Fresh Till Cowl from Yarniverse - Day 3

Pay closer attention...

It never pays to get too confident in knitting.  I read the directions—too quickly—for the next section of this cowl and sped right ahead. After all, I know how to purl, and K2TOG is one of the classics, right?  Easy peasy.

I looked at my little row of eyelets and couldn’t figure out why they didn’t look the way I thought they should. Something was amiss.  I know how to knit two together, I’ve been doing it for years.  How could I have messed easy pattern up?

Then I went back and re-read the directions.  I paid a smidgen more attention this time.  Face-palm moment: I should have been purling.  It isn't K2TOG, it’s P2TOG—small but vital distinction there, hmm?

I’ve never actually purled two together before.  Still, it was easy enough to figure out—which makes it embarrassing that I didn’t catch the correct stitch in the first place.  

Me, put in my place by the humble purl stitch.  I swear to you I could hear the yarn laughing.

When I redid the eyelet row correctly, everything settled into place.  Funny that.  How many things in life would work out right if we just took the time to make sure we were following directions correctly?

Lots.

By the way, don’t you just love the new addition to my car thanks to my brother?

Quirky Bird Knits Lady's Mantle from Knitter's Mercantile - Day 4

More Art, Less Following Directions...

I’ve gotten to the lovely point in this pattern where I no longer have to look at the instructions.  I can read which row I am on by the stitches on the needles, and I’ve learned where the slipped stitches and yarn overs go in each row.  

I love that point in a project.  Not being much of a cook, I rarely get to the point where I can go without a recipe, but I always feel so smart when I achieve that level of competence.  For me, it is when I become more of an “artist” and less of someone “following directions.”  

I’m at a conference attending lots of informational sessions, so knitting has been my companion.  You’ve heard me say it before: I knit so I can pay attention.  It’s essentially socially acceptable fidgeting.  I can quiet my mind by occupying my hands.  I’m not distracting myself if I’m knitting, I’m focusing myself so I can better hear what you’re saying.  Sometimes people understand this easily, other times I feel like I have to explain myself to keep from the misconception of disrespect or inattention.

I love the way this pattern takes advantage of the color changes in the yarn.  I makes for a stunning piece.  The texture has a lot of substance, and yet still drapes wonderfully.  Yes, it will definitely be narrower (widthwise, since this is knit top to bottom), but I think I’ll like it even better that way--it’s a bit early to say.

Brady Scarf from Ruhama's - Day 2

Mind the bind...

Bind off’s are my least favorite part of knitting.  Not because it means the project is over--which especially in this case it doesn’t mean at all--but because they never come out right for me.  I’m leery of scarves knit lengthwise because my cast-on and bind-off never come out close to each other.  I’ve got a few that look more like parenthesis than scarves, if you know what I mean.

At first I thought of this scarf as a way to change that.  Before I’m done, I’ll be given hundreds of chances to match my cast-on with my bind-off.  That worries me a bit, as I think the backward loop bind-on is the least manageable.  I always end up with an extra length of yarn between the stitches when I go to knit the next row.  It looks sloppy.

What’s helped?  It should come as no surprise to you that what’s helped the most is (drumroll, please....) reading the directions.  

Oh, the novelty of such an idea!  Normally, my go-to bind-off is the one where you knit two stitches together, then put the stitch back onto the left needle, knit that one together with the next one, etc.  And for the first two repeats of the pattern, that’s exactly what I did.

Which is not the bind-off recommended by the pattern.  It might be important to follow their directions, don’t you think? 

So, when I shifted to the knit two, slip the first stitch over bind-off, things lined up much more nicely.   Imagine that--the designer actually knowing which technique to use!  For a writer, you’d think I’d show the pattern author a bit more respect.

Like I always say, knitting teaches you more about life than you think.

Knit-Along: Sampler Scarf from It's A Stitch - part 2

Section 2: The Flame Chevron pattern

Kudos to our designer here, who understood that we might need a breather after…ahem…being challenged by the last section. This section is much easier, but it’s still not one of those I can whip off while watching a bit of television. Like I said earlier, this is a “pay attention” scarf—excellent for distracting you from long periods of waiting time but prone to making you yell “just let me get to the end of my row” even if your children are bleeding. My photo from my last post (the one showing my handmade Kentucky needles) shows off the pattern nicely. That's useful: once you figure out where the pattern is going (sort of like a recipe…always good to look at the photo so you have an idea what it’s supposed to look like), it’s easier to know which row you might be on if your dog gets into the garbage or someone has the nerve to call you on the phone while you’re tucked away with your knitting. Or someone has the nerve to want a luxury like dinner. Really, people, I need to knit. “My blogging public is depending on me!” Of course, my husband took that occasion to remind me that I’d “better not mess up while the whole world is watching.” So much for the calming nature of knitting.

No, really, the cool pattern you get is worth the attention you spend. One warning: it took me more than a few minutes to realize you didn’t fully repeat the whole sequence to get to the number rows they ask for…I’m a wordsmith, not a numbers gal.

Stitch on, DestiKNITers…Section Three comes on Friday.

And hey, if this is your first visit, make sure you go back and read the original CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA post--it'll put the whole experience in delicious context.