Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Knit Along: Elizabethan Collar from Kirkwood Knittery - Day 1

What is it with me and gazillion stitch rows?
I took one look at this pattern--and the 350-plus stitches I had to cast on--and sighed.  Another one of those.  And, of course, it uses size 6, so it’s one of the more difficult needles to wield on my Denise interchangable set because at size 6 the connecting cable isn’t that much smaller than the needles and I’m always worried I’ll pop the joint and all kinds of trouble will ensue.  It hasn’t yet, but I always worry about that, especially in those tight first couple of rows.  I frowned the whole time I was casting on.  I should tell you, though, that all those hundreds of stitches--and the subsequent set-up row--went on without incident.
Now I’ve got about two and a half inches of tedious...ahem...calm ribbing to achieve before the pattern changes again.  Don’t get me wrong, this is lovely pattern.  It’s going to be stunning when it’s done.   But these long rows make me nuts.  It’s a good thing I have a long car trip ahead of me this week, because I’m gonna need it.
I’m also going to need more patience that I normally possess, because this Diacosta rayon/acrylic blend is one of those feisty, slippery yarns that keeps sliding off itself.  I had to imprison it in some netting to keep it from escaping out all over my floor and tangling up.  Still, these yarns tend to have fabulous drape, and I really like the sheen of the charcoal grey color I chose.  I’m convinced it’ll be worth it.

1 comment:

Kimberly and Abby said...

I bet your project will be worth it when it's all done.

I felt the same way about the last afghan I crocheted. The rows were really long. One of the repeat rows was very quick, but the second row took for-ev-er. I was glad to finish that up. Now I'm zipping my way through a chunky baby blanket, with only 61 stitches per row. Ahh.