Having had a lovely spinning day on Saturday, I woke up on Sunday all ready to focus on my neglected Aran cardigan.
The first step was to find a cardigan I already like to use as a guide for the length of my new cable sweater. The length from the bottom of the ribbing to the shoulder seam is twenty inches.
It took a few minutes to get everything arranged. My little bag of knitting tools, a mug of strong tea and a few cookies. I haven't been able to enjoy this sweater while I was doing my secret knitting so it was pleasant to become reacquainted. I knit for awhile and then laid it out flat to admire my work. What? A mistake! Right there in the front right cable panel. Ok, take a breath. I can just drop down the stitches and work it all back up correctly. It was quite a long way down but not too much of a problem.
But, wait! Another one in the back left cable panel!!
And, another in the front left cable panel!! Good grief!! I clearly had been distracted during the few times I've been able to knit on my treasured cardigan. I decided that I needed to walk away for the rest of the day so I packed up my cardigan and relaxed with my current pair of Big Black Socks.
I brought the cardigan into the office on Monday in order to collect sympathy. After I took my blog photos, I started on the right front panel. I learned that when you are working with a complicated cable, you have to drop down the stitches from the entire repeat (26 stitches). All of the stitches travel around so much that they are rather tangled.
I used a second set of circular needles to work my correction knitting. After each "row" it was easy to slide the stitches to the other end of the cable in order to start all over again.
It took awhile for me to get the hang of keeping a good tension on each single strand so that I had enough yarn to finish the last couple of stitches at the end. I used a crochet hook to adjust the stitches after every row.
The right front panel is the one that goes down the farthest so once I finish it I will be finished with the worst. My sister is visiting this weekend but will head back home Sunday morning. So, again, I will find myself settled into my knitting spot to work on my cardigan. Hopefully I will be able to finish all the repair work and start up with the regular knitting on Monday.
Wow! Good for you getting to fixing those mistakes. It's such a pain picking stitches back up and reknitting them.
Posted by: lynnewio | February 29, 2008 at 12:48 PM
Hi Kelley,
Maybe it's just the relative newbie in me (I've only been knitting for a couple years, but I never would've noticed the mistakes in these cables. You certainly have courage I don't have (yet).
Janice
Posted by: Janice | February 29, 2008 at 02:09 PM
Holey Moley Kelley!
I admire your courage to rip'her back like that in one strip/section. Me, I'd be inclined to frog the whole panel, but I can see how that would be way more work. Oh Boy, another new thing to learn - knitting is such an adventure!
Posted by: Lori - VicKnitChik | February 29, 2008 at 04:26 PM
Oh my, I feel you pain. I started a scarf this week in a simple lace pattern, but managed to get a couple of stitches off in several rows, so it's a pretty big mess. I've only got a few inches done, so I think in my case my best bet is to just rip it out and start over. And I found out that I can't knit lace while I'm distracted by my kids, LOL! Learning how to re-knit like that is definitely on my to-do list! I love the cables you are doing Kelly. I'm a bit intimidated by cables myself. I'll have to find a simple project to conquer my fear of cables on. :-)
Posted by: Teish | February 29, 2008 at 05:29 PM
Oh geez, I can predict right now that no matter how much experience I acquire in cable knitting, I'll just let those mistakes stay where they are! You are brave! OMG, brave!
Posted by: terri | February 29, 2008 at 07:17 PM
Wow Kelley, you are a stronger person than I! I would have probably just left the cables crossed wrong or ripped the whole thing out instead of just the section. Of course that would have been after about a month of pouting about the mistakes in the first place!
Posted by: Jason | February 29, 2008 at 09:45 PM
You are a very brave woman. I know there's also a technique where you can actually cut the offending spot and then graft it back the right way, but I'd just frog it. If it's not too many rows down, I'd do what you did, but it takes forever!
Posted by: COgirl | March 01, 2008 at 08:42 AM
Oh, Kelley, I have a huge aversion to ripping out knitting (or crochet). When possible I say things like 'it's a design element' and "I meant to do that". I can see that won't work with cables, tho.
I'm glad I found your blog. I'll be a reader from now on. Especially liked the bit about the dyeing.
Posted by: Mary Jane | March 01, 2008 at 02:17 PM
I loved your podcast this week. Thanks for giving people permission to just play and not to get too serious about the whole process of dyeing. I taught a class at my LYS last fall, and that was the message I gave everyone. I also said, "Be happy with your results, because it is all serendipitous!" I love to just play and have fun, but it is not good if I have to reproduce something and I did not make notes.
Posted by: Juliann | March 02, 2008 at 07:40 PM
I love listening to your podcast every week! I just got the March 2008 catalog when I came home from Virginia Tech for spring break, and I enjoyed looking at the tutorials and such. My project isn't any cardigan or sweater, I am determined to knit socks sometime this year. While browsing your site, I found Jeanette Trotman's book "Easy Knitted Socks" and I an now working on a sock from that book. Thanks for giving such a great podcast every week.
Posted by: Kaitlin | March 02, 2008 at 09:49 PM
Ok that tangled mess is pretty scary, though seeing the second circ there makes me a little more comfortable....
Posted by: Kate | March 03, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Thanks for letting us see that all is not lost when you make a mistake (or two or three!) Re-doing sections is all part of knitting-it is knitting and we love the outcome so it is worth it! My grandma showed me, skilled needlewoman that she was, that mistakes come with the territory and are no reason to quit. Who taught you that lesson?
Posted by: Cindy | March 03, 2008 at 01:44 PM
Kelley -
This comment is a bit off topic, but I wanted to reach you directly. I am an avid listener of your podcast and can't wait for it every week. I'm also an indie dyer, so I spend a lot of time with yarn, fiber and acid dyes. I was really concerned this week when you did your dyeing interview and specifically stated that you do not wear fine particle masks when dyeing. Dye powder is an inhalent hazard and can cause a lot of problems if breathed into the lungs. Anytime you have a jar open, there is a risk. Any persons who have a history of respiratory ailments, sinus infections, etc. or who have recently had a cold/cough/asthma are especially at risk.
Any NIOSH approved mask for fine particles is a must when working with powdered dyes. Personally, I work with highly concentrated, liquid stock solutions so that the time it's necessary to wear a mask is minimized. I simply mix a stock solution, store them in recycled Gatorade jars and mix from the liquid.
Also, if you're working over a simmering dye solution, it's a good idea to wear your mask. Very small dye particles can become airborn from the turbulent water, even at a low simmer.
Just wanted to let you know. Thanks for a great podcast - I love it.
~katie
Posted by: bungalowmum | March 04, 2008 at 08:13 AM
I stopped knitting for a few years to quilt, and one of the things you learn early on is all quilts must have one error. That is to make sure you don't think you are perfect. Went back to my knitting, and knowing I should have an error or two just so I won't feel too important, I now leave it if it isn't that noticable.
Posted by: Tommie Imbernino | March 08, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Kelly,
I was working on a cabled sweater and found a mistake in a cable two rows down. I thought of this entry and decided to try it instead of frogging. It worked great, but I am not sure if I would be up to what you did. thanks for the hit.
Posted by: Jim | March 18, 2008 at 04:45 PM
Hi Kelly,
I've done this to a cabled sweater or two (or three) myself... and call it "performing surgery" on my knitting. It may be scary but it gives such a feeling of accomplishment when done.
Posted by: Laura | March 19, 2008 at 10:35 AM
It is always comforting to know that even the best knitters make mistakes, but more important is seeing that they can be fixed. The first time I used this method, rather than frogging, I was absolutely elated when I saw that it really could work! Now, all I have to do is find an equally logical way to fix mistakes in lace!
Posted by: Jan | May 10, 2008 at 12:48 PM