Three vs four

Don’t cut the pizza into eight slices, we can’t eat that many.  Cut it into six.

Same amount.  Just different portions.

That goes for knitting.  At least for me.

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Knitting in the round can be fiddly so the fewer needles to deal with the better for me.  I’ve not mastered using the two circular needle technique.  I prefer to use three double-pointed needles instead of four.  Same amount of stitches, just different portions.

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Fewer needles means fewer interruptions when changing from one needle to the next.

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What do you do?

Casting off another way

Casting off or binding off essentially means to take the knitted stitches off the needles resulting with a finished edge.

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Depending on what I’m knitting determines the bind off I use.  Sometimes this results in a TIGHT clean edge that does not stretch enough to go over heels, heads, or any other body part.

There are many other ways to bind off and I’m not going to go into those techniques but I will show you what was recommended on the Drinker’s Mitts.

Elizabeth Zimmermann’s sewn bind off:  Cut off a length of yarn about 3 times as long as the knitting and thread it onto a yarn needle. ( Seriously, the yarn should be at least three times as long as the knitting edge you want to bind off.  Don’t skimp on this!)

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*Insert the needle into the first 2 stitches on the knitting needle as if to purl and draw the yarn through.

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Reinsert the needle into the first stitch on the knitting needle as if to knit, draw the yarn through and slip the stitch off.*

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Repeat from * to *.

This leaves a cast on row that looks very similar to a long tail cast on.  It is stretchy and looks even.

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I still need to block these mitts and as soon as I have the other one finished, I will block them…and hope the wonky stitches relax and even out.

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WIP Wednesday 2016-09-14

Works in progress.

shaad-mitts-003I dropped a stitch on the Shaad Mitts awhile back and forgot about it until I picked them back up and started working on them.

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It took some time but I managed to find the dropped stitch and get it back on the needle.

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Seven more pattern rows then the ribbing on the finger end and thumb.  And begin mitt #2.

I saw these cool Drinkers Mitts on Ravelry (free pattern) and posted them on my Facebook page.

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A friend asked me if I could make them for her but change the background color to red.

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Two rows down…many, many more to go.

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Last month Rachelle from My Tangled Yarn posted about a hat she was making for her son: Henry’s Hat.

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The story about Henry and his favorite hat also includes patterns for the hat, a sweater, and chipmunk toy.

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So a hat for my grandson (whose middle name is my last name) is now on the needles.

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I am in the process of decluttering, organizing, and getting rid of stuff that I don’t love or doesn’t fit in my life/house any more.  I’m also on a yarn and fabric diet.  No new yarn or fabric is coming into this house unless there is a specific reason/project for it.  And all the above projects are from my yarn stash!

Bowl

I saw the pattern for this neat knitted bowl last week and decided to knit it up.  It’s from Garn Studio – Drops bread basket.

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Garn Studio – Drops 128-32

I didn’t have the recommended bulky yarn so I had to substitute something smaller.

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Cotton worsted weight – Lily Sugar and Cream in Hot Blue.

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I used size 7 US needles and finished it in two evenings.

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I could have held two strands of yarn together but I didn’t have enough of any cotton yarn in my stash that coordinated so I just used one strand and smaller needles.

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Knit flat and seamed.  It is very easy as only knit stitches are used, however, short rows are involved.  If you want to learn how to do short rows, this would be a great project.

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Obviously this isn’t large enough to be used as a bread bowl but I’m sure I can use it for something!

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The next time I might try a provisional cast on for a hidden seam.