theraineysisters knitting and so much more

It has been difficult for people interested in the Kauni Cardigan to obtain the yarn.  A Canadian shop called Fun Knits is now stocking the yarn in its new put up.  Check it out!  You don’t have to use the Rainbow Kauni — there are other colors to choose from. 

PS:  Margaret shared this information about another source for the Kauni Yarn:

“If anyone in the US is interested in a little more instant gratification wrt the Kauni, the same put-ups arrived today at Knitty City in NYC upper west side Manhattan www.knittycity.com – contact Pearl Chin the owner pearlATknittycityDOTcom if you need it with a touch less shipping costs, or if you actually live within driving distance of the shop.”

Thanks, M!!!

I started one of the Kauni sleeves a few days a go, but just can’t seem to get with it.  Part of the slow-mo stems from the fact that I am having some pain in my right wrist — repetitive motion injury. 

The other part of the lack of speed is that I’m not in love with where I started the colors on the sleeve.  I did it on purpose to position most of the sleeve in my favorite color zone.  However, I think the blue-green/purple is not as attractive as other combinations.  I have decided to keep going to see how it evolves, but may start over at some point.  Then again, does it matter?  I know that Stephanie the Yarn Harlot has decided to make both her sleeves identical.  I kind of like the way the sweater looks when they do not match, so I am not going to do that.

I knitted the garter stitch cuff back and forth and then joined it with a seam to knit the stockinette in the round.  It was much easier that way.

Just a little shout out to Surly: what a fantastic job on the fair isle blanket.  I love the colors and the design — and she did an incredible job.  And she did a very nice job showing the cutting and finishing of the steeks.  I came up with the crocheted edge technique when I made my first fair isle years ago (Rambling Rose by A. St*rmore).  I had seen the “x” method on several sweaters and was not pleased with the result.  I am not a crocheter but thought a crocheted “casing” for the cut edge would work well and have used it ever since. 

I am hoping that if I bind my wrist I’ll be able to do some knitting.  I need to knit every day or I go a little ::c::r::a::z::y:: ;)!

PS — Tamara asked about where to insert the crochet hook when using the crocheted edging that Sally described.  I do not get real hung up on hitting every other stitch, but this is generally what I do:

And, Tamara, just take the plunge!  Cutting is better than not cutting — if you don’t cut, you don’t finish!  I love cutting my sweaters — but only the fair isles!!

PS2: I bought a wrist splint so I hope that helps.

PS3 to Carol: I do my own diagrams.  I use PowerPoint to make the diagrams (sometimes with a photograph) and then save the slide as a jpeg.  It allows me to add text and arrows etc. to a picture or create a diagram from scratch.  “How much Shawl Have I Knitted?” is an example, as well as the bottom of the Modular Tote from the June 4th post.  The jpeg picture does not always turn out as well as the original slide but the point gets across.  I use PowerPoint a lot in my regular job and find it very versatile, though I’m sure there is drawing software out there that is better.  For my limited needs, PowerPoint works well.