Let’s Stay Connected!

dogyeargirl 131 Comments

Hi Everyone – It’s been almost a year since I upgraded our website to allow members to upload photos/videos of their latest creations, along with their thoughts, comments (and poems!). Happily, a few of you did contribute and it was heartwarming to stay in touch and share. This website upgrade is up for its annual renewal. Although I suspect by the summer or fall we will be meeting in person again, I’ll keep the upgraded status of this website for another year to allow members to upload photos/videos of their latest creations, as well as comments. This will replace the attempted “forum,” which didn’t take off too spectacularly. It was cumbersome.

Hope all of you are well.

Carol

03.05.21

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Hey, SFV Knit Clubbers!

I’ve set up this page so we can keep in touch during this time of the Covid-19, mandated social distancing and “SAFE AT HOME” guidelines!

I’ll kick off the conversation by saying that I’ve been using this time to work on my  hand knit and crochet UFO’s with a glass of cabernet sauvignon by my side .  Alcoholism scares me, as I witnessed a relative totally go down the tubes with it, but on this evening when they are saying 50% of Californians might get the virus, it’s a fun diversion.  I promise to not let it get out of control, and will not get near my knitting machine unless I am absolutely sober.  It helps that my husband does not drink.

We can continue to “show and tell” by posting our latest creations in the comments below, as well as share our concerns, experiences, and insights during this surreal time.

Stay safe, and leave a comment below!!!

Carol

03.19.20

131 thoughts on “Let’s Stay Connected!”

  1. I’m getting a little stir crazy but thank God for knitting & crocheting. Staying in forced me to stay with my BrotherLink cable until I figured out how to download to my 940. I finally did it. I downloaded 2 Stitch Painter designs today. Hope everyone stays safe and well.
    Ruthie

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  2. I am also hoping to use this time to get to things I’ve been meaning to do. As well as transforming the ufo’s into wearable garments, I want to finally experiment with macrame and Tunisian crochet, which have been on my wannalearn list for a few years. I also hope to clear out and organize the garage with my husband – we’ve got the time, right?

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  3. I am working on enabling us to upload photos in our comments. After upgrading to wordpress’s business plan that allowed me to add the “DCO comment attachment” plug-in, I don’t see any option to add photos 🙄. I have a phone appt with a wordpress person at 9pm on 3/23. Wish me luck. In the meantime, if anyone has a solution to this problem, please leave a comment!

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    • Hi again – having technical problems with this comment section. Some members have tried to post, which have not been going through. Others are getting error messages. Working on it!!!

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      • Hi carol and all,
        Hope you are all OK . I have not been knitting but am crocheting a baby blanket for my old neighbor Olga, she finely got pregnant at 39. They are very happy and I pray all goes well with what is going on with corona. She will be seven months at the end of this month. Miss you all carole

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  4. Received these photos from Judith Hirsch. Glitch that prevented us from posting photos appears to be solved 🤞.

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  5. I am also trying to keep busy with my knits and embroidery, I just got an order of 12 polo shirt to do the logo. So I am trying to get it out by monday, unfortunately, I had to send my knitting machine carriage to Newton knit for repair, hope to get it back soon. So I am working on sewing face mask, so far made 2 , not bad at all

    It is a very challenging time for all of us and the rest of the world, so let’s all do the besof the situation and I am sure something good will come out from all this corona time.

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  6. I have been floating this week, thinking which to “attack” first, and finally decided to sit down and do my taxes. Today I got a reprieve, since the deadline was moved to July 15, so now back to Ufos, and other learning stuff. In two weeks Passover starts. We , Jews who do it, clean the house of leaven bread and the likes and spend a week remembering that we were slaves in Egypt and that God took us out of that predicament with his strong hand and miracles. That brings the words pest together with miracle and the positive results of the Maker of miracles. I might end being a believer…Like everybody, I am worried about loved ones, here and in other countries and continents. In a few minutes the Sabbath is on.
    Be safe and be careful.

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  7. Hey, everyone –

    My hairdresser sent me this article from Forbes. They are asking people to make masks for our medical workers. In the article is information to get instructions on how to make the mask, as well as where to send them. Reminds me of the war effort stories from WWII:

    https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2020/03/20/calling-all-people-who-sew-and-make-you-can-help-solve-2020-n95-type-mask-shortage/

    excellent article comparing the effectiveness of using different materials to make homemade masks:

    https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/best-materials-make-diy-face-mask-virus/
    Carol

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    • I sent an email to our group that I will start making on Sunday.My neighbor works at the VA, so I run the idea by her. She will talk with the supervisory people and see what they say.

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  8. Great. If they can use our homemade masks, please let us know if there is any fabric/material or other specifics they prefer, and where we can send them or drop them off 🤓.

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  9. As I’m hunkered down at home and working toward finishing UFOs and hoping to experiment with macrame, Tunisian crochet, and sewing garments, I’m trying to take steps to keep myself strong. A morning exercise routine (I actually did this in 1995-1998 and was taking yoga classes, too!). From 2016-2018 I did Pilates 1x/week. Since December 2018, aside from walking with a friend on Tuesday mornings, I haven’t done any “exercise” 😜. With the onset of an arthritic knee (I actually bought a cane at Rite Aide) and our new shelter-in-place situation, I am trying to do exercises at home, incorporating the physical therapy exercises I’m supposed to be doing regularly for an injured shoulder.

    My goal is to set up and faithfully do a 30 min set of exercises every morning while we are hunkered down. Good idea, right?I’ve set up my yoga mat, foam roller, etc., in the living room (we won’t be having guests 😬).

    All of this is my lead up to “Bob and Brad” – physical therapists who have a youtube channel. They are super nerdy, but I think very likeable, and have good information and exercises. Here’s their youtube on exercises for good posture:

    I did some of their exercises for my knee pain, which helped a lot. I encourage you to check them out!

    Take care, everyone. Let’s try to not let our bodies go downhill during this time. Gee – maybe we can even emerge from all of this stronger and wiser.

    Carol

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  10. Uh…yes, it’s me again 🤓.

    As hair salons are shuttered – a few people I’ve been texting/talking to are realizing, “What do we do with our roots?” 😲. I’ve never tried doing it in my own, as I have visions of spilling the dye, staining tiles, etc. I just got my hair done last week, but in a month, it’s gonna hit me. I think many people will decide to go gray, including me. As the grays are growing out bandanas, skullcaps, cloches, etc., can be used. Since our common interest is MK, I’m thinking Diana Sullivan’s Take 2 Tam, and this pattern:

    https://www.etsy.com/listing/83453332/skull-cap-pattern-machine-knitted-hat

    I am a beginner MKer, so I need step-by-step written instructions. Most of you can probably make this in your sleep! This pattern looks like fun, as you can experiment with fairisle (as well as give coverage to your growing greys).

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  11. Joann is also posting a need for diy masks to donate to hospitals, that you can drop off at a Joann store. If anyone knows other organizations or people who could use homemade masks, please post:

    https://www.joann.com/make-to-give-response/?utm_source=Joann&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=HTML&utm_campaign=20200321_E5_AM_DED_ADHOCX&utm_term=20200321_em_banner_masklearnmore&rId=20200321_E5_AM_DED_ADHOCX&jid=1262636267&src=FREESHIP75&DWID=11024929843&bxid=71707038762

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  12. Hey everyone – I had a session with a wordpress fix-it guy. We can upload photos now! Please post your latest creation. I made my first face mask.

    Carol

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  14. Hi Ruthie – the photo upload is now working. We’d love to see photos of what you’re making or have completed with Stitch Painter 🤓.

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  15. Hi, fellow knitters.
    Still planning the face masks. I contacted Joann’s and could not get hold of any they “offered”.
    So I am donating my own fabric, bought a roll of elastic and got a connection with several ladies in my area to do some also. My goal: 400. I will let you know if we succeeded. I will take pictures.
    Re: remembering to take care of our bodies: Before yesterday I did a dancing class, through Zoom, payed via Paypal. It gave me a very good feeling about excercising and perspiring profusely. It also took me out of the funk. I had felt pretty “paralyzed” before that, with a sense of passing my days with little done. That changed Tuesday, it made me feel better but it allowed me also to get closer to my feelings about this whole thing.
    Tonight I wrote a poem. I hesitated about it, but I am going to share it:

    Pandemic Covid19, 2020

    Nowhere to run to,
    but inside our own feelings.
    Nowhere to turn to,
    except into ourselves
    where we see the thin line
    between life and death.

    In the lonely fight
    between faith and despair,
    each one of us turns to somewhere
    to find a ray of light.

    Those of us who learned to pray late
    or don’t even know the meaning of prayer
    crave to wake up soon from the nightmare
    that only started and has no end.

    We are new to this level of anguish.
    No generation spared.
    We read the history books
    and believed that we were immune,
    that science had always the cure.

    We make jokes about it,
    because we know we will shed tears
    those of us who are left to find a path
    to a redemption that’s nowhere near.

    It is not in our hands so we move,
    try to help, reach out, do what we forgot
    to do along the way. We prepare for
    the unspeakable that will come.

    We find solace in human kindness.
    We express love that we forgot to tell
    with words, through deeds that give us meaning.
    Sometimes we pray because there is nowhere to turn to.

    Alicia R-L.
    March 26th, 2020
    Be safe, take care of yourselves, you all.

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    • I love your poem. This social distancing might be giving us time for deeper introspection and a re-prioritization of our values.. Thank you for posting ! 🐶

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  16. Hi everyone – as with many, I’ve been making face masks. Some experts have been telling people only to wear homemade face masks if they are coughing/sneezing, or are caring for someone with those symptoms. Their argument for not using facemasks to go out to the store, etc, is because homemade masks can’t filter out the covid-19 virus, might give us a false sense of security. Anyway, this article supports the use of homemade face masks, which is what I’ve been sputtering these past few weeks! I’m going to email a copy of the article as I send masks to friends and family:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/03/28/masks-all-coronavirus/

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  18. Hello knitters friends, just touching base hoe everybody is doing, here we are fine, still holding up. I was thinking about our monthly meeting, obviously it is not going to happening, but maybe we could still do it via zoom. It is just like Skype but I think it is much better. So ladies, we all have computers, let’s just do it. I will get in touch with Carol since she is in charge of our technical support, By for now.
    Ruti
    .,

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  20. I have been busy also between knitting , embroidering cleaning and cooking. Here my last work
    Actually, something went wrong because apparently I am not able to upload.

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  21. Gosh – it’s been so long since I thought about this website, I had to jog my memory to even remember the name of it. Anyway, for anyone who sees this – I am hoping for some advice.

    I have a KH260. Hadn’t used it in a while – but started getting back into MK by making hats. All was going along swimmingly until my carriage go totally stuck. I was doing tuck, so it was in “KC”. The dial won’t budge. Otherwise I’d put it into CR to pull the carriage off. I saw a youtube by the ANSWER LADY. Her husband Jack shows how he uses Grainger lubricant LPS No.1 to release the carriage.

    I ordered some of the lubricant – hope it works. If anyone has any other suggestions, I’m all ears 🤓!

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    • Problem solved. I looked on knittingparadise.com – a few of the posts suggested taking out the sponge bar and pulling out needles underneath the carriage. It worked. The last needle I pulled did the trick and I was able to turn the knob to CR. Phew 😃✨!

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  22. This is Alicia.
    This is not an answer to the stuck carriage, but to the suggestion of using Zoom to meet.
    The only problem I have is that I do not use the computer on Saturdays
    However, since we , older ladies, seem to be isolated and stuck at home, could we do the meeting another day? No need to drive anywhere, we could even meet in the late afternoon or evening on a weekday!. Just a suggestion.
    I finished the masks, about 200 and have been distributing.
    I am working on a jacket that was interrupted because my granddaughter, who was married in February, wanted navy blue for the color instead of royal blue. The edge is all crochet, so it has taken me a while, in between shopping for groceries, cooking and cleaning. CAROL, let us know if we can zoom. It would be great, even if it is just to see each other’s faces and chitchat a little.

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    • I think is great if we can zoom, just to stay connected. and as Alicia proposed, it does not have to be on Saturday. I am very excited, let’s do it! Hi

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  23. Hi Alicia – So good to see your message. In May, I ended up getting involved with an autism parent group, and quickly entered the zoom realm. I have a zoom account where we have no time limit, and can host a meeting for our sfvknitclub.

    What day and time is best for everyone? I just can’t do Tues and Thurs afternoon 🤓.

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    • I can Zoom every afternoon/evening/ including, now that days end so early ( so my sabbath ends early also), Saturdays after 7pm. I prefer Sundays or weekdays, but lets find a concensus.
      Great to hear from you gals, Alicia

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      • Great. As an fyi, if any members don’t have a zoom account, they can still log in with the link I’ll email to those who are interested.

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  24. Kit asked me to post this message:

    I am willing to do Zoom now that they have FINALLY upgraded their security since launching the app. Looking forward to trying zoom for us.

    Let’s do it after Christmas.

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  26. I’ve been having fun making hats on my KH260 for the growing greys as the hair salons are shut down . Two questions :

    1. Amazon link for a recommended knitting machine spray?

    2. Amazon link for a simple but effective steamer?

    Any leads will be appreciated!

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  28. Joined KnitItNow in December. Am learning so much, and there’s a lot more on the website that I haven’t even gotten to. Have been in a deep dive making hats, thanks to Sue Jalowiec’s ingenious website and tutorials. Here are some charity hats I made for a men’s shelter:

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    • So – was this made with a ribber, or ….? 🤔. Even though I’ve had my machines for over 10, 15 (?) years, I’m still learning the basics.

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