I still didn't learn!

I should have read the pattern carefully. After choosing not to frog the shrug but to add stripes of colour, I found myself eight rows short of finishing (320 stitches) with no more yarn!

I should have read the pattern carefully - it clearly states:

4ply yarn: 3 x 25g balls

That means I needed at least 51g, possibly as much as 75 grams to complete the job. Why did I not see that? My only excuse is the earliness of the hour - I am not at my best at 6.00 on a Saturday morning!

So, after knitting for a few more hours over three days, I frogged back to three centimetres and started again!

Lesson learnt: read the pattern carefully!

the silver lining: I taught myself how to insert a needle into the row I want to frog back to! The only thing is, I'm left-handed so I work from left to right which means my row was on the needle backwards! :-)

When will I learn to prepare properly**?

If I had knitted a swatch I could have weighed it and used that to work out how much yarn I needed, since the pattern didn't give any indication of how much yarn is needed to complete the shrug.

It was coming along well - although I notice that I have slightly uneven tension on 3mm needles using 4ply (fingering) yarn for garter stitch. Anyway, I was almost halfway when I realised I didn't have anywhere near enough yarn to finish it! Having knitted about 17cm of the 40cm body, I was reluctant to frog! What to do? Use another colour - what else? My baby shrug now has yellow stripes and is certainly different! And I should use up most, if not all, of the blue yarn and about half of my yellow yarn - knitting from my stash is what stashalong is all about! :-)

I will post photos of my stripey shrug as soon as it is finished. I am using it as my Lint for Lent project so I am knitting at least 30 minutes every day - hopefully it will be finished before Easter. LOL

On a more positive note: I did a swatch for my summer cardigan, and carefully divided my yarn, with slightly more for the fronts than for the back. I am knitting it from the top down with the sleeves as part of the body, that way I can make it as long as possible with the yarn I have, rather than making it a certain length and then realising I haven't enough yarn to finish; or, worse still, that I have a silly little bit left over. I'm knitting a simple lace pattern (K1 *sl 1, K1, psso*, repeat from * to * to end of row, K1) on size 8mm (US 13) needles so it's knitting up quite quickly (much faster than the shrug!)

**Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance!

Knitting progress?

I think it's progress, sometimes it just doesn't feel like it!

I completed the knitting for another wrap on Wednesday, but I still have to sew most of the 112 squares (5 x 5inches) together and sew all the ends in - goal date: 31 March.

Since finishing the 5x5 inch squares for the wrap (afghan), I have knitted three larger squares (10x10 inches) for another wrap. This morning I woke up at 5.50am and couldn't get back to sleep (it's Saturday, for goodness sake!) so I got up and intended to do some knitting. I couldn't face sewing squares at that time of day and I was not in the mood for another diagonal 10x10inch square, so I decided to knit a baby shrug from the Knitters' Guild of NSW Friendship Crochet and Knitting book. Blow me down, it will take longer to knit than a square for the afghan. The body is 80 stitches per row for 200 rows and the cuffs are 40 stitches per row for 16 rows each. It doesn't sound like much but using baby yarn on 3.25mm (US 3) needles, it doesn't grow very much. Ah well, we live and learn and hopefully many babies will be warmed by the finished project as I am intending to give it to the local Tresillian Care Centre.

I found a couple of wraps/stoles that I liked on Knitty.com but since I want to use only one skein and these need multiple skeins I will have to modify a lot! So, in preparation, I have knitted a couple of swatches in my preferred lace pattern - one in 5ply (fingering) wool, one in 4ply (fingering) cotton. The wool, which knits up quite softly in the form of "that" cardigan, is very hard in a lace pattern, even when knitted on 5mm (US 8) needles! Perhaps because I was using the crinkled yarn I pulled out of one sleeve? The cotton looked good but I will not be able to knit a stole from a 50g ball of cotton! I'm going to have to use my March free day to buy the appropriate yarn as I haven't got anything in my stash (which is mostly 8ply - double knit - wool).

Now I'm going to try the yarn from the summer top in the lace pattern - I want to knit a short sleeved cardigan to put on when the airconditioning gets a little too chilly! If there's not enough yarn for that I will stick to the idea of a lapghan!

I'm off to colour my hair and do some knitting (and washing/laundry and shopping and voting ...)

The cardigan that never was Part II

Today I had another look at that cardigan. At first, I couldn't find the hole that I knew was in one sleeve. Finally I found a hole - near the armhole shaping, not near the cuff as I remembered. Perhaps I had been holding the sleeve upside down.

"Great," I thought to myself, "I can pull out those few rows, and reknit them. Then I'll give the cardigan to mum, she loves the colour and she'll really appreciate it."

The frogging was easy, picking up the stitches wasn't too difficult, but then, to my horror (and a lesson learnt, I hope), I couldn't find any notes in my journal about what size I was knitting, which needles I had used, etc! The size wasn't too difficult - I counted the stitches in the cuff ribbing and looked at the pattern book. Hmm, two sizes with the same ribbing. I counted the stitches in the ribbing on the back - ah, that's the size!

Because it's a dark colour it was difficult to tell where I was up to in the textured pattern but I finally worked it out - now all that remained was to do a swatch to find the needle size, and to work out how many rows still to go before commencing armhole shaping. I checked it once more with the other sleeve, and, to my horror, there was the original hole - big enough to pass a pingpong ball through - near the cuff of the second sleeve, in the part where the stocking stitch curled under.

I ground to a halt! Should I knit both sleeves again? Or, since I'm not entirely happy with the textured pattern, should I pull out the whole cardigan and start again? Or maybe use the wool to make something else? Pulling out the whole cardigan will at least show me where wool has been damaged by those pesky little insects - even if there is no apparent hole (yet)!

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of the The Cardigan that Never Was!

Looking for a pattern

Our knitters' group is having a "one skein challenge" between now and 19 May. I want to knit a rectangular scarf/stole/shawl/wrap from one skein. My niece has a beautiful version knitted by her stepmother but, so far, no amount of asking has yielded any information.

After looking at my niece's scarf/shawl, I guess it was knitted in garter stitch on huge needles. Has anyone seen such a pattern? My niece, who was there when the yarn was purchased, assures me it was knitted from one skein.

ellebee57athotmaildotcom

More experimentation in acrylic dyeing

Yesterday DD and I decided to try dyeing with food colouring. Although this may be very successful with natural fibres it doesn't work at all with acrylic!

Following my success last week, I decided to try again, this time with 'red' paint (Cadmium Red Medium to be exact). I dyed some cream, some off-white and some grey. All coloured well. After dyeing, I tried three different approaches.

1. With the 'grey', I decided to see if the colour held without heat-setting (I'm wary about heating acrylic, which is, after all, plastic). It doesn't hold its colour - it just washed right out! Not a surprise, really.

2. I put the 'cream' wrapped in cling film in the microwave on full-power, 15 secs, turned, 10 secs, turned, 5 secs - it crinkled badly. The crinkles do not rinse out or dry out! The yarn is still usable, it just has a crinkly look which is not too noticeable when knitted in garter stitch.

3. I put the 'off-white' wrapped in cling film in the microwave on 20% power - 20 secs, turned, 15 secs, turned, 10 secs, turned, 5 secs. No crinkling - a lovely finish!

I'm having so much fun, I'll have to use one of Stashalong free days to buy some light coloured woollen yarns to play with!

I've changed my Stashalong participation

I realised today that I had met my Stashalong goal on 2 March. Option 3 was "don't cast on for any new project while WIPs are on the needles". I signed on in January to complete 5 projects, the fifth of which was done on 2 March. Here is the list copied for my sidebar:

1. Diamond Wrap #1
2. Diamond Wrap #2
3. Striped Squares Wrap
5. Diagonal Diamond Wrap
6. teddy**
7. jumper with cables
**to be finished in February 2007

So I have signed on for Option 1 for two months - to knit only from my stash and not to buy any yarn in that time. However, I do have one free day per month so that allows me to buy yarn next Saturday at our knitters' group meeting if anything takes my fancy! Woo-hoo!

I still have to complete two WIPs before I will allow myself to cast on for a new project. The first of these is the Diagonal Diamond Wrap because I joined Lint for Lent on 2 March, and because I want to get that laundry basket full of acrylic yarn used up! The projected finish date for this project is 17 March. Then I'll knit the back of that jumper and finally get to start a new project! :-)

edited: 12 March 5.40pm
Am I insane? Less than a week to finish that wrap! I don't think so. I still have about 50 squares to go. At 40 minutes a square, there is no way I can finish by this Saturday! What was I thinking? Finishing date, including sewing up and sewing ends in - 31 March.

Acrylic Dyeing Experiment - it worked!

I have been interested in dyeing for some time but have never tried it.

Acrylic paint is pigment held in an acrylic binder - acrylic yarn is made of the same basic substance. "Could acrylic yarn be dyed with acrylic paint?" I asked myself. Only one way to find out.

So I soaked a half-skein of cream acrylic in clean water in a plastic tray. I removed the yarn and stirred in small amounts of acrylic colour to the intensity I thought would be right (it's just an experiment!). I soaked the acrylic yarn in the mixture - and soaked it - and soaked it - and soaked it. It took up a little colour but I wasn't impressed.

Hmm! I'd read somewhere about adding vinegar to the water to make it acidic - so I removed the yarn and added a capful of white vinegar then replaced the yarn. Suddenly, and I do mean suddenly, the yarn was a delicious orange colour. I gently squeezed the liquid out and put it on the back verandah to dry overnight. In the morning I pulled off about 20cm (8 inches) and took it in the shower with me - it had to be washed and I don't want to waste water - we are in the middle of a drought here! :-) Nearly all the colour washed out! I was sooooo disappointed.

So, back to the drawing board. I read the section on dyeing with Kool Aid from the Twisted Sisters' Sock Workbook again. You either have to heat the yarn before dyeing or heat it after adding the colour. That made sense - traditionally yarns are simmered in dye. Hmmm! What to do?

Fortunately, I hadn't thrown away the orange paint-water. I immersed the coloured yarn for a few minutes then rinsed it until the water was clear. I squeezed out most of the liquid then wrapped it loosely in cling film. I gave it 20 seconds in the microwave on high to steam it - turned it over then gave it another 15 seconds. Still hadn't seen too much steam, everything looked okay - ah, what the heck, I gave it another 15 seconds! After 7 seconds it started popping! Oops! I opened the microwave - the cling film had started to shrivel and who knows what was inside? I carefully removed the package from the microwave - it was really hot - and very carefully peeled back the cling film. Hmm! It had a slight boucle look to it! I hung it on the verandah again, this time with a bucket under it - it was pouring liquid.

Despite the hot weather, it took a long time to dry; when it was cool enough to handle WM suggested I spin the water out of it. After that, it dried pretty quickly, lightening slightly. I pulled off another piece and hand-washed it with soap. While it was wet it looked like it had lost its colour but after it dried the beautiful colour showed! Perhaps the first piece that I washed in the shower hadn't really lost all its colour?

From cream to apricot, a bit crinkled but still usable!

Success with the first experiment! Am I boasting or what? LOL

edited 6 March to add photo

another FO!

After the sad saga of the cardigan, the good news is that I have finished another wrap (afghan) - hurrah! This one is 72in x 40in and weighs 968 grams. The second picture shows scale - I am 5 feet 6 inches, so you can get an idea of the size of the wrap.
Now I have only two more projects to complete (see sidebar) before I can cast on a new project. Since the Lynne Johnson workshop last weekend, I have been yearning to try out some new ideas I've had.

I intend to have both of these finished by Saturday 17 March which is the date on which our knitters' group meets. We have Anita from The Wool Inn coming and I want to be able to buy if something catches my eye. It's also the day that our "one skein challenge" begins, so these two project need to be completed.

The cardigan that never was!

As part of February is for Finishing, I opted to finish a cardigan which I began in 2003. The knitting was all done - all that was left was the finishing. At the time I started it, I worked full time in corporate administration. I left home at 7.30am and returned ten to twelve hours later. I needed layers of warm clothes for the trip to work by public transport. A coat over a cardigan over a long sleeved blouse (with a collar) was a good option. I replaced my cardigan with a blazer in the office.

However, winter 2003 was probably the last time that I wore hand-knitted wool cardigans or jumpers regularly for two reasons.
1. I resigned from that job in the summer of 2004 (February).
2. I can't stand the feel of wool against my skin, no matter how soft it is in the skein.

Since winter 2004, I have worn shop-bought synthetic zip-up jackets over long sleeved tee shirts for layers of warmth. This is more practical in my current job as an English teacher to adult migrants/refugees because a zip is easier to deal with than the buttons on a cardigan or pulling a jumper (sweater) over my head. Besides, all my classrooms are heated and I travel in my own car (also heated)!

On Tuesday (27 February), two days before the end of National Knit and Sew-up Month, I pulled the cardigan out of storage. Western Sydney has experienced severe thunderstorms every afternoon for a week; the cardigan is navy blue and I needed good light to see what I was doing so I had been procrastinating. As the end of February loomed close, I determined I was going to finish that cardigan whatever the weather. I carefully pulled out each piece, the back, the right front, the left front, one sleeve - all looking good. I pulled out the second sleeve and there it was - a hole so large I could pass a ping pong ball through it! :-( Some nasty, wool loving insects had found a tasty treat despite all my precautions.

I guess I could frog the sleeve and knit it again but, as I've already said, I don't wear knitted woollen clothes anymore, so what would be the point? I will use the wool (5ply) to knit something else - stay tuned for Part II of The Cardigan That Never Was!!!