Stage 4: Sleeve hem

So I started on a sleeve, which is what I should have done in the first place. It is always easier to rip out a sleeve and start over, than to do that with the body. I will have to start the body over, but if I have enough yarn, I won't have to rip the first one out. Not sure if it can be used, but not having to rip it out and untangle the yarn and rewind the balls will be a good thing.

I completed one repeat of the pattern on the sleeve. It is a 26-row repeat and 26 stitches also.The hem is still tighter than it should be, but I think I can live with it. I may start the second one with more stiches and if it comes out better and the difference bugs me I can undo the bottom of this one and reknit it in the other directon. I have never done this, but I have seen it done and I know people who can help me do this.





In the interest of being brutally honest, here is the other side of the sleeve showing the increases. It's not great, but it's not horrible. The pattern called for using fewer stiches in the border than in the pattern, but my knitting with 3 and 4 strands pulls up so much that I should have just started with the larger number. I didn't realize it was pulling up so much. Actually the first one I did was looser, but looked horrible. Oh well, this is what I can do now. I'll keep practicing and hope to get better.

No question this is a mountain challenge for me. I'm glad I joined this tour de france kal, because it has given me the incentive I need to keep at this project and not get discouraged.

As for doing French while I do this, I listened to a Frech CD while I was knitting and also finished reading a mystery in French last night, after I quit knitting for the day. I read "Maigret et le Phantome" by Simenon. Is anyone familiar with his series of police novels?

Stages 1 and 2: casting on and ripping

Stages 1 and 2:

I did get started on my sweater on the 7th. I was flying home from a family reunion over the holiday weekend. the reunion was held in Alabama and we flew home from Atlanta. I cast on the 269 stitches, joined them (being careful not to twist) and started knitting the ribbing. After 3 rows I checked for the 3rd or 4th time to be sure it wasn't twisted. It was!!! I tried and tried to get it to come out right, but no, I had twisted it. So I started over. There is no way to fix that other than to start over. I was using a needle that was too short, but it was the one I had. It is hard to be sure you haven't twisted the work when it is scrunched up on a shorter needle.

Attempt 2: I did the ribbing (the pattern called for 21 rows.) this will be turned under as a facing and I really wondered why I needed 21 rows, but I kept going. I think I quit at 20 though. Then I started the border pattern. This is when I discovered the border rows require 3 and even 4 colors carried in one row. Not somethng I have experience with. This is truly a challenge for me. I tried carrying two colors in my right hand and 2 in the left and got 6 rows done, but it was unacceptable, so I ripped it out, untangled the 5 colors and started the pattern again this time carying only 1 color in the left hand and all the others in the right, dropping one and picking up the next. I even figured out how to do this without twisting the 3 colors in the right hand, so I learned a new technique. I also found out it didn't work to try to do anything else while I did these rows, so I took my knitting up to the deck to work on it in silence. I have done 4 rows of the pattern and they look okay, I think. I still need to check the size, though. If it's too small that will mean ripping it all out again.

The picture above doesn't show much except the colors. The knitting rolled back, so what you do see is the back side, but I'll make it show better in the next one.

I have to go out today, so will come back to this later.

My Norwegian sweater - tour de France - project

My mother and I were visitng Norway in May. Our relatives took us on a tour of the area (near Egersund in Rogaland) which included a visit to the Gjestal factory outlet store. My mother picked up some lime-green yarn (10 balls for $10.00-total!) I spent more than that, but this was still a bargain. I also bought a pattern, which is in Norwegian, so I'll have to work on figuring it out. It is a cardingan with an all-over two color pattern using the dark blue and brown yarn. The other three are used in the contrasting border. I hope to get started on the gauge swatch today and be ready to start the sweater on July 7th along with the start of the Tour de France.

I have finally managed to instal my scanner. We got a new computer and it hadn't been reinstalled. So here is the picture from the pattern book of this sweater. (I hope) The photo is not a good one, because it doesn't show the contrasting border very well. Why don't knitting pattern books think about these thing?

Considering starting a blog

I might change my mind and do this afterall.

I will be living in Paris Sept 2 through Dec. 1, 2007. I am thinking about writing a blog at that time.

I also have decided to do a knit-along project with the Tour de France knitters. I picked up a Norwegian pattern for a cardigan in Norway last month and have hardly even looked at it, but I need to start a new project, so I think this is going to be it. It is a two color all-over pattern. I'll see if I can find a picture of it on-line. My colors are teal and brown, with accent borders in red and gold.

The pattern is in Norwegian, which is not one of the languages I read, but I have translated some of it and I know a knitting friend who knows Norwegian so she can help if I get stuck.

That's it for now.