetland, and a lot easier than cobweb. ===== Visit our homepage about Asian travel and photography http://www.geocities.com/j_daneman/nanimo.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 14:24:36 -0800 (PST) From: Joanna Daneman <j_daneman@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: Knit U: Tech: Increase Re cats (sorry non-felinophiles) We adopted a stray in the NH woods that turned out to be a maine coon. Great cat. She is the first one that also CANNOT be bothered to eat or mess with wool. Birds, mice and small furries, living are another matter. She does eat grass, and once I had to extract a very long blade from a pink nose of a very frightened cat. The siamese predecessor however, chomped wool with the best of them (sneakily so that I used to end up with a wet end in the middle of a row.) Siamese are used for snake control in Thailand, so maybe snake-y things appeal. She used to trot around collecting rubberbands to fetch. It cannot be stressed enough to keep pins, thread, and yarn away from the enthusiasts. Nothing worse than a sick cat. It is pitiful. ===== Visit our homepage about Asian travel and photography http://www.geocities.com/j_daneman/nanimo.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 16:05:08 -0700 From: "Ann" <annmac@trib.com> Subject: Knit U: Who is Horst Schulz? Would someone explain the Horst Schulz technique or list a reference where it is shown. It's been mentioned many times on this list, but I've never seen a description and have no idea what you are talking about. Also, I thought I did whatever we were supposed to do to get Dave Burrow's colorknitter's from onelist, but have received no mail. Is it functioning? Lynn Park mentions and talks about "The Book." That's a little too cryptic. If this is information for the whole list, would you mind being more specific? Thanks, Ann - --David adds-- Horst Schulz is the author of two current books, "Das Neue Stricken Kindermode" and "Das Neue Stricken". The former features knits for children, the latter is a collection of pullovers, jackets, and vests for adults. Mr. Schulz' techniques involve the use of many colors in a kind of patchwork technique, ie, small pieces are knitted together to form a larger allover fabric. One example of this technique is the "mitered square" technique seen in quite a few contemporary designs. Although Mr. Schulz did not invent this technique (it has also been called "number knitting" or "domino knitting") he has carried it to fabulous heights. (There is a mitered square sweater on the front cover of the next issue of Knitter's--#58--that has some people at the XRX office so excited that THEY have already started it!!) Besides mitered squares, Mr. Schulz uses other shapes--fans, trapezoids, triangles--to construct interesting and beautiful garments. For people interested in color work, the designs of Horst Shulz have opened up a whole new way of looking at color within fabric design. Personal note: List Dad is working on a sweater using a variation of the mitered square technique inspired by the samples of Joan Schrouder--who took one of Mr. Schulz workshops. It's such a kick to be doing an entire sweater on two dpn's. There are never more than 31 sts on the needles, and every small square means another 4 squares inches completed. If you are interested in these books, you can order them from: Knitting Basket PO Box 5367 Tahoe City, CA 96145 e-mail: knitting@sierra.net www.knittingbasket.com If you want a quick look what sweaters in this patchwork technique look like, this URL on the Knitting Basket website has some great pictures: http://www.knittingbasket.com/patch.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 18:05:13 -0500 From: CJWarren <cjwarren@de.freei.net> Subject: Knit U: Answer: DK, sport or worsted? Cindy had a problem with the weight of the yarn she was sold. DK-weight is actually in between sport and worsted weights; I believe has been used in Europe for a long time and only recently made itself known in the US as a separate weight. Many yarn-lookups classify it as sport weight since it's less than worsted; others still simply ignore DK weight altogether. I hope that changes someday! As for the problem, work a swatche with the sport weight recommended needle size, and also one with the worsted weight needle size given in the pattern. See which comes the closest to one of the pattern's gauges. Then go from there, adjusting needle size until you get one of the gauges called for in the pattern, and use the instructions for that weight. Carol in (S)Lower Delaware, where the beach is cold, windy and beautiful. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 18:39:37 -0500 From: CJWarren <cjwarren@de.freei.net> Subject: Knit U: The Multi-cultural Knitters I had to laugh at Lily's reform-Chinese joke as she always lets you know she's a New Yorker. And Lisa's reply made me laugh, too. I and my six siblings are one quarter Lithuanian, one quarter German, and one-half a mixture of Scot-Irish, English and Swedish. My sister's husband, who is Chinese, was born in Jamaica; I think his parents were, too. So now her three little darlings (and they sure are) will have more nationalities to rattle off than the rest of our family. I plan to teach at least some of them to crochet and knit; the oldest appears to be ready and interested (she is 8-1/2). However, they live 4 hours away and I only see them about 4 times a year. My sister never was 'craft-oriented' but she does have the kids doing simple crafts from library books. So...can anyone recommend a book that a non-knitter/non-crocheter can use to help teach a kid to knit or crochet? Carol in (S)Lower Delaware, whose two cats have gotten unusually lively since the other cat disappeared. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 18:19:05 -0500 From: CJWarren <cjwarren@de.freei.net> Subject: Knit U: Ans to increase problem Joan wrote: > Now, I'm trying to do the sleeves, and this is where I'm stuck. the > instructions are: Inc. 1 st 6 times each end of next and every foll 12 > rows. I recently had this exact same problem with an older pattern. After finally working it out, I believe the instructions should have read "every following 12th row." That's what made it look right. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 19:35:11 EST From: MHagen3588@AOL.COM Subject: Knit U: Re: Knit U Digest V2000 #667 Could you give me the name of the Rowan magazine. I would like to try to find it here in WNY. Thanks Mary MHagen3588@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 20:58:46 -0600 From: "Eric or Michele Frueh" <mefrueh@netins.net> Subject: Knit U: Tech Q: Fair Isle question Dear Knitting friends: I'm doing a scarf from the Vogue Knitting on the Go! books series. It's the Fair Isle scarf on page 83. Unfortunately, this is being done flat and not in the round. Anyway, I've just finished the chart 2 color rows. And it looks pretty good...except what should I do now with all of these lovely dangling loose ends? Is there any easier way of securing these than having to individually darn in 46 ends per side? Help from any Fair Isle guru, please! Thanks in advance, Michele Frueh mefrueh@netins.net ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 22:24:30 -0500 (EST) From: jaegilbert@mindspring.com (Judith Gilbert) Subject: Knit U: seeking "happy Strumpf" yarn Hi folks - I'm hunting around for this sock yarn, it has very short (2 sts. worth) runs of various colors on a solid background (a little like some of the Socka yarns) manufactured by Robert Kraemer Bremen. Any leads hugely appreciated! Chocolate reward!!! many thanks, Judith ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 22:36:28 -0500 (EST) From: Squirrelknits@webtv.net (Cheryl M.) Subject: Knit U: Re: cowl neck sweater Remember the cowl(e) neck sweaters? They were my favorites! My question......if I pick up twice as many sts around the neckline and knit for approx. 10-12" in st st would this be sufficient for that type of neckline? Or , could I pick up the neck sts in a needle size 2 sizes bigger than the body was worked and still get the same cowl results? Please help! TIA Cheryl M./Squirrels' Nest Handknits ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 22:34:16 -0700 From: "Rita O'Connell" <oconnell@pagosa.net> Subject: Fw: Knit U: opinions on "view only" websites Oops, I meant to send it to the whole list, not just you, Meg. Chime in folks! Rita O'Connell Email: oconnell@pagosa.net Pagosa Springs, Colorado, USA Original Message From: Rita O'Connell To: meg@kniton.com Sent: Saturday, February 12, 2000 10:31 PM Subject: Knit U: opinions on "view only" websites I'd love to see folks opinions on this questions, and I suspect there are others. Personally, I'm interested in starting a "virtual" knitting pattern store on the web, but would like it to be one where you see the products (my designs only, at least at first) and need to call or write to order them. So please, web surfers out there, send your comments to the whole list. Rita O'Connell Email: oconnell@pagosa.net Pagosa Springs, Colorado, USA ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 23:14:05 -0700 From: "Rita O'Connell" <oconnell@pagosa.net> Subject: Re: Knit U: Re: knitting faster without looking I'm delighted to be finding so many of my Minnesota knitting friends are on this elist. It's great to not only meet new knitting friends, but not lose track of old ones! RE: Works in progress -- Since I have two brand new twin baby nieces, I decided to finally try knitting the Baby Surprise garter stitch sweater (as "revisited" in a recent Knitters mag), using lots of the cottons from my stash. It's great fun -- and also fun to try to follow someone else's pattern once in a while. But it sure is much easier than inventing my own design when I don't have any nearby babies to use as models to test out designs and sizes. While making the sweaters, I've really enjoyed seeing how EZ's garter stitch patterning unventing evolved. I remember I had first gotten into complex garter stitch patterning when I did one of EZ's intriguing zig-zag patterned afghans that folds into a pocket to become a pillow, and then did a variation of a garter-patterned sweater that was designed by Medrith Glover, I think (in Knitters or one of the other knitting magazines more than 10 years ago). Those two projects were enough to set me off into exploring the limits of garter stitch. I've done some of my own intricate garter stitch pattern designing lately (hopefully I'll get a pattern out soon on my labyrinth afghan). I guess my garter stitch patterns have caught some attention -- I laughed when I found out that the knitting judges at the Minnesota State Fair had begun calling me "the garter stitch lady", because I'd entered so many of those kinds of projects in the last few years! I'll see you around on the list, Laura and everyone -- although I must say that I never expected there to be SO MANY posts every day. You're keeping me busy! But keep it up... Rita O'Connell Email: oconnell@pagosa.net Pagosa Springs, Colorado, USA ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 05:48:11 -0800 (PST) From: Anne Claxon <aclaxon@yahoo.com> Subject: Knit U: Re: Cats & Yarn Hi everyone, Just thought I'd add my 2 cents worth. My cat loved yarn. Yes, past tense. I was telling my vet about it and he admonished me with the same reasons that have been previously posted. He did have a great way to train the cat (kitten). This is used by cat trainers for the movies, tvs, etc. Sit on the floor and blow up balloons. When the cat gets close, don't startle him, but pop the balloon with a pin. The noise scares the cat and eventually won't go near you blowing up the balloons. They will just sit at a distance looking bored and watch. Now, take all those balloons and put them around your yarn basket or stash. You can tape them to your table or counters and the cat won't jump up there either. My cat will sit with me when I knit but when I put the yarn down, goes to another chair to sit. It may sound cruel to scare the cat but as the vet said, better scared than dead. The cat is now 13 years old, and very friendly and not scared of thunder or storms or in general of loud noises. Now if I can just train the dog not to destroy the house. <G> Happy Knitting, Anne C (in Chicago where it is lightly snowing) ------------------------------ |
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