Learning the Ropes

Yesterday I wanted to cook a Lebanese meal of stuffed zucchini and eggplant on my own. I could follow the recipe out of a special cookbook Paul has had for years. But I also know he doctors the recipe. I can saute onions and brown ground beef; I can add allspice and a pinch of cinnamon. The quantities are something though are things Paul knows from years of experience of cooking the recipe. So several times I would carry a teaspoon of what I had for him to taste to see how I was doing. My downfall was when he recommended more tomato be added. I added too much and we agreed I made a version of Sloppy Joes with allspice seasoning instead. I was well out of my own cooking element and it showed. Recipes of foods made often are like this; guidelines to be sure, but it is not unusual to play up certain ingredients and downplay others. A seasoned cook familiar with the end product can do this easily. And sometimes exactly the same thing is expected in a knitting pattern.

For example, I am knitting the Upscale Baby Sweater designed by Kathleen Sperling from Ravelry. It assumes I have a functioning head on my shoulders and that this knitting project is far from my first. Although the chart is easy enough to follow, the written instructions need to be closely attended to.

For instance:

Row 11 (RS): (K1, P1) twice, K3, *, reading row 1 of chart right-to-left, work sts 39-66, *, then sts 1-66, *, then sts 1-28, *, K2, (P1, K1) twice, P1.
Row 12 (WS): (P1, K1) twice, P3, reading row 2 of chart left-to-right, work sts 28-1, then sts 66-1, then sts 66-39, P2, (K1, P1) twice, K1.

It goes on to say follow the pattern as set. This means one should pick up the fact that stitches 39-66, then 1-66 and finally 1-28 series are completed on all knit rows reading the chart from right to left and that 28-1, 66-1 and 66-39 are done in succession on purl rows reading from left to right. One has to be paying attention to get this because the pattern instructions don't clearly point it out. The designer assumes the knitter can figure out that much. (And BTW I did succeed at this.)

During the decreases for the Yoke the pattern says:
.

Right Front Yoke Row 2 (WS): P3, work chart pattern as set until 7 sts rem, P1, (P1, K1) three times.

Right Front Yoke Row 3 (RS): (K1, P1) twice, K3, work chart pattern as set until 3 sts rem, K2tog, K1.

What the pattern does not mention is that as the number of stitches decreases the starting point for the purl rows must move to the right one block at a time to keep the design element correct. (I learned this the hard way managing to figure it out after 2 rows had been decreased.) Again the designer assumed the knitter could, or in my case would eventually, figure it out.

Below is a photo of my chart for this sweater all marked up to help me remember where to start and stop and which rows are purled and which are knit.

I added all the coloured lines to help myself.

Just as a cook is expected to figure out or just know how to follow a recipe, so too a knitter is expected to do the same. In my failed attempt at making the stuffing for the zucchini, I was unclear about the details and thus the end product was not quite what it was supposed to be. With the Upscale Baby Sweater I am more familiar with how it should turn out and can move forward with it. Both cooking and knitting require a certain learning the ropes which really means knowing when you know what to do and knowing when you have to get help. I still need help with the zucchini, but I've got this one for knitting the Upscale Baby Sweater.

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

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

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

Flagel Knitting Files

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