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Recent Repair of a Knit Afghan

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Now that I’m getting back into the swing of things, I wanted to document a unique repair that I worked on.  This 52-year old afghan was in need of some TLC before it got handed off to the next generation.  Working with this piece was a true pleasure, with the yarn in remarkably good condition for it’s age.  The afghan was a huge ripple pattern, with 9 panels joined together by intarsia.

INTARSIA. Think about that… it wasn’t seamed.  It was 9 balls of yarn that were worked on at the same time across the blanket.

But back to the repair!  There were several holes – mostly along the edge where ends had worked loose, but also one spot in the center of the piece.

[Read more…]

Long time, no see

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Getting Ready to do a repair

Getting Ready to do a repair

It’s been nearly a year and a half since I blogged last. That isn’t to say I haven’t been doing things… quite the contrary. But… I haven’t had the mental ablity or bandwith to blog.

After Turtle #2 was born, I cut my hours with the business back. Way back. There were a variety of factors, but a lot of it turned into wanting and needing to spend more time focused on family and other goals, and less on the business. Tinking Turtle went into matinence mode. I was doing just enough to keep the business going, but a lot of things, including blogging, got cut back.

It wasy the right choice at the time, but we’ve shifted to a new time, and the plan is to bring the business back from life support to more solidly into part-time. I’ve missed devoting time to Tinking Turtle, and I’m really glad to be getting back.

Meanwhile, I’ve got a bunch of different projects I worked on while I was away that I want to share. Call it a highlights reel of the past two years. A lot of it is going to focus on repair work, because that’s where a lot of my time has been devoted, but I hope it will be interesting!

Much Beloved Heirloom Crochet Tablecloth Made New

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rectangular lace crochet tablecloth with center border and then outer border made up of flower motifs

rectangular lace crochet tablecloth with center border and then outer border made up of flower motifs

One of my favorite repairs, recently, has been a series of two different crochet lace tablecloths I took on.  These two pieces were both at least 30 or more years old, and were in pretty good condition.  Frank from Textile Restoration Inc in Chicago had sent the client my way.  I’ll highlight the first of the tablecloths today, and I’ll be highlighting the second of them a little later.

The first tablecloth, which I thought of as “Field of Flowers” when I worked on it, was a huge piece, at least 5 1/2 feet by 4 feet.  It was made of a center pannel of 4 x 12 motfs, an inner border of triangles, an outer set of motifs 4 deep, and then larger second outer border.

Most of the holes were areas where motifs that had been joined as the tablecloth was worked had come undone and unraveled – not uncommon, even in pieces where every single end is tightly woven in.  The areas where two motifs join together tend to be an area that recieves more stress.

[Read more…]

Darn It! How to Repair your Knitting Online Workshop Available

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I’ve been working on my new class from Interweave, Darn It! How to Repair your Knitting for several years.  Since I began offering repair courses, I’ve wanted to find a way to get this information to students who were not in my geographic area.  This started when I posted about getting a copy of Rena Crockett’s Flawless Knit Repair.  People from all parts of the globe would email asking how they could get a copy, or asking if I’d be willing to scan a PDF version of the book.  (I was never comfortable with that solution, as I make my living off of my copyright, and I’ve never been able to contact Crockett or her realitives to see if they would be OK with that action.)

But in the back of my brain I was trying to figure out how I could create my own, readily available version of Crockett’s book.  Becasue as much as Crockett’s book was instrumental in my own start into repairing things, I’d found some other methods of working that I wanted to share with people.  More than a year ago I teamed up with Interweave to try and create a course that would answer the need I’d seen.

I’m proud to announce that Darn It: How to Repair your Knitting is finally available!  This class covers a lot of ground: repairing knit fabrics, purl fabrics, cables, lace and (my favorite!) colorwork (which has some special challenges).  It breaks down, step-by-step, how to approach various reparis, and how to make them nearly invisible (if that’s your desire).

Let’s look at what the class includes:

In This Online Workshop You’ll Learn:

  • A variety of repair techniques including duplicate and Kitchener stitch
  • How to fix holes before they even happen
  • Step-by-step repairs for stockinette, Fair Isle, cables, and lace knitting
  • The secret to weaving in ends invisibly
  • Tips for sourcing repair yarn and mimicking original yarns in older or heirloom pieces

Lesson Outline:

  • Intro
  • Darning vs. Reweaving
  • A Stitch In Time: Finding Holes Before They Happen
  • The Duplicate Stitch
  • Repairing Stranded Colorwork
  • Kitchener Stitch
  • Repairing Cables
  • Mending a Hole in Stockinette
  • Weaving in Ends
  • Repairing Lace
  • Conclusion

Skill Level:

Any! Students should have basic knitting skills and some knowledge of knitting cables and simple lace.

Optional Materials for Practice Swatches:

Small amounts of worsted-weight yarn in several colors for practice swatches and repair; Size 7 or 8 knitting needles; locking stitch markers; crochet hook; tapestry needle and sharp-tipped needle; Size 7 or 8 double-pointed knitting needles

Repairing Cables Article in Interweave Knits Fall 2018

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And the releases keep coming!  I’m proud to announce I have an article in the Interweave Knits Fall 2018 issue on repairing and reweaving cables in knitwear.

My piece appears on page 64.  You can also find a copy of the article on the Interweave Knitting Page.

The article offers tips and tricks to repairing cables.  I’ve added in some expert tips about where I source my yarn.  I think the editorial staff at Intwerave did a great job laying out the article and making it the best it can be!

All About Yarn Online Workshop

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I’m proud to announce the release of my class All About Yarn with Interweave.  This class has been a long time in coming!  It’s a version of one of my most popular topics to talk about: why yarns act the way they do.  I’ve been working to get this information to a wider audience, and I feel that this fits that niche.  Let me tell you a little bit more about the class:

 Ever find what you think is the perfect yarn for the perfect project, only to find that they are not perfect together at all? Ever fret over substituting one yarn for another? Join Jennifer Raymond and discover why a yarn that is luscious for lace can be a fail when it comes to cables. Look at your stash with fresh eyes, and visit your LYS knowing how to choose and use the right yarn for whatever you want to make. Prepare to learn All About Yarn.

In this Online Workshop you’ll:

 

  • Learn about the 3 building blocks of all yarns–ply, weight, and fiber content—and how they work together.
  • Determine the weight of any yarn, from handspun to those mystery yarns in your stash.
  • Explore a whole menagerie of fiber animals–from angora to yak–along with cotton, linen, silk and more.
  • Gain new confidence in choosing and using yarns, whether for a new pattern or for your own design
  • Get tips on how to care for your finished projects.

 

Lesson Outline:

 

  • Introduction
  • Meet Your Instructor
  • Understanding Ply:

 

  • Singles
  • 2 Ply Yarns
  • 3 & 4 Ply Yarns
  • A Weighty Matter: Yarn Weights Explained
  • Yarn Weight Standards
  • Wraps per Inch
  • A Small Detour: Worsted vs. Woolen Yarns
  • Fiber: Protein, Cellulose, and Other Types of Fiber
  • Quick Guide: Types of Wool
  • Quick Guide: Other Animal Fibers
  • Quick Guide: Cotton, Linen, & Silk
  • Quick Guide: Synthetic Fibers
  • Fiber Care

 

  • Wrapping Up

 

 

 

Skill Level: Beginner on up. Though aimed at knitters, this workshop is also appropriate for crocheters or any maker interested in yarn.

Materials required: None! Though you may find it helpful to rummage through your yarn stash while watching.

 

About the Instructor:
Jennifer Raymond is a knitter, crocheter, and spinner based in Ashland, Virginia, with more than 20 years of stitching experience. A teacher and designer, she also has a business repairing and restoring heirloom knit and crochet pieces.

Back from Maternity Leave!

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Photographing a project

Hello from the Turtle Household!

Monday marked the end of my self-imposed maternity leave.  I’ve been taking the last month to sort through emails and triage what I needed to do for the business.  If everything goes as planned, the remainder of August and the month of September will be marked by an increased amount of activity as I learn what the new normal for the business and our family is.

The intent is to begin to contact individuals on the waiting list for finishing and repair services and begin taking in items again.  I’m so looking forward to burrying my hands in yarn!

I’m hoping for the ability to return to a little more blogging, a few news emails if you’re on the newsletter, and a somewhat regular teaching schedule.  We’ll see how ambitious this will be!

Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with this picture, of a project I worked on during my maternity leave for an article that will be published later this year.

Important Updates and News

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Balloon LogoMuch has been going on behind the scenes of Tinking Turtle recently, but it’s left me with precious little time to update the blog!  I’m going to be endeavoring to fix this oversight in the next few days with a series of updates, since some exciting things are happening this fall.

But the biggest news that Mr. Turtle and I would like to share is that we will be adding another small member to our family in late February – a second girl.  We’re very excited to share this news with you!

How will this affect the running of Tinking Turtle?  Well, following the end of the year I’ll be starting to wind things down in anticipation of going on maternity leave.  What we discovered last time was that I didn’t give myself enough time to wrap things up before Little Turtle’s birth, and it left me having to tie up the ends of a few projects after she was born.  We’re trying to avoid that situation this year.  There’ll be the normal holiday pricing for finishing and repairs, and we’ll have a waiting list for people interested in my services after I finish my maternity leave.  Going into the New Year, I’ll be cutting back my teaching obligations too.  I’ll keep you posted with more updates as we get closer to February!

Thank you so much for supporting Tinking Turtle and our growing family.

Make Do and Mend: Recent Repair Projects

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I’ve been working and plugging away at a number of repair projects, and while I’ve been posting them to Instagram, I thought I’d highlight a few here.  We’ve got one crochet piece and one knit piece.

The knit piece features a stocking that was hung over the fireplace with care – but was hung a little too close to the flames!

a christmas stocking with a hole burned through it

a christmas stocking with a hole burned through it

Not only did the warmth of the fire burn through the stocking, but it melted one of the stocking stuffers to the fabric, causing the bottle to leak all over the fibers.  It was a mess!

A side note: this is a really good reason to use wool when making anything that will get anywhere near heat – wool does not melt or burn like acrylic or cotton.

repaired christmas stocking ready to go back to its owners

repaired christmas stocking ready to go back to its owners

This stocking needed an overhaul – I pulled things out at the ankle and re-knit the foot.  I’m pretty pleases with the color matching – not perfect, but pretty close!

 

The other project I wrapped up was a crochet afghan that had developed a hole.  It was a nice diversion, since the last few repairs I’ve done of crochet afghans have been plain single crochet.

IMG_20170518_125831237

The first step was isolating the crochet stitches that were in danger of unraveling.  Because this pattern is a gathered stitch, things are a little more tricky – there isn’t a one-to-one ratio of stitches.

IMG_20170518_130232107

Then there’s the process of re-crocheting the area. I had a choice here: I didn’t have any of the blanket yarn I could harvest, so I could either use a closely matching yarn (which is tough to find with cream colored things), or I could crochet the piece in a slightly tighter gauge so I would have enough yarn to do the repairs (and weave in ends).

IMG_20170518_131004860

This is a strategy that works well over a small area – in this case, this one pinwheel (marked by the teal thread). Over larger areas this would cause the area to pucker.

And that is most of what I’ve been working on!  What projects have you gotten off the needles/hook?

Mastering the Master Hand Knitter Program

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IMG_20170517_154215159_HDRI’ve been considering doing the Master Knitter program for a while now.  Rather halfheartedly, because I wasn’t really sure where I would find the time, and I wasn’t sure of the benefit the designation would give me.  However, after Unwind, Mr. Turtle decided it was time to give me the push and sign me up for the Master Hand Knitter program.  Then I’d be committed.  The theory being, is that even at 30 years of age (with a child now!) I’m often still perceived as being younger and thus less experienced. (Ageism, anyone?)  The Master Hand Knitter certification would be a way for me to have outside validation that I know my stuff – and hopefully open more doors for teaching and other opportunities.

So I’ve been working on the swatches and reports for the first level, and it’s an interesting process.  Let me be clear before I write the next part: I have the utmost respect for the TKGA Master Hand Knitter Program.

Saying that, I’m finding doing the swatches and the work utterly boring and frustrating and counter-intuitive to my personality. Hint: I’m not that great a rule-following, and I tend to think I know better than the directions.

Part of this may improve with time as I get to the more difficult levels.  But part of me wishes that there was a way to “test out” of the lower levels – these swatches of garter stitch, stockinette, and basic lace are driving me BONKERS.  I understand that you need to follow the directions exactly – so that they can tell that you can follow directions, so that you can demonstrate that you can do various skills like yarn-overs and decreases without twisting stitches.

The whole thing is terribly tedious.

Then, I need to write reports about various techniques, citing sources and answering questions.  I need to be able to write directions on how to do the various skills to demonstrate that I can explain things clearly.

And the whole time I feel like this work is pulling me away from things I would rather do with my leisure or work time.  I’m trying to keep my eye on the prize – that big shiny pin and the proof that I’m able to do this work.  But… I’m finding it hard.  Part of it is I’m not entirely convinced that the time I spend on the Master Hand Knitter Certification will actually have any affect on my marketability.  And part of it is I feel like my accomplishments should be able to speak for themselves, instead of doing what feels like busywork.

But!  Continuing education is a good thing.  And who knows, maybe I’ll get my ego checked a little bit, and find things that I need to improve on.

Anyone else looked at or done the Master Hand Knitters Program?  What were your thoughts?

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