Thursday, October 25, 2007

Total Frustration

I'm still working on this cursed Pomatomus. I've gotten through the 1st set of Chart B. I've got peace, quiet, and a fresh brain, not to mention a row counter. I knitted row 22, the last of the chart, and started on row 1. Hmmm. Something's wrong. Row 1 doesn't want to play nice. It's acting like it should be row 22. So, maybe I accidentally clicked the row counter one too many times. I knit a little bit of row 22 and it's acting as it should. I must have double clicked the row counter. I knit through row 22 and go to work on row 1 again. AAAUGHHHH!!!! It's not working. Row 1 really wants to be row 22. What am I doing wrong? There seems to be trick to getting from row 22 to row 1 and I can't figure it out.

I hate this damn sock.

EDIT: I figured it out! I printed the chart and the k3tbl didn't clearly show up on my copy. If I do that, then it'll all work out. I apologize Pomatomus. I lost my cool. Now, can we be friends again?

Friday, October 19, 2007

Pomatomus

I've been working on Cookie A.'s Pomatomus socks from Knitty.com.

AND IT'S KILLING ME!!!!

It's not really a complicated pattern, but the chart has you frequently yarn overing at the beginning or end of the needles, leading to dropped YO's. I would do fine up to row 13 where everything changes, and I'd drop those damn stitches every time. I knit and tinked this sock so many times, I should have a couple of pairs by now. I finally got things sorted out and put in a lifelilne and things are going much more smoothly.
Here's some pictures. First the cuff:


Here's one full set of Chart A. There are 3 repeats of 22 rows and I screwed up row 13 on each of them.


I finally got through the leg and heel and have begun on the gussets:



I'm using Artyarns Ultramerino 4, and even though the yardage is comparable to the suggested yarn, I'm fearful I won't have enough to finish this sock. So help me, if that happens, I'm frogging it and never knitting a Pomatomus again. I mean, I'm not a quitter, but this is more abuse than one knitter should take.

Wow. I feel better getting that off my chest.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Liesel Completed

This was a sweet little knit. It was much easier than Branching Out. I don't know if that's because I'm better at lace or because the pattern is simpler, but it was. Here's how it looked before I blocked it:


And here it is on the blocking board. I was a little scared of blocking silk. I pinned it down every 1 inch around the edges, and about every 2 inches in the middle to straighten out the central line. Then I sprayed it with water liberally and let it dry. A few hours later, I sprayed it again and let it dry overnight.


Here's a comparison between the same end pre-blocking and post-blocking. It squared out nicely. I'm kind of interested in ironing it flat and creating a burnished effect, but maybe later.




In this picture you can see the front of the pattern on the left and the back of the pattern on the right. Both sides are pretty, so it really doesn't matter


Here's the final product showing a little of the drape. I simply love silk, but I don't know how well it'll hold its shape. This scarf is probably better suited for wool, but I'll take my silk version. The silk is a little demanding. It has no spring at all, and I had to check myself from knitting too tightly. I think a flowy sweater or shawl is probably a better project for this yarn, but it cost so much, I could only get one hank.


Well that's it for now. I hope everyone is doing well and getting some nice fall weather.