Blanket Notes and Synchronicity

I realized something when I was showing my students how to do the mitered squares last night. I realized that, in garter stitch, to get a nice edge by slipping the first stitch, you need to do the yarn like you would switching from purl to knit in seed stitch or ribbing--after you slip the first stitch, move the yarn between that stitch and the second one rather than behind the slipped stitch. You want it to look like what you see in the image at left.

When you are doing stockinette stitch (K one row and P the next), the yarn is already in the back when you slip the stitch, so this is not an issue. With garter stitch, you need to move the yarn.

There is another way to do it, which is to move the yarn to the front then slip the LAST stitch on each row. It's easier to remember to do it right this way, or so I am told.

Anyway, I have revised yesterday's post and the PDF to have information on how to hold the yarn when you slip the stitches. If you see anything else that needs to be added, just let me know.

Printing Patterns

Also, people have said they have trouble printing the blog post with the pattern in it. Here is how I print blog posts from others: I select all the text and images, then I open Microsoft Word and paste all the content into a new document. I can then tweak the font, margins, etc., to my liking, and print it. Hope this helps! Of course, I don't mind emailing the PDFof the mitered square blanket pattern to anyone who asks. And a lot of people have! How nice!

Something Else

I thought I'd show you part of a nice gift I received from my Canadian friend Ramona (who you will note has also not been blogging as much lately). It really helped to lift my spirits as I get used to life without my Dad. But, the story of the gift is what is so cool, and why I truly love the Internet.

It turns out that, unbeknown to me, Ramona had friended my spouse on Facebook and asked him what I liked. That had explained why the unexpected package in the mail smelled so wonderful--it was full of rose scented soap. What was not explained was the return address--it wasn't from my friend. The return address was only a couple of blocks away from the house where I had spent my really wonderful childhood, in Gainesville, Florida (very far from Toronto). I tried to figure out what old neighbor might still live there!

When I opened the package, I saw so many wonderful things, including the ceramic mug shaped like a ball of yarn and luscious hand-spun yarn that you see here. These were made by a very talented ceramicist, soap maker and fiber artist, who sells on Etsy and knew Ramona from another friend...insert Twilight Zone music. Yes, Haldechick lives where I lived over 40 years ago, and sees my old playhouse and the amazing camellias and azaleas my dad planted nearly every day when she walks her dog! When I told her what happened, she sent me a lovely email, and when I told my knitting friends in Gainesville (and I am there because my high school friend and fellow knitter Kelli invited me!) they invited her to join their Facebook group of local knitters. What a wonderful set of sychronicities! I get goosebumps thinking about what a small world I really live in.

When I start to feel alone or isolated, I realize what a wide net of friendship I have cast via my online activities. I have so many wonderful knitting friends from blogs and Ravelry. I have hundreds of friends around the world from my job at the nonprofit organization. And so many of my relatives, plus my old friends from high school, college, grad school and my early jobs are still in touch thanks to Facebook! And to be honest, I am pretty sure I stay in touch better with my local friends via Facebook than any other way--we have lots of fun.

So I am happy with the Internet, and truly thankful for ALL of the kind words and thoughts I have received over the past few weeks.