theraineysisters knitting and so much more

What am I talking about?  Sleeves, of course!  There is no easy way to predict how long to make the sleeves on a sweater.  I have formulas and theories and 4 decades of experience — but, there is a 50-50 chance that the sleeves will end up the wrong length.  It is because each sweater is different: the fit, the hang, where the armholes land, etc.  I have finally accepted it.  I am mentally prepared to knit the entire sleeve, baste the sweater together, and undo it all to rip back the sleeve cap and correct the fit. 

It is looking like I will have enough yarn to finish long sleeves on my Summer Tweed.  Yippee!  I’ll be finished with Sleeve #1 today, Sleeve #2 by Saturday, and should be sewing the thing together this weekend.  And, alas, probably re-sewing it together AGAIN next Monday or Tuesday.  It’s worth it, though, or it just wouldn’t be fun to wear.

I’ll post some pics in the next couple of days.

I have done a bit more on Ballerina, but I’m mostly focusing on my Summer Tweed, so I can get it done and start wearing it.

This is a fun and very cute sock pattern.  The yarn is getting prettier as it starts to change color, which it does very gradually.  You get a lot of texture for not a lot of effort with the pattern stitch.  When will I finish these?  Not for a while.  I want to finish up my Summer Tweed cardigan ASAP, and then have a few other things on the burner.

Summer Tweed is progressing: the back and both fronts are complete.  I don’t know if I have enough yarn for long sleeves, but I have decided to give it a try.  I’ll attempt to knit a full length sleeve and if I can’t make it on 2 skeins, I’ll rip it out and start over.  Extra knitting, but I don’t know what else to do.

The other major knitting-related project that is taking my time and energy is preparing for an all day knitting workshop that I will be doing on April 29 at “Yarnover.”  Yarnover is sponsored by the Minnesota Knitters Guild and is held every year.  It is a lot of fun, and this is the first time I have been asked to teach a class.  My class is called “A Few of My Favorite Things from A to Z” and includes knitting tips, stories, techniques, and projects for every letter of the alphabet.  I’ll share more details after the event because some of the attendees read this blog and I do not want to spill the beans. 

Today my 16 year old and I are going to the American Craft Council Expo — it is a juried show of hand crafts of all types, including some knitting/fiber arts.  The glass, wood, and jewelry items are gorgeous.

TV and Knitting — a combination that can’t be beat.  I hate just sitting and watching.  It seems like such a waste of time.  But if you KNIT while watching, that’s another story.  One of my favorite shows is Grey’s Anatomy.  I watch it every week.  I suppose it is a guilty pleasure because it is not PBS, but I really do enjoy it.  Last night was even better than usual.  All they did throughout the whole show was knit.  They were knitting everywhere!  Meredith (main character) was knitting to maintain her celibacy (that’s the reason I knit, by the way — not really, John, just a by product!).  Anyway, I digress.  It was great seeing knitting on the tube.  I have heard, but not seen, that they also knit on Desperate Housewives.  Does that mean we are cool or that the rest of the world has caught up with us? 

Project Update:  I finished the back and 1-1/2 of the fronts on my Summer Tweed Cardigan, rounded the bend on Ballerina and started a pair of socks. 

Speaking of “anatomy,” I continue to wonder about mine — do I have ankles or tree trunks?  The socks are too small so I must start them over.  I am making a pair with the same yarn that Sally used in #10 (see previous entry).  They look very different because my colorway is more monochromatic.  The ragwool effect is much less apparent.  Hers are much cuter.

I have not truly embraced sock knitting.  I made one pair and I’ve started many others.  I like the idea of sock knitting and every knitter seems hellbent on making socks, but I can’t seem to find my rhythm.  So, if I rip these out, they may not make it back onto the needles for a while.

That last couple of rows took forever!  Here are some pics of my progress.  The funny looking yarn threads are used for counting rows between increases/decreases.  Some people use safety pins, but I prefer this method (esp great for counting incs on sleeves).

And a detail shot of the raglan sleeve:

Hello, all.  I attended my local knitters guild meeting last evening.  It is really fun to get together with lots of people who are passionate about knitting.  We have over 400 members in the guild and about 50 people were at the meeting.  The “program” for the night was “Knitting Basket of Horrors.”  Members were supposed to bring in their knitting disasters and share the horror.  It was very funny.

I shared my recent horror story.  I used to fix sweaters for people — beloved, well-worn sweaters that people love too much to throw away when they get holes.  I always saw it as a labor of love.  However, I got kind of sick of poring over these ratty rags and decided to “get out of the biz.”  BUT, I got a call from a man with a One Hundred Year Old sweater.  I was intrigued.  I just had to check out this antique, this heirloom.  It was red with a large, shawl collar.  Simple stockinette in worsted weight yarn.  There were pockets with a double lining (great place to obtain yarn for patching).  The cuffs had holes and there were several other holes throughout.  I thought it would be a piece of cake.  I made the mistake of telling him that when I was done with it, it would look like new (I NEVER make promises I cannot keep…).

I started by removing the lower sections of the pocket linings and straightening the yarn.  I re-knit the linings with yarn that was not the best color match.  Then I removed the cuffs and started unravelling them.  The yarn came apart in shreds!  It was so fragile as not to be believed!  I tried re-knitting the first cuff, combining the cuff yarn with the yarn from the pockets.  It looked like crap.  I was in a panic.  The sweater was in pieces, and I could not fix it.

To make a long story short, I ended up buying new yarn that matched better and re-knitting the cuffs with it. It didn’t look too bad, but it isn’t perfect as I promised.  I also re-knit the pocket linings so they would be the same color as the cuffs.  I had also told him I would try to fix the horrible looking buttonholes.  They were machine stitched monsters.  I managed to redo them using a grafting method I had learned in a workshop with Sally Melville.  I never thought that technique would come in handy.  I charged him what I had quoted, which probably added up to $1.50/hour.  I am still waiting for the check — maybe it’s “in the mail.”  ETA: he loved the results and paid me more than I had asked for!!

I vowed at that moment to never fix a sweater again.  Done. Finito.

RE: Wendy made a very nice comment about the Beaded Mini-Purse and wanted to know if the pattern is available.  It is my own design and I will post it as a free pattern at some point in the future.  At the guild meeting last night, one of my former knitting students said she has made many of the bags and gives them as gifts.  She took one to South Africa as a shower gift and another to Argentina!  People have gone absolutely crazy for them.  Go figure!