Smarty Pants

I recently showed Tia my progress on the baby sweater, which unfortunately (like my blogging) has been impacted by the need to do work-related items like conference travel, non-billable work, etc. Anyway...when she looked at the back piece, she asked how I worked the stripes because there were very few loose ends. I told her that after a couple of rows, I got the idea to carry the yarn of the non-working skein up the sides of the piece, keeping everything neat by wrapping the active yarn around it. Here's a picture showing what I mean.

So Tia asks how I learned to do that, did I see it in a book, and I said, "Nah, I just didn't want to weave in all those ends so I improvised." She looks at me and says, "Well, aren't you Miss Smarty Pants!" Now, I don't usually think of myself as all that clever, so that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That feeling continued as I worked through both front pieces and as I started into the first arm.

Unfortunately, I now have first-hand proof of why wiser knitters caution against smugness and too much confidence, lest the Knitting Gods (or Goddesses, if you prefer) strike you down and wreak havoc on your knitting. The night I completed the second front piece, I decided to push on just a little bit more before calling it a night. I got out the pattern, read through the arm instructions, and cast on the required number of stitches for the ribbing. I finished the ribbing and once again looked at the instructions. They called for one increase on either side of every 4th row repeated 6 times, followed by one increase on either side of every 6th row repeated 3 times. "No sweat," I thought, but I was getting sleepy and decided to quit for the night. The next day when I returned to my little sleeve, I proceeded blissfully along with my color changes, sans increases. I was such a "smarty pants" that it wasn't until I had 8 inches or so of the sleeve done that I checked the pattern again and noticed my failure to incorporate any increases! Riiiippppp!

Next time when someone tells me I'm a knitting smarty pants, I'm ignoring them.

Brandywine and Balsamic Don't Mix

While browsing Ravelry one day I noticed the Brandywine Shawl pattern and immediately marked it as a favorite. I’ve wanted to knit a shawl for my Mother-in-Law but hadn’t found that perfect pattern. Brandywine Shawl was perfect for my first shawl because it has a lace border the majority of it is garter stitch. I have a little one at home so I don’t have a lot of time to work on projects that require my complete attention.

My MIL is also a knitter, so I knew she would appreciate the effort that goes into knitting lace. Five dollars from the purchase of the pattern also went to Haiti relief efforts and pair that with three skeins of Claudias handpainted fingering weight yarn and it was a no-brainer. The pattern was very clear to understand and each instruction is given in chart and written form. I started with the written instructions and after several tear backs I switched to the chart. It was much easier to follow. I did however, decide to use a life line (something I had only heard about from other knitters) which is a length of thread or yarn strung through a row of knitting so that when you tear it back the stitches are kept on the line and easy to pick up. I used two life lines about 5-7 rows apart, that way if I didn’t notice a mistake I would have two locations that were set and I could rip back to. The extra effort of setting the life lines was worth it. It relieved my anxiety about having to rip back.

I finished the shawl using with only 2 skeins instead of 3. I considered using the third but didn’t because I wouldn’t have been able to finish it by the time of her birthday. It seemed tiny before it was blocked and but blocking did wonders. I blocked it by submersing it into a cool tub of water and rolling into a towel, then using t-pins at each point and along the top. I really had to stretch it and it was still a little smaller than the pattern dimensions, but I was pleased with the results. Next time I’ll use that third skein.

She loved the gift. Unfortunately not an hour after opening it a bottle of balsamic vinegar fell off the shelf and splattered it with brown. I thought I might be sick. I immediately put it into cold water and soaked it with a little laundry detergent and it came out!

I will definitely make another Brandywine Shawl. But first, I’m jumping on the Baktus bandwagon….

Happy Knitting and Happy Mother’s Days