I haven't posted in a few days because I've been spending every free moment reading Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson, recommended to me by Jessica. What a good book! I was skeptical at first, since the blurb sounded like one of those boring, sappy books without a plot that my mom reads, (I prefer adventure and surprises, like in my favorite genre of SciFi, or complex plots with characters you really care about like Atlas Shrugged) but it turned out to be an incredibly dark comedy with multiple story lines deftly woven together.

Fortunately, since I work at a yarn store I still managed some knitting. I've been designing a tank with an applied leaf lace border knit at a 90-degree angle to the rest of the work.* It's been fun working with the new technique, but very slow going. I finally finished the border yesterday:



I am not entirely pleased with the results. Apparently in pattern my row gauge is not all that different from my stitch gauge, so I ended up with a border that is going to ruffle. See how arched it is? This might be okay if it weren't a lace pattern that I wanted to show off. I think I'm going to finish the tank (I got bored very early and wanted to try the new thing), and then maybe I'll be able to stomach redoing the border. Instead of attaching every other row, I'll try knitting the first stitch of the right side rows and the last stitch of the wrong side rows together with the edging. Maybe I should also use smaller needles...





*To apply a border: Begin piece with a provisional cast on. The total number of stitches must be divisible by half the number of rows in a repeat of your intended border pattern. When you are done (or get bored), pull out the waste yarn from the first stitch and put it on a needle.

If the border pattern begins with a wrong-side row: Using the first stitch and the knitted or cable method, cast on enough stitches for one row of your pattern. Turn work and knit back in pattern. Turn work. Pull out the waste yarn from the second stitch and knit it together with the first stitch of your pattern.

If the border pattern begins with a right-side row: Cast on enough stitches for one row of your pattern. Slip the first stitch from the bottom of the finished piece onto the needle. Reverse the position of it and the last cast on stitch. Pull out the waste yarn from the second stitch and knit it together with the first stitch of your pattern. Work in pattern to the end of the row. Turn work. Work in pattern to the end of the row. Turn work. Pull out the waste yarn from the third stitch and knit it together with the first stitch of your pattern.

Continue, knitting a stitch from the bottom of your work together with the first stitch of each right-side row of your work.

posted by Anonymous @ 11:14 AM