| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
RachelKnitter
Permanent Resident
USA
2995 Posts |
 Posted - 12/11/2004 : 09:18:23 AM
|
So I start off the week thinking I was about to finish the Hourglass Sweater from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. I had connected the sleeves to the body, and was knitting around and around....and then--wait a minute! Shouldn't there be decreases in the back too? Well, yes, if I had ever made a raglan before I would certainly know that, but the instructions do not tell you to place markers on the back side, just the front--at least as far as I can tell in reading and re-reading both the pattern and errata about 40 times. (Joelle, am I missing something?) It's obvious enough now where to place them, but as far as I can tell, the pattern makes no mention of them. Rrrrrip! Once I made it back to 3 separate pieces, all of the little flaws seemed to call out to me, especially the places where I had put the armpit stitches on holders looked terrible and stretched out, and I could only imagine how terrible it would look once finished. So I stuffed it in a bag and hid it in a corner. (The same corner where I stuffed Butterfly a few weeks earlier...)
So I decide to start the next project in the cue, "Easy Street" from Paton's Street Smart booklet--my first basic cabled sweater. I got perfect gauge on my swatch, but I guess the cables made me a little tense, so the sweater was ending up kinda small. Well, I figured, there are worse things than a skin tight sweater, and it seemed to have an uncanny amount of stretch to it, so I kept going. Plus, cables are fun! Then as I was shaping the armholes, I realized that they were having me decrease away all but one stitch from the side cables, which just doesn't look like enough to seam it. I mean, the turns of the cables are now changing the shape of the armholes, AND whoever saw a sweater that was seamed all the way up against a cable? Something just doesn't seem right, but there's no errata for the pattern, either. Easy Street just joined Hourglass and Butterfly in a dark, dark corner.
Is it possible that the holidays are a really bad time of year for me to do big projects? Maybe I should stick to hats and scarves in December, eh? |
|
|
achrisvet
Permanent Resident
USA
5986 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2004 : 09:44:57 AM
|
The first circular raglan sweater I made I had the same problem with the sweater stretching out where the stitches were on bits of yarn at the armholes. The weight of the sweater body just pulled it all out of wahck. Everything kind of evened out when I was finished. But the next time I avoided it. On the first sweater I had the body arm hole stitces in a piece of yarn which I loosely knotted inot a loop and did the same thing on the sleeve armhole stitches. On the next one when it came time to join the pieces I tied the bit of yarn through the sleeve stitces to the yan holding the body armhole stitches on both sides of the armhole. That way the pieces were held firly together in the position for grafting. I hope this makes sense. This way there was no hideous stretching out. I tied itwith a bow like tying your shoelace so it was easy to undo.
Anita
See my completed projects!
http://www.picturetrail.com/achrisvet |
 |
|
|
knitdamsel
Chatty Knitter
223 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2004 : 12:40:27 PM
|
Rachel, I think you have a good point. It's not you, it's the holidays! There's just too much going on right now, and it's easy to get distracted. I'm sticking to small projects, and just one simple ribbed sweater, until the holidays are over.
http://www.knitdamsel.blogspot.com
|
|
|
|
GFTC
Permanent Resident
USA
6331 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2004 : 4:59:51 PM
|
Distracted? Small projects? Last night I cast on 330 stitches for a scarf to be knit sideways. The first 5 rows are GARTER STITCH, for goodness sake. Doncha know I purled a good section in the middle of Row 2 and, for some reason, could not manage to unravel and reknit in the section so had to frog back 3 1/2 rows at 330 stitches per row!!!!!!
I also began a scarf with 25 stitches (Rowan Plaid). Again, I was supposed to begin with a few rows of garter stitch and then begin the actual pattern stitch. I totally forgot to do the garter rows and noticed 6 inches into the scarf. I did not frog - it looks fine and lays flat and that's that. |
|
|
|
carols
Permanent Resident
USA
1681 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2004 : 6:48:21 PM
|
I find that sometimes the only thing for me is to work on something completely mindless -- usually a cap knitted in the round in stockinette, so all I have to do is knit around and around. When I'm really tired or stressed out, it's relaxing and it's so mindless that I (usually) don't screw it up. Plus I finish it pretty fast and then the sense of accomplishment makes me energized to do something more challenging.
Carol S. |
|
|
|
Milinda
Permanent Resident
USA
3816 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2004 : 7:27:32 PM
|
[quote]Originally posted by RachelKnitter
So I stuffed it in a bag and hid it in a corner. (The same corner where I stuffed Butterfly a few weeks earlier...)
:: Oh, that made me laugh so hard! I have one of those corners, too, where I "hide" things that have stumped me. Bless you, I really needed that laugh!
M L |
|
|
|
truly violet
Permanent Resident
6397 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2004 : 7:42:38 PM
|
oh my it does look like it is in the air huh?
I ripped and reknit this simple horseshoe lace pattern swatch back now about 6 or 7 times
and I am getting more and more out of sorts as I do it
the cat broke the second lamp in the living room, and the lightbulb exploded all over the place.
the cats are all ok and it took forever to get the glass cleaned up
I am so out of sorts it isn't funny
vi
it's really bad when you can't even knit
none of this will matter in 100 years.......except I will finally be at my goal weight...vi |
|
|
|
Gina70
Chatty Knitter
114 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2004 : 08:47:32 AM
|
Rachel,
I completely understand how you feel.
I have had problems with 2 sweaters recently that has left me feeling paralyzed at the thought of knitting another one. One is too small and the other I realized that the stitches are very loose where I picked up stitches at the armhole for the sleeve. ARG! I've been knitting scarves for the past month to build my confindence. I am discourraged to hear you had such problems with the Hourglass Sweater as it was one of the reasons I bought the book. I guess it will be more scarves come January as well... |
|
|
|
Gina70
Chatty Knitter
114 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2004 : 09:09:44 AM
|
Rachel,
Just found this link to corrections to the Hourglass Sweater http://store.purlsoho.com/purl/book_corrections
If you look under the Blogswap category there is a knit-a-long for this sweater. Maybe there is hope for your sweater to be rescued from the dark corner. |
|
|
|
Trina
Permanent Resident
USA
1871 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2004 : 10:34:35 AM
|
I copied the corrections for Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I think there are a few other errors besided the ones I printed out. Yikes! I am making the Kerchief/Scarf for my SIL & the recommended size seems wrong- but I'm not worrying because I have plenty of yarn to complete it & gauge hardly matters on this.
I find mindless knitting like this project really helps with stress.
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.
-Langston Hughes
Trina, Seattle |
|
|
|
RoseM
Permanent Resident
Canada
1898 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2004 : 11:03:45 AM
|
Milinda, Rachel and others -- I too have a relative of your 'dark corner'! It resides between my end of the couch and the wall. It's sort of hidden but lately has grown - to the point where I've draped a large towel over all it's bumps and lumps. One of my cats was very pleased and proceeded to make this one of his new sleeping places!
RoseM
p.s. I'm having a hard time finishing anything - and 2 items are gifts for the 25th! |
|
|
|
RachelKnitter
Permanent Resident
USA
2995 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2004 : 11:11:55 AM
|
Thanks everyone. I do have all of the corrections that have been posted for the Hourglass Sweater. But if you can tell me where, in the first paragraph under Yoke, it tells you to place 4 separate markers to mark your decreases, you can sign the papers to commit me to the mental institution. Yes, I should have guessed that there should be decreases in both the front and back, because even though I have never knit a raglan before, I have seen one, and I should've realized something was amiss before the decreases started adding up wrong. I was knitting with blinders on and telling myself, well, but it says....and I do have all the errata already, so it must be right....It was stupid of me.
I frogged Street Smart this morning, because until the armhole incident, I was enjoying knitting it immensely, so I think I'm ready to have another go at it. It's just interesting enough to keep my attention, and also easy enough that I don't have to think much. My game plan is to upsize from Medium to Large and continue in my too-tight tension. This should solve both of my problems: It will cease to be skin-tight and the decreases add up to leave me 3 stitches before the cables at each armhole edge, which sounds about perfect. Wish me luck!
I will go back to the Hourglass Sweater after Christmas, I think. It isn't hard to figure out what's wrong. Gina, just pay attention when you connect the sleeves to the body and place a stitch marker at each point where the sleeves meet the body--4 markers in all. That should solve the problem. Then on the decreases it says to do your decreases before and after each marker--you still follow that instruction, there are just more markers to decrease around. Don't let it discourage you from making the sweater...it has been mostly easy and pleasurable to knit, and I still love the simple, feminine design. |
|
|
|
RachelKnitter
Permanent Resident
USA
2995 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2004 : 12:01:56 PM
|
| OK, I just noticed something about placing a marker at the end of the sleeves section when connecting the first sleeve to the body. That's one marker. Under Yoke, it says to knit 46 sts and place marker. That's two. Then knit 69 sts, and that's three. So I missed one before, but I still don't see an indication for a 4th. So I am only half crazy and/or blind. Of course, if I had placed the first 3, it would have been breathtakingly obvious I needed a 4th, in which case I could've figured out where to place it, in which case I would have never created this bad knitting streak for myself. Sheesh. |
|
|
|
sallyjo
Permanent Resident
USA
2401 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2004 : 2:41:03 PM
|
So, it isn't just me? I gave up and went to look for my loom in storage - and couldn't find it. So I went to bed.
"as if God had shrugged his shoulders (and) presently our civilization will once again belong to the misshapen, the moonstruck, and the damned" Woolcott Gibbs |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
| Knitter's Review Forums |
© 2001-2013 Knitter's Review |
|
|
|
|
Topic Locked
