Yarn Rambles

Something to talk about

After many knitting hours this weekend, Ifinally have something to talk about. First, Bridget shamed me into attempting a real sock heel. Obviously I was traumatized early in my knitting experience because I have always tried to dodge a turned heel. After watching a wonderful instructional DVD that I'll tell you about when we get it in stock, I completely understood turning a heel. I sat down and finished my entire heel in about an hour - flap, turn and gusset!!

I love my sock!! I'm leaving it alone this week so I can finish it while we are flying to Peru on Sunday. I packed enough yarn for two more pairs after these fall colored socks are finished.

Hours of knitting potential crushed into a tiny corner of my suitcase. We are going to use carry-on luggage only. I bought a nicely organized little roller bag. Thanks to some clothing purchases from Travelsmith, I can mix and match with just a few pieces.

Rob's sweater is about three inches from the shoulder. I'm going to use a three-needle bind off for the shoulders and then work the shawl collar. I want to finish the whole body before I start the sleeves. Makes me feel like I have made a lot of progress that way.

The close up shot is the shawl collar steek. After I cut it, I pick up the stitches all around the neck and start ribbing around and around. I'm going to go down one needle size to give the collar a bit more substance.

Thank you Elizabeth Zimmermann

  As I suspected, I did not have much time to knit on Rob's sweater this weekend. When I did pick up the sweater Sunday morning I noticed a large cabling error running about four inches down the front. I am a huge Elizabeth Zimmermann fan. I have all her books and I watch her videos frequently. Her daughter, Meg Swansen, has recently adapted Elizabeth's Knitting Glossary to DVD. I like to play it while I am making dinner or just sitting around knitting. It is amazing how much sinks into your subconscious.

At one point, Elizabeth demonstrates how to drop several rows of stitches and then knit them back up properly to fix an error. I decided to give it a try since she has never let me down. My cable pattern is based on a 12 stitch repeat. So I figured out which 12 stitches had gotten messed up and dropped the rows to just beyond the error.

I know, it looks like a mess but it really isn't that bad. Once I got past the error, I put the twelve stitches onto a double pointed needle - Size 6 - the same size I am using for the sweater.

Using one strand at a time, I knit up each row correctly. The tricky part is keeping the tension the same as the body of the sweater. Towards the end of the strand you have to sort of hook the yarn with the tip of the needle. You really ought to try this on a scrap piece of knitting. It is a very handy trick.

Sunday night we had friends over for dinner so fixing my cable mistake was all the progress made on Rob's sweater. Tonight is football so I will be able to curl up and knit for hours.

Vacation knitting settled

Sorry, no photos of Rob's sweater. It just isn't that impressive at this point. I am only about two inches beyond the armhole steek setup. I'm not sure when I will share a photo. This weekend I will be writing several book reviews for the next catalog. I am taking the books home so I can enjoy my home comforts. I know that will help me focus on writing.

My Christmas knitting dillema has been solved. We have a designer who is knitting a stunning Fair Isle sweater for us using Palette. I am going to be her test knitter. A Fair Isle cardigan will keep me happily knitting. I am very excited.

Heading home now for a quiet weekend.