October 10, 2006

Go on, Dare me.

Yes, yes indeed, I did fix the green sweater problem. I was actually totally down with the suggestions given in the comments (several of you all came up with a brilliant solution) of finishing the sweater, then taking off the offending hem, picking up the bottoms of the stitches and knitting down in a smaller gauge. (I know. If you're a new knitter that just made your head hurt. Don't worry, it's actually way, way easy.) This idea fit right in with my general philosophy of knitting which is based on "I'll worry about that later". Just the thought that I could keep on trucking while I had correct gauge and fix the hem at the last moment - very appealing. Appealing enough actually, that I kept knitting for a bit. A little bit. Just long enough to notice that I seemed to be messing with the stitches a lot just to slide them along the circular. Now, circulars are not my first choice for needles, I'll use them if they are the smartest way to get things done, but I far prefer straights, and the perpetual vague annoyance that circulars cause me means that sometimes I miss other genuine annoyances. Like this one.

Comptwist09

Idiot. You know that instruction? "Join, being careful not to twist?" Yup. Again. This never happens on straight needles. It was however, the nail in the coffin of the green sweater, which had now pissed me off in every way that 5cm of a green sweater could. I thought all the ways I could solve the green sweater problem, and then I fixed it.

Newsweatdia09-1

Voila. New Sweater, problem solved. (Sometimes you just have to walk away.) Bonne Marie's Ribby Cardi, out of Diarufran, a pretty sincerely thrilling yarn I got in Rosie's Yarn Cellar the last time I was in Philadelphia.

Diarufrancup10

It's a chained yarn (totally wild) and really, honestly, sincerely the most astonishingly light and soft yarn you could ever want to hold in your hand. I have developed an extraordinary relationship with it during the last 48 hours, and when the gauge on the Ribby Cardi wasn't working out (I knit the better part of a whole sleeve before I could accept the truth).....

Notsweaterrc10

I solved that problem too. Enter another new sweater. I decided the only answer to my complete failure to get gauge in any sort of way that doesn't make me want to pull out nose hairs instead of cope was to work up something simple that reflected the actual gauge I liked with this yarn.

Sleeveneswdia10-1

I decided to let it be itself. Plain stocking stitch sleeve, part of what will be a very plain pullover. Pattern cobbled together from a variety of sources and my handy dandy calculator. I am enjoying it beyond all reason. The thing is just whipping along too...which must be a side effect of getting my life back when I finished the book. I'm thrilled with it. Which doesn't mean that I won't solve a problem with it by getting out the new sock yarn, if you know what I mean. If I were the new pullover, I'd be watching my step. Mamma's got a hair trigger.
For now?

Graftonfiblst10

This Tuesday is for spinning.

Posted by Stephanie at October 10, 2006 3:42 PM