Knits

Jillian over at Sknitty posted a link to Lana Grossa’s monthly free pattern. Early last year when I was beginning to get my knit on, I decided I would attempt to knit a simple sweater. Remember Marissa? Well, I didn’t get very far with it before I felt bored with it and frustrated that I’d have to seam it up. My plan had been to rip it out and re-write the pattern to be done in the round as I try to avoid purling as much as I can since I end up doing it so loosely no matter how much I try not to.

Well the wool I’d bought for Marissa was Lana Grossa Point Print. The wool called for by the Marissa pattern was no longer available, hence the substitution. On the Lana Grossa web site I found a pattern that I like the looks of that requires Point Print! It’s a summery top too so with my slow knitting, I might actually make something in time for the right season to use it! But again, the pattern is written to be knit flat, which isn’t such a big deal since it’s not got sleeves, but I’d like to work it in the round if I could. However, I don’t know if I could work it in the flat because of my ineptitude with reading patterns and how confusing I find this one.

Once you cast-on (and let’s just forget for a moment my plan of re-writing it to be worked in the round) it says the following:

Cont as foll: edge st, K3 (6) * P5, K5, rep once from *, P5, 36 sts center motif * P5, K5, rep once from *, P5, K3 (6), edge st. When work measures 30 (32) cm or 11 7/8 (12 ½)” bind off for armholes 5 (8) sts at each end once, then work over the first and last 9 sts as foll: right edge: edge st, * P1, K1, rep 3 times from *. Left edge: * K1, P1, rep 3 times from *, edge st.

There are other sections in the pattern that say ‘Basic patt’ and ‘Center motif’, but what is this ‘edge st’ it keeps referring too? Is the K3 (6) the edge stitch? Or is there a separate edge st and then the K3 (6) follows it? I don’t think it’s really clear since on either side of the row it says ‘K3 (6), edge st’ - it makes it sound like there is a separate pattern for that edge st. Am I really this dumb when it comes to reading patterns? Do I over complicate something that isn’t that complicated?

I hadn’t realised it has been so long since I updated this blog! How awful. But that’s because things are very quiet on the knitting front. The back of that jumper took me a lot longer to do than I expected. Then I went on holiday to Spain for nearly two weeks - I took the knitting, but it was far too hot (sweaty hands) and far, FAR too dusty so I just read a lot.

I did pick up the needles again to knit myself an Odessa hat and it was coming along swimmingly until I got to the decreases. Since I always fail miserably when I go onto DPNs, I decided to try the two circular needle thing since I had great success with that on the Nautilus hat. What happens when I go onto DPNs is that the change over is very obvious - I either pull too tight which causes the material to pucker or I don’t pull tight enough and the gauge shifts in an obvious way and isn’t remedied with a washing. Well the success wasn’t repeated and I think this is entirely to do with the fact that Nautilus is knit from the top down (is that correct when talking about a hat??) whereas Odessas is from the brim up.

It’s really very frustrating because I really did some very nice knitting on the hat and it fits well. I should’ve put a life line in before moving onto the two circulars so I could rip back and try again if needed. As it is now, I find it hard to figure out which stitches truly belong in a row so I may just rip it all out and start again. *sigh*

I have started on the front of the Marissa jumper as you can see from the awful picture (it was just to prove that I was knitting on the beach in Eastbourne!), but because I adjusted the number of cast-on stitches, I’ve had to play with the number of stitches need for the decorative bit along the side. I’ve got it sorted now and although I did a few rows with some different numbers of stitches, I’m probably going to leave them (it’s 3 or 4 rows right at the bottom) as I don’t think they will be all that noticeable.

So more slow progress, but progress nonetheless. In just over a week I head home to the US for three weeks and annoyingly the airport has decided knitting needles are banned (despite six months ago saying they were no longer on the prohibited items list). All that time and no knitting allowed! GAH!

Progress is a bit slower than I would like but that’s probably to do with the fact that I am about half as slow at purl stitches as I am at knit stitches. The photo at left is from yesterday and around 7″. I have finished the 14″ body and am now on the decreases to shape the armholes. I’ve never made a sweater before and I was a bit nervous about this, but so far so good. I never even made cables before, but I’ve had to do a minor foray into cabling (slipping two stitches off and holding them in front or back and then knitting accordingly). It all looks pretty good.

The weight is really throwing me. I don’t know why I’m surprised at how much all of this fabric weighs. I’m on my 3rd ball of yarn already. The first wasn’t a full ball as I had used some to knit a swatch. And Ive knit about 2″ with the 3rd ball. I think I should have enough yarn in the end (also nervous about this).

Oh, early on I made one tiny mistake, but I left it. I was watching a movie and the room was pretty dark so I tried my hand at knitting without really seeing. Well, I did really well - the only error was adding a stitch which I didn’t catch for a couple rows when the hole showed up. I felt that this was so minor that I could easy darn the hole so I didn’t rip back even if it was only a couple rows.

This yarn is pretty stretchy considering it’s 96% cotton and 4% elastic. I’m hoping that it doesn’t distort it’s shape too much. Also, when I first started it was pooling in a very annoying way. I almost ripped it out and started again (I was going to knit a bit tighter/add a few stitches or something to see if I could fix the pooling). Well I continued on and it seems to have sorted itself out. Not really sure why the first few inches have the colours pooled together more than the rest of it.

Onwards and upwards as they say…

Had word from my mom that my sister is wearing two or three of the hats quite often. She is wearing the kittyville hat and the one of my own design when she’s out and about. She is wearing the too large Nautilus when she sleeps sometimes. (The picture at left is the Cosy cashmere hat in progress.) This makes me happy. I’d really like to see some pictures of her in them, but I know she’s a bit self-conscious in having her picture taken. It doesn’t help that people are rude and stare at her…

In other news, I am attempting my first sweater. I am using the Lana Grossa Point Print seen at the right. (Don’t have the details on me on the colour.) The pattern is a free pattern from Berroco called Marissa. I wish it was knit in the round. I could probably figure out how to knit most of it in the round, but I’ve already had to adjust the pattern for the difference in yarn and gauge. I just really hate seaming and want to seam as little as possible.

And finally, my boyfriend had learned to knit back in school and I keep telling him how cool it is when guys knit so Sunday he picked up some needles and started to knit again. He did really well considering. He knit himself a swatch in garter stitch and then sewed it up into a very wonky wristband that’s too small for him and too big for me. Ah well. I think he enjoyed it nonetheless.