Workshop Outtakes!

I've been spending quite a bit of time over this last week reviewing the next workshop, 'Turning Sideways: Next Level Slouch'. It takes a while to go through the reviews as I need to make sure all the information is covered, that things aren't duplicated, that I'm clear and everything's in frame and much more.

Image description: a video outtake of the new class. Jaz, our silver doodle look alike dog, has her belly out and legs in the air to the rear of the frame.

We've gotten a lot better at scheduling and planning, and also at colour grading and aiming for consistent light. Tom's already done the bulk of the video edits at this point, it's more a matter of fine tuning things.

The one thing that's more noticeable with this class is... our special guests.

Image description: a video outtake of the new class. Mina, our tabby cat, is climbing onto the workshop table and stealing the show.

It'd be impossible for us to film a class without an appearance from one of our creatures somewhere, and we're not sure we'd want to anyway. I'm being mindful of some of the more distracting outtakes and many of those will be edited out, we may even group them together for a bonus video. But it's lead to a great discussion between Tom and I about changes in our perception of professionalism, especially in this pandemic age, and how much cat is too much.

Image description: a video outtake of the new class. Jaz, our dog, is now sat to the front of the frame behind my workshop samples.

I’d be keen to hear what others think about cats or dogs, or any pet for that matter, making an appearance in online classes. Do you find they make the class or teacher more personable? Do you enjoy the cat and dog moments or does it not matter either way?

Felted Circles aka Cat Traps

All of the free patterns and tutorials on this website are supported by my amazing Patreons! If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be able to continue to produce or host freebies. We'd love to have you join us and in return, you get exclusive behind-the-scenes material, member-only discounts and early access to new free content. Membership starts at $1 per month. You can also say thanks for the freebie via the Tip Jar.

Good morning!

So here's the tutorial for making the felted circles that have kept my hands busy of late. I won't be publishing it as a pattern, and I ask that folks don't add it to Ravelry or any other pattern database. I will publish it on the blog at a later date, though. It's a guide rather than a specific set of instructions, a tutorial that explains my thinking and the maths behind them, and how they turned out for me.

If you've never made a sideways garter stitch circle before then this is a really good place to start - felting hides an awful lot and these circles can have a lot of uses.

Let's start with the theory!

Why 19 is the magic number

If you've followed along with any of my sideways Hat classes - whether they be in-person classes, the Get Garter eBook or any of the Turning Sideways online classes - you'll have heard me talk about 6 being the magic number when it comes to sideways garter stitch circles. Because sideways Hats made this way, as a series of consecutive panels, will start with maths of a circle for the crown shaping. Even if you go off and explore other shapes, knowing that it all started with the humble circle helps make this whole construction method clearer.

Having explained about the number 6, how a 6 panel sideways Hat will have every stitch short-rowed at the crown, I then explain about a 12 panel sideways Hat, where every other stitch is short rowed in the crown shaping. That theory can be taken further, and that's what we do with these. It isn't something I recommend for Hats as the centre can get pretty bulky with all those extra panels and opening/closing rows, not to mention juggling the maths and multiples of 18 or more is mighty restrictive. But for these circles, that are chucked in the washing machine for felting, and where finished size doesn't need to be accurate, it's totally fine.

So, an 18 panel sideways Hat will have every 3rd stitch short rowed in the crown section. Or, an 18 panel circle will have every 3rd stitch short rowed from the centre to the perimeter. Except that 18 doesn't quite cut it. And here's why!

We'll remember from the 6 panel sideways circle maths that we round down from 6.28 to 6, because garter stitch is stretchy and knitting can't do decimal places. We get 6.28 from 2 x pi x the radius, or 6.28 x the radius. That 6.28 is closer to 6 and a third than just 6. So when we multiply the number of panels by 3 we shouldn't forget that extra 3rd. For a Hat made this way we can ignore it if we want to and stick with 18 panels, as the crown being very close to a flat circle will be good enough. Yet if we want to make a flat circle, especially one that's going to be felted and will face enough challenges in maintaining it's shape, being mindful of that extra 0.28 is a good idea in my opinion.

If we multiply 6.28 x 3 we get 18.84. That's pretty close to 19. So I ran with 19.

If you're wondering whether we should factor that 0.28 in a 12 panel circle then I'd say maybe, but for a 12 panel Hat then I'd say no. 6.28 x 2 = 12.56 and rounding either way makes little difference. Except that 12 is an awful lot easier to deal with than 13 if you're wanting to grade that Hat or otherwise deal with knitting maths. Essentially, ignore that 0.28 unless you're going with 18 panels or more.

I digress.

You'll want to aim for 19 panels but if you run out of yarn, 18 will do. I made each of my circles with 19 panels and they each came out fantastically (and I'm a circle perfectionist).

And why not 6 panels, you may be asking? You can totally make a circle with 6 panels! Except it'll be more of a hexagon, especially if you use a plied or firmer yarn. The more panels you have, the more you divide the circumference and the smaller each arc will be, and thus closer to a true circle. Go with 25 panels if you wanna try, and short row every 4th stitch.

Choosing yarn

I used up chunky yarn weight oddments in pure wool that I knew would felt. The 2 shown were single ply yarns, namely Manos Wool Classica, Debbie Bliss Maya and a few others of very similar gauge and spin. I stuck with single plies as I had plenty of oddments of these yarns, but also because the ply can effect the way the yarn felts, and single ply non-superwash yarns felt *really* well.

You can off course use plied yarns or double up yarns if that's what you have. Chunky yarns meant these knitted up really quickly.

These would be fantastic with Malabrigo Merino Worsted leftovers, and I have made a circle with some of mine. It felted really well but it isn't as thick and as robust as these, so that's something else to factor - what will your circles be used for afterwards? I'm planning to use the Mal Worsted ones as place mats for the table or for putting my heavy Hat stands on - wool is incredibly durable. But I do think the heavier yarns are better for cat traps... and having seen how Mina likes to sleep on hers and kill it in equal measure, I'm glad I used what I did!

Do try and keep the yarns you choose as close in gauge and yarn type as possible - even though I was very careful with mine, one or two of the yarns that would generally be knit at the same gauge but maybe looked a little finer to the eye came out a little smaller after felting, and those sections kinda dip in by a very small amount around the edge. This may not bother you at all, but I do like to aim for perfect circles hence I mention it, in case you're like me.

For the two circles shown, I used around 200g of oddments each. I'll talk more about finished measurements in a moment, but these were between 21in and 22in in diameter before felting, roughly 16in diameter after felting. That's 53cm to 56cm diameter before felting, 40 to 41cm afterwards.

Calculating how many stitches to cast-on

Before I say any more, I will say that yes, I did use a provisional cast-on and then graft these! Because I like things smooth and even and I love grafting. But it's not just that - if you sew a seam in any other way it may felt differently to the rest of the knitting. I also didn't want the start and end to be obvious. These are going to be felted, if your graft isn't quite perfect it won't notice; these are an ideal project to practice with. And while I'm talking about techniques, I'll always recommend German short rows for sideways garter patterns - they're super quick and so much easier to graft than any other short row method.

You'll want to calculate your gauge based on knitting with these yarns at a needle size or two larger than you normally would. A loosely knit circle will felt more quickly than a tight knit one. I knit the 2nd circle on not quite such large needles and it needed 2 runs through the machine, whereas the first one was done and dusted in one go.

The number of stitches you cast on will be your radius, and that measurement will be doubled when calculating your finished size. How much the yarn felts isn't an exact science, but I've found that in general for me, the diameter shrank by around 25%.

So for example if you'd like to make a felted circle of around 12in or 30cm diameter, aim for a pre-felting diameter of 16in or 40cm, and a radius of 8in or 20cm.

Now, there is a formula to the number of stitches you cast on. Remember how I said that an 18, or in this case 19, panel circle will have every 3rd stitch short rowed? The formula is based on a multiple of 3 but it isn't just a multiple of 3.

If we go with a multiple of 3 and start by short rowing the 1st stitch then the 4th, 7th and so on, we will end up with 2 stitches at the perimeter that can't be short rowed. We can't short row the very last stitch, that's our selvedge stitch, so I suggest casting on a multiple of 3 less one. A multiple of 3 less one means we keep that selvedge stitch but we do away with that other excess stitch which could make the edge of our felted circle not quite flat.

In my examples, the first circle was knit with a cast-on of 38 stitches, the 2nd with 41.

Your short row sequence would then go as follows:

Provisionally cast-on multiple of 3 less 1.

Row 1 (WS): knit to end

Row 2: (RS): knit to one stitch from the end, short row the end stitch

Row 3: knit to end

Row 4: knit to 3sts before the last short rowed stitch, short row the next stitch.

Repeat Rows 3 and 4 over and over until you have one stitch left on the needle after working the last short row. Turn and knit that last stitch to take your yarn back to the outside selvedge (the edge where you first short rowed will become the centre of your circle). The final row will have you work across the short rows to close the panel. On the very final panel, this final row will be replaced by the graft.

Simply do this for 19 panels, don't knit the very last closing row on panel no.19, graft and then you're done! Once you've grafted you'll want to close the centre circle if you don't want a small hole at the centre after felting, and I've a tutorial for drawing through on a sideways knit Hat that'll do the trick.

Joining in new yarns

I'm going to suggest spit-splicing whenever you join a new yarn - it makes the most of your yardage and saves you having to weave in so many ends.

As we know I'm a bit particular about things, and I wanted to keep changes in yarns and therefore colour to the outside selvedge edge. I'd knit to the end in the colour I wanted to finish, break the yarn, then tink back a few stitches. With that short yarn end I'd spit-splice the new yarn and colour, knit to the end and turn. I soon got the hang of when I could join a new yarn without knitting then tinking.

Working this way also meant that those ridges in garter where we change colour were all on the same side. This may not bother you, and you may find that trying to change the yarns on the same side of the knitting is a bit wasteful, just not possible, or that mixing it up simply adds to the fun. Changing yarns mid-panel is really good fun as it then breaks up the visual appearance of the structure and makes it feel more painterly after felting.

When I work in garter stitch like this I don't use a slipped stitch selvedge and I really don't see the point if it's going to be felted. Instead I knit to the end, but invariably knit the last stitch through the back of the loop. I then slip the first stitch of the next row purlwise. I've a very loose and fast knitting style, an English thrower style, so for me knitting the last stitch twisted then slipping it at the beginning of the next row gives me a really nice edge. Treat this outside selvedge edge as you normally would, bearing in mind that any particular stitch details won't notice after felting, but providing a good structure will be of benefit.

Felting and finishing

Weave in any ends. Try and weave them into the knitting of the same colour, as they may show after felting should they contrast in any way.

These can go straight in the washing machine with the rest of your laundry that's of similar colours. It needs a warmish wash, as wool needs both heat and agitation to felt. If it doesn't come out quite as tight as you'd like, simply put them through another wash.

They may require a little smoothing out as they dry, and this is a good time to even out your edges should some of your yarns have behaved differently to others. If you closed the centre of the circle that can be squashed flat fairly easily if it still feels a little lumpy. You won't be able to stretch or even out the edges that much, but you can encourage the shape a little.

Dry them flat and you're done. Enjoy!

I'd love to see what you make, there's a wonderful freedom in making something that isn't going to be perfect! Although I rather got into creating patterns that would work across the 19 panels 'cos that's how I roll.... once this post is live on the main blog and I've written the other tutorials and articles that I'm currently neglecting, I'll explain the variations on these that I've been making, and how I managed to fit some sequencing in whilst still staying true to the maths of 19. I'm currently making a set of place mats that are all co-ordinated yet all different :D

Alternative cast on formulae

If you've made sideways garter stitch circles before and prefer not to short row the very last stitch, i.e. the stitch at the edge of what will be the centre of the circle, then I've a formula for you, too.

If you cast on a multiple of 3 plus one then you can short row stitches no. 3, 6, 9 and so on and still end up with only one selvedge stitch. So you'd go with 40 or 43 stitches instead of 48 or 41. On the first row you'd go to 3 stitches from the edge and short row the next stitch and so on.

Not short rowing the very last stitch isn't something I recommend for a sideways knit Hat, as it results in what I call 'teat-head'. It's the equivalent to working a vertically knit Hat, doing all the decreases for the crown, then working several plan rounds before drawing through to close. It won't lay flat and look a little unsightly. However, it could work here with of so many panels, depending on the weight of your yarn. I wouldn't do it, but there's the option should you want to.

Heck, if you forget the maths or are unsure, you can cast on a multiple of 3 and then short row the 2nd stitch from the end, then every 3rd stitch after that - i.e. stitches 2, 5, 8 and so on will be short rowed, to still always end with only one selvedge stitch after the last short row. But I find that messier and harder to remember - it's easiest to cast on a multiple of 3 less 1 then always short row the last stitch and every 3rd after that.

OK, I think I've talked sideways garter circles at you for long enough. Fire away if you've any questions!

Thoughts on cats and bobbins

Understandably, my head's been a little distracted these past few days, and jumping from one thought to another, I found myself digging out my lace bobbins yesterday, and going through old photos.

me, circa 1997/8? making torchon lace

On occasion I've mentioned that I've made lace, and it's always been my intention to sit down and talk about it, or more specifically, talk about the bobbins.

hand-painted commemorative bobbins from my collection

Getting them all out and looking through them yesterday was wonderful. I've counted them all, and I've 152 spangled (i.e. with their beads and ready to use) and a further 22 ish waiting for spangling. That might sound like a lot, but if you want to make any lace with any detail then it really isn't many at all.

Lace bobbins are rather special objects in and of themselves. Mine are all hand-made, and the art of wood turning real comes into itself with these fine, detailed tools. I have so many usual pieces (of course!) but I don't think I got them out yesterday to look at those, I got them out to look at the commemorative bobbins.

Commemorative bobbins are a big part of the bobbin collection. There's way too much history to them and I'll recommend the book 'The Romance of the Lace Pillow' by Thomas Wright for anyone wanting to look further into it. Bobbins would be hand carved or hand painted, or their spangles would have special beads to denote anniversaries or other occasions. They're not only beautiful pieces of craftsmanship, they're also personal tokens, imbeud with memories.

In my collection I've a number of bobbins I'd had hand-painted by Sallie Reason, an artist who sadly passed away a few years ago. I briefly met her once, at a Lace Makers fair at the NEC, but we communicated by letter a lot, as she painted my many requests. Her work was beautiful, and the detail at such fine scale was amazing. I've never known who to get in touch with since she passed away, and I've a mental list of all the memories I'd like painted should I ever find another artist.

my most precious hand-painted bobbins

The gloss finish made these very hard to photograph, but I hope you can see some of the details!

"thank you for being there", "forever in my thoughts"

These were the bobbins I wanted to touch when I went looking through them all.

I had these two bobbins commissioned when I lost my cat Twiggy in 2001. She wasn't my first cat, but she was the cat that I've shared more of my life with than any other. She saw me through some of the very worst periods of my life, too.

Twiggy, 1995 ish

After going through all my bobbins, I went through all my old photographs. Like any black cat, Twiggy was notoriously hard to photograph.

She came from a rescue centre in Hadleigh, Southend. As every other cat came to the front of their pen to meow for attention, she sat at the back of hers, watching. I didn't see her at first, my then boyfriend did, but I didn't need any persuading that I'd found my cat as soon as I saw her.

She was docile in nature, lap and cuddle friendly, and she went pretty much everywhere with me. She lived with me in at least 5 different homes, and was always by my side as I lived through studying, travelling, and survived emotional abuse, domestic violence and an attempted rape. She saw me go from leaving home to becoming a teacher. And just as I was coming out the other side of it all, I lost her to lymphatic cancer.

I'd never felt so alone. But I knew she must have been ill for some time without my knowing, and had stayed with me as long as she could, until I was better able to cope on my own.

my favourite photo of Twiggy

I cried myself to sleep the other night, thinking about her. I wanted to feel the warmth of fond memories but found myself heartbroken as my memories were not as clear as I'd hoped. This is what having a nervous breakdown or two does for you. My memory has never been all that great since the first major breakdown and the sadness at having lost the good memories as well as the bad is almost too much. So I went looking for the memories, and this is where I am now. They're not all with me yet, and I don't know how much I will be able to recover, but it'll be worth all the tears.

We're planning on decorating the stairwell wall in the bus with photos, printed and wall-papered on, and this special lady will be up there with all our other memories. And this couldn't make me happier. After spending time yesterday going through all of these photos, I woke feeling a little lighter today. The relief of not having lost her for good.

This hasn't been the easiest of blog posts to write, and I'm sorry if I've made you cry. Crying is a release, it's good. And as much as I try not to look back in life, sometimes we have to, to remember the good parts amongst the bad.

Goodbye, gentle boy

I introduced Howler here on the blog when we adopted him as a stray, and it only seems fitting to say goodbye to him here too.

Howler passed away last night.

a very recent photo of Howler

After a pretty nasty bite a few months ago, we learnt that Howler was both FeLV+ and FIV+, and this combination is always terminal. How long he had we didn't know, but given the environment on the Yard we decided it wasn't the best place for a cat with his needs, and aimed to re-home him once he'd recovered from the infection.

Except he didn't recover from the infection.

He's been on constant antibitiotics for the last 10 weeks or so. Each jab lasted 15 days and towards the end of the dose, he'd start to get scraggy looking again and abscesses would form for no reason, and the next antibiotic jab would clear things up. The vet suggested that the infection from the original bite had spread, and given his lack of immune system, his body couldn't fight it itself. The antibiotics were keeping him alive.

Not that long ago, just before xmas maybe, we really thought we were going to lose him. He was losing weight rapidly, was in terrible condition and so lethargic, yet he picked up with the next dose of antibiotics and we were hopeful that he'd recover enough to get a home he deserved, with no other cats around.

But it seems it was all too much, and he died very quickly after what appeared to be a seizure and one last howl. We're all a bit lost and tearful today; even the Princess seems affected.

He was the friendliest, kindest, most docile thing, and the stupidest too. Where the Princess would chase dogs away, he would try and make friends with them. He just wanted company and to be loved, and we made sure to give him that. He had a spot next to the woodstove and plenty of food nearby, and there was always space on a lap when he wanted it.

I was going to say that I don't cope with these things well, but that's the wrong thing to say. It's what I've learnt to say. But emotions aren't wrong.

There's something about my relationship with cats that tears me up inside, that cuts me so much deeper when I lose a feline friend than any other pain I've endured. My deepest darkest demon that does me the most harm is the one that comes to tell me I could have done more for them, that I didn't do enough. It torments me constantly but especially likes to be present at times like this, when I want to say goodbye with fond memories. Even after years of therapy, years of visits with psychologists and psychiatrists, I still cant actually put into words the fear and guilt that haunts me.

I've been criticised for my grief over the loss of a cat many times before; that it isn't normal, that I should move on; that it's only a cat after all. I learnt that my emotions were abnormal, and it took many years to understand that those were insensitive, almost cruel words muttered by others for reasons I'll never know, and they only served to bury the pain deeper. There's nothing wrong whatsoever about being sensitive. I'm mindful of this with Aran, and will allow him all the time he needs to come to terms with this loss, and will share in his tears and memories. Aran shares my ultra sensitivity, as does Tom, and together we're letting Aran know that grief is normal and is different for everyone, and that it doesn't need guilt as a companion.

Howler and the Princess

Howler was a content cat. We did everything we could to make him comfortable and keep him well, and he knew he was in a good place. Every cat that ever comes into our care gets the same treatment, and they always will. Howler was special because he shared that love around. His legacy is that he taught a cat-chasing dog that cats rule, and that they can be a dog's friend.

Howler with Kai

I'm very raw today, and we need to bury our friend. I'll be switching off some corners of the internet for a short while.

Goodbye gentle soul. I'm grateful for the chance to get to know you, and to have given you that little bit longer. Much love x

Howler, boy wonder cat

Today needs pictures of cats.

It's been 3 weeks since we took on responsibility of this fella, and his progress is keeping us smiling. He's discovered laps and the sofa and the bed. His coat has softened and recovered, and he's found himself all the places to hang out and dose on our plot.

Go for a walk, and he'll go with you. Tom's dog-sitting Kai for a few weeks, and Howler goes for a walk with them, all the way to wherever and all the way back.

Princess Fi is getting used to him being around, and Howler's getting used to giving her her space.

It doesn't seem to matter what kind of creature you are; if you sit still for more than a few minutes, he'll come and sit with you. Kai is finding this all rather strange (especially as the white one is all too ready to get her claws out) but she's rolling with it.

We had a hiccup last week when we had to take him back to the vets. Not only did he need a Herpes vaccine (which is the cause of his cloudy and runny eyes) but also because his inner eyelids were right up - the vet, an eye specialist, believes the issue is bugs that need evicting, and meds have been had. He'll always have cloudy eyes, but the vet is expecting improvements in a couple of weeks.

Bless him, he's taken it all in his stride.

We're still smarting after the result of last week's referendum, as you can imagine. We're letting the dust settle and talking through our options. We can't do anything just yet, but we know which direction we want to go in, and that feels like a start.

I'm back in the studio today and will be getting back into things, slowly. Thanks for your patience :)