Discomfort vs Results

How far are you willing to go for the result you want? I'm not into discomfort when I knit, at least not usually, but I took the plunge for the results this time.

A top down sweater with different coloured panels. This is a testknit for the new children's book. It's going to look great. While knitting the yoke I had 7 balls of yarn hanging from my sweater, one for each section: buttonband, front, sleeve, back, sleeve, front and second buttonband. Ugh. After a couple of rows they did settle down into some semblance of order but I was still in a tangle most of the time. I did figure out that if I lined them up and turned my sweater a certain way at the end of the row the tangle was more manageable. I was thankful I only had to do about 6" of yoke for a 4 year old size.

How to decide to take the plunge? I knew it would look great when I was done. I knew it would not be a comfortable, sit in front of the TV kind of knit. I also knew it was only for the yoke. Knowing all that, it was totally worth it. I would do it again. That's the real test of discomfort vs. results.

Here's a finished adult size:

Worth it, right?
Deb

Testknit sweaters

Testknitting for the 4-14 year olds Pullover book is moving ahead. Here's a Henley Top Down Pullover in the largest 40" size knit by Elizabeth (co-author) for her nephew.

Having the option to knit the sleeves a different colour was the reason behind this design. We're really having fun thinking up colourways for this. My next one will be a child's sweater with a rhubarb red body and denim blue sleeves. Can't wait to see how it turns out. Then Elizabeth and I both want to make one for ourselves.

I finished a Shawl Collar Top Down in teal Cotton Tweed for a 7 year old. The button is a Popsicle, ha, ha.

And there is one more, a Tuck Stitch Hoodie with stripes. This looks like lots of fun to wear.

The pile of sweaters is getting higher and higher every week.
-Deb

V-neck Testknit

One advantage to not having internet service is that it concentrates my "on line" time into several hours of at-the-library time. I have to be more organized about what I need to do every day. No chance to "oh yes I should just check that right now".  I make a list of jobs and get to tick them off one by one. It makes me feel so productive. It's good to get out of the house and sit at the Quiet tables with, from the look of them, young students from the University. I'm sure I blend in, NOT. Lots of clicking (some of it's my needles), no talking. Ahhh, it is lovely.

Update on the testknitting for the 4-14 year old Pullover book: I'm knitting the beginning of all of them. I have no idea when I will get around to finishing them. I do have other people knitting them too. Lots of information is coming in every day to finalize all the details.

I'm knitting the V-neck. Making the V employs short rows. The same technique is used in the Baby V book (downloads available on Ravelry: Baby V & Patternfish.com: Baby V) and the Button Up Your Top Down books. Cast On lots of stitches for the neckband, including lots of Front sts. Then work short rows, back and forth, with a decrease at the end which attaches the Front to the neckband and decreases a stitch. It works. It's awesome.

Last night I worked my short rows back and forth. I just realized that it looks like the V is attached in the round but it's not. I'm half way down the front neckband with my short rows.

Today I'm ready to join in the round.

Joined Up.

 The V will be closed with a button. I put a dime where the button will be just to give you the idea.

Now back to regularly scheduled raglan increases and knit rounds to the bottom of the yoke. Already most of the way there.
-Deb

Shawl Collar

The Knitter's Fair was busy and since attendance has been down the last couple of years, I worked the Cabin Fever booth by myself. Busy or what! Unfortunately no time for taking photos since I hardly got a chance to walk around at all. These shows are fun to do and a lot more knitters have our books in their hands. Good all around.

It's been a weird couple of weeks. Our internet service is not working. Everything we try doesn't work for more than a few hours. One evening my husband was on his Ipad doing sudoku (which doesn't need the internet) during a thunder storm. Lightening struck, "we're connected!". It lasted only a couple of hours again.

I do have a phone where I can receive emails but I can't attach documents and several other things I take for granted. Now I am sitting in the library, lately my second home, writing this blog.

What am I knitting? Shawl collars. One of our designs for the 4-14 Pullover book is a V-neck. Now it has a shawl collar. First prototype:

We decided it would be fun to put a button at the collar crossing of the V. So I've reknit it, made a couple of adjustments. I'm several rounds away from the Great Divide for a 6 year old size.

All of this involves short rows of course.

But the easy kind, a short row wrap & turn where, because it's garter stitch, the wrapped stitch gets knit as a normal stitch. Yay, no working the wrap with the stitch. Easy peesy. Here's a before and after shot.

This is again, top down, starting with the collar. It's been fun to knit.
-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