The Knitting Yarn » the knitting dr

What Do Knitting and Daily Inspirational Thoughts Have To Do With Mothers Day?

Ina Gilmore — Sun, 13 May 2012 23:42:56 +0000

Did you first learn to knit from your mother or grandmother?

Many knitters did.

Like many crafts, it connects the generations.

Today is Mother’s Day, and I found a poem I thought you might enjoy…

A Mother’s Love
There are times when only a mother’s love
Can understand our tears,
Can soothe our disappoints
And calm all of our fears.

There are times when only a mother’s love
Can share the joy we feel
When something we’ve dreamed about
Quite suddenly is real.

There are times when only a mother’s faith
Can help us on life’s way
And inspire in us the confidence
We need from day to day.

For a mother’s heart and a mother’s faith
And a mother’s steadfast love
Were fashioned by the angels
And sent from God above.

–Author Unknown

Did or does your mother encourage you to knit?

Are you planning to pass your love of knitting on to the next generation?

How can knitting and inspirational thoughts be part of Mother’s Day?

Choosing a Mother’s Day card with an inspirational thought and knitting a gift.
Knitting together today and making your happy memories your inspirational thoughts.
Maybe your inspirational thoughts are all about knitting.

If your Mother is still with you, be sure to spoil her nicely today. And every day.

And if she has made her completion, may you have only good memories to remember. Or only remember the good ones.

Every one has good memories and not-so-good ones. Sometimes the only way to leave them in the past is to choose which ones you remember. As the knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade said, “Choose wisely.”

Choosing to remember the good times and forget the bad may just be the healthiest thing you can do for yourself. Choose life, laughter and love.

Do you have Daily Inspirational Thoughts to help you through the good days and the not-so-good ones?

They can help a lot. And with computers, you can have one delivered daily to your inbox.

Click here now to get my free Daily Inspirational Thoughts for caregivers – and other busy knitters!

And have a BLESSED and HAPPY Mother’s Day!

To your healthy and happy knitting & caregiving,

Dr. Ina
Ina Gilmore, M.D. (Retired)
“The Knitting Dr.”

Founder, www.CaregivingWithPurpose.com and www.TheKnittingYarn.com
Ambassador of Elder Care at www.HowToLiveOnPurpose.com

3KCBWDAY7: How Do You Balance Different Crafts Like Knitting and Crochet?

Ina Gilmore — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 15:21:37 +0000

Today is the last day of the 3rd Annual Knit and Crochet Blog Week Day 7, or 3KCBWDAY7 for short.

Finding out about this week on the first day has made posting every day a challenge in itself. And you know, it feels GREAT!

The topics did challenge me. Mostly about sharing more of myself and my craft. And isn’t that what blogging is all about?

I’m thrilled so many people have stopped by this week, and hope you’ll come back. If there’s something you want to see covered in a future post, you can click here to leave a request on the “Ask Your Questions Here” post.

So here’s today’s topic -

Crafting Balance

Are you a knitter or a crocheter, or are you a bit of both? If you are monogamous in your yarn-based crafting, is it because you do not enjoy the other craft or have you simply never given yourself the push to learn it? Is it because the items that you best enjoy crafting are more suited to the needles or the hook? Do you plan on ever trying to take up and fully learn the other craft? If you are equally comfortable knitting as you are crocheting, how do you balance both crafts? Do you always have projects of each on the go, or do you go through periods of favoring one over the other? How did you come to learn and love your craft(s)?

My mother mostly crocheted, although she did both. As you can see from this photo of some items she made -

She taught us the basics of both. My sister and I started with a knitting spool, then graduated to either knitting or crochet. I’m not sure why I started knitting and my sister crochet.

After a while, we taught each other to do the other craft. Crocheting is more work for me as I find I need to concentrate more on it.

Lately, I pick up a crochet hook mostly -

To provisionally cast on…
To pick up a dropped stitch or…
To crochet an edging – usually single crochet.

Usually I have one project at a time, although there are exceptions to every rule!

And my idea of balance is to knit or crochet what and when I want.

Whether that’s planning projects in detail or spur of the moment, I enjoy both.

How do you balance crafts in your life?

Are you a knitter, crocheter, or both?

Is one easier than the other?

3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 6 3KCBWDAY6: How Do You Want To Improve Your Knitting Skill Set?

Ina Gilmore — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:49:34 +0000

Today’s challenge for the 3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week or 3KCBWDAY6 is all about challenging yourself to develop your knitting or crochet skill set.

It’s normal to learn new skills and to also sometimes reach a plateau.

Have you reached a plateau in your knitting?

Or are you continually challenging yourself?

I like to do new things. When I sat down to look for inspiration about my next challenge for this post, I realized just some of the different techniques I’ve knit.

There’s the Intarsia Sweater I knit for one of my nephews who is a train fan –

And there are the Norwegian mittens I knit a while ago. I had never knit Norwegian mittens before.

When I started them I was distracted with the busy-ness of caregiving.

Do you see the error?

Yes, I used two different sets of needles! My double pointed needles are not labeled, and I thought I had it right.

Only after knitting the second mitten did I realize it was a different size than the first.

Sure, I could re-knit one. And the perfectionist in me initially wanted to.

Know why I keep them as is?

Because they are a way for me to show my knitting students what happens when your gauge doesn’t match the pattern. And they are a clear illustration, not just an abstract concept.

And more than that, they remind me that it’s okay not to have perfect knitting!

This scarf has inspired me to work more with dropped stitches.

Creating lace knitting with dropped stitches is something I want to learn more about. One of my knitting books has several versions I want to try.

Through writing this post I learned –

Looking again at the mittens, which were knit when I was super busy and stressed with the challenge of developing a new skill set, I realized I want to make patterns easier and quicker for busy stressed knitters.
I’m working on a sock template, and think I’ve found an easy way to make multiple variations of the same basic pattern.
More than that, I love to teach. Currently I’m a teacher at my local Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts store and recently was accepted by the Knitting Guild of America as a designer and knitter.

So, my goals are to work on developing patterns that are-

Easy…
Can be dropped at moment’s notice and picked up later…
Are portable, so can be taken with you on a commute or to a waiting room or even at a bedside.

And in celebration, when you leave a comment on this post you get an instant download of my popcorn knitted purse. Now I did revise the purse after writing the pattern.

The new version has a shorter wider strap, which is single crocheted.

To get your free pattern, leave a comment on this post on The Knitting Yarn. If you are reading this post on a blog other than The Knitting Yarn, click here now to get your free download.

And if you haven’t yet, get more free patterns and videos by claiming your free Bronze membership. Just click here to join.

You’ll also get updates about new patterns, etc.

For more posts on the Day 6 Challenge, just copy and paste this code 3KCBWDAY6 into your favorite search engine.

To your healthy and happy knitting & caregiving,

Dr. Ina
Ina Gilmore, M.D. (Retired)
“The Knitting Dr.”

Founder, www.CaregivingWithPurpose.com and www.TheKnittingYarn.com
Ambassador of Elder Care at www.HowToLiveOnPurpose.com

Something Different Challenge Video Post for 3KCBWDAY5: Revisiting How To Knit Videos for Lace Lifelines

Ina Gilmore — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:23:17 +0000

Today’s challenge for Day 5 of the 3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week (a.k.a. 3KCBWDAY5) is to create a post that stretches your creativity, looking at a different way to present content on your blog.

Well, this one definitely was a challenge for me. I’m not much into modern dance or poetry as the instructions suggested were options.

Well, I’ve used different methods already. Most of my posts are converted to both video and audio. And I’ve never posted one of them as a blog post.

The first video is the blog post, and the second is an updated version of the How To Knit Videos it describes.

For more blogs from today’s challenge, do a search in your favorite search engine for 3KCBWDAY5.

To your healthy and happy knitting & caregiving,

Dr. Ina
Ina Gilmore, M.D. (Retired)
“The Knitting Dr.”

Founder, www.CaregivingWithPurpose.com and www.TheKnittingYarn.com
Ambassador of Elder Care at www.HowToLiveOnPurpose.com

3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 4 3KCBWDAY4: How Do the Seasons Affect Your Knitting?

Ina Gilmore — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:46:56 +0000

How do the seasons affect your knitting?

This is today’s question from Day 4 of the 3^rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 3KCBWDAY4. And it’s an interesting one.

I live in South Carolina, in the part of the U.S. called “The South.” There are definitely four seasons here, although the winters are milder than those of “The North.” It can get cold although usually for a few days in a row, then temperatures moderate.

For the cold days, and for cold damp days, Hand knit socks wear better and are warmer than store bought. At least the ones on stores locally!

Yarns predominantly made of wool for these socks, usually a blend with rayon. Knitting them in the cooler days of the year work best.

There are days in May through September that knitting with wool even in air conditioning just isn’t appealing. So most of my wool knitting is done in the cooler months.

I also find fingerless gloves or mittens great for the coldest days indoors. Whether knitting or blogging, they keep hands warm.

When caring for my mother, her hands would often get cold all year long. So fingerless gloves and for an even faster soft hand warm-up, a mitt lined with fleece works great.

My summer knitting usually consists of cottons and cooler yarns. It’s s great time to get caught up on all those dishcloths that seem to wear out all at once.

A shawl knit of cotton is a nice companion when going into a building where the air conditioning is turned on low. And it’s not too hot to have to take off between the entrance and the car.

Cotton is my usually yarn in the hottest days. Linen is an alternative to consider.

So the answer is, yes the seasons, including the temperature and humidity outside do affect what I knit and with what yarns.

Leave a comment on this post to get a free instant download of one of my free knitting patterns, “Easy Garter Stitch Fingerless Mittens” (shown in the picture above).

If you’re reading this post on a blog other that The Knitting Yarn, click here now to leave your comment on the original post to get your free download.

To see more posts From Day 4 of the 3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, in your favorite search engine just search this term 3KCBWDAY4.

To your healthy and happy knitting & caregiving,

Dr. Ina
Ina Gilmore, M.D. (Retired)
“The Knitting Dr.”

Founder, www.CaregivingWithPurpose.com and www.TheKnittingYarn.com
Ambassador of Elder Care at www.HowToLiveOnPurpose.com

Knitting and Caregiving: Photography Challenge 3KCBWDAY2

Ina Gilmore — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:57:12 +0000

Today is Day two of the 3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week from Eskimimi Makes.

And today’s challenge is to be creative with photography.

So, I decided to challenge myself with finding a way to combine knitting and caregiving, and set a scene. Knitting can help pass the time, and it can also result in making something for the knitter or the one needing care.

Sometimes it’s a way to get the one needing care interested in something, to take her thoughts off her illness. Or maybe she can even “supervise” if she’s knitted in the past. She might be excited to receive the project the two of you worked on “together.”

And it might just be a first step in healing.

“Love begins by taking care of the closest ones – the ones at home.” ~ Mother Teresa

Sometimes loving the ones closest to us involves hard choices. When you choose to be a caregiver, whether for a child or adult, you also get to make hard choices. And that can lead to stress.

Knitting also can relieve stress.

And one thing caregiving has plenty of is stress! So combining the two is a natural for stress relief.

Not only that, but many projects are small enough to be portable. You can take them and work on them in a waiting room, or even at the bedside.

I call this “Knitting At the Bedside.”

And here’s a close-up of her knitting needles and knitting. Her needles used to be toothpicks that I sanded to blunt their points.

This post, quote or the pictures inspire you?

3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week Day 1: Colour Lovers 3KCBWDAY1

Ina Gilmore — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:55:06 +0000

Today is the first day of the 3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. Today’s topic is Colour Lovers.

And this post has my answers to some questions about colors knitters often get asked.

How do you choose colors for your knitting projects?

Mostly I love choosing a color that the recipient will want to wear. Whether it’s for me or for a gift. So when possible for a gift, I try to get yarn in colors she or he will love.

When I look at the colors in my stash, they are colors that comfort me.

There’s some bright red and green for Christmas, bright colors of cotton worsted for dishcloths, some white and turquoise, and lots of browns, oranges and yellows.

And some lavender and purple for variety.

Do you love a rainbow of bright hues or more subtle tones?

The short answer is yes.

The shades don’t matter as much as the color itself.

Although after knitting two fingerless gloves with black alpaca yarn, I tend to avoid black. It’s hard to see and can make even an easy knitting project challenging.

Or difficult!

Although I did recently knit a pair of socks with black stripes in them, and do have a lot of yarn left over. Possibly enough for another pair.

I’ll need to be in the right mood to tackle that yarn again, and right now I have another project on my sock needles (Phew!).

Colorful hand spun yarn from my knitting stash

Do you pay attention to the colors on a pattern when choosing it?

I’m more interested in the pattern itself than the colors the designer used to knit it. And I’m often substituting a different yarn anyway.

Leave a comment on this post on The Knitting Yarn and get a free instant download of my Easy Customizable Knitting Bag. An easy way to experiment with your own color choices!

It makes a nice bag for carrying your knitting, or something else. It’s a nice size for carrying small projects when you know you’ll be waiting, and may need to stash them in a hurry in your bag. The original color is from Kool-Aid dyed hand spun yarn.

To leave a comment, scroll to the bottom of the post on The Knitting Yarn. If you are reading this on a blog other than The Knitting Yarn, click here now to leave a comment on the original post.

For more posts from Day 1 of the 3rd Annual Knitting and Crochet Blog Week, just copy and paste this code into your favorite search engine 3KCBWDAY1

To your healthy and happy knitting & caregiving,

Dr. Ina
Ina Gilmore, M.D. (Retired)
“The Knitting Dr.”

Founder, www.CaregivingWithPurpose.com and www.TheKnittingYarn.com
Ambassador of Elder Care at www.HowToLiveOnPurpose.com

Socks and Stress and Free Knitting Patterns

Ina Gilmore — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:02:01 +0000

My renewed interest in knitting socks started when my mother was ill.

Her feet were often cold. She did not care for the local “store bought” socks. And I kept a watchful eye on her legs, as the sock legs often seemed too tight. Even though her legs were quite thin.

My sister suggested I knit mother a pair of socks.

And so I did. I knit her knee-high socks, and carefully measured to have them fit comfortably.

Since then, I’ve gone on to knit other socks. And found an interesting association with stress and knitting socks.

When the leg of a sock takes less than 3 days of knitting, that’s a sign of stress.

48 hours after starting sock

Knitting is one of the ways I relieve stress. Recently I’ve become more aware of the signals my body sends that I’m fatigued or stressed. This association with knitting is newly discovered.

And interesting.

The sock I knit when discovering this association is a free knitting pattern called Eagle’s Flight.

It’s interesting. I made the socks as a belated birthday present for a dear friend. Or so I thought.

They arrived on a day she was stressed, and the socks were just what she needed. On the day she needed them!

So one pair of socks helped relieve the stress of two people.

Don’t you just love “two for ones”?

Passing on the love and care that goes into a knitted project that is appreciated by the recipient is one of my favorite parts of knitting.

Although sometimes it can be a challenge finding or creating a pattern that suits the recipient.

Over the years, I’ve checked out many online free knitting patterns sources, and have a handful of favorites.

For a free pdf of my top 5 online free knitting patterns sources just leave a comment on this post. You need to leave the comment on the original post on The Knitting Yarn to get your download.

Reading this on a site other than The Knitting Yarn?

Just click here right now to leave a comment and get your free instant download.

To your healthy and happy knitting & caregiving,

Dr. Ina
Ina Gilmore, M.D. (Retired)
“The Knitting Dr.”

Founder, www.CaregivingWithPurpose.com and www.TheKnittingYarn.com
Ambassador of Elder Care at www.HowToLiveOnPurpose.com

What Does the Warm and Simple Scarf for Joann Fabrics and Crafts Knitting Class Look Like?

Ina Gilmore — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 20:04:56 +0000

March is National Craft Month. And Joann Fabrics is celebrating all month long.

As I wrote recently, I’m now a knitting and quilting instructor at my local Joann Fabrics and Crafts store. It’s fun meeting and teaching other crafters. And of course making the items for the classes is fun.

I wanted to make some of the projects, both to show some of the prospective students and have a better idea of what they need to learn in class to complete the project successfully.

And knitting along to show the next step is also fun, and helpful for the students.

The scarf I just finished is for the current 102 class, and is made of Red Heart Super Saver Yarn.

It’s an interesting scarf.

At first glance the directions were unusual. The class teaches yarn overs and changing colors. And more, it also highlights a current fashion trend.

The drop stitch technique seems to be popular this spring. Two knitting magazines feature patterns with it. One of the magazines is Interweave Knits Spring 2012.

In the magazines though the patterns are more complex. This scarf is made for beginners, or could be for more advanced knitters too.

In my class last week, I had one student. And she did GREAT! This was her second lesson, and she had all the techniques down easily by the end of class.

Are you looking for a knitting instructor or for knitting help?

There is nothing like the “hands on” of one knitter teaching another. Sometimes you may want to look for other options, however.

Maybe your time is scarce, and classes are scheduled at times conflicting with your schedule.

Or maybe you live in a rural area, or an area where there don’t seem to be any knitting teachers.

Well, now thanks to the Internet there’s an easy solution.

I’m starting a Gold Membership on The Knitting Yarn with webinars to answer your questions. To get all the announcements about the new membership, you’ll want to become a Bronze member if you’re not already. Just click here now for your free Bronze membership!

To your healthy and happy knitting & caregiving,

Dr. Ina
Ina Gilmore, M.D. (Retired)
“The Knitting Dr.”

Founder, www.CaregivingWithPurpose.com and www.TheKnittingYarn.com
Ambassador of Elder Care at www.HowToLiveOnPurpose.com

Valentine Crafts: Looking For a Quick and Easy Knitted Heart?

Ina Gilmore — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 01:52:24 +0000

Yesterday I attended an Open House for instructors at my local Joann Fabrics and Crafts Store.

I realized late the night before that it would be a good idea to wear a knitted heart, since Valentine’s Day is only a few days away. Don’t you think it’s a good idea for the knitting instructor to be showing Valentine crafts at the February Open House?

I could not find the one I made a couple of years ago.

No problem!

I got out the pattern I created a couple of years ago and tweaked it. With only a few yards of yarn, I knit a heart in about 30 minutes. Rather than attaching it with a safety pin, the pin from a shawl pin looked intriguing.

And it worked fine!

Sometimes it’s nice to have a pattern you can knit up quickly and easily. And a small knitted heart is great fun for Valentine’s Day! Or any day in February since February is Heart Month!

If you’d like the pattern, just leave a comment on this post. You need to make the comment on the original post on The KnittingYarn to get your pattern. Click here right now to go to the original post and leave your comment.

And have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

To your healthy and happy knitting & caregiving,

Dr. Ina
Ina Gilmore, M.D. (Retired)
“The Knitting Dr.”

Founder, www.CaregivingWithPurpose.com, and www.TheKnittingYarn.com
Creator of A HEART PLAN
Ambassador of Elder Care at www.HowToLiveOnPurpose.com