Last night I decided to finish my ‘round’ (really the second halves of two socks) even though it was late. I wanted to have less than ten rounds of colorwork to go.
Hubris. I was tired and didn’t count properly and missed two stitches of the Opal (the lighter color). So this morning I’m ‘tinking’ (tink is knit backward) to my mistake point to fix it. I could have done duplicate stitch afterwards, but that wouldn’t feel the same to me. But un-floating all of these floats is a very good motivator to be more careful & alert from now on!
I actually started these socks a year ago this month. I got the feet, heels, and part of the cuff done, and then I started my ‘project’—my first colorwork. I grabbed an open right’s beginner’s cross-stitch (or maybe shrink bead) pattern, cut four balls of yarn, and got to work. (Experienced knitters are facepalming, here.)
I got nine rows in, dragging the Yarn B (Opal 6-strand) back to the beginning (while faithfully catching the floats going the correct way) before I stopped in pure, unadulterated frustration. I knew I was doing it wrong, and I could see the right way. But nine rows of 2mm needles, while Yarn A is Bearfoot (a yarn with 25% mohair!)… the impending frogging was intimidating. I put it off. For 11 months. I’m a bit ashamed.
The frogging wasn’t even that bad, nor was getting it back on the needles. The colorwork is two rows higher than before. Somehow I doubt it will be noticed.
Making socks is when I’m glad I wear an EU 36. 😉
I took the balls and Russian joined the ones from each sock (waste not, want not), and on a fresh round started the colorwork again, this time carrying the Opal around the entire sock, picking up the alternating strands as I went. This actually went faster, the outside work looked neater, and the inside! Well. I’m not worried about catching my toes anymore, and that was a major concern previously. I am a bit worried about tension, that I may not have left enough looseness to the strands, but I’ve been trying since the beginning, so that’s either 1) worry-worting, or 2) something to practice.
Yes, the inside of the sock, I am unashamed.
Those 27 rows of doubled yarn will keep that part of my leg much more warm! That’s a good bit of the point of colorwork.
I’m currently ‘catching’ strands simply by hooking them behind each other. I know that there are more involved, intricate ways, but this is doing the job well, and is quick and simple. Maybe the other versions don’t allow the strands to tighten up? That’s something I’ll have to look into for next time.
For now, does anyone have an idea of what the final design is?
I’ve been out of the loop for a while, and that’s for rather good reason. The very next time someone tells me I should use my fiber arts to set up an Etsy shop, I’m going to point them to this blog to show them why it’s a terrible idea. Health issues and home-run businesses do not tend to mix well.
Rowing in the blue
Lost Yarn Chicken!
But back to what we’re here for. As you can see, I lost my game of Yarn Chicken and had to go grab another skein that was spun single. It’s a titch thicker than the original yarn, but since it was for the crown I wasn’t too worried about it. If there’s anywhere you want to be warmer and thicker…
Rowed out + stitch marker
Moving to DPNs one stitch at a time
As you can see, the gauge held pretty close. I was chuffed.
Then came the decreases, and with them, the eventual move to double-pointed needles (DPNs). My DPNs are square, aluminum, and generally awesome. The shape makes them less tiring, and they’re nicely pointed with a lace shoulder. I know some people prefer their work on 3 needles, but I’m a 4 needle, knit with the fifth type.
Then wash in Euclan (because it’s a gift and who wants to wear something that has slid through your fingers, really?), and block to show off the cables.
So many pins!
This is actually the second stage of blocking, I did the first flat, but I forgot to take pictures. 😦 You can see how I hold the cable in place with the pins, then open up the purl detail with pins on the border…
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All in all, I’m really happy with how the hat came out. I had fun playing with cables combined with short rows in a non-threatening project—seriously, if cables are a thing you’re scared of, this a great pattern, dropping down to fix cables here is easy—and it’s an interesting enough knit to keep you from being bored. There’s not enough moss stitch to get irritating, but you still get the cred for doing it, and it looks amazing.
Now back to the socks that have taken over my life. You should see a post tomorrow!
I’m very careful about reading patterns & charts, because I’m both a process and product knitter and hooker, and I want the final product to look right. I even swatch (although I only wash swatches for sweaters—unwashed swatching is good enough for hats and shawls).
So I just spent a merry half an hour counting stitches on the left needle and consulting the chart of the hat I’m working on, and I could find no way to make it work except by starting with a purl instead of a knit in moss stitch, and this made no sense (as the previous row both started and ended on the correct stitch, and there were the correct number of stitches from the stitch marker).
I decide to start with a purl, pick up my circs, and see I’d already done the first knit stitch. To lock in that stitch marker, as you do.
Front view of hat—note how the curve is coming along!
I’ve been working on my Urban Aran Hat between messing around with my exhaust system and running around with my daily life. I’ve made some progress, but not as much as I’d hoped. Still, better than not having picked it up at all!
I knit hats on the smallest circular needles that I can. This cord is 6” long, and the shortest this interchangeable company makes (the needles make the circ bigger, naturally). This makes the knitting easier on me, as the stitches spring around with little effort. It does make the hat seem small, even if I did cast on almost 100 stitches in Aran weight yarn!
See how all the stitches are scrunched? When I start decreasing, it will pop open!
I’m getting much more comfortable with the pattern. I don’t need the key right now (although that will change once I pass this section!), and I rarely need to remind myself how to do the stitches.
I’m still not one of those people who can just drop the two stitches and cable, although I know it would be much faster. I grab my little cable holder and keep my sanity. However, there will come a day when I will do that!
Moss stitch continues to be fun, and I’m not understanding how people get lost in it. If the stitch below and behind is a 1 or a 0, do a 0 or a 1. It’s true it’s not explained that way. But maybe it’s more because I knit Continental so the switch is just a finger wave. I’ve heard so many horror stories about moss stitch. Tell me yours?
Thirty more rows to go on this hat! I’m not sure if it will be one or two more posts—we’ll see how fast it works up.
But how did I get that nice, flat picture without dropping stitches? Well…
Front view only looks flat from a carefully chosen angle—camera tricks are your friends.
I didn’t. It’s a very pretty optical illusion based on angle, popping out and popping in until it looked ‘right’, and taking a bunch of pictures and re-doing until I had it just right. I didn’t even have to photoshop. 🙂 Never trust pictures!
Life & Fiber 