Tag Archives: WIP

I remember now

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The Bacardi Cardigan sweater is knit on circular needles though knit flat.  The reason is so the color changes don’t have to start and end on the same edge.  If the color you need is on the other side, just turn the work over and start knitting/purling from that edge. It can get tricky but it saves from weaving in hundreds of ends when finished.  And weaving in cotton yarn has challenges quite different from wool.  It’s slippery, doesn’t like to stay put and has a mind of its own.

I remember now why I put my Bacardi Cardi in hibernation.  Besides having six balls of yarn attached to the needles…

…the edges are wonky.

Some areas are nubby and the yarn doesn’t want to lay flat.

And the tension is too tight or too loose in places.

I think I must…

…rip it

and start over.

One plus is that I do have the correct gauge with US #5 needles even though I did knit a swatch earlier, it was good to know that the swatch didn’t lie.

I found a few videos on making a better selvage edge while carrying several colors of yarn that might be helpful.  I would need to add another stitch to each side but if it helps with that unevenness and bulk, it will be worth it:

  • This one is a great technique and is right to the point of what I was looking for.
  • Way #5 in this video.  This is the same technique as above and begins at 8:51 but watch the entire video if you want other to see other methods.

I also asked the designer, Barbara Gregory, for suggestions.  Her reply:

One suggestion for the edges is to occasionally work the first stitch of a row (preferably a row of a single color) with one of the yarns that is being carried up the edge. This stitch will not show once seaming and bands are completed, but it will anchor the carried yarn and help you to maintain the desired tension along that vertical edge.

 

My other thought regarding the edges is to do seaming and picking up of stitches for the band more than a single stitch in from the edge if necessary to get a clean edge.

So I’m ready to try this again!

WIP with picture

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I rushed home after the two-day conference we held in another city so I could get to my final knitting class for the Garter Stitch Bag.  I was only 15 minutes late.  Not bad for leaving at 1:25 and walking into the class at 2:15.  67 miles in 50 minutes including parallel parking right in front of the store.  You do the math.

One side of the bag was sewn together late Sunday evening.  I didn’t get home from work until after dark on Monday and I didn’t have time the past two days to get any pictures of the actual sewing.

So in class today I learned how to do an attached i-cord on the top edge and am half way around it.  My brain is a bit tired from all the running around the past few days and I just hope I remember how to do it tomorrow so I can finish and get this felted over the weekend.

You can see the i-cord on the top left side and my needle sticking out on the back.  The blue and orange stitch holders are holding the left side together until I can finish sewing it.  The yellow yarn is the provisional cast-on for the beginning of the i-cord.  Hmmm…that one section doesn’t look very even.  I might have to frog (rip it) that part and redo it.   

I want to take “before” and “after” photos with measurements so I can get an idea of how big/small this one will be when finished.  My sister (Hi Jude!) hinted that she might want one of these, too.

WIP Wednesday

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Pictureless post.

I ripped out the Fetching mitts a few weeks ago when I ran out of yarn and started them on Monday.  I’m ready to bind off the first one then start the second one.

I figured out why I ran out of yarn even though I had more then the recommended amount.  I repeated a cable section.  Yep, that would do it.

I’m not going to promise pictures as I don’t always come through.

Speaking of which…I did repair and finally finish the dresses for E&Z while I was at their house last week.  I did not get pictures of the dresses, E&Z, or E&Z modeling said dresses.  By the time everything fell into place, it was too late for a photo shoot.  I had to leave early the next morning for the second part of my trip to Zanesville.  Perhaps my daughter will take some pictures for me.

And there was knitting in Zanesville!

WIP Wednesday

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I started on another Leafy Washcloth Monday evening while listening to the concert in the park.  I got half of it done.

Yes.  It’s purple.  I grabbed my knitting bag without making sure I had the right color yarn.  Whatever.

Last night I decided I needed to make summer dresses for the twins.  I’m using a pattern from when my daughter (the twin’s mother) was little.  The dresses are reversible so I had to cut out four fronts and four backs.  By the time I got the pieces cut out, the light wasn’t good enough to get any pictures.  I should get them sewn up tonight.

I will be seeing them on Monday and hope to take the finished dresses with me.