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knitting is a hereditary disease
Barb: November 2007 Archives
Casting on loosely
Especially for newbies, and especially with tiny needles or loosely structured yarns, it can be challenging to knit the first row. I've seen beginners in tears over it. So here's a little trick you can use to get a loose cast-on so the first row isn't such a challenge. (The photo shows a long-tail cast-on but I think this would work for most others as well.)When you cast on, lay a second needle alongside the needle you're going to actually use for your project, and then cast on your stitches around both needles as though they were one. Unless you're using really tiny needles like the 0's shown, you'll probably want to have the second needle a bit smaller than your project needle so the stitches don't get too loose. Once your stitches are all cast on, just slip the second needle out. You should have a nice, neat row of loosely cast on stitches that you don't have to fight with on your first row.
Hmmm ...
Some projects have problems, flawed from the outset. It's as simple as that. Like, fair aisle will make a pattern so tight the sock won't stretch over your heel. Why didn't I know that would happen? I guess I never tried to do fair aisle in a sock, so I learned something.
Well ... maybe it could be, oh, a hand puppet wearing an argyle sweater ... or ....
Progress photo
Well, this is hard ... and I might end up declaring this a practice sock. I need to think a little bit about "yarn management." It's a challenge to keep the strands of yarn from getting all wound around each other to the point where you just have to stop and straighten things out again.
But, hey, it is looking like argyle, and it is knitted in the round.
Getting started
I've set myself a challenge ... knitting argyle socks in the round.More later ... as things progress (or don't)!
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Well, we celebrated Thanksgiving at my house yesterday so we could have Steph with us (I put her on a plane back to Boston this morning ... ). Everyone helped and it was lots of fun.I made a new dessert that everyone liked, pumpkin cheesecake. I deviated from the printed word in only one respect: I used 2 cups of pumpkin puree instead of one because ... well, what do you do with the other half a can of pumpkin, and also I really love pumpkin!
Continue reading Pumpkin Cheesecake.
Steph spinning
Steph's colorway is spinning up beautifully. She's trying to get enough spun to ply a skein before she heads back to Boston on Monday. She's going to take her roving back with her and carve out some time to do some knitting and spinning. She's so incredibly busy.We had some "talk time" yesterday and she showed me some photos of her kiddos. She just lights up when she talks about these special needs children she's working with.
Balls of dry roving
I love all three results and this weekend I'm going to find time to get a little of my Emerald City spun up. (Thanks for the name, Andrea!)Adjusting wetness and pH
Andrea thought her fiber was getting too dry, so she's spraying it with some vinegar-water.Steph stopped by my house today and the fiber is dry (yea!). She spun a little bit of it up on my wheel and loves the color.
| barb on flickr.com |
| andrea on flickr.com |
