Take a Break!

No, I have not been taking a break from knitting but sometimes, it is hard to post during the week. I've picked up a side job doing respite work for a lovely family...just a couple of hours twice a week giving them a little bit of a break but it has cut into my knitting and blogging time. I will get a little more organized this weekend so I am ready to post on the nights I am home and hopefully keep you all more up to date! In the meantime, here is my Bella Scarf pieced out, waiting to be sewn. I really need to work on my stitching of knitting pieces skills so I am waiting to practice more before I give this project a go to finish. It's a Christmas gift so I have a little time! I'm not procrastinating but I would be really disappointed if all this work wasn't complimented by some decent stitching.

Phat cat, of course, just had to get in the picture. :0) Until next time, peace love and yarn!

Talk to the Hand...My First Attempt at Blocking

I wish I could come up with something as profound as this quote to describe blocking and it's use in knitting, but someone else said it first and said it well. "Blocking is a method of stretching and shaping a finished knitted piece to reach the dimensions suggested in the pattern, to make two pieces that need to match the same size, or to make your stitches look nicer and more even." (http://knitting.about.com/od/learntoknit/a/blocking_knits.htm)

Of course, it sounds easy, doesn't it? I don't know why, but I've been extremely intimidated by the process. Mostly, I've just been afraid of stretching it out of shape, or, 'over blocking' somehow! Usually I take my finished piece to my mother and have her block it. Nothing like being able to call on dear mom to take care of my problems! But with this Bella Baseball Scarf, the pieces need to be blocked to make sure I get the correct shape for the next step...sewing them into trapazoid pieces and then sewing those pieces together. Eek! Why was I not intimidated enough by this scarf to just leave it be? Now that I've got all the pieces, I'm starting to freak out. I think it was all of those lovely cables, I just HAD to give more cabling a try!

 

So here I am, assisted, of course, by the awesome duo know as Phat Cat and the Princess. Phat Cat is laying on TOP of my drying blocked pieces, having knocked off the ironing/stretching board the already dried pieces. Nice. The Princess was most likely NOT  apart of this activity though she is looking innocent, having just been caught singlehandedly chewing her favorite plant (poor plant!). Crafts and apartment living are never dull with these two around!

I've got all of my pieces except for the two end pieces which just involve some simple stockinette knitting. And the sewing. Eek! The sewing! I will keep you posted on how it goes! Wish me luck with the blocking! Until next time...peace, love and yarn :0)

The Skinny on Intarsia

We tackled a new method of color work, called "Intarsia," in my knitting class this week.

I had really enjoyed the Fair Isle method of color work so I thought that I'd love Intarsia. Yeah, not so much. In Fair Isle, you carry all of the yarns you are using behind you. It makes for a very thick back of your knitted work. In Intarsia, you use multiple balls of yarn so that each time you change a color, you use another ball of yarn. If you look at the back of the "j" Intarsia sample, you'll see that I just kept changing balls of yarn and that the old colors weren't carried over.The back of the work is much thinner than with Fair Isle.

If you are really interested in the subject of Fair Isle versus Intarsia, check out this link: http://www.maggiesrags.com/tips_color.htm

I've posted the pics from Fair Isle (left) so you can see the difference from the perspective of the back of the work.

When it comes to doing color work Intarsia style, you twist your yarn when you switch so that the stitches don't pull apart. Nothing like gaping holes in your work to distract from the image you are trying to create! This method will definitely need some work before I would use it in a project. However, there are some super cute Intarsia patterns out there so maybe I was too hasty when I declared in class that I was only sticking with Fair Isle. One of the newest craze I've noticed is...skull and cross bones. Though I'm not a fan of them personally, I do think that skulls and cross bones done in pink and purple would be super cute ;0)

I did managed a decently neat initial...if you don't look too closely! I do have to remind myself that it was just my first attempt...practice makes perfect, right?

Hope all is well in your crafty world! I'm almost done with the blocks for the Bella Baseball Scarf! Then the long, tedious process of figuring out how to sew them together will begin! I'm nervous but excited to see how it will look when I actually get done. I will keep you posted!

Twisted Sisters:The Bella Baseball Scarf...the Saga Begins!

I have finally started my personal knitting class project...the Bella Baseball scarf! It's SO gorgeous and it will be very challenging for me as it involves a lot of sewing AFTER all the knitting is done.



I started with the Horseshoe cable panels (see gray and purple matching panels right where the mannequin's hands are). Cables have been surprisingly uncomplicated for me to figure out since I learned them in my knitting class. There are all sorts of cabling tools to use, I prefer the "j hook" because it helps me keep my slipped stitches in order and I can use the longer straight end to knit or purl the slipped stitches. Apparently, though, it "may" make for a new cat toy so I'd better watch to make sure she doesn't try to take it for a game of fetch (yes, the Princess plays fetch!).


Here is my first row of completed horseshoes. Talk about a twisted sister, there's all sorts of stitch stuff going on in there! You do, apparently, always make the surrounding stitches purled so that the cabled twists, which are done in stockinette, really show up.

And just to see if you are curious about such things, this is the back. Yes, let's move on and not feel the need to go back and see it again (ugly!).


After purling the edge of the scarf panel, I'm ready to cable. I want my first twist to learn to the left, so I slip off three stitches and place the cable in front.


Now, I slipped three stitches because that's what the pattern told me to do...another kind of cable will require another amount of stitches to be slipped. So I knit the next three stitches on my regular knitting needle to match, and then go back and knit the three stitches on my cable.


I want the mirror image of my last cable, or have it go to the right so I place the next three stitches on a cable and move it to the back of my work. I knit the following three stitches on my normal knitting needle, then go back and knit the three that have been hanging around, waiting for me.


And viola! A horseshoe cable!


There are ten cables per panel, and a total of four panels. I still have more work to do. After blocking it (wet, gently stretch into shape, pin down and let dry), I'll need to add stitches on the SIDE of it and knit reverse stockinette (purl side showing).



Then it will be time to tackle the five diamond shaped panels...it's a project alright BUT it is going along well. Did two panels just today between chores and job hunting online so hopefully I'll have it done by Christmas, oops, I mean by the end of October when our class finishes up ;0)