Blocking wires - very cool.
This is the Scarf on Pg 80 of Victorian Lace Today
Needles: Addi Lace circulars, size 6.
Yarn: HandMaiden Sea Silk - approximately 2/3rds of a skein used.
Finished Dimensions: (Inches): 5.5 x 82
It’s a pretty little thing. I love the colors.
What over-twist? I have no problem with over-twist…
I washed and dried…
The skeins all VYed for space in the Kitty Pi…
So now they’re all made into center-pull cakes….what? Pi, cake…can I help it if it doesn’t RHYME? They both sound like dessert, so that’s going to have to suffice…while they await….
[cue "Jaws" music and background shrieks of terror...]
The Ultimate…
Sweater…
MACHINE!!!
What the ?????
Well, see, here’s the deal: Some months ago, I found this cool technique for dyeing yarn, on Nancy Roberts’ web site. So, even though I don’t own one of those high-dollar particular knitting machines that she has available for sale on her site, I do own this contraption. I actually have never been able to make the blasted thing work worth beans, however, I decided to dig it out from it’s spider-web enshrouded nook in my garage, and see if I couldn’t at least get it to knit up these skeins of corriedale and mystery longwool/X yarn I’ve made. I want to try that dyeing technique. May need to find the duct tape while I’m at it to keep my mouth from uttering words I’d rather not - since I vaguely remember a very high level of frustration last time I attempted using this thing…and I wasn’t using a rather amateur-looking over-twisted “novelty” worsted weight handspun at the time either….ahem….
Do you read “Lifehacker”? They come up with some nifty links and articles, like this one: Keyboard Shortcuts: How to type those “special” characters - Lifehacker, with a handy list, as well as links to other charts for keyboard shortcuts while either browsing the internet, or typing a blog post. This one at “Dumb Little Man dot com” is the one I liked most.
Apparently my offspring does not dig knitted items. I was informed that his son will not be dressed in knits. He thinks they aren’t going to be manly enough for his male child. Not sure if that pertains to the “denim jeans” - I didn’t pursue the conversation after his initial statement…my heart was aching too much….but needless to say, the ladybug sweater is not under any great deadline goal now. I’m thinking maybe of finding a teddy bear that it will fit, and give THAT to my new grandson. Maybe. Evidently, for the son of my son - a knitted blanket is acceptable, and maybe a hooded jacket for winter…but the clothing stuff he’s thinking only the girls should get. Who raised that boy???
It’s time for sleeves now. I never really understood the whole “sleeve island” thing - but now that I’m down to knitting the sleeves I do see the wisdom in knitting them FIRST and then knitting the body….one never knows when the wind might be knocked out one’s sails by their less than enthusiastic progeny.
I’m working on the lace again while I recover from the rejection, but I do still plan to finish the ladybugs…once the proverbial “they” send the dinghy out to “sleeve island” and rescue it.
it sure does make a STINKIN’ CUTE pair of jeans, now doesn’t it?
I think it’s worth all the inconvenience…and maybe even the expense - and I would absolutely recommend this stinkin’ cute pattern to any grandma knitting for a new cowpoke in the family…although I wouldn’t expect to actually fall in love with the yarn - here’s the really good vendor on Ebay that I used - since most online stores I checked in the US don’t always have it in stock - or if they did it wasn’t the colors I needed for this pattern. Enjoy!
The Specs:
A few notes on assembly…
The knitting part is relatively straightforward - or at least a beginner/intermediate type could pretty much come up with something resembling what the pattern meant for you to make. So, after you’re finished - and you get to try a couple of fun techniques like EZ’s phoney seam, and knitting a mirror image of what you make the first time - you will end up with two pieces that you stack atop one another like this, and steam block (press them with your nice steamy Rowenta to roughly the same size/shape as each other).
Next - figure out which is the center front seam, and which is the center back:
I then chalked my embroidery lines on for the front “pockets” and “zipper”.
I made a back pocket, just for fun. (Just like you’re making a shawl - CO 3, knit, purl back, work in stockinette doing a M1 in 2nd and 2nd to last stitches on all the knit rows until you get to where it looks like that’s enough, then work a few rows of stockinette, throw in a purl row on the knit side, stockinette for a few more for a facing, bind off (or put live stitches on waste yarn as with the waistband and stitch down later) and VOYla! - a pocket.
Now, my background is in sewing, so I did the waistband elastic a little differently than recommended in the pattern instructions. But, either way will work.
I sewed down my live stitches first, leaving an opening at the center back of the waistband, threaded my elastic through, zig-zagged it together over a piece of scrap fabric, and then closed the opening. I used a piece of 3/4″ Lastin for my elastic. Love that stuff.
I also used Perle cotton for the embroidery in a kind of cheddar cheese color.
Progress on Ladybug sweater - sneaking up on steeks still, but haven’t hidden it under a pile of yarn yet, so perhaps we’ll have a sweater by this fall/winter…
Copyright © 2007 CatKnitsandThings.com. Design by Anthony Baggett.