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Author: Barbara W. Klaser

No more Stitches?

Posted on May 20, 2023May 20, 2023 by Barbara W. Klaser

No more Stitches? I was shocked to see this bit of news today, relating to the knitting world at large. It seems to be a sign of the times. Knitter’s Magazine was the first knitting publication I subscribed to, back in the 1990s when I learned to knit. I still have dozens of issues of the magazine. To me, investing in a magazine like that is the same as investing in books, and they are to be treasured. The magazine stopped publication a number of years ago now, but they were still publishing books, and they continued the Stitches conventions. Until now.

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8 favorite crochet books

Posted on May 7, 2023May 7, 2023 by Barbara W. Klaser

In the past two months, in addition to lots of other books I reviewed over on Mystery of a Shrinking Violet, I tried out a number of books about crochet, which is a craft I love, but it had been so long since I’ve crocheted that I felt I needed a refresher. I crocheted a lot when I was young, but had to give it up in my 30s due to tendinitis. I want to take crochet up again in a small way.

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Socks not — at least not red and blue

Posted on March 15, 2023 by Barbara W. Klaser

Just a quick post, and no pictures today. Well, maybe the one. I did a complete 180 turn on the socks I had started that I showed in my last post. The thing is, while I love to wear red, or have a splash of red in my accessories, I don’t wear red with blue….

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A little sock rebellion

Posted on February 27, 2023March 11, 2023 by Barbara W. Klaser

I realize these are not the colors many people would choose for socks, but I’ve been wanting some new red socks for a while now, even more since reading a particular novel a few years ago in which a young man who has to wear three-piece suits all the time rebels by always wearing red socks. It was a minor point in the novel, but I loved that bit of rebellion.

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Fingerless mitts

Posted on January 27, 2023February 6, 2023 by Barbara W. Klaser

I was able to finish the fingerless mitts for my spouse without any major problems. There were a few adjustments. I mentioned in my earlier post that I would try doing the cuff ribbing on US1 (2.25 mm) needles and if it was too snug I’d go up to a size to US2 (2.75 mm). I would consider the first cuff a swatch and then decide. He tried the first cuff on and found it too snug.

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How knitting plans change

Posted on January 10, 2023February 1, 2023 by Barbara W. Klaser

In my prior post, I wrote about the cardigan I’ve been knitting in order to learn top-down construction. Well, some things have changed since then. The raglan cardi has been on hold, for reasons I’ll get into below, and I had been about to start some socks to have something to knit in the meantime, had the yarn all ready to go, but that’s changed too. Right now, I’m preparing to make some fingerless mitts for my spouse.

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Some knitting history

Posted on December 20, 2022February 1, 2023 by Barbara W. Klaser

Just a quick share after viewing this interesting video from Roxanne Richardson, covering Weldon’s Practical Needlework, and discussing the difference between socks and stockings. A trip into knitting history.

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Clasped Weft Join for joining non-felting yarns

Posted on December 15, 2022February 1, 2023 by Barbara W. Klaser

The Clasped Weft Join is similar to what I already do when joining a new ball of the same color, where I knit a few stitches with both yarns. But this is better, because it appears to keep everything more snug, and it can be adapted for color changes as well.

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Thrift Shopping Again with Arne and Carlos

Posted on November 27, 2022February 1, 2023 by Barbara W. Klaser

I don’t know if you’ve been following Arne & Carlos on YouTube recently, but I’m loving their thrift shop visits. Arne has been buying partially-completed stitching projects and finishing them, with his own unique changes that update them and make them special.

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My recent knitting — a raglan cardigan

Posted on November 22, 2022February 1, 2023 by Barbara W. Klaser

This is what I’m working on at the moment, the pattern that Lion Brand calls a Simple Raglan Cardi. It’s a basic lightweight cardigan for those transitional times in the year when it’s not really cold and not really warm out.

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Recent Posts

  • No more Stitches?
  • 8 favorite crochet books
  • Socks not — at least not red and blue
  • A little sock rebellion
  • Fingerless mitts
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