My First Cardigan

I have knit many elaborate afghans.  I consider myself a fairly accomplished knitter.  But I have never knit a sweater and I have always wanted to try one.

Now that we have a granddaughter, I thought I could start with a child's sweater.  She would be less critical than an adult and she would outgrow it before too long so wouldn't be stuck wearing a poorly knitted item for a long time.

Rachel is wearing size 3 clothing, but I used a size 4 pattern.  I wasn't sure how long it would take to finish this first project.  I chose to knit a cardigan. That is a sweater that buttons up, rather than a jumper that pulls over the head.

  

The pattern was quite simple.  You knit the back, the two front pieces and the sleeves.

  

Next you sew the front shoulders to the back.  Then the sleeves are sewn in.  After the sleeves are in you sew from the bottom to the armpit, closing the body of the cardigan.  Knit the wrist to the armpit, closing the sleeves.  I used place holders to make sure the pieces lined up correctly.

  

The part that was the scariest was knitting in the front placket.  To do this, you pick up stitches from the edge of the front of the opening in the cardigan and sew up and around until it is an inch wide.  I needed to go back to Yarn Explosion and view YouTube videos to figure out the whole process.

  

I also needed YouTube help to knit in the buttonholes.  The pattern I purchased was woefully inadequate for a novice sweater knitter.

  

The ladies at Yarn Explosion suggested cutting a square of felt to use as a backing when sewing on the buttons.

  

After sewing, I cut the excess away, so there was stability behind the button, but it wasn't visible .

  

I like the finished product. I hope Rachel does.

  

Now I am inspired to do a grown-up version.   Maybe one with cables and a more elaborate pattern.  It is fun and rewarding.

But next I am going to try working with a lathe to learn to make wooden bowls.

Two Down, One To Go

I bought enough yarn and the patterns for three scarfs.  I made one one, but needed help in finishing it.  This particular pattern calls for Kitchener stitch which grafts the two sides together so you can't see the seam.  I set that scarf aside until I could get back to the yarn shop for help.

 

I finished the lace cowl I started.  I like it and it was fast and easy.  I may make another with a different yarn.  What do you think?

 

I even had time to start on third scarf.  I like the color and the pattern is interesting.

 

Finally we got into town.  This is an issue when you live out in the country and any shopping is an expedition.

The Kitchener stitch is one developed by Earl Kitchener who was a field marshal, among other things, in the British Army.  He is thought to have developed this grafting method to avoid a seam lump in the socks that had been causing problems for soldiers. 

There are instructions online and videos you can watch done by experts, so I won't try to show you the technique.  But the hint that really helped was to take a sticky note and place it on the instructions for each row.  After you finish that row, you move the note down.  From all I have read, the biggest problem is losing your place and this technique HELPS to prevent that. Just remember to set the time aside to do the whole job without stopping.

 

I sat in the yarn shop for over an hour.  I got it done and I like the finished product.  It's not perfect, but it IS my first time.  I love the yarn. 

 

Now I want to make another one with a different yarn so I can use the Kitchener stitch while it is still (sort of) fresh in my mind.

How many scarves do I need to knit?  Apparently, quite a few.  I like a fast project that gives me a challenge.  What other scarves shall I knit?

More Mobius

I recently wrote about a scarf I was trying to knit.
http://shenandoahgatewayfarm.blogspot.com/2014/06/mobius-scarf.html

 

I managed to get the amount knitted before I had to connect the scarf. 

 

The technique to sew the scarf together where you can't see the seam is called a Kitchener stitch.  It looked a bit complicated and all the directions were based on connecting purl stitches or knit stitches.  This is a ribbed scarf with both purl and knit stitches.  great

Back to Yarn Explosion.  They helped me remove the gray yarn I used to start the scarf, but along the way, two stitches disappeared.  We all spent quite some time trying to find them.  I finally took the piece home and unknitted two rows.  Is unknit a word?  Yes.  It is because I said so.

This isn't as easy as unknitting two rows from the top.  There you just remove the knitting needle and pull the tail of the yarn.  I had to literally unknit and then carefully use a tapestry needle to pull through the yarn.  A very painstaking process.  But it worked and I found the two dropped stitches and re knit the two rows.

Now I am back where I started and I need to go BACK to the yarn shop. But that is an excursion, so I decided to start another yarn project. 

 


This time it is a knitted lace cowl pattern.  I found a beautiful yarn with lots of colors.  It should match SOME outfit or other!

 

The pattern seemed like an easy one, but it kept twisting as I cast it on and then when I knit a row or two it wouldn't work.  Undo the knitting. Start over.  I did this about three times before looking up another method of casting on the stitches. 

 

So I KNIT the stitches on the needle.  I am not sure I like the look of the edge, but it didn't twist, so it is staying!!

 

I have never knit in the round before.  After you cast on the stitches you start knitting from the top of the row to the bottom of the row to connect them.  Then you just keep knitting until you have enough rows.  I have a marker that lets me know when I have finished a row and I just slip it from the left hand needle to the right hand needle and keep going.

 

I may finish this second scarf before I get back to the yarn shop for help in finishing the first scarf.  Then I have another scarf I am going to try.  I have two daughter and one daughter-in-law.  And a mom.  Guess what they will be getting for Christmas?  So this won't be a surprise for them.  If you have a preference, girls, let me know!

 

Mobius scarf

I'm working on a new knitting project.  I'm not sure Lee likes these projects, because I frequently do them at night in bed while watching TV.  They tend to take over the bed.  At least I am not working on an afghan this time.  They REALLY take a lot of room and take forever to finish.  The scarfs should go fairly quickly and not take up tons of room.  I like knitting because I can listen to TV and still accomplish something.  If I'm lucky I only get a FEW cat hairs knitted into the project.

 

This pattern is called Lava Flow and I found this picture on Pinterest. 

 

It is done in a Mobius pattern.  You knit it straight and the twist the finished piece once and attach the top to the bottom.  It looks pretty cool and I think it will be nice when I am done.

 

Because you don't want the area where you connect the scarf to show, you can't cast on in the usual way.  The directions called for a long crochet chain out of left over yarn from another project.  Then you slide the knitting needle through he bumps on the back of the chain and start knitting from there.  When you cast on stitches they are rarely the same tension and size as when you are knitting and this would be noticeable. 

 

Others recommend just knitting a few rows and then unraveling a row or two to get to a good place to attach the ends.  I decided to go with the original directions.  If I make another one, I might try it another way.

 

The other fun thing about this pattern in the GIANT cables that I knit in. I have never done 12 stitches in a cable before.  It does add interest to a simple pattern, other than the whole Mobius thing.

I have no idea how I am going to finish this piece.  I figure that is an issue for a later time.   I can always go back Yarn Explosion ( http://yarnexplosion.com/ where I bought the yarn and the patterns.  They are always helpful and don't make me feel TOO stupid!

Hit A Snag

Yesterday was sort of overcast.  I did some yard work and a bit of laundry, but spent a few hours trying to make some progress on the afghan I have been knitting for a cousin.  I was really making some progress.

Now, it is important to stop and check your work and count stitches from time to time.  If you find an error soon enough it is pretty easy to fix it.  If it is a few rows back, you can even unravel just that column of stitching and use a crochet hook to correct it all the way back up to the top.  I have done that many times and have gotten fairly good at it.  That is more a testament to my errors, rather than bragging about my abilities!

So last night, after hours of knitting, I counted.  I was off a stitch.  Where, oh where, did I drop it?  I couldn't find the dropped stitch, but I did find a huge glaring error.  Way back.  Probably a whole day or two of stitching back.  Why didn't I check more often.  Getting cocky or complacent, I guess.

 

It was one of the elements where you drop and then add stitches to make decorative holes in your work. It was so far back and I would have to take out three columns of stitches.  When you have that many columns that far back, it is very tedious and the chance of making all the stitches even and look perfect is very difficult.  So I took out about 20 rows.  HOURS of work.

 

The only bright side of this whole escapade is that I have had a very hard time with the circular needles I have been using. If you are knitting a wide project, it won't fit on traditional knitting needles.  It becomes too crowded as you knit.  My circular knitting needles are 29 inches long, so they hold a big project.  They are stored curled in the package.  I have never had such a hard time uncurling circular needles, maybe because I usually knit larger afghans.

I looked up solutions on the internet.  They all involved dipping the plastic in boiling water.  This obviously should have been done BEFORE I started the project.  So there is my silver lining.  I had to remove the needles to unravel the afghan.  Then I took them to the kitchen.

 

I boiled a pot of water and poured it in a large bowl.  I dipped the curled plastic part close to the actual needles in the water. I guess you don't want to dip all the way to the needles because you don't want to loosen the connection and have the whole thing come apart 

 

After I let them warm up in the water I let it hang straight and used my fingers to rub along the length.  There were a few places I didn't think were as straight as I wanted, so I dipped and rubbed again.

 

Much better.  The knitting blogs suggest making a hanger for circular knitting needles so that after you straighten them, they can hang and not get twisted again. The problem with this is that not all are labeled and I don't know if I could tell what size they are if they aren't in a clearly marked package.

 

I caught up all the stitches back on my newly straightened needles.  With only a little help from the peanut gallery. I guess he could tell my patience was limited! 

 

Then I had to figure out where I was in the pattern.  I did that.   It helps to listen to Pandora radio while I work!

 

 Then I noticed two different sections where I had more errors.  They are on the border.  And so far back, I know I can't fix them.

 

So here is my plan.  Finish this afghan, knowing that a baby will likely not notice any errors.   He won't care. In fact he will probably spit up on this, or otherwise do something of that nature.

And if his mommy notices, she will not mention it, because she is way too nice.  But I am not happy with myself.

Baby Gift

I have a cousin nearby who just had another baby.  I wanted to get her a baby gift.  But I couldn't think of what she would need.

This is not her first child, so I thought baby clothes would not be necessary.  She has 10 children and so space is an issue and toys may not be appreciated.

 

I decided to knit her an afghan.  Usually I go to a fancy yarn shop for knitting gifts.  I don't want to spend 100 hours making something out of cheap yarn.  On the other hand, I didn't want to get a natural fiber, like wool or cashmere that would irritate a baby's skin.  I wanted something super soft, but washable.   There are things that babies do that are just unpleasant and washing can be necessary.

We were in Jo-Ann fabrics looking for crafting items and I found this afghan book.  I don't like crocheting as much as I do knitting and it is sometimes hard to find pretty, yet not too complicated patterns.  This book is full of great knitting patterns.  I bought the book and found some super soft, and not too pricey, baby yarn.

 

I hate starting a new pattern, because I always have to tear it out and start over until I establish the pattern.  This was no different. 

 

I have a good start and I hope to finish it in a few weeks.  After all the baby is about 3 months old and I have not seen him nor brought him a gift.

Gotta get cracking.   For some reason it is taking longer than I thought.   Even with Rhett's most excellent help. 

 

One More Project

Every year we ask our grown children for a list of things they want for Christmas.  We don't want to buy them a book they already have or get them clothes that don't fit or they don't like.  We buy a few things off the list and a few other things and a great time is had by all.

Getting lists from is sometimes a problem.  I DO NOT participate in any mall shopping the weekend after Thanksgiving.  I don't need anything badly enough to suffer through that type of madness.  By the time I got the lists, it was well into December.

I have gotten a good start, but one thing caught my eye.  It seems my favorite (and only, at this time) son-in-law has lost a hand made scarf given to him by a friend and he may want another one.  I didn't know if I had time to finish one before Christmas, so the plan was to buy a scarf.  But I really wanted to make him one.

I don't make hand made things from yarn at discount stores.  If I make something and put all those hours in, I want some great yarn.  That means I have to plan  trip into Roanoke, to the closest yarn shop I know, Yarn Explosion.  It is an old house converted to rooms full of amazing yarns. 

 

It also means I need to get a simple pattern that will work up quickly.  Who wants a foot long scarf? I found one with just knit and pearl, so that I really don't need the pattern  But I may want to make the hat and the salesperson was so nice and helpful.  I bought the pattern.

 

One thing that worries me is it calls for blocking wires to press the scarf.  I have never pressed anything I have knit or crocheted.  I'm hoping I can get away without doing that.  Does any knitter out there have any suggestions?

 

I picked out a yarn I liked, but they didn't have enough for the scarf and it was too close to Christmas to get more.  Then I found some llama indigo yarn mixed with linen and silk.  It is soft and has interesting nubs and bits of other color from a natural cream to black.

 

The nice thing is it has wisps of fibers mixed in with the yarn, so you can't tell if I knit in some cat hair by mistake.  And I will.  You know I will, right?

I started when we got home and I spent a couple of hours getting a decent length to see if I was going to like it as a scarf.  Then I rubbed it on my bare arms to make sure it was soft and not itchy.  No point in making up the whole thing and end up with something too scratchy.

 

After two evenings of work, I think I can finish before Christmas.  At least I can put the unfinished piece in a bag and finish it before they go back to England.  Where you really need a scarf in winter.  And spring.  And fall.  Hardly ever in summer.