when i say that a knitting pattern is poorly written, i am not saying it as just some bitter knitter who had to rip back about 40 rows of knitting. of course i am bitter about having just ripped out 40 rows of knitting, but! i am also a professional writer so i do know what i am talking about.
i do get paid to take scads of information and make it clear and concise. i have a degree in it. i've been doing it for nearly 10 years. i know of which i speak.
the hourglass sweater pattern sucks! donkey! balls!
the instructions are not clear. i did read them and re-read them more than a few times. apparently my reading comprehension is lacking when it comes to this pattern. i was nearly done my decreases when i tried the sweater on tuesday night at knitting. the front looked great. the back was all droopy and weird and yeah, donkey balls.
did i mention i had already grafted the arm pits? i ripped back to the graft and carefully picked up all 200-and-whatever number of stitches and started decreasing again. le sigh.
in other news, two weeks ago we had the mother of all snow storms. my mom needed to do some errands in the middle of the storm and i was still acting as her driver. as we walked out of chapters, i was looking down and spotted an ipod in the snow. it was barely visible and at first i thought it was some glossy apple insert for a magazine. i picked it up and lo! an 8 MB video ipod in bright pink, in perfect working order.
i walked back into the store and asked them to put a note with my number in the lost and found. the ipod has been sitting, waiting for it's owner call for two weeks. can i claim it as my own yet? maybe this is my karmic reward for returning two lost cell phones.
if you have an ipod, put your name and number in it. i would totally give this woman a call if i knew her number.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Saturday, March 8, 2008
demise
my LYS, the one at the end of my street, is closing its doors.
this sucks, to be sure.
i was there this morning and i felt like a carrion bird, picking the meat off the carcass. 50% off!
it is good news for karen at shall we knit. it was just nice having a yarn store so close.
this sucks, to be sure.
i was there this morning and i felt like a carrion bird, picking the meat off the carcass. 50% off!
it is good news for karen at shall we knit. it was just nice having a yarn store so close.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
yoke
the hourglass sleeves are now on the sweater and i am onto the yoke. (i know pictures are appreciated but i need good light and i'm not home during daylight...)
i had some time on sunday afternoon and so kitchener-ed the underarms. the pattern calls for 4 stitch holders and 40 stitches just hanging out on those underarms until the end. they were annoying me, getting in my way, so i knit 'em up. i'm really hoping the sweater fits because i don't want to undo those pits.
considering i started this sweater just over a month ago, i feel like i am making pretty decent progress with the little amount of knitting time i have. i'm at least 80 % done if not a little more.
i have a feeling that i am going to finish the sweater, seam up the sleeves, give it a nice bath, block it to perfection, and as soon as it is dry, spring will arrive and i wont get to wear it for at least 6 months. sigh.
i am seriously behind on some baby knitting though. and those babies don't exactly keep in the womb. one is already out! and one is over a week over-due. eep.
i had some time on sunday afternoon and so kitchener-ed the underarms. the pattern calls for 4 stitch holders and 40 stitches just hanging out on those underarms until the end. they were annoying me, getting in my way, so i knit 'em up. i'm really hoping the sweater fits because i don't want to undo those pits.
considering i started this sweater just over a month ago, i feel like i am making pretty decent progress with the little amount of knitting time i have. i'm at least 80 % done if not a little more.
i have a feeling that i am going to finish the sweater, seam up the sleeves, give it a nice bath, block it to perfection, and as soon as it is dry, spring will arrive and i wont get to wear it for at least 6 months. sigh.
i am seriously behind on some baby knitting though. and those babies don't exactly keep in the womb. one is already out! and one is over a week over-due. eep.
Monday, February 18, 2008
back on track
after re-reading the hourglass pattern for the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th time, i finally figured out that i did not have 10 stitches too many. i'm right on track. huzzah!
the first sleeve is now attached to the sweater (after reading and re-reading that section 16 times), and the second sleeve is cast on. i'm in the home stretch!
the first sleeve is now attached to the sweater (after reading and re-reading that section 16 times), and the second sleeve is cast on. i'm in the home stretch!
Saturday, February 16, 2008
ack
i missed my blog-aversary (blog birthday?). anyway, it was a couple days ago. trixie, unraveled is one year old. i feel i've been a rather poor blogger. i'm still struggling with the publishing details about my life into the great beyond (i don't like it), while using this tool to stay in touch with a couple friends (hi hk! hi beckstar!). i can't seem to find a middle ground, nor do i have much time to knit so posts are sparse.
on to the updates!
the hourglass sweater: loving it. can't wait to finish it. counted the stitched on my sleeve last night, which is almost done, and i have 10 stitches too many. i really have no idea how i managed to do that. there's some decreasing and some increasing. perhaps i didn't decrease enough and have increased more than i meant to. i need to sit down in some good light with no distractions and figure out where i went off the rails. the good light and no distractions thing may take a good long time to come around so i'm miffed that my progress is no longer progressing.
question to the knitters: when a pattern specifies how many stitches you should have at the end of a round, do you ever count them? i rarely count. obviously or else i'd noticed i had more stitches than i needed quite some time ago. i figure that i know how to read a pattern so...i should just have the right number of stitches. damn it all.
a pattern note, i do hate the way this pattern is written. i feel like i need to read things 9 times before i understand it and am constantly assuring myself that no, it makes sense if i just think about it long enough. in my professional opinion (as a technical writer), this pattern is bunk. and i'm not just saying that because i have 10 extra stitches.
my mom: doing fantastic. her sister is visiting and the two of them are having a grand old time. we were just over there for some risotto and frittata. i'm still full and it had been a good 3 hours since we ate.
my wee man: just darling. i know parents dote on their kids and are biased but mine is rather cute and clever and charming. he doesn't sit still at all, ever. he stresses us out because he doesn't eat all that much. his words are coming fast and furious. he can mimic sounds really well and surprises us daily with new sounds and sentences. he's cuddly and friendly and has the most wonderful laugh.
on to the updates!
the hourglass sweater: loving it. can't wait to finish it. counted the stitched on my sleeve last night, which is almost done, and i have 10 stitches too many. i really have no idea how i managed to do that. there's some decreasing and some increasing. perhaps i didn't decrease enough and have increased more than i meant to. i need to sit down in some good light with no distractions and figure out where i went off the rails. the good light and no distractions thing may take a good long time to come around so i'm miffed that my progress is no longer progressing.
question to the knitters: when a pattern specifies how many stitches you should have at the end of a round, do you ever count them? i rarely count. obviously or else i'd noticed i had more stitches than i needed quite some time ago. i figure that i know how to read a pattern so...i should just have the right number of stitches. damn it all.
a pattern note, i do hate the way this pattern is written. i feel like i need to read things 9 times before i understand it and am constantly assuring myself that no, it makes sense if i just think about it long enough. in my professional opinion (as a technical writer), this pattern is bunk. and i'm not just saying that because i have 10 extra stitches.
my mom: doing fantastic. her sister is visiting and the two of them are having a grand old time. we were just over there for some risotto and frittata. i'm still full and it had been a good 3 hours since we ate.
my wee man: just darling. i know parents dote on their kids and are biased but mine is rather cute and clever and charming. he doesn't sit still at all, ever. he stresses us out because he doesn't eat all that much. his words are coming fast and furious. he can mimic sounds really well and surprises us daily with new sounds and sentences. he's cuddly and friendly and has the most wonderful laugh.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
frenzy
i'm in a knitting frenzy lately. i'm onto the increases on the hourglass sweater. and today i took a course on beaded knitting. so fun! i think i am going to beads on everything. the wee monkey is going to be staggering around under the weight of beaded sweaters and hats and scarves and mitts and oh my!3 hours and lots of fun later, i have 1/2 of a knitted cuff. you can go to susanna's site to see more examples of the real deal (courses > descriptions > off the cuff).
i used 2.5 mm needles with koigu and i think i'll have to go down a size or two to get really dense fabric. and i'm heading back to the bead shop to find smaller beads. but all in all, not a bad first attempt.
mom update: she was discharged on saturday, a day early, which is a good sign. she's taking it easy at home today and tomorrow i'm heading over to knit, watch tv, cook her meals, do her laundry, whatever she needs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)