knitting

I finished the scarves for my nieces.  Of course, it is spring now, so we might be well into 'it's the thought that counts' territory rather than 'let's wear it every day'.  The next step is to organise myself to find their address and make a trip to the post office.  History suggests that may take a while.

Today, when I should have been at the post office being an organised auntie (or alternatively watching Brighid's ballet class, but it is so easy for a parent to get in trouble with the ballet teacher there that I'm best out of the way), I had another look at our local wool shop.  Ten ply cotton-rich yarn is what I want to make the Miette cardigan, and 10 ply cotton-rich yarn is some kind of foreign concept, not available in New Zealand.  But in the sale basket, I found Patons Washed Haze Aran, only in pink, but with enough left to make a Miette.  I bought one ball and did a swatch tonight.  The wrapper of the Washed Haze suggests using 4.5mm needles, and the Miette pattern swatch calls for 5mm needles and I'm a slightly firmer than average knitter.  So I opted to knit up the swatch using 5.5mm needles and it met the tension exactly.

Also - perhaps this is the clincher - the pink matches my Colette Crepe curtain dress very well, and the Miette is designed to wear with just such a cinched (upper) waist and full skirt type dress.  Later this week, I'm going to buy the right length of circular needles and put the wool aside (you can do this at our local shop, and just buy the wool as you need it and if you don't need it all, the lovely Shona puts the remainder back in the shop at the end of your project) and start a new knitting project.  Long time readers may recall how I grumbled and wondered what possessed me to do this last time (started the endless purple crossover cardigan three years ago, finished 18 months ago).  I just really like the Miette and I really truly cannot buy that style in the shop.  I found a cardigan with some similarities (scoop neck, nips in and finishes at the waist) at Postie Plus a month ago, but the size which fitted me best looked like a costume piece for a Benny Hill show.  Not quite what I was looking for.

I also need to upskill my pattern reading and knitting skills.  I need to learn how decode and perform the abbreviations below:
kfbl: knit front and back loops
ktbl: knit through back loop
pm: place marker
ptbl: purl through back loop
sm: slip marker
ssk: slip slip knit






Comments

Christopher said…
I so dream of knitting Kaffe Fassett! One day perhaps?
applepip said…
Knittinghelp.com! They have short and to the point videos. Have saved me from frustration many a time :)
http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/knitting-glossary/
Sandra said…
I Kaffe Fassett's work is gorgeous too, Christopher. I know for sure that I don't have the patience for all that detailed colourwork.

Thanks Pippa - I'll follow that up.

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