Don't needle prisoners over this yarn via Taranaki Daily News

Dateline New Zealand

Don't needle prisoners over this yarn - oddstuff | Stuff.co.nz:

Needles might be a taboo topic in most jails, but not at the New Plymouth prison.

For the last six months the prison's harmony unit has taken up working with yarn and needles to knit beanies and other items.

To everyone's surprise the initiative has been a success with up to 16 prisoners taking part.

The items they created, under the guidance of Prisoners' Aid and Rehabilitation Society Taranaki president Barbara Sarjeant, were yesterday donated to Women's Refuge.

Acting prison manager Ngaire Knowles said the idea came out of a brain-storming session and she was pleased it had been embraced.

"I think they have appreciated they have learnt a new skill that they can take back to their families."

Prisoners in the unit were able to knit during unlock hours and some were even allowed to do it in their cells, Ms Knowles said.

One member of the group, in his 50s, said he was stunned by the results.

"It is quite productive," the prisoner, who could not be identified, told the Taranaki Daily News.

"It is not a guy thing. It is not something that many blokes would do on the outside."

He was taught to knit by his mother when he was nine and off school but he was not sure it would catch on in jail.

"No, I didn't. I still laugh at how well it's gone."

Being involved in the group had helped prisoners bond and develop skills besides their needle work.

"We all get on really well, knitting has played a big part in that. It helps others to communicate, whereas otherwise they might not have," he said.

He said the group discussed all of the usual topics when they were together.

"Fishing, hunting and cars. We are real blokes but we knit."

Mrs Sarjeant said she was sceptical about the idea when it was first mooted.

"When it was first broached to me six months ago, my reaction was you have got to be joking," she said.

The group was now thriving and Mrs Sarjeant said she couldn't be more pleased. "I'm delighted, I really am. This is good stuff," she said showing off items they had made.

Women's Refuge manager Janice Jessiman was impressed with the group's work. "I think it is great. They are giving something positive back to a community that they may have hurt in the past."

Meadow Socks

After two four-day weekends of traveling and getting a pair of socks done each weekend, it was a bit of a letdown when I was unable to finish my Meadow Socks. As you can see, I have not even gotten to the heel turn.

I told you in a previous post that I wanted to put cables in these socks, as this yarn promised good stitch definition. I decided on a double, mirrored cable that runs up the top of the foot and up the front of the leg. The sock uses a toe with a figure 8 cast-on. I found a wonderful online pictorial lesson called Silver's Sock Class for this cast-on. It was very easy to do and tied with Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato Heel, who needs a pattern?!

Liberty Wool by Classic Elite Yarns, is a pleasure to knit. I think I have found a new favorite! It is soft and very smooth. I have not had much problem with the plies splitting and the stitches are easy to see and pick up. The fibers have a great elasticity to them, so it is easy to manipulate the yarn for the cables. That also makes it easy to smooth out the cables by pulling the stitches into line.

I have some quilting to do today, so I won't be getting these socks done this weekend. However, next weekend is Labor Day and I can definitely finish them by the end of a three-day weekend.

I am already thinking of my next project. I have a friend that wants a pair of texting mittens. I can't find a pattern I like for that; so I may have to design something myself.

Happy Knitting!

Heartfelt

I did remember to snap a couple of photos of the latest baby quilt before sending it off to my sister. I got it into the mail this morning. I am going to leave it up to her what to use as a quilting pattern. The border that I put on it is a type of "piano key" pattern -- rather uneven and scrappy looking. It is easy to do and increases the color in a quilt. If you stick to the fabrics that are already in the center motif, it helps tie everything together.

I still  haven't named the quilt. Does anyone have any good names for a heart themed baby quilt?

Knitting while Traveling III - Forest Footies

Yes, I made it to my LYS, Wool & Company, earlier in the week and I bought more Noro Kureyon. If you remember from last week's post, my hiking trip inspired me to knit a pair of socks which brings in the greens grays and blues from the beautiful scenery of Devil's Lake Park in Wisconsin.

This weekend I had another trip -- this time to the Women of Faith conference in Indianapolis, Indiana with three great friends. Long car rides are great for both conversation and knitting so knit (and talk) I did. And here is the result -- Ta Daaaahhhhh!

Yes, I know I said greens, grays and blues, but I couldn't come up with a mixture of color in quite the same combination that I was seeing in my mind's eye. But I think this is a good representation of what I saw at Devil's Lake.

Again, I used Cat Boardhi's Sweet Tomago Heel,; however, this time I used only two wedges. I think that for me, two wedges are much better and I don't get the big bulky bunch of yarn scrunched up at the back of my heel. Another difference between this pair and Road Trip Socks was that I used 44 stitches as opposed to 48 stitches. The sock is a little snugger which I like. I also made this pair of socks as footies since I don't usually wear a crew sock.

I also bought a new yarn for me, Liberty Wool which is a machine washable, 100% wool yarn which promises good stitch definition. In that batch is the blue, but the greens are brighter and look more like a meadow than a forest -- but that is alright because on that same trip we also stopped at Cut Rock State Park in Illinois outside of Rockford and went through a prairie meadow trail there.

Cut Rock looks like a great place to swim and fish with a nice sized lake, Pierce Lake, complete with boat ramp, but the park was much more crowded than Devil's Lake and the wooded hiking that we found was too near the expressway and we were unable to hear the birds.

I think that my next pair of socks will incorporate a cable. I love cables and the Noro is not a smooth enough yarn to use to do a cable. I will let you know soon how things are coming.

I am putting away my knitting needles (and the computer) for the next few hours since I have a baby quilt calling my name. I only have another couple of hours to go, but I need to get it into the mail tomorrow so that my sister can start quilting it on her long arm. If I remember to snap a couple of pictures tonight, I will post them before I mail it off.

Happy knitting AND quilting!

Knitting while Traveling II - Or Road Trip Socks

I got to the heel turn just before I left for a two day road trip with some friends from Florida and Colorado. I used Cat Bordhi's Sweet Tomato Heel (yes, I broke down at bought her e-book). I worked on the heels in the car and the pattern was so easy that I really only had to refer to it a couple of times. The fact that there was no flap was really nice. I wish that the lighting in these photos did the colors in this Noro Kureyon the justice that they deserve; however, the colors in the above photo are closer than the colors in the below photo. I wouldn't even bother showing you the second photo, but it does show how nice the heels came out. I was really surprised at how fast they knit up.
I should mention that when I did the heel, I found that having both socks on the same needle did not work for this sock. Perhaps I am not as smart as the sock, but I ended up moving the second sock to a different needle (thankfully I bought an extra circular with me) while I did the first heel. I then traded needles for the second heel. When I was done with both heels, I moved them both back to the same needle and finished the socks together on the same circular needle.

My friends and I hiked around Devil's Lake in Wisconsin. It was gorgeous weather for the most part--a little rain in the afternoon, but with temperatures in the mid seventies it was perfect for hiking.

I looked at all the beauty around me--the colors of the rocks hills and trees. I think that my next pair of socks will have to be in blues, greens and grays. Let's see what a trip to the yarn store tomorrow will bring.

Happy knitting!

Yep -- Addi Turbos make me knit faster!

Really!

I am surprised at how much easier it is to knit. I only see one drawback to the Addi Turbo needles: they are so slick that I have to be very careful not to loose stitches. I have not timed myself, but I would say that they have increased my speed by about 30%. Very happy with my new needles! Sister Dear was right. I am so glad she recommended them and I recommend them to everyone else.

Love, love, love the Noro Kureyon that I am knitting! The colors are so beautiful and I cannot decide which sock I like best. Knitting them two at a time is not as hard as I thought it would be. It will certainly eliminate "second sock syndrome".  Although with this yummy yarn, I think I would be just as excited about sock number two as I am sock number one.

I am thinking about changing from a tube sock to a heeled sock. I found a great YouTube video done by Cat Bordhi showing how to do her Sweet Tomato Heel. The heel looks pretty easy and is smoother than any other heal I have ever seen. I also spent some time over on her web site www.catbordhi.com looking at some of her patterns. She has beautiful work and her e-book is now on my wish list.

Happy Sock Knitting!

I succumb to temptation.

I tried. I really did. I managed to hold off over 24 hours. But in the end, the lure of my LYS (local yarn shop) was just too much to handle. But look at what I found!!! Look at the colors!!!! Yummy.

I am going to make a pair of tube socks in this beautiful self-striping Noro Kureyon. Yes, I know it is hand wash only, but oh so beautiful in this Lime, Hot Pink and Orange combination.

I also bought a 40" US 6 circular Addi Turbo to knit them up at the same time to prevent 2nd sock syndrome. My twin sister says she knits faster with them. I mentioned this to the girl at the LYS and she said that she found that it really makes the knitting fly.

Wish me luck.

And, no, I haven't finished any of my other projects yet. Shhhhhhh - quiet.

Sister Sock II

My twin sister finished her socks and sent me a picture of them on her feet. If you remember from my previous post, she had completed one sock and left it behind at a friend's house. As you can see, her socks are both finished and reunited. They are very plain tube stocks with a rib at the top in a worsted weight yarn.

But her knitting did not end there. She has since knitted two more pairs of socks that will be gifts. This speed must be due to her new Addi Turbo knitting needles! The next pair she knit was a basic tube sock with an "afterthought" heel. For those of you that are unfamiliar with an afterthought heel, follow the link to a wonderful little site full of tips and tricks -- Socknitters. Here Jill L Schaefer has a lesson complete with detailed photos on completing an afterthought heel.

Her third pair was a "flap and gusset" style heel. I happen to like these socks best, mostly because something inside me loves the look of stripped yarn for socks and my favorite color is green. Again, here is a nice list of tips and tricks for sock gussets from Socknitters.

Now, suddenly, I feel a need to run to my LYS and pick up some self striping yarn to make myself a pair of socks. Easy, Ledra, you have 3 quilts to make in short order.