Not much to show

G'day all!

I have a new shop WIP. Except after three days, there is very little to show for it.

3dayprogress

Here you go. See?

3dayprogressb

(After I took that photo, I ripped it back to before the first green row)

Now part of the problem is I am an idjit and keep not following the pattern. More annoyingly, I've knitted a very similar pattern to this bit before - I think I keep reverting to that one... Not as if I can't knit it, I'm just not knitting it!

The other part is that the designer did not think about how to make this thing knittable and instead just went PRETTY! This is SO COOL!

You start off by knitting a sideways band. The sideways band has a fourteen row repeat in it (described as 4 row repeat in the pattern but there's 14 rows listed). Every few rows, there is ONE row of contrast colour. Just one. So you end up with this dangling yarn and also the main colour has to be carried somehow down the back of the contrast rows. Except every second row of contrast colour is a knitted wrong side row and carrying the main colour yarn behind it is not possible. It needs to be carried on the side facing you which is just not possible without creating odd lumps and bumps of wrong colour on the front. So it has to be cut and have the ends woven in every second contrast colour row. Plus the contrast colour has to be carried along each edge of the band, or I can cut it each time and weave it in. Lovely! 300 slippery threads to be woven in or a spot of contrasting colour show up along the edge.

Topping it off nicely, it is knit in a cotton synthetic blend that is slippery and I have to do intarsia/fair isle outlining some flowery-type things on the front *and* the back. OMG it is going to be a DISASTER. Getting the tension right when the yarns are just not good yarns for this sort of thing (no grip, no stretch, all slide).... and the yarn is slippery = hard to weave in...

Anyway, I think the designer was on crack or something when she created this one. And I have to knit it.

But it looks pretty!

ETA - as Moorecat most reasonably points out, I could just slide the work back on my circs and start the row again. Except I have to knit it *exactly* as the pattern says. Now the pattern does not say to slide the work and also it means that I would be knitting when I should be purling and vice versa. So I knit it as the pattern says. I am cheating a bit cos the pattern does not say I should carry the yarn up the side of the knitting, but then again nor does it say to break off the yarn....

Rant over. No I am not saying what the project is, not yet anyway! In other news, the latest quilt is stalled due to lack of sewing time on weekends, the hubster socks for his birthday are started (I relented, he's been wearing his socks a lot so he needs new ones - one machine wash lot have pretty much felted), the hubster pullover for his birthday is also started (one bobbin of singles spun, only several thousand to go after I card up more wool). I doubt I'll get the pullover done in time since the birthday is before the end of the month! But enthusiasm might get me close and as long as it is done before we go to Europe, I'm happy!

anon!

Comments

  1. 300 ends?? That's some kind of torture. Good luck with your socks and pullover (vest or jumper??) Nothing like a deadline!!
    PS I sent you a long and !!!!! full email to say thank you, I'm wondering if it got lost on the way??? I will send it again to your other email address!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. As you're already using circulars, why not slide the work to the end where the yarn is and start from that end?

    So, for example, if you knit a row with the contrast yarn, then the MC yarn is still waiting for you on the right-hand edge of the work. Simply slide the work from left to right, back down the needle, and off you go.

    And that thumb? You can get powdered stuff from the chemist here (Amcal call it Medi-Pulv) which dries out nasty cuts quickly and gets you on the road to healing faster. Saves the yucky oozy stage, anyway. I'd bet you can get something similar there.

    And coming out here? Yayy!!! See you at a meet around town then :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yikes that is a lot of ends!!

    ReplyDelete

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