Sunday, October 21, 2012


Bloody Sunday again. I must be brief.

I blocked the jacket, and remembered as I did so that the book warns, at the very end of the pattern, that it showed some signs of a tendency to stretch and that therefore an i-cord edging all around the periphery might be a good idea. (That’s what one loves about the Schoolhouse – real people knit things, and report on the experience. It’s not all done by outworkers.)

I did such an edging for the Round-the-Bend jacket a couple of years ago. It’s not nearly as trying an experience as you might think. And it would solve the front-fastening problem, if there turns out to be one. So I will reserve the left-over yarn for the moment.

I then went on and finished knitting the hat. When I got to that point, I was in a fairly frazzled state, and proceeded at once to cast on the Wingspan scarf, using a KF sock yarn. (That is indeed what it’s called -- Wingspan. Thanks, Anonymous.) I’ll pull myself together and go back and deal with the ends today.

While I was knitting the hat – I think I’ve told you that solid geometry is not my forte – I didn’t grasp that the side facing me would be entirely concealed by the folded-up rim, and that therefore all the many loose ends (thanks to the moths) should be there in front of me. They’ll have to be poked through.

It is very gratifying to finish something that needs no sewing, and two such finishes in one weekend – the jacket and the hat – are really rather special.

The Wingspan has started well. It will clearly be easy to master the shaping, and I don’t think I had grasped in advance that it’s done in garter st, a welcome plus.

I was frazzled because I had been wrestling, unsuccessfully, with a document my husband had created in an unbelievably ancient version of Word Perfect. That program, functioning under DOS, normally serves him  well. It’s brilliant with footnotes. But this particular document contains parallel columns. I grasp/can vaguely remember how to set them up and write them – but how do you edit them, when you have no mouse to move the cursor from one to the other? One wrong keystroke, and the formatting collapses.

I’ll have to return to that question today.

I meant to mention the other day that I did a quick refresher course on the Strong-Fleegle heel before we set off to the hospital on Wednesday. (And, in fact, I didn’t get as far as the heel while we were there, but never mind that.) I have a lot of reference material, including the original issue of Knitter’s and several books which include it.

But I found that Fleegle’s own blog pages were the quickest way in and the clearest exposition. It’s an easy one, and I mean to settle down with it for toe-up socks at least. I think I’ll have it memorised soon.

A fashion writer in yesterday's Telegraph shows a grey cabled watchcap -- she calls it a beanie, but I would reserve that term for something without a turned-up brim -- with a bright red bobble on top. It looked pretty cute, and cost nearly £70. I'm just saying.

6 comments:

  1. Yes, I saw that hat in the Telegraph. Shows us what we are worth!

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  2. 70 pounds? Was knit of spun gold?
    I enjoy doing I-cord finishes. The result is so satisfying. I usually do k2tog through back rather than an ssk to speed up the process.

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  3. Anonymous6:42 PM

    £70? For a beanie hat? How silly. Even with the most gorgeous yarn, it wouldn't cost anywhere near that amount. Although, I suppose, if we got the minimum wage for knitting it, it would soon add up.
    Glad you are enjoying wingspan. I've found a lace version on ravelry, with a different lace pattern for each part. haven't made it yet though. Knitting 3 guernseys at the moment. Only on the first!
    Liz Phillips

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  4. Did you see in yesterdays Saturday telegraph a knitting retreat with Macrobiotic food etc, etc?? Certainly looked like something that could be interesting until I saw the cost...£575 for 5 days I think it was.....

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  5. Jean, I presume you are using laptop with Mr. M's old files? If so, it is possible to use a mouse , as I do on my laptop. And it is a mouse that was used with a desktop. Maybe Alexander could advise? I would offer my husband, but Manchester is a weebit toofar.LOL
    xxx

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  6. Too funny -- I saw that hat, saw the price and made one of my own. The ladies at my LYS defended the $140 price tag of the original by citing labor costs; if I weren't knitting in front of the tv, I'd be biting my nails or yelling at humans, so mine's still a lot less expensive. Loved the play between gray and pink: http://hailbritannia.com/2012/10/26/fo-friday-cabled-hat-with-pom-pom/

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