The dilemma
Well, the month started quite well for me. I did manage to finish the spiral socks last Sunday. I'm happy I did because I was totally bored with the pattern. I picked up my black and red socks which I started on the plane home from Portugal in July. I never got further then the ribbing on the first sock. By Monday evening I had finished most of the leg, and by Tuesday evening the sock was done. I started the new sock on Wednesday but didn't have much time to knit, nor did I have time yesterday (I spent the whole evening braking my head over the dilemma! :D). I'm now almost at the heel. I hope to do the heel before I go to the theater tonight, so that I might be able to knit on the foot (plain stockinette) while watching the show.
Anyway, I had a good start on the socks and knitted a lot on them because I'm stuck with another project. Remember Lorelei? I did mention her before. It's one of those projects I love so much, but then I don't love them at all at times.
My big "hate" for this project is the yarn. I really regret buying the actual yarn from the pattern, which is a combination of Rowan Felted Tweed (which I do like) and Rowan Wool Cotton (don't like it, at least not for colourwork!). I should have looked for a 100% (non-superwash) wool.
So I don't like knitting with the wool, but it also put me for the following dilemma. As I mentionned before I decided to knit the body in the round. I don't like purling as for colourwork (I did try as I knit part of the body as the written instructions before putting it aside last year), and the colour repeats were almost always uneven so you had a ton of yarn ends to weave in. So I knit the body in the round.
This is were I am now :
I should be starting the armholes. Now at first my intention was to start knitting flat from here. But then I started thinking. My gauge will change if I start working flat from now. My stitches are already very wonky (I blame the cotton) so I don't think I would have liked the result. The other option was steeking. But it would involve a sewing machine as for the cotton and superwash wool. Big scare. I did steeks before, but I used a crocheted reïnforcement then.
I mentionned my issue at the LYS yesterday (they don't know steeking, I explained) and someone suggested turning this into a raglan. I'm a bit doubtfull as that'll change the design and I like it as it is, even if the patterning doesn't match on the sleeves and body. Then I mentionned my problem on Ravelry (on the Rowan group) and there someone suggested don't set-in sleeves like you would them top down, but then bottum up.
The last idea did appeal to me. So I was sitting on the couch last night with my notebook and the Barbara Walker bible "Knitting from the top". I read through the instructions for top down set-in sleeves and started to think if I could do it bottum up.
This is where my thoughts brought me. I can cast off the needed stitches at both armholes and then the next round cast on the needed stitches for the sleeves (invisible cast on of course)minus the the stitches you would cast of when starting the sleeve cap (when knitting the sleeve regularly). Then I would continue knitting in the round, decreasing stitches in the body and the sleeves as per the instructions. Now then I got into 2 problems.
First, when you read the instructions from Barbara Walker you will see that you first knit part of the body, then pick up stitches for the sleeves, knit about 1/3 of the sleevecap and then join with the body stitches and continue in the round. To do that bottom up is not really possible as far as I know. You could just stop knitting for the sleevecap and then knit the left stitches together with the stitches from the body, but then you can no longer knit in the round as you would need 22 rows to join the stitches properly.
The second issue is the shaping of the neck, which starts about 20 rows before the shoulder shaping (for the front). I would have to switch to flat knitting for those last 20 rowns no matter what if I want to do the neck as indicated (even Barbara Walker will knit the first part of a sweater flat shape a neck - how does she deal with changing gauge? - maybe I wouldn't worry so much it wasn't fair isle).
I hope you can follow me! :D So basically, as far as I can figure out, doing a set in sleeve from the bottom up without seems is not possible.
So that leaves me the steeking. I ditched the idea of knitting flat, though I'm not sure if my gauge would change all that much. But I will not do it in this project. I'm going to knit up a swatch (not to big, I don't know how much yarn I need to finish up the sweater) and try the steeking with my sewing machine (*ahum*). Then I will decide how to proceed with the sweater.
That all said, I won't be knitting on the sweater over the weekend. I'm having an incredible busy weekend ahead and I won't have time to knit. Let me show you :
- Tonight we are going to a theater show (we being my sisters and me). It starts at 8pm in Antwerp, and I'm home at 6.30pm, so we'll leave immidiately.
- Saturday I have an appointment at the hairdresser at 8.30am. I just can't stand my hair any longer. After that I'm off to the riding school to ride myself and then therapy. At 2pm my sister is coming over and we are going to a fair in Brussels together (more her field of interest, nothing crafty there!). When returning home I'll have very litte time to get ready to go out for dinner that nigh. I don't want to go as it's first of all at a place I don't like going (my fathers former sokker team) and secondly with the workmates of my boyfriend and some of his soccer friends, all people I don't fancy spending to much time with. Anyway, no free time on Saturday.
- Sunday it's an open day at the riding school. I promissed to help and I need to ride as well (there's riding the whole day to show the goings of the riding school - from previous years I know a lot of people like to come). I don't know when I need to be there but I think it starts at 10am (and I don't think I'll get up before 9.30!) and it ends at 5pm. No idea how much time I'll have at home!
So I think there won't be much knitting going on over the weekend. Nor blog posts. There will be more next week though, as I have an FO to show and I have plenty of ideas for blog posts!
Because of the lack of pictures in this post :
A few days ago I tried to photograph the big Blue :D. He hates it apparently as I got more pictures of his back (bihend, bu*, whatever) then anything else! And of course, as for the good pictures, I have the bad backgrounds. Oh well, it's better then nothing ,right? :D
Ps.: This guy is my big love! :D
Anyway, I had a good start on the socks and knitted a lot on them because I'm stuck with another project. Remember Lorelei? I did mention her before. It's one of those projects I love so much, but then I don't love them at all at times.
My big "hate" for this project is the yarn. I really regret buying the actual yarn from the pattern, which is a combination of Rowan Felted Tweed (which I do like) and Rowan Wool Cotton (don't like it, at least not for colourwork!). I should have looked for a 100% (non-superwash) wool.
So I don't like knitting with the wool, but it also put me for the following dilemma. As I mentionned before I decided to knit the body in the round. I don't like purling as for colourwork (I did try as I knit part of the body as the written instructions before putting it aside last year), and the colour repeats were almost always uneven so you had a ton of yarn ends to weave in. So I knit the body in the round.
This is were I am now :
I should be starting the armholes. Now at first my intention was to start knitting flat from here. But then I started thinking. My gauge will change if I start working flat from now. My stitches are already very wonky (I blame the cotton) so I don't think I would have liked the result. The other option was steeking. But it would involve a sewing machine as for the cotton and superwash wool. Big scare. I did steeks before, but I used a crocheted reïnforcement then.
I mentionned my issue at the LYS yesterday (they don't know steeking, I explained) and someone suggested turning this into a raglan. I'm a bit doubtfull as that'll change the design and I like it as it is, even if the patterning doesn't match on the sleeves and body. Then I mentionned my problem on Ravelry (on the Rowan group) and there someone suggested don't set-in sleeves like you would them top down, but then bottum up.
The last idea did appeal to me. So I was sitting on the couch last night with my notebook and the Barbara Walker bible "Knitting from the top". I read through the instructions for top down set-in sleeves and started to think if I could do it bottum up.
This is where my thoughts brought me. I can cast off the needed stitches at both armholes and then the next round cast on the needed stitches for the sleeves (invisible cast on of course)minus the the stitches you would cast of when starting the sleeve cap (when knitting the sleeve regularly). Then I would continue knitting in the round, decreasing stitches in the body and the sleeves as per the instructions. Now then I got into 2 problems.
First, when you read the instructions from Barbara Walker you will see that you first knit part of the body, then pick up stitches for the sleeves, knit about 1/3 of the sleevecap and then join with the body stitches and continue in the round. To do that bottom up is not really possible as far as I know. You could just stop knitting for the sleevecap and then knit the left stitches together with the stitches from the body, but then you can no longer knit in the round as you would need 22 rows to join the stitches properly.
The second issue is the shaping of the neck, which starts about 20 rows before the shoulder shaping (for the front). I would have to switch to flat knitting for those last 20 rowns no matter what if I want to do the neck as indicated (even Barbara Walker will knit the first part of a sweater flat shape a neck - how does she deal with changing gauge? - maybe I wouldn't worry so much it wasn't fair isle).
I hope you can follow me! :D So basically, as far as I can figure out, doing a set in sleeve from the bottom up without seems is not possible.
So that leaves me the steeking. I ditched the idea of knitting flat, though I'm not sure if my gauge would change all that much. But I will not do it in this project. I'm going to knit up a swatch (not to big, I don't know how much yarn I need to finish up the sweater) and try the steeking with my sewing machine (*ahum*). Then I will decide how to proceed with the sweater.
That all said, I won't be knitting on the sweater over the weekend. I'm having an incredible busy weekend ahead and I won't have time to knit. Let me show you :
- Tonight we are going to a theater show (we being my sisters and me). It starts at 8pm in Antwerp, and I'm home at 6.30pm, so we'll leave immidiately.
- Saturday I have an appointment at the hairdresser at 8.30am. I just can't stand my hair any longer. After that I'm off to the riding school to ride myself and then therapy. At 2pm my sister is coming over and we are going to a fair in Brussels together (more her field of interest, nothing crafty there!). When returning home I'll have very litte time to get ready to go out for dinner that nigh. I don't want to go as it's first of all at a place I don't like going (my fathers former sokker team) and secondly with the workmates of my boyfriend and some of his soccer friends, all people I don't fancy spending to much time with. Anyway, no free time on Saturday.
- Sunday it's an open day at the riding school. I promissed to help and I need to ride as well (there's riding the whole day to show the goings of the riding school - from previous years I know a lot of people like to come). I don't know when I need to be there but I think it starts at 10am (and I don't think I'll get up before 9.30!) and it ends at 5pm. No idea how much time I'll have at home!
So I think there won't be much knitting going on over the weekend. Nor blog posts. There will be more next week though, as I have an FO to show and I have plenty of ideas for blog posts!
Because of the lack of pictures in this post :
A few days ago I tried to photograph the big Blue :D. He hates it apparently as I got more pictures of his back (bihend, bu*, whatever) then anything else! And of course, as for the good pictures, I have the bad backgrounds. Oh well, it's better then nothing ,right? :D
Ps.: This guy is my big love! :D
posted by Emily at 10:22 AM
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