skein

I'm thinking of giving up this knitting lark

I don't seem to be that god at knitting!

:ast week - no knitting until the weekend, as I spent all weed untangling yarn.

Saturday - cast on Close to you shawl using untangled yarn.

Monday restarted Close to you shawl after pulling needle out and deciding it's quicker to start over. And add beads.

Tuesday I dropped a whole load of stitches off the needle (again!!!)  Not conveniently in a garter stitch area, but on a pttern row.  I fixed it, sort of, but the yarnovers are all wrong. 

And off the needles, well, it's too small. Garter doesn't really block out as much as lace so it's only fit for a neckerchief.  With dodgy yarnovers which would need sorting out. 

AND I didn't manage the 18 repeasts.  Just managed thirteen.  Ran out of yarn.. I'd discarded some of the tangle but think I misplaced more as the finished scarf only weighs 83g. Whaaat!  Where did the other 17g gp?? More, as it's beaded!

So. Nothing productive doen in nearly two weeks. 

I will most likely waste more time looking on ravelry for the next bit of knitting.  Maybe it's time to cast on a few projects, so that I have variety! 

Dare I cast on another one, in a different yarn?  A full skein this time!

Knitting break

I had a little knitting break last week. I didn't knit a stitch for six days.  I don't rally do much knitting during the week. Not possible on a very crowded commute and no lunchtime knitting. By the time I get home, cook, eat and realx I'm lucky to have an hour of knitting time. Last week I spent those evenings untangling. My least favourite job.  Mission accomplished late Friday.  Saturday was spent on ravelry, looking at shawl patterns to use this yarn.  It took a little longer than I thought!   I flit between Hot Right Now and Most Popular sort options. And don't forget teh Recently added to Ravelry option!  in the end I went for a pattern i'd already downloaded.

Clost to You.  Ticks all of the boxes.  One skein, garter (to hide the million magic knots) and free!  I like the story of the title. Wish MrC wanted to be so close to me that he'd start dyeing yarn!  I can imagine this shalw with beads between the yarnovers. Nice.  The pattern has nineteen repeasts, and I've worked ten, but I my be able to fit in another one if I have enough yarn. .

I think it's been over 32 years since I last went as long wtihout knitting!

Ten years ago July Aspen Moon Naby cardigan

Most of the July projects were small things. July was the month when we went to live for a week in some Beach Huts on the south coast.  Not much to do except sit and watch the world go by.  Mornings we'd be lazing around, afternoons we might go out or go for a walk and evenings we'd be at the pub.  Lots of reading and napping!  I only took small easy projects as I'd either be chatting, drinking or tryong to knit b gaslight!

I can't even remember knitting this cardigan!  I made the pattern up as nothing seemed to go well with the yarn.  I think I started off with a Baby Surprise and ended up ripping it out. Nothing changes!

Frogging and tinking

There's a pattern here.  I make more mistakes when I'm tired. This past week I've had two mistakes. They aren't just made on a weekday evening. Theypre made when it's way past my bedtime and I'm trying to stay awake to knit another row or finish off a section.

Wednesday evening I was determined to finish the body of Quicksand.  I was on the penultimate row, picking up wrapped stitch3es, when I notieced a dropped stitch.  The pattern has increases on the front borders every sixth row, and althought th e back stitch count remains the same, you decrease on the side seam and increase in the central back very sixth row. Of all the stitches on the row, trhe dropped stitch was at a side seam.  Of course.  And a SSK decrease at that.  By the tmie I'd noticed it it had dropped right down, increasing from one stitch to many.  A lot of rows!  I don't mind picking up a ladder but it's very fiddly to try to pick up many and work decreases (that involves retaining the memory of how many rows down you are - not something I want to do at one in the morning!

 

Thursday evening  I tinked. I was too nervous to rip it all out and make the problem worse,  After a few hours I gave up and just crocheted up the stitches. It loooks messy, but it's on the side and only about an inch wide.

Saturday I started the first sleeve. All going smoothly until half way through the cast off when I pulled the needles out of the knitting and tugged the yarn so the cast off unzipped, lots of dropped and running stitches.

Lesson learnt.  No knitting after midnight or when drinking!

I'm pleased to say that the second sleeve and it's now ready to wash.

My other moan is the front border.  There are two options. You work the edge stitch as a garter stitch. Once you've finished the body you have the option of leaving as is (which I did for my Summer Tweed Quicksand) or pick up stitches, knit one row and cast off.  I've done this for the first Quicksand (in this same yarn as this one) and also for this one. And there are holes!!  Working that garter stitch makes for a looser edge stitch.  I'm not overtly concerned as the cardgian rolls back.  Quicksand I is not as holey.  But two years of machine washing has evened out the knitting, so I'm not going to worry too much, just make a note that next time I'll not work that garter stich. If I decide to knit a garter ridge I'll work the whole lot in stocking stitch. If I'm leaving it bare I'll slip the edge stitch.

No photos yet, I'll try to remember tomorrow morning and I'm pretty certain that I'm going to just machine was this one first inested of the usual handwash and block, just to see if that helps with the dodgy bits!

 

Now tonight. Do I do some skein untangling or browse ravelry for the next project. I'm thinking of a shawl...

Ten years ago July Lynton

As I'm in a garment phase, here's one I knitted ten years ago.  It's from Rowan's Coast, knitted in Rowan's Cotton Jeans.  I knitted the plain stocking stitch parts on my knitting machine, with the ribbing and front borders hand knitted, 

I had to rework the numbers to fit in wiht the machine knitting tension, but after that it was a VERY quick knit!

Weedend knitting

Let's just dive in.  Big Wave, my sleeveless vet, is off the needles.  And I'm so-so about it.

The yarn's Louisa Harding Cinnebar which I thought would be a good substitute for the linen yarn used in the pattern (and it's old stash),

ow it's off the needles I can see a few things which I don't like.

1 the colour - not me

2 the weight of the garment - surprsingly heavy for a sleeveless garment

3 the rolling stocking stitch straps

4 the yarnover holes used for increasing (it's an A;line shape)

5 my tension was off (again) so it's wider and longer.

That's a lot of dislikes! +Off the needles it looked big andrumpled. Mr C had a good laugh at the width on the bottom.

I tried it on,m and it wasn't as bad as we thought.  What, with my tension and the fact I'm not pear shaped and hips are less than bust, it didn't look too wide. After initially thinking that it was fit for the bin I've now decided to wash it and see how it looks. Maybe the straps will unfurl.  Maybe it will hang nicely. Maybe I can wear it as a loose top. Maybe I can wear this colour. +Meanwhile I've cast on another, in the same yarn as the cardigan I'm knitting. Maibar by Stylecraft, DK weight. Bright pink.  You cast on and join, knitting straps and frnt/back in the fround for about 12 rows, then you cast off the straps aprt only. I'm working the first three rows in garter stitch, and will work the last three rows on the streap only in garter stitch.  So far it's lyng flat.  I;m not ging to work the increases in the body as yarnovers. The holes are big. I may do a backwards look past on which will make smaller holes, or just M1L and M1R.  we'll see/.

Quicksand has been worked on, a little. I've another 1- rows to work ont he shaping and then there's a few inches of short ows. And sleeves, which are not long ones :)

Yewterday I pulled out my small Countess Ablaze stash. I have a small bag of DK and Aran weight, and a small stash of 4ply weight - about 13 or 14 balls.  I fancy knitting a single skein shawl, maybe in one of her multi coloured (!) skeins. I found a few tangled messes in there too!  Where I've started winding up a skein and it's got into a tangle.  I spent the rest of the knitting time trying to wind up one of these tangles, because it's a nice summrer colour and I want to knit with it!  It's still a big tangle, and I've had to keep cutting the yarn to unknot it, but I'm going to persevere!  It's by my knitting chair, and I'll do untangling when I'm too tired to knit.  I have several Tangles and it might be an idea to pull them out and work on them when I don't want to knit. Maybe I'll reclaim some of my stash!