Friday, April 25, 2008
Fits and Starts
Pi is giving me fits.
No, wait, not Pi so much as the edging on Pi. I decided to knit the border and the cast off as one so as to retain as much stretch as possible.
First, I started with a lovely old (from an ancient leaflet with a 10 cent price tag) edging that starts on 9 stitches.
About 43 repeats (of 96) it became clear that there was Not Enough Yarn Left on this ball. So I frogged carefully (possible as there was only one "live" stitch for every other row of edging).
At that point, I had to stop and re-group.
Checking the stash, I discovered two 100 g balls of Vanna's Choice in a color called, simply "pink." (It's a sort of dusty rose, not that insipid chewed bubble gum color that passes for "baby pink" in most ack.) Might make a nice edging. Certainly, there's enough. . . And thus, Dear Reader, I proceeded to knit some "set up" rows in the base yarn before switching to the pink.
But I don't really WANT a pink edge. I want a solid, creamy off-white baby shawl that will be suitable for seriously dressy occasions (think christening) if the parents so desire, and Not Gender Specific (despite being lacy, think Traditional Christening Attire).
So I tinked 1152 stitches (half in knit, half in purl) and dug into my many books of stitches.
And there, in Nicky Epstein's Knitted Embelishments, I found the perfect combination of narrow (start with 5 stitches), lacy, and garter stitch (to tame the curl).
Each 8-row repeat takes 3 minutes. There are 144 of them. And my scale and I have become close friends (knit a repeat or two, check the weight of the remaining yarn).
I may be certifiable by the time this is finished.
No, wait, not Pi so much as the edging on Pi. I decided to knit the border and the cast off as one so as to retain as much stretch as possible.
First, I started with a lovely old (from an ancient leaflet with a 10 cent price tag) edging that starts on 9 stitches.
About 43 repeats (of 96) it became clear that there was Not Enough Yarn Left on this ball. So I frogged carefully (possible as there was only one "live" stitch for every other row of edging).
At that point, I had to stop and re-group.
Checking the stash, I discovered two 100 g balls of Vanna's Choice in a color called, simply "pink." (It's a sort of dusty rose, not that insipid chewed bubble gum color that passes for "baby pink" in most ack.) Might make a nice edging. Certainly, there's enough. . . And thus, Dear Reader, I proceeded to knit some "set up" rows in the base yarn before switching to the pink.
But I don't really WANT a pink edge. I want a solid, creamy off-white baby shawl that will be suitable for seriously dressy occasions (think christening) if the parents so desire, and Not Gender Specific (despite being lacy, think Traditional Christening Attire).
So I tinked 1152 stitches (half in knit, half in purl) and dug into my many books of stitches.
And there, in Nicky Epstein's Knitted Embelishments, I found the perfect combination of narrow (start with 5 stitches), lacy, and garter stitch (to tame the curl).
Each 8-row repeat takes 3 minutes. There are 144 of them. And my scale and I have become close friends (knit a repeat or two, check the weight of the remaining yarn).
I may be certifiable by the time this is finished.
Labels: baby things
Comments:
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How frustrating. It is so hard for me to take a deep breath and do what needs to be done.
It's going to be gorgeous, tho. Can't wait to see it!
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It's going to be gorgeous, tho. Can't wait to see it!
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