You did Ann Budd’s workshop; you can fix that!

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Ann Budd, cast-on, cowl, loop, mistake, Ravelry, twisted knitting

When my friend S asked me last week what else I was working on, I told her I was still knitting my Ley Lines shawl but omitted to mention that I was also working on something for her birthday! I had chosen a looped scarf with a light and airy texture, that could be worn loosely or twisted into a snug cowl.

It took me three attempts to get 250 stitches neatly on my needles. I worked the first three rows flat and then joined in the round. I was quite surprised that the stitches were so bunched up on my circular needle and was happy I hadn’t gone for the larger 350-stitch version. Unfortunately, I didn’t give this excess the attention it required. I carried on knitting. I was well into the first lace section before I realised that when I evened out the stitches on the needle, they were… twisted! Pulse racing, I smoothed the stitches back the other way along the needle. There was no denying it. I had a twist in my loop. I didn’t know if I felt faint or sick at the thought of having to begin again.

I searched Ravelry but (as I already knew deep down) there was only one outcome. I would have to start again.

Loath to ‘give in’, I decided to attempt a fix. Spurned on by the ease with which we’d dropped rows of stitches and picked them up during Ann Budd’s workshop at KnitCamp,* I dropped a stitch each side of the join down to the border. I worked the twist along to the join and wound the knitting so that the twist was over the bars of the two dropped stitches. Then I knitted the two stitches up again and continued as if nothing had ever happened! Here’s the knitted-up twist before the cast-on edges was sewn together. Funnily enough, when I recounted my (mis)adventure at Guild** on Saturday, I was met with “You did Ann Budd’s workshop at camp; surely you could fix that!”

Here’s the cowl finished and blocked. The pattern is called Cool Breezes and there are full details on my Ravelry project page.

And here we are out for lunch with a view on S’s birthday. It was so hot (35°C) that the cowl was worn for photographic purposes only!

* Find out what Ann Budd taught us at KnitCamp 2015 – the best bits
** Inner City meeting of the Knitters’ Guild of New South Wales

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You win some…

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Ann Budd, Joji Locatelli, KAL, Knitalong, knitting, mistake, shawl, socks

You lose some. Or so I thought, when I reflected that I had completed and surpassed the challenges I’d set myself for the sock KAL with the Aussie Sock Knitters group, but failed by half a shawl in Joji Locatelli’s Fall Knit Along.

Sometimes I talk (and write) utter rubbish! In my last post I commented that there was only a fortnight left for each of the knit alongs I was taking part in. Apart from waxing lyrical on the joys of the sock KAL, I was a bit too optimistic about finishing my Ley Lines shawl. To make matters worse, I bluntly stated that

It doesn’t require too much concentration (any mistakes stand out immediately) so it’s excellent social knitting, too.

Here’s where pride comes before a fall.

I had the feeling that there was something a bit off with one of my sections. But however closely I looked (and it obviously wasn’t close enough), I couldn’t figure out where I’d gone wrong, so I knitted on. But gone wrong I had. I had forgotten one increase. While that might not sound like much, it disturbed the aesthetics of those lines. And I knew it would always annoy me.

So I looked even more closely and jabbed in a needle to help me count down each row. Sure enough, I’d forgotten an increase in what felt like seventy million rows below. Despite the neat tricks I learnt from Ann Budd at KnitCamp on fixing errors, I decided to rip back. The mistake was in a section which had increases on one side and decreases on the other and I could see myself ending up with something wrong elsewhere.

Now I’m good to go again. And the best part? The knit along doesn’t finish until the end of November so Ley Lines might even be finished in time!

WIP Wednesday – reining in the ambition

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aeroplane, learning, mistake, patterns, socks, WIP, WIP Wednesday, yarn

I’m about to do the planes-trains-and-automobiles thing for the second time in under a fortnight.  I was over-ambitious last time, thinking a half-knit sock would not suffice and decided I should cast on a new one. The sorry result was a pattern fiasco experiment that left me back where I’d started (see previous post). I’ve learnt my lesson. This time I’m quite content to finish my stripey ribbed sock and then, should there still be time on my hands, begin again (attempt number five) with the black sock yarn… Wish me luck!

Desk Job!

Tags

bargain, cardigan, clothing, FO Friday, knitting, mistake, patterns, projects, Ravelry, shrug, simple, yarn

In the past I have often wrinkled my brow at sleeveless chunky knits. If you need a bulky sweater to keep you warm, why skimp on the sleeves? One of the drawbacks of sitting at a desk for long hours, is the wear and tear on jumper sleeves, particularly if there’s a fair bit of mouse-usage involved. (Light bulb moment) Perhaps some kind of vest or sleeveless pullover is a good idea after all! (Browses patterns on Ravelry) Factor in some ill-considered bargain 4-ply (fingering/sock) yarn and suddenly there’s a meaningful, practical, stash-busting result!

So here’s my Desk Job! It gives me just that extra bit of warmth I need when I’m sitting for longer periods of time. I used two strands of yarn together and by pairing large stripe with small stripe I’ve got rid of the prominent bands of colour that put me off the yarn after I’d bought it. I can wear it casually open or pin the fronts shut for extra warmth. It feels cosier than a traditional waistcoat or vest – is that because of the  sleeve caps?

FO Friday Summary: a simple quick knit that makes satisfying use of less-loved yarn! Pattern modifications ravelled here

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Take a deep breath…

Tags

frogging, knitting, mistake, patterns, shawls

• and count to ten.
• Make use of an F-word*
• and start again!

*The F-word here is frog. This pattern (Teardrop by Kieran Foley) isn’t too tricky to knit but un-knitting the likes of [sl3tog as if to k, k2tog, psso] and [ssk k5 k2tog] is never easy. Starting over is!

Learning from my mistakes

Tags

frogging, gift, knitting, mistake, patterns, projects, yarn

I had been looking forward to starting this project. It was an easy knit and the yarn was well suited to it.  I’ve made something similar before so it was going to be stress-free knitting. There’s a recipient for this so it’s top secret at the moment but here’s a little teaser…

Somehow this wasn’t the satisfying knit it should have been. The dimensions seemed wrong and the fabric dense. I thought it might be better once there was more of the  item so I carried on but quickly ran into construction difficulties. I’ve met these before and solved them – kind of. I knit some more. My dissatisfaction grew with the knitting. There was no way I was ever going to give this to anyone.

It had to be frogged! One last look then I took it off the needles and ripped it back. It’s rather alarming how quick and easy ripping back is – it’s a bit like spending all afternoon preparing dinner, to have it wolfed down in ten minutes flat!

Now I’m using a different pattern, different needles and this is turning out to be the fun project I was looking for!