Wednesday, December 30, 2015

random thoughts, confessions, the rest of the plan...

I am totally spoiled! and I am only just realizing it now!
I never told you what yarn I was using - it's that 'Briggs & Little Durasport' sock yarn that I bought last year (ecru) (see blogpost 'ideas and inspiration', Dec 4, 2014), thinking I was going to dye it for some fun fairisle socks without paying big bucks for the lovely pre-dyed sock yarn like 'Opal' or 'Schoeller Socka'...well, that never happened! I did make a few pairs of socks using the denim and gray colours and they were okay but it's a little heavier than the good stuff and I had to revamp my pattern and then I couldn't give the socks to just anyone (not that I would anyway)  because it isn't superwash - I could only give them to someone who I was sure would be into hand washing their socks...you know what I mean. Well, I dug the yarn out, determined to work with it. I'm used to Forsell Pure New Wool which I now realize was the Cadillac of 4 ply wool. It was so smooth and even, none of this thick/thin bee es. I can't recall ever finding a single piece of straw in it never mind enough to make Rumpelstiltskin happy! And while you were knitting with it, It went through the machine like butter! Unfortunately the good Forsell Pure New Wool is long gone...what`s a knitter to do(question mark - for some reason my keyboard is acting like a knitting machine and the question mark is coming up É and there`s something weird with the apostrophe or single quote marks).
This stuff is terrible for sticking to itself! The number of times it creates a loop at the edge! AARRGGH! But, I persevere! Got the second sleeve done relatively pain-free.
I only made two mistakes on the back - the one where you forget to switch the cam back to stockinette from fairisle. Then half the stitches drop because there is no yarn in the second feeder to knit them, causing basically everything to fall off. Luckily there are lots of plain rows in the pattern to go back to, to rehang and get things going again. The other mistake, I didn`t notice until it was done and off the machine and no one will ever spot it while I'm wearing it - oh, BTW, I`m calling this the `4 ef hoodie` - ef was supposed to stand for fairisle and the 4 was for 4 colours. But, even though I know it's there (the mistake), it's in the back and honestly won`t bother me in the slightest. In the off chance anyone does call me on it, I`ll plead Amish - you know, where they always make a deliberate mistake...
I was thinking I was going to use those nice, tubular bands for the fronts, like in 'Nonchalance' (KW No. 43 cover) but to heck with that. I`m making the front in one piece and doing the cut'n'sew bands from 'cardiganize' (see blogpost 'Reno for Spots in Dots', June 30, 2010). The hood and pockets, I'll tell you about later - warning, do not be surprised if this just ends up a cardigan...

I'm going to make turkey pot pies!

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