ARGGGH!
i finished the back of my sweater on monday (i won't show a picture since it looks pretty much like the front) and was getting pretty excited that i could start the task of blocking and sewing. alright maybe not excited about the actual task more the fact that i’ll be all that much closer to a finished sweater.
in a true obsessive fashion, i've been hemming (pun really not intended) and hawing about the "right" way to block the pieces of the sweater practically since i started the project. i've been researching like a madman on blocking techniques and whether or not to buy, make or not use a blocking board. i finally came to the conclusion that i would buy a board. i mean i know that we are trying very hard to save money and that making a board would maybe save a few dollars. but i still haven't fixed the running toilet and our 2nd bedroom has been in the drywall state for more than a year. do you really think that i would find the time to make a blocking board? i'll answer that rhetoric question for you, hell no!
so with the blocking board dilemma finally resolved let’s move on to my frustration with this sweater.
the mf’n sleeves.
one would think that knitting sleeves for a sweater would be easy. and perhaps, in theory, they should be, but i am having a heck of a time getting momentum. i read that it's a good idea to knit the 2 at the one time to ensure they are the same. well, after 3 attempts with one sleeve winding up with an extra row or two, i figured that maybe "the universe" is telling me to knit the sleeves separately. another dilemma solved.
but wait there is more.
the sleeves in this pattern call for a particular increase called "Make 1" (M1). M1s are considered a basic technique. so one would think it was easy. again, in theory, i'm sure it is. as a self-taught knitter and someone who wants to be sure that i’m technically doing the right thing i have literally been driving myself crazy trying to figure out how to do this type of increase correctly. i don’t want to bore the non-knitters out there with every little detail. suffice it to say that the pattern calls for the increase to be done 1 stitch in from either edge. knitting for dummies says it’s best to do the increase 2 stitches in; a detail i didn’t read until after the fact.
so i ripped.
and this after ripping a gazillion times already due to the row count issues. as the sleeves were getting longer the increases that were supposed to be “practically invisible”, were pretty detectable, which was of course bugging the hell out me (i’m a professed perfectionist).
so i ripped again.
by this point my patience level was a bit fragile, and it was getting late. it finally dawned on me that i should see what knitting for dummies had to say about M1s. of course it was all clearly written how to do a left and right slanting M1 increase. the lovely technique videos on the fabulous knittinghelp.com website confirmed what knitting for dummies had instructed.
so i ripped one more time and will keep my fingers crossed that the sleeves will not give me any more problems.
ahhhh, I feel better now. who would have thought that writing in a blog could be so cathartic.
in a true obsessive fashion, i've been hemming (pun really not intended) and hawing about the "right" way to block the pieces of the sweater practically since i started the project. i've been researching like a madman on blocking techniques and whether or not to buy, make or not use a blocking board. i finally came to the conclusion that i would buy a board. i mean i know that we are trying very hard to save money and that making a board would maybe save a few dollars. but i still haven't fixed the running toilet and our 2nd bedroom has been in the drywall state for more than a year. do you really think that i would find the time to make a blocking board? i'll answer that rhetoric question for you, hell no!
so with the blocking board dilemma finally resolved let’s move on to my frustration with this sweater.
the mf’n sleeves.
one would think that knitting sleeves for a sweater would be easy. and perhaps, in theory, they should be, but i am having a heck of a time getting momentum. i read that it's a good idea to knit the 2 at the one time to ensure they are the same. well, after 3 attempts with one sleeve winding up with an extra row or two, i figured that maybe "the universe" is telling me to knit the sleeves separately. another dilemma solved.
but wait there is more.
the sleeves in this pattern call for a particular increase called "Make 1" (M1). M1s are considered a basic technique. so one would think it was easy. again, in theory, i'm sure it is. as a self-taught knitter and someone who wants to be sure that i’m technically doing the right thing i have literally been driving myself crazy trying to figure out how to do this type of increase correctly. i don’t want to bore the non-knitters out there with every little detail. suffice it to say that the pattern calls for the increase to be done 1 stitch in from either edge. knitting for dummies says it’s best to do the increase 2 stitches in; a detail i didn’t read until after the fact.
so i ripped.
and this after ripping a gazillion times already due to the row count issues. as the sleeves were getting longer the increases that were supposed to be “practically invisible”, were pretty detectable, which was of course bugging the hell out me (i’m a professed perfectionist).
so i ripped again.
by this point my patience level was a bit fragile, and it was getting late. it finally dawned on me that i should see what knitting for dummies had to say about M1s. of course it was all clearly written how to do a left and right slanting M1 increase. the lovely technique videos on the fabulous knittinghelp.com website confirmed what knitting for dummies had instructed.
so i ripped one more time and will keep my fingers crossed that the sleeves will not give me any more problems.
ahhhh, I feel better now. who would have thought that writing in a blog could be so cathartic.
posted by Keith at 7:16 AM
1 Comments:
thanks for imparting your hard won M1 knowlege to me since i was having the same problems with my increases. I've been ripping and redoing my sleeves too. it's driving me nuts!
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