Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Oh! The frustration, the pains of the new beginning and finally hopefully smooth sailing



And so it happened, I ended up in a deep, dark hole of "not-knowing-what-to-knit-next". I have been looking all over for the perfect, entertaining, interesting, fascinating and beautiful project. The search always seems to begin with an idea of not having to swatch, and finding a very easy and reasonably fast knit. The exhaustion of the previous knit affects the choosing at this point. All the last tools (stitch markers, darning needles, knitting needles, tape measures, yarn ends etc) need to be put away, but linger on the desk and create some kind of a chaos. If I had cleaned the plate from the previous project, I probably would have cleared my mind also and finding the next one would have been so much easier. I kept postponing the task and since my mind and desk were both so cluttered, I could not clearly see, what I would love to make. This went on for days. I kept casting on for new stuff, and kept tossing them away onto the same place where the previous mess lay, thus building a massive junk mountain. Last weekend, I realized that I needed to make clear, open, fresh space for the new knit. It would not happen in this turmoil of stuff.
Finally, I could hear my thoughts and ideas and could settle into something new. I seem to be in some kind of a Fair Isle mood or cardigan mood. I returned to Kate's designs and this time I chose a design from her Yokes book. It is a design called Foxglove and has patterning around the yoke - only... I think I will use the chart (it has three colors in some of the rows and that will teach me something new) but I will tweak the cardigan a little bit. I am not quite sure just how to, and I do not want to write the changes into a stone yet, because that would take some of the thrill off. So far, I will add some length and start with a corrugated rib. I am thinking of a looser and longer cardigan with pockets. However, this might change while the cardigan progresses. As you can see, I have just barely started.
The pains in the beginning: 
- Finding the design. I seem to base my projects on a design or on an idea rather than on yarn.
- Finding the yarn... I have a dream of always using some of the old yarn and combining it with some new, this way I will be checking the stash regularly. I tend to forget what I have and I have some lovely stuff.
- Finding the right needle that suits the yarn and the pattern and feels good in the hands. (Needle hunting is such a pain.)
- Being able to join in a round without twisting the cast-on edge - talk about it, this does not seem to get easier with time and experience.
- The worries of not being quite sure if the stitch count is correct. Even though I know my gauge, this always troubles me for a while, before I am able to take off the knit from the needles and try it on for the first time. I will need to check the fit and then I am officially off with this cardigan. Finally! This is good news.
Thank you for coming by and hope you have a good week.
Wool with you,
Lene

8 comments:

  1. I share your experience, but on a much smaller scale! I just started a very simple little project that took days of planning and swatching - the only "known quantity" was the yarn. When I finally decided exactly what to do and was ready to cast on, I could not find the right needles! So at last all my planning went out the window and I began knitting with a needle 4 sizes smaller. At least I am knitting...I hate to have nothing on the needles when I have trouble sleeping. It's comforting to put even a few rows on a project instead of just tossing and turning.
    Looking forward to seeing your latest project take shape :)

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  2. Oh I can't wait to watch this develop. I love her patterns and love your tweaks. This will be perfect :-).

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  3. Anonymous20:23

    Lovely pattern. I also like her Bluebell design. I can't wait to see your progress and finished cardigan.

    annie

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  4. A new project ! Exciting, I can't wait to see it later on. Have a lovely week yourself !

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  5. I love Kate's designs too, but haven't attempted any yet...and can I say...yummy first picture...

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  6. Regarding the cast on without twisting problem: Since I discovered knitting in the round with two circular needles, joining without a twist has become simple. So much easier to make the stitches behave at the critical joining moment when half the stitches are on each circ. Once a few rows are done, switch to one circ, if that is your preference.

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  7. At the end of the first round of knitting, there is just one strand that goes between the needles. If you have a twist, put one end of your needle through the center of your knitting and push things around until the twist disappears into that one strand between the needles. Magic!

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  8. Sarah R20:25

    No one has mentioned this way of reducing the twist in the first row -- do the first row or three on straight needles, then switch to circulars. There will be a tiny gap in those first few rows that you can use your cast-on tail to seam up when you're at the end.

    Yay! So happy to be able to contribute something!

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