Where to work the Next Sleeve Decrease

I have a pet peeve. I don’t like seeing knitters mark little ticks on their patterns to keep track of the rounds they have worked. If you can learn to read your knitting you can be tick-free (pun intended).

Right now I’m knitting a sleeve in the round from the should down to the wrist. My sleeve shaping instructions are as follows:

Knit 7 rounds.

Decrease Round 8: K1, SSK, knit to last 2 sts, K2tog.  (SSK: Slip as if to knit, slip next stitch as if to knit, insert Left needle into fronts of 2 slipped sts and knit them together)

Repeat last 8 rounds.

I'm decreasing every 8th round.

The decrease I keep track of is the SSK since it’s easier to see. When you complete Round 8, the decrease you just worked sits below the new stitch you just made as you knit 2 sts together which is sitting on the needle. The Round 8 stitch is on the needle and the decrease sits just below it. Maybe the photo works better for you.

I’m going to do the next set of decreases on the next Round 8. You can count the rounds I've knit. A knit stitch looks like a "V". I'm counting the column of stitches above the SSK.

 Round 8 + Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7. Now on the next round, Round 8, I'll do another set of decreases.

That's the explanation but it's not how I actually count the rounds. When I look at my knitting and this photo, I can see 8 knit rounds (column of "V's") above the obvious SSK. All I've done is renumber the rounds. The number of knitted rounds is the same as the photo above. In fact it's the same photo with the rounds counted differently.

When I can see and count 8 rounds above the obvious SSK (including the stitch on the needle), I work my Decrease Round on the next round.

I worked the Decrease Round. If I count the rounds I can see above the bottom SSK, there is a new SSK on the 8th round. It works.

If you need to decrease every Round 8. Knit around until you can SEE 8 rounds above the last SSK (including the round on the needle) then work your Decrease Round. If you need to decrease every 6th round, count 6 rounds above the last SSK and do the decrease round.

I'm almost sure you don't believe me but this totally works. The rounds are easy to see and count and I never, ever go wrong on my sleeve decreases using this method. OK, almost never, except during a really interesting movie. No ticks, no mistakes. Would I steer you wrong?

-Deb

P.S. I like the idea of a "collection" CathyK. Nice.
Robebe: Giving away yarn that someone else is going to work on and give to charity sounds like an excellent plan to me.

Yarn buying guilt

I will admit right now, I am not a shopper. I only enjoy shopping in a couple of stores: yarn stores and book stores. I can pass every other store on the block except the coffee shop. I like them too. Mostly because I can knit and read there while I drink coffee.

I’ve been working in a yarn shop for the past 2 weeks where I usually work only 1 or 2 days a week. Seeing customers come in day after day is enlightening and discouraging. The hesitation and guilt we (me included) attach to buying yarn which we quite often knit and give away, is incredible to see, time after time after time.

I understand not being able to afford some yarns. I get that. I can't afford everything in the store either. But when I walk into a yarn store I really try to have a good time. I am intending to buy something and want to enjoy the process of deciding which yarn and colour and what I'm going to make. Anticipation, excitement.  But quite often that is not what I hear in my head and now have heard several times every day as customers discuss their purchase, or not.

I go into a coffee shop because I like coffee and getting it in a café is a treat which I enjoy. But sometimes I end up saying “I’d really like a large latte with a vanilla flavour shot but I only need a coffee so I should get the regular cup of coffee, but boy I really would like the latte, it’s so yummy and now I can’t make up my mind, oh dear, look how good that latte she’s getting looks, the regular coffee doesn’t look nearly so appealing next to that and I do have coffee at home after all but sitting here for a little bit would be so lovely, the line to the cash is getting shorter and I’m starting to panic about making a decision so … I’ll just go home without anything.” What is that?!

Defence against yarn buying guilt:

1.  Start knitting something right away. Stand in the store and cast on, really, I bet they wouldn't mind. In fact if I'm behind the cash I would gladly do it for you.

2.  Go home and finish something, anything. It's OK to have 15 projects on your needle as long as something is getting done on a regular basis. Now cast on something new. Doesn't that feel good?

3.  Do a charity knit. Make a hat, mittens or doll for your local mitten tree at Christmas or your favourite organization which distributes knitting. Everyone benefits and someone is feeling the love. Your love of knitting and giving.

4.  Gift or swap old stash yarn. This could be fun. Have a little party, swap yarn and listen to someone else get excited about yarn that has been sitting at the back of your stash. You know you have some.

Do you have some more suggestions for alleviating this debilitating knitting problem?

Note to self: Buy the damn latte!

- Deb

Itchy fingers

What does someone who knits for a living do on holiday? I took the weekend off and had a lovely weekend with friends. Lots of activity, no knitting. Now I'm at my cabin on the lake. I've read one book and have started a second but I can feel the itch. It's in my head and interfering with my reading. Now it's in my fingers. I'm not going to last against it. Today I will probably start knitting. Do accountants feel this urge to punch a calculator?

It's not as if I didn't know this would happen. I brought 4 projects with me! I hoping your saying "only 4?"
Deb

Broken Sleep

Not opening my email first thing in the morning is working great. I have the 4-14 year old Pullover book written.

Well, so I thought until early this morning. 2am I woke up to this thought: The fronts have to have an even number of stitches so the underarm cast on has to be an even number too, instead of the odd numbers I had to get the sizing I wanted. Can I get the stitch numbers to come out to the same sizes? @&%$. Do I get up? Can I go back to sleep? I finished at 3:30am. All 6 patterns now have better stitch numbers. I'm a happy book writer. ZZZZZ

Now it's time to nail down some of the technical details.

I think this tuck stitch edge to the hood would be easier to work in the round. Is it necessary to keep one of the rolls open so that you can thread a string through?

I wouldn't. Would you?
-Deb

No Internet Vacation

Last week I had a week away from the internet. I went up to my cabin and for 3 full days was without any social media interference. I was able to write out a rough draft of the 4-14 year old Pullover book. The whole thing, including all the stitch numbers, 30 pages in 3 days! It's looking pretty good. Rough still, with lots of errors and small details missing which I am finding now as I read it over every day. But still, pretty good start. I'm very pleased with how it's coming together.

My standard routine is to fire up my computer and check my email first. Much time elapses and I haven't worked on the book, my knitting, my new sock pattern or my next Newsletter. Social media is great but it does have a negative impact on my productivity on projects. Being without the option certainly brought it home to me. But I guess you all know that.

Have you ever indulged in a "no internet" vacation? Did you enjoy it? How long did you last?

I have progressed on the hoodie, in my favourite colour of course since I'm knitting it for myself.

I've just separated for the Pouch. Makes a nice change from knitting round and round and round. The Pouch means I'm on the home stretch for the Body. Yay.
-Deb

I've test knit our Tuck Stitch Edge hoodie.

And it works. Yay. It sits well. The tucks give it colour and a firm edge. It feels good over my head and it's fun to knit with the Short Rows.
But I have some more work to do. We worked these tucks back and forth so they are all open tubes at the centre front.

Now I'd like to leave the first green tuck open so you could thread a tie through if you wanted and work the other two in the round. I think it might be easier to do the tuck pick ups that way. Time to cast on again to see.
-Deb

Hoodie Tuck Stitch Edge

My blogging is going to be somewhat erratic over the summer. I'm hoping to spend lots of time at my cottage where I don't have internet service. I'm wondering if I could figure out how to write my blog on my phone. Wouldn't that would be something!

I've finished the first testknit of one of the hoodies for the 4-14 book for kids. The edging is a Tuck stitch or sometimes called a Ruche (but there are two kinds of ruche techniques so that name is confusing).

 We used two colours which makes picking up from several rows below much easier. You know those little blips you get on the wrong side when you change colours? We're going to use them.

 Nice edge I think.

The shaping of the hoodie is done using short rows and is fun to work.
One hood done. Needs some more work on the details. But more on that later. I need to do a bit more on the body to see how this hood sits on the shoulders. Onward.
-Deb