Archives for February 2004
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Ok. As a new knitter, of course I have questions, so here’s one for you. I would like to knit Sigma from knitty.com. The pattern says to knit a gauge swatch. My question is do I knit it in the round or flat? The tank is knit in the round to the armholes then front and back are worked separately. Also, I’m assuming that I knit the watch in stockinette since that is what is used for the tank, even though it doesn’t say so explicitly in the gauge instructions.
Ok, so if I knit in the round, that will be a huge swatch because I have to knit it using the needles I will use in the pattern, which is a 26″ circular. So my guessing is that I knit the gauge flat, even though 90% of the tank is knit in the round. Any help with this would be great.
I’ll be posting photos of my progress this weekend. I’m about 50% done with legwarmer #1, so I’m getting excited about completing it, even though I don’t really like knitting with 5 needles. I’ve picked up my country afghan and I really like the pattern. I’m getting close to the point where I will need to switch colors, so that one more new thing to learn. Hopefully it won’t be too difficult to figure out.
Posted in Afghans, Knitting, Sigma Tank | No Comments
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
I just picked up the new issue of Interweave Knits last night and am totally in love with the no-sweat pants. But I’m hesitant to use the yarn mentioned (Lion Brand Homespun). I’m using it to crochet an afghan but I’m not all that taken by it. It is so “splitty” that it’s real easy to catch a micro-fiber thread in the needle and it gets hung, causing the stitches to be uneven. I guess the purpose of using homespun is that it is soft and stretchy. I’m sure there is other yarn out there that would work as as well. I like the pants in the picture…the color and texture looks fabulous on the model. So should I attempt them in homespun or try to use a different yarn?
Also, the large size will be too small on me in the circumference, but I’m short so the length would have to be knit to the small size. And I’d have to add an inch or two to the crotch depth. Since I’m a beginner, I’m not sure how to adjust the pattern to fit. Can anyone help with this? I may go ahead and try it in homespun if I can get the pattern adjusted.
Posted in Knitting, Projects | No Comments
Monday, February 23, 2004
We went to Florida this past weekend to visit family and see a Cirque du Soleil show. I had a blast and also got to visit a yarn shop in Gainesville. What a wonderful place. I picked up some yarn to make Knitty’s Sigma tank. This seems like a fairly simple tank to make and I got Tahki’s Cotton Classic in a very light lime green. I look forward to starting this project.
I also made some progress on my legwarmers. I’m almost 1/2 done with the first one. I made a few more squares for my homespun afghan and I started the country afghan. I’m moving right along with my projects and I’ve finally gotten the cast on to look good. I’ve switched to the long-tail cast on and it works wonderfully, so I’m sticking with it.
Posted in Knitting, Sigma Tank | No Comments
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
My gauge is off on my legwarmers. The gauge should be 4 sts per inch and I’m getting 5 1/2! So I have to get bigger needles, because I don’t have them. But I’m undecided as to which I should get first, circular or dpn. I’d much prefer to use circular if I can, they are much easier to work with than having 4 needles sticking out while trying to knit. But I’m not sure if my stitches will fit on a circular. They didn’t on the size I’m using now, but I’m wondering if maybe they will when I try a larger needle, since my stitches will be bigger. I know…one can never have enough needles, but for now, I’d prefer just getting what I need. I’ve already gone nuts buying needles and I haven’t even used half of them yet. And I probably won’t have time to get any tonight (it’s our 3rd wedding anniversary), so I may not be trying again till tomorrow night or later. We leave Thursday for a long weekend away.
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Monday, February 16, 2004
Since I’ve finished my hats, I’m taking a break from them. I had thought about doing another hat, but I’m going to wait. I’ve started working on my legwarmers. Unfortunately, it’s too small to fit on a circular needle, so I’m forced to use double-pointed needles. Oh my gosh! Those things are hard to get used to. All those needles going in all directions. Agh! It’s a new challenge for me. Long-tail cast on is working very well, so I’m using it now instead of the regular knit on. But I’m having a time with those dpn. I feel so clumsy. This is the first time I attempt it so my legwarmers may not come out so pretty. :) I will probably be ripping them out and starting over a few times till I get the hang of it.
This morning I stopped by the store and picked up yarn for a new blanket I’m going to start on. It is pretty simple and will give me practice with changing colors. I haven’t done that yet, but I look forward to working on this new blanket. I’m doing well on my crochet afghan. I’ve got 7 squares done, which is about 20% complete, not including piecing all the squares together. My goal was to get three complete squares done over the weekend but I didn’t quite get there. I just finished one square this morning, which I had started on Friday during a break at work. But I can’t wait to finish it.
So that’s the crochet afghan I’m still working on, and the legwarmers, then the new blanket and I want to try working on Sonnet since it is knit side to side, rather than a back and front. My seaming is still not quite up to what I’d like it to be, so the less seaming right now the better. Of course you’d argue that I need more seaming so I can get practice, but I’m trying not to jump to deep too soon. And this is much less work than the best-friend jacket in The Knit Stitch, which is also knit side to side.
Posted in Afghans, Crochet, Knitting | No Comments
