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Knitting madness
Jan. 3rd, 2010 08:35 pmOK, I have this knitting project to finish this week. It's a small one, just a hat. But it must be done using an obnoxious lace pattern created by someone else. This thing is called "horseshoe lace" though I have a hard time seeing horseshoes in it. If anything, it has frogs in it instead (the frog being the soft part at the center of a horse's sole, sort of Y-shaped and rubbery.)
I have spun the yarn, plied it, washed it, wound it into a ball, and cannot put this off any longer because it needs to be finished.
Knit the gauge swatch. This is a small sample you make to check that your number of stitches per inch matches the one intended for the pattern. If not, you either must adjust the pattern or change needles or yarn size until you match. Gauge tests are normally knit in the pattern that will be used in the garment but this one doesn't say. They might mean plain stockinette, but I assume they mean the pattern. No, wait, the pattern is written to be done in the round, which means you always work from one side of the fabric. A flat piece is done by working back and forth, first on the right side, then on the wrong, etc. Doing that with this pattern requires that eight rows of gibberish be inverted on alternate rows, knit for purl, purl for knit, and working back from the far end. Ugh. OK, so I work that out and write it down.
The sample is starting to take shape at last, and looks like a fairly close but not perfect match. I'll adjust the pattern by adding one more ten stitch repeat in the circle. However, keeping track of your place in an eight row lace pattern is definitly not my idea of fun. If I've gone insane by Saturday, you'll know why. I promise not to stab myself with the needles, but I hope you'll all come visit in the asylum when they lock me up there.
Oh yes, it's still bitter cold outside.
I have spun the yarn, plied it, washed it, wound it into a ball, and cannot put this off any longer because it needs to be finished.
Knit the gauge swatch. This is a small sample you make to check that your number of stitches per inch matches the one intended for the pattern. If not, you either must adjust the pattern or change needles or yarn size until you match. Gauge tests are normally knit in the pattern that will be used in the garment but this one doesn't say. They might mean plain stockinette, but I assume they mean the pattern. No, wait, the pattern is written to be done in the round, which means you always work from one side of the fabric. A flat piece is done by working back and forth, first on the right side, then on the wrong, etc. Doing that with this pattern requires that eight rows of gibberish be inverted on alternate rows, knit for purl, purl for knit, and working back from the far end. Ugh. OK, so I work that out and write it down.
The sample is starting to take shape at last, and looks like a fairly close but not perfect match. I'll adjust the pattern by adding one more ten stitch repeat in the circle. However, keeping track of your place in an eight row lace pattern is definitly not my idea of fun. If I've gone insane by Saturday, you'll know why. I promise not to stab myself with the needles, but I hope you'll all come visit in the asylum when they lock me up there.
Oh yes, it's still bitter cold outside.
