26 May 2017

Moths: a 15-step plan (ugh, why so many?!)


Wednesday on YouTube, I chatted with you about my moth infestation and shared all the bits I gleaned while fighting the good fight in Fall 2016 when I discovered clothes moths in my wool zone (now the studio space). Today I present you with a plan. Fifteen steps sound like a lot (and they are), but this is what it takes. Remember: there's no time like the present.

Do you have moths?

I hope you live a moth-free existence, but having suffered through an infestation in 2016, I'd like to share my 15-step plan for getting rid of them with you. I wish there weren't so many steps, but what can you do?

How to cope with clothes moths

  1. Identify the little jerks. If you see little flying, dun-colored creatures with raggedy wings, I'm afraid you've got 'em. Since they look similar to pantry moths, though, see if you can narrow down your "hot zone". Kitchen/pantry? Most likely you've got the food-oriented variety, and I'm not going to be able to help you much. Near your stash/closet/dresser? Let's go!
  2. Contain everything ASAP. While this may seem like a good time to start culling your herd, I actually recommend sealing up everything, then dealing with your precious woolies methodically. If you start sorting and pondering what to keep and give away now, you're giving those little jerks more time to spread out. Time is of the essence!
  3. Put out some moth traps to get a clearer picture of where exactly your hot zone is located.
  4. Extreme temperatures are your friend. Does it drop below freezing where you are? Put your containers where the cold can permeate for a few days (at least). Also, cycling through freezing and thawing a few times can help - the little buggers get tricked into coming out of dormancy, then you kill 'em. Alternatively, heat will kill a bug dead. Pack your containers in your car and park it in a sunny spot on a hot day. If your climate isn't cooperating, consider the mini-versions: your freezer or oven. (Caveats: man-made fibers should NOT go in the oven, though I did not have a problem with wool-nylon blend sock yarns; do your research on safe low-oven temperatures for your non-animal-fiber yarns - I don't have many in my stash, so those are still just in a container; if you have a frost-free freezer, it may not get cold enough - I don't have experience on the cold side since we live in an NYC apartment and are lucky to have enough freezer space for ice.)
  5. Thoroughly inspect your darlings after treatment. I rewound ALL of my yarn. This served two purposes: checking the yarn for damage (I only found a few skeins that had been eaten, and the breaks were very obvious) and shaking out any dead bug detritus.
  6. Now you can get rid of stuff! Toss anything that's been eaten. Toss the stuff that you didn't remember you had. Toss the ugly and the scratchy. Toss the stuff you always intend to knit up for charity - if you haven't done it, you're not going to do it. Acknowledge the fact that almost all of us have more yarn than we need. If you have inspected yarn, found it clean, and don't want it, do consider donating it to a worthy cause. Anything that you toss needs to leave your home immediately. Bag it up and get it out. Same goes for all your cleaning materials at the end of every session.
  7. Clean the container and put your inspected yarn back in it. All of my stash yarn now lives in individual zipper-lock bags - I don't love the plastic, but I adore the peace of mind. You can't put it away yet because you have to clean the place where the potentially infected yarn lived.
  8. Vacuum every inch of the yarn home, especially underneath and behind. And by "yarn home" I mean containers, furniture, and room(s) where you store your yarn and woolies. Moths love pet hair and feathers (down pillows and vintage hats, I'm looking at you), and they are happy to live in tiny crevices under your furniture or between the floor and the baseboard. Gah! After vacuuming, wipe everything down with white vinegar, since the eggs are susceptible to an acidic environment. Even (especially) wipe down the vacuum after emptying it at the end of each cleaning session.
  9. Be methodical, meticulous, and thorough. I know, it sucks, but peace of mind is like gold.
  10. Remember that clothes moths love dark, quiet places to lay their eggs, which then hatch into fiber-eating larval monsters. If you can, store things behind glass or open doors and drawers regularly to let light and air in (and to see if any of the little buggers fly out).
  11. Consider deterrents like cedar, lavender, etc. as just that: deterrents. They work by confusing the moths' "noses", which are always on the hunt for lady moths (the dudes) or deliciously smelly places to lay eggs (said ladies). "Smelly" as in containing body oils or just being composed of delectable animal fibers. None of those lovely herbs and spices will kill moths or place an impenetrable force field around your stuff, but they will confuse 'em, which helps.
  12. Do not use moth balls. They are toxic to pets and children. They smell gross. They are no better than the aforementioned herbs and spices.
  13. Wash all of your beloved woolies or send them to the dry cleaners if that's how you roll. You should always do so before storing them away for the season anyway. Rinse with a 50/50 water/vinegar mix to destroy any eggs that may be tucked away. Dry thoroughly. Good old-fashioned sunlight is your friend. This is especially important if you plan to store woolies in air-tight containers. You don't want to deal with mold or mildew on top of moths. I can't even.
  14. Store your lovelies carefully. Cedar chests are fine (see #11) as long as you maintain them with semi-annual sandings to release the oil. If the container is not fragrant, it's not any better than a plastic bin and may be worse if it is not tightly-joined. My out-of-season sweaters and such will be stored in Sterilite plastic bins until I need them again in the Fall.
  15. Check on everything regularly. Store things (yarn, sweaters, whatever) in small containers to mitigate any future infestations. Quarantine any new thing that is lucky enough to be stash-worthy. Consider shifting from a SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy) mindset to an "acquire yarn for a particular project and knit said project right away" method of working. Constant vigilance!

Links

I'm sure there are more good resources out there, but these are the posts and products that helped me. (There are no affiliate links here because I'd rather share the info here with you and get back to the business of knitting and designing than fiddle around searching for links that probably wouldn't amount to much.)
  • Julia wrote an informative post on her blog Moth Heaven
  • Simpler Thyme's shop on Etsy - where to buy Moth Beware and refresher oil, handmade soaps, and muslin bags (for containing MB while allowing the aroma to permeate your woolies)
  • Side note: On Simpler Thyme's own website, they also sell George's favorite catnip - I always stock up for him at NYS&W.
  • Red Handled Scissors had one of the most informative posts about actually dealing with an infestation.
  • These are the pheromone traps I bought.
    Remember: traps are only a warning system to let you know that you HAVE moths. They will help a little in abatement insofar as the males fly to the traps, get stuck, and die, rather than finding the female moths and mating with them. But they will not eradicate your problem.
  • And I'm about to order some replacement strips to put in the trap boxes. Some customers on Amazon haven't bothered with the trap boxes and just put the strips out. YMMV.
  • Tasha's post is informative and has cute (well, as cute as can be when we are talking about moths) illustrations.
  • I used these Sterilite bins for initial containment and, after a thorough pickling with white vinegar, as storage in my studio.
  • Get your white vinegar anywhere, but get the cheap jug from the bottom shelf. Then you won't feel badly about spraying liberally and everywhere. The pickle smell dissipates very quickly. Don't forget paper towels, big trash bags, and a bottle for spraying that vinegar.
  • There will be a second post about my IKEA supplies soon.
I hope this information is helpful, though I hope you never need it.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo, Kathleen

24 May 2017

MOTHS: Protect your knits -- LIVE podcast


Audio from the YouTube Live podcast 5/25/17...

Join me LIVE to discuss preparing your woolies for their summer's nap. I'll share my moth-fighting story from the end of last summer (now that the trauma is ten months behind me), plus lots of painful lessons learned.

 

Apologies for the naughty word late in the podcast, but moths are the worst!


Check out this episode!

21 April 2017

Sweater Therapy plus Filament No. 2 trunk show



Today we are doing a little therapy session

Let's talk about perfection, mistakes, honesty, and practice.

Filament No. 2

Plus I have the Filament No. 2 trunk in-house, so how about a little show? You can order your print copy here or the ebook on Ravelry here.



If you haven’t already, visit http://www.kathleendames.com/thesweater to sign up for the newsletter.

Thanks for being here, and happy knitting!

xoxo, Kathleen
P.S. Share your project on social media with hashtag #kdsweater
----------
Purchase the Season One pattern, Solstice Cardi
Purchase the Season Two pattern, Purly Pullover
Purchase the Season Three pattern, Basic Cable
Premium Cable and The Sweater Collection coming soon!
-----------
instagram: https://instagram.com/kathleendames/
twitter: https://twitter.com/kathleendames
ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/kathleen-dames
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathleenDamesDesign
music: Cafe Parisien with accordion iStock.com/frobisher

Sweater Therapy + Filament No. 2 trunk show


Today we are doing a little therapy session! Let's talk about perfection, mistakes, honesty, and practice.

 

Plus I have the Filament No. 2 trunk in-house, so how about a little show? You can order your print copy from http://www.knitfilament.com or the ebook at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/filament-no-2-spring-2017

 

::Filament No. 2::

-Constance in Rowan's Kidsilk Haze http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/constance-14

-Floralia Cowl and Mitts in Harrisville Wool & Silk http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/floralia-cowl http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/floralia-mitts

-Fortuny Wrap in Woolen Rabbit Opal http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fortuny

-Gather Ye Rosebuds socks in Dream In Color Smooshy http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/gather-ye-rosebuds-3

-Louche in Dye For Yarn Papersilk http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/louche-3

-Naiad in Swan's Island Merino Silk Lace http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/naiad-3

-Rosarium in Rauma Finulgarn http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rosarium-2

-Whistler Pink in Jo Sharp Mulberry Silk Georgette http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/whistler-pink

 

If you haven’t already, visit http://www.kathleendames.com/thesweater to sign up for the newsletter.

 

Thanks for being here, and happy knitting!

xoxo, Kathleen

P.S. Share your project on social media with hashtag #kdsweater

----------

Purchase the Season One pattern, Solstice Cardi: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/solstice-cardi

 

Purchase the Season Two pattern, Purly Pullover: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/purly-pullover

 

Purchase the Season Three pattern, Basic Cable: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/basic-cable-2

 

Premium Cable and The Sweater Collection coming soon!

-----------

instagram: https://instagram.com/kathleendames/

twitter: https://twitter.com/kathleendames

ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/kathleen-dames

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KathleenDamesDesign

music: Cafe Parisien with accordion iStock.com/frobisher

 


Check out this episode!

20 April 2017

The Santorini Collection


Welcome to the Santorini Collection in collaboration with Juniper Moon Fibers!


Last summer I designed a group of patterns that would be perfect to knit before, during, or after a trip to the island of Santorini. JMF has some great summer yarns (linens and cottons), as well as lovely wool and alpaca blend yarns, which were a great jumping off point for items to pack in your suitcase, knit on the ferry, or simply remind you of a special place. All the yarns in this collection come in gorgeous hues, but I stuck to the classic blues and white of Greece to tie all the patterns together.

From left to right, top to bottom:

  • Akrotiri - a three-color cowl with a variety of stitch patterns in Findley DK (merino silk) and the site of a Bronze Age town preserved in ash from the great volcanic eruption
  • Assyrtyko - a cap-sleeve tee with stitch pattern reminiscent of grapes in Zooey DK (cotton/linen) and a grape varietal found on the island
  • Atlantis - a bottom-up long-sleeve raglan pullover with openwork bands in Zooey Twist (cotton/linen) and the storied identity of Santorini in ancient times
  • Caldera - a poncho with openwork details in Cumulus (cotton) and the main draw, view-wise, of Santorini
  • Faros - a bottom-up raglan cardigan with diamond lace detail in Cumulus (cotton) and the lighthouse at the southern tip of the island
  • Imerovigli - a striped circular yoke pullover with contrasting deep collar and cuffs in Dromedary (merino/camel) and beautiful village on the island popular with honeymooners
  • Kamari - top-down triangle shawl with garter-stitch bands in Moonshine (alpaca/wool/silk) and a beautiful black-sand beach on the east side of the island
  • Mati - a center-out circular blanket with rings of three colors in Neve (cotton) and the charm against the evil eye found everywhere in Greece
  • Nea Komeni - a hat and fingerless mitts set with ribbon lace panel in Dromedary (merino/camel) and the volcanic island in the center of the caldera
  • Oia - a wide-stripe shawl with zigzag lace in Findley (silk/merino) and the famous sunset town with marble sidewalks and photogenic windmills
  • Perissa - a three-color stole with ribbon lace in Moonshine (alpaca/wool/silk) and one of Santorini's beaches
  • Perivolos - a shrug/bolero/skirt with diamond lace and multiple ways to wear in Zooey Twist (cotton/linen) and another special Santorini beach
  • Therasia - a bias-knit skirt with i-cord tie in Zooey Twist (cotton/linen) and an island in the caldera with a monastery and small cycladic village
Putting this collection together was so much fun. There is something for just about every knitter here. Let me know your favorite in the comments. To get your copy of the patterns, visit the Ravelry bundle page (or click the pattern name links individually) or ask your LYS to stock patterns from Juniper Moon Fibers/KFI.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo, Kathleen

14 April 2017

Faros is the kind of cardigan you throw on any time - as part of an outfit or over your swimming suit. Knit from the bottom up in a diamond lace pattern that's easy to work and provides natural air conditioning, Faros is great in @junipermoonfarm Cumulus. Did you know that Faros means lighthouse in Greek? There is a lovely lighthouse at the southwest point of Santorini with amazing sunset views - perfect place to wear this sweater! Check out all the travel-worthy pieces in the Santorini collection in the profile link.


Faros is the kind of cardigan you throw on any time - as part of an outfit or over your swimming suit. Knit from the bottom up in a diamond lace pattern that's easy to work and provides natural air conditioning, Faros is great in @junipermoonfarm Cumulus. Did you know that Faros means lighthouse in Greek? There is a lovely lighthouse at the southwest point of Santorini with amazing sunset views - perfect place to wear this sweater! Check out all the travel-worthy pieces in the Santorini collection in the profile link. #iftttkd via Instagram http://bit.ly/2oHri2m