Skip to main content

Before I Panic

If you are a knitter, or probably a crafter or maybe any shopper in general, you know this is the time of the year when the chickens do come home to roost (yes, a farm colloquialism) meaning it is time to pay the consequences of your bad decisions.  I'm not sure what chickens have to do with consequences but now is not the time to worry too much about such details.

Each year there is a certain amount of planning that takes place where I have high hopes of getting stuff done.  Then reality sets in and even though there's only 23 days to Xmas as I write this, and I do have a day job; I think, sure it is still possible to get everything made, I just have to focus.  In the end things never quite pan out that way.  But I keep thinking this year it might be different.

So before I panic, let me write about a class I just took called Two-Handed Colourways.  In it I learned how to knit Fair Isle items.  Go ahead click on the link for a definition, if you like, but here's what end results made by others can look like:





The idea behind Fair Isle knitting is it follows a design using different colours for the foreground and background to make a rather stunning garment, IMHO.  Of course as one learns this process the item made is, as would be expected, a bit less "stunning."  Here's my swatch:



It is a simple diamond shape but the most amazing thing was learned in class! I can knit using both my left hand and my right.  The left was used for the more purplish colour (background colour) and the right for the turquoise colour or foreground colour.  Once one gets going the design forces you to knit faster and faster just to see it develop, or so it seems.  I have to admit it was a joy learning this skill.  (I have tried to do this on my own and done it wrong.  The two yarns were getting twisted around one another and about as much time was spent straightening that out as knitting.  This two-handed way eliminates all the twisting because the two yarns are kept apart by, well, my body!)

Steeking in process pre-cut
Additionally, we learned about steeking which refers to a process of cutting open a garment knit in the round.  One does, of course, prepare the knitting before any cutting takes place; we learned to crochet over the stitches.  Again the process was not nearly as scary or complicated as I had imagined.  But then it was only a swatch being cut apart so the consequences were minimal.  (Perhaps there's a lesson to relearn here -- just dive into something completely new, it generally isn't nearly as bad as you think!)



Steeking process post-cutting

The class was so inspiring I am going to attempt my first full-fledged Fair Isle knitting project in the new year.  The yarn is, of course, purchased and the pattern stored.  Nothing like wishfully thinking my way through the holidays!

Now I must get back to the gifts and nightcap that need to be finished soon. Time's a wasting with all this chit chat.  
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ode to the Cat

It has been six months since Mike, the cat's, passing.  I think of him every day and miss him especially when Paul is away.  Mike was a being in the house with me and we were close.  Grieving his death has been muddled with my Dad's passing and sometimes I feel guilty about that happening.  As time passes the ache becomes less hurtful for both and I am starting to get mostly good memories in its place. Recently I helped celebrate Pablo Neruda's birthday with Jami, my poet and overall very creative friend.  Guests were asked to select one poem written by Neruda to read to the small group who gathered for the celebration.  I picked this one: Ode To The Cat -- Pablo Neruda There was something wrong with the animals: their tails were too long, and they had unfortunate heads. Then they started coming together, little by little fitting together to make a landscape, developing birthmarks, grace, flight. But the cat, only the cat turned out finished, and
1 comment
Read more

Anatomy of a Sock

I've been knitting socks for a relatively short time.  One of the disconcerting things for me as I started following patterns for socks is the pattern designer assumes the knitter (in this case that would be me) knows all the parts of a sock.  So I thought I'd devote a post to improve my own knowledge about the anatomy of a sock and maybe some of you will learn something about the humble yet necessary sock as well. Here's the names of the parts of the foot as I know them. #49 ankle, #50 heel, #51, instep, #52 ball, #53 big toe, #54 toe, #55 little toe, #56 toenail. There are some parts more important for this discussion; first the heel of a foot is generally used to refer to the entire C-shape from the ankle to the instep.  Speaking of the instep, it refers to that curve near the bottom of the foot.  And what seems to be missing in the design above is the sole which generally refers to the bottom of the foot in total or plantar aspect in more technical terms.  (BTW
1 comment
Read more

Yarn Barf

It's back to quirkiness and time to step away again from the cuteness for a while.  But as you see I'm someone who slips from one to the other without much effort so anticipate this back and forth to be my new normal. A dramatization of me in the midst of my startitist frenzy Yarn barf .  I'm willing to bet you hadn't thought of putting those two words together, had you?  It just so happens yarn barf can be a reoccurring pain for those of us who use yarns that come in a skein instead of a hank.  (No pun intended regarding the current Noro virus, well maybe a little pun.) Skeins of yarn wound by the manufacturer These are hanks which need to be wound into balls  If you look closely at the picture on the right you'll see the start on the millet yellow skein at the centre right of the photo.  Its start can easily be seen coming from the centre of the skein onto the violet skein to the left.  Easy to find, right!  Sure but what about the remaining 4
5 comments
Read more