recap of 2018...

Along with a record-breaking 70 blogposts, I machine-knitted innumerable swatches, 10 cardigans, 1 dress, 1 afghan, 4 ponchos, 18 pairs of socks, 3 earflap hats, a crochet-look skullcap and a couple of DNFs that I never mentioned.
The year got off to a rocky start, airing my dirty laundry
http://knitwords.blogspot.com/2018/01/dirty-laundry.html
and admitting I was in a knitting funk with no direction and a lack of inspiration. Over the months, I whined quite a bit, threw in some nostalgia here and there for dramatic effect and yes, I probably over-shared!
By March, I hit my stride and began my quest for not only the ultimate long cardigan, but the perfect pocket to go with. I knitted and blogged my way through lace, stripes, striped lace, ribber techniques, and pockets of all sorts.
This past month, I kept off the keyboard, busy with some sewing and making Christmas socks and gifts, without sharing, because I had nothing new to add.




I think my crowning achievement for the year was the shortrowed decrease hack
https://knitwords.blogspot.com/2018/02/decreasing-hack.html
for the slant edge on patch pockets – used it several times since and I love it – yesterday, finished up another TBHoodie on the LK and an added outside pouch pocket, using the decrease hack – so much faster and proving it works great on mid gauge too!

Wishing you and your family all the best for health, happiness and good fortune for 2019! May all your machine knitting efforts have positive and happy results!

rebound...

The way I see it, there are three options here.
1.  Throw the whole thing out (not likely, too expensive and I do like to prove a point).
2. Unravel the Back and Front and reknit (only if all else fails).
3. Attempt to fix the mistake (here’s what separates the men from the boys -yeah, I know that’s old-fashioned and sexist but look at those swears in the last post!).
Do not unravel the last row and then expect to be able to rehang the stitches. Did I mention this is black, quite fine yarn and very small stitches?

rehang and undo st by st

Here’s what I’d do (this ain’t my first rodeo!). Wait till you are calm, cool and collected, fresh, all alcohol has left your system, with good light. Note, with WCD or any natural fibre yarn, I always steam/press each piece and examine it before getting to this stage, so, the final rows are set and unlikely to unravel quickly unless severely provoked.


separate the 2 pieces

So, sitting at the machine, carefully, one stitch at a time, from the left (because I chained off right to left so the final stitch is at the left) unravel the last row, rehanging the one chained stitch. Pulling the correct yarn tail, unravel that stitch. There are two sts on the needle. Pick up the two sts, move them to the needle at the right which will allow you to grab the front stitch and move it back to the needle at the left. Repeat across the row until you now have the row of where you knit the one set through the other to make the seam.
Now is the tricky part. Pull the needles and the work out slightly. Put your left hand between the two layers from the left, separating them and lifting slightly up on the front piece. With the one-prong tool, from the right, guide that back stitch (it is in front, below the hook of the needle, knitting the two together) up and back into the hook of the needle. Complete across till you have two sts on every needle, separated.

remove front piece on garter bar

This next part should be relatively easy. Bring the needles fully out, both sets behind the latches. Take the small piece of the garter bar and pull off the front piece onto the bar and set aside. You’re left with the Back shoulder, hanging with the knit side facing. Find the other/correct Front and hang it, yadda, yadda, yadda. If you don’t have a garter bar, I suppose you could resort to a fine handknitting needle….
Whadya know? the piece on the garter bar is the correct way to just rehang onto the needles after hanging the other back shoulder, knit side facing! Life is good!

details, details...

The remaining pieces of my black lace project were rather uneventful after the swatch debacle. I just quietly knit each piece between doing other little LK150 things. The shape for the body is that A-line shape that I like but with the back hemline curved down in the back, but straight across in front. I didn’t give you a blow-by-blow  - wouldn’t want to seem like I was bragging to shortrow that hemline. The beauty of plain lace on the Silver Reed is, it’s just like knitting stockinette without holding position, once you have all the kinks worked out! If you need a little refresher on shortrows with the ravel cord and lace carriage, click here: https://knitwords.blogspot.com/2017/01/life-lessons.html
While working on the body pieces, I was tossing around the variables for the shawl collar. Plenty of options – the vertically-knit, ribbed one from Uptown – that’s sort of the look I’m going for but maybe not quite so wide. The vertically knit, single bed, self-facing  one from Gossamer
https://knitwords.blogspot.com/2012/01/lacy-daze.html
but just stockinette, no lace – it will likely boil down to how far my shiny rayon yarn will go – there’s not a lot of it, less than 100g, but I do have a bigger cone of the same thing in an olive green that I can experiment with – I could just go with the same thing as was on GWC/Elvis, but I do prefer a buttoned front to an open front.

Came back from the border – no sock yarn! checked my email and instead of the two day shipping, I got 4 to 7 day shipping. Figured I may as well put some time in on Becca. Did all the little added bands and feeling quite righteous, began the putting together.
Reminder, knitting with black… the first shoulder is joined. Hung the second back shoulder and went to put the front one on. It’s late afternoon and hard to tell the knit side from the purl side. Gosh, darn! I realize that I’ve put the wrong front shoulder on the first back shoulder – the armhole of the front is on the neck side! Fudge, crud, blessed frickin’ bloody hell! It’s wine time!