Category: Knit Page 34 of 88

This is all that was left of the ball of yarn after I casted off the last stitch. I was really sweating it there for a few minutes.  How much was left? Not enough to register on my scale.  But that could be anything less than 2 grams.  I didn’t break out the niddy noddy to measure out the length.

Once I started knitting, it went quickly. Of course, I didn’t do much all weekend except knit.  The only outing was to a boat chistening and a Floato-de-Mayo party at the club (something about not saying “sink” around boats).

I didn’t like the first blocking attempt, so the scarf is back in a nice warm tub while I get ready for another round with pins and wires.

There will be no more posts on the scarf until after the submission deadline has come to pass.  I’ll leave you with this little teaser.

It’ll be nice to get back to normal programming around here. I haven’t spun since I left Wisconsin! Can you believe it? And there’s a new baby that appeared on the scene while we were in Wisconsin, 3 weeks early. I haven’t worked on a baby anything. His older brother received this as his welcome, so what will I need to do to top that? Maybe something woven?

(I understand the toddler still sleeps with his blanket every night. It’s always gratifying to hear that.)

Swatch done.

Yes, it’s knitted lace. Not much of a surprise there, is it?

The top of the diamond is darker than the bottom. This is because the color of the fleece varied lock by lock.  The swatch shows definite bands of color, creating a variegated yarn. I like it.

The swatch was pro forma. It didn’t really tell me much, since the sample already told me most of the information I needed. The yarn I chose to work the sample in is approximately the same size as the yarn I spun, so the gauge and needle size has already been determined.  The swatch just confirmed that I was still on target.

So why swatch? It’s one of the contest requirements. The swatch ate up another 5 grams of yarn.  This leaves me approximately 35 grams of yarn for the scarf, or about 145 yards.

On the positive side, I was able to test out the cast off method I chose on the swatch. All is good.

Along with the spinning, I’ve been playing with my scarf design. I had an inkling of what I wanted to achieve. I charted it out to see what it might look like. So far so good. Then I casted on a sample. For the sample, I just use some scrap yarn that I had handy. It was DK weight instead of lace. Okay, I just wanted to see if the theory works. I don’t need to deal with scale issue just yet.

After a few rows, I found one design flaw that was easily fixed. But the problem with the yarn wasn’t so easily fixed. The needle I chose was too small for the DK weight yarn to show the details. It was difficult to see how the pattern will unfold.  Besides, the scarf was becoming alarmingly large. Attempt #1 abandoned.

Attempt #2: Found some lace weight alpaca/silk that I spindle spun last year.  It’s still much thicker yarn than my final product, but it is much closer to what I’m aiming for. Casted on again. This time, with the size in mind, I reduced the number of stitches casted on.  Finished half of the 1st repeat and I realized, no, I didn’t count correctly. I doubled my intended cast on.  (Don’t ask.)  Ripped. (It was about here, when I had a pile of yarn in one hand, and a gordian knot in the other, that my phone rang. Isn’t it always the case? Penny had a knitting emergency.) On the glass full side, the pattern is working out exactly as I planned. I figured out another design issue that I was able to easily fix. And I’m loving this alpaca/silk yarn.

Attempt #3: Casted on the requisite number of stitches. Counted twice. Started the set up row.  Hmm. I seem to be missing a stitch. Recounted thrice. Still missing a stitch. Okay, I’ll fudge it and add a stitch. It’s just the set up row, should be easy. Wait, somewhere along the line, I twisted my tube so that it’s completely screwed up. I can’t straighten it out. Rather, I probably could, but with the miscount, it was faster to start over. Ripped.

Attempt #4: Casted on the requisite number of stitches. Counted thrice. Started set up row. Again, I’m missing a stitch in the exact same place. What are the freaking odds? Feeling punchy, I just added the damn stitch where it needed to be and proceeded. Set up row complete, now on to the 1st pattern row. I zipped along to the end of the 1st row. What’s this? An extra stitch??? Where the heck did that come from? Ripped.

How difficult is it to count to 12 10 freaking times? I obviously need 2 more toes to make this work.

I’m having a time out from the knitting right now. I know the pattern works, as evidenced by attempt #2. For now, I’m consoling myself with some very pretty hand combed top and a Bosworth Featherweight.