Tag: V-neck

Deadlines

Quite often, when I have a deadline, I lose interest in my project. It becomes work and not play. Does this happen to you?

You would think, that giving myself deadlines wouldn’t work this way but it does. I guess, trying to do anything knitting-wise in a hurry is not a good idea. Making knitting fabric is just slow going and trying to move it along faster is frustrating. I also find the same thing with writing patterns. Forcing the writing doesn’t make it go any faster in the long run.

I have been pushing myself to finish this Any Gauge V-Neck Cardigan. Last night I went on a 5 hour Youtube binge to get the last of the sleeves done. I’m tired today but happy to show you it is done, or mostly. I have to sew in ends and find some buttons but the knitting is finished.

But … I bet you saw that coming, the writing is stalled big time.

If I got you started with the V-neck, I bet, with a few photos, you could finish the rest, right? I’m sure you could.

I’m going to give myself a week off, look for some buttons, maybe sew in the ends (that might be a stretch), knit on my socks and see if the writing improves next week. Note to self: having some finished sweater photos would help a lot.

Wish me luck! Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

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Stripes 3×3

I’m stashbusting. I have quite a few 50g skeins of Shelridge 80/20 fingering wool and it’s going into a cardigan.

I’m going to work 3×3 stripes. Three colours, three rows of each. This is especially terrific if you are working back and forth. You’ll see why very soon.

Getting started is fairly straightforward. Three rows of each of the three colours: yellow, blue, and ending with the purple on the left side.

Now for the next stripe: Yellow.

On the left side, when I finish the purple stripe, the yellow yarn is ready to work. There is no other colour strand available. The yellow stripe will end on the right side. What colour is available to knit with on the right side? You got it. The blue is available.

Three more rows of blue finishes on the left, and the purple is there waiting to be worked.

Is this not perfect? Each time you finish a 3 row stripe, the next colour is there waiting in the wings for you to pick up and continue.

You can twist the waiting colour around the colour you are working with once during each stripe to keep the carries neat and tidy. You are carrying yarn up both front edges of your cardigan. I think this is a great advantage. I always worry if carrying the colours up only one side that that side will tighten up. This way they are even.

To add some extra interest to the 3×3 stripes, on a wrong side row, I knit one of the rows of each stripe to get some texture happening. It also cuts down on the amount of purling I have to do on this cardigan.

Top Down Cardigan knitting has begun.

Cheers and happy knitting into spring. Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free knitting patterns by Deb

Deb on instagram.

Snip, Snip

I need to correct that, this only involves one snip. The scissors are out and ready to go.

I can’t live with this ruffle-effect on my top down neckband.

It was my own error in calculation but sometimes I don’t know what will happen until I actually knit it up. Then denial, denial. It’s not so bad. It will block out. Does this sound familiar?

Unfortunately, it is not going to block out. So now to fix it.

Yes, scissors to the rescue. I cast on this cardigan at the neckband so I can’t rip it back. That only works with a cast off edge.

I’m ready to take the plunge. This is the centre back of the garter stitch neckband. I want to cut so that this row of stitches ends on up my needle.

I must admit to chickening out a bit and going up one more row to be sure to get a good set of stitches. I’ve turned my neckband around. The line at the top is there to show you the base of the neckband.

Here goes. Snip a leg of one stitch. That’s it, only one snip.

By pulling the cut yarn through one leg of a stitch at a time, you are taking out one row of stitches and leaving open stitches above and below. One row I’m putting on my needle. The other row belongs to the neckband I will be discarding.

It’s a slow process. One stitch at a time from the centre back around to the front. Half way done now.

I can think of worst places to do a slow and somewhat tedious job. Not so bad when I’m sitting here. Now to go from the centre back in the other direction.

There, finished. Now I just have to reknit my neckband. Just give me a minute or two … decrease about an inch of stitches along the front  … knitting around … do the same on the other front … straight knitting now … taking a break … knitting … knitting … casting off. Done.

Here’s the before and after. There is a little bit of ruffling on one side but that will definitely block out. Yay. A win.

Would you ever try this?   Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Evaluating a WIP that’s not working

I started working on a top down V-neck design earlier in the year. It sort of worked but needed some more thought. It got put aside in favour of the Family Crew Neck pattern.

It’s time to really take a look at this idea again. Summer is perfect for contemplating, don’t you think?

I brought one of my experiments with me and now that time has passed I can look at it with some objectivity (instead of having a little snit and ripping it all out).

It’s a V-neck cardigan in garter stitch. I’m using a cone of sports/fingering weight wool from https://www.revolutionwoolco.com/

You might notice a tiny ruffle effect in the neckband. Here’s a really good look at it.

Whoops. I was working really, really hard to ignore this. I know that garter stitch has a different row gauge. I know this, really I do. Apparently working garter stitch short rows is a whole different thing. LOL.

I will cut the neckband and redo it, later. Then I will know the trick to getting the correct stitch count for the neckband. I’ll start my next one and everything will go amazingly well!!! Ha, ha, fingers crossed.

Are you having as much knitting fun as I am?   Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-free knitting patterns by Deb

Gradient done 2×2

My gradient vest is coming along. Not famously but, well, you can see for yourself.

I think it’s an improvement on the original (below on the right).

I’ve tried to make the lines between the colours less distinct. I think I failed. There are still lots of horizonal lines going on.

This is my range of colours. Starting with yellow through red, multi-coloured, purple and into blue and then green (if I get that far).

I’m using two colours all the time. Two rounds in one colour and two rounds in a second colour.

Each colour is worked with a second colour for approximately half a ball.

It goes like this:

Yellow & Red

Red & Multi-coloured

Multi-coloured & Purple

Purple & Blue

It hasn’t turned out as I expected. That’s not new. I’m carrying on anyway just to see how it turns out.

Cheers, Deb

Gauge-Free and Any Gauge patterns by Deb

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I’m Stalled. Solution? Take something apart.

Here is a vest that I don’t wear. It fits great. I like the wool and the style. There’s just one little thing that bugs me.

That yellow band across my bust. I know, I know, it’s stupid to be self-conscious but … I am and I can’t talk myself out of it. So there it sits on the shelf, unworn, through no fault of its own.

The rainbow of colours that Dragonstrings dyed for me are terrific. So what’s a knitter to do?! Give it a tug, of course and … recycle it.

Now to figure out how to graduate the colours. Once gradient sweaters are knit the whole system seems so straight forward but I find it rather daunting. I scrounged around my stash and added one more skein to the mix of colours because more has to be better, right? The bottom multi-coloured skein is the addition and hopefully will work to help me graduate the colours.

The original vest sequence was: starting at the top, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue and into the Purple at the bottom.

This time, I’m going to reverse the circle direction.

New sequence: Yellow at the top, Red, multi-coloured, purple, blue, green.

OK, decision made. It’s in writing and I just told you all about it so here goes.

Have you done a gradient? Did it turn out like you thought it would?

Cheers, Deb

Gauge-Free and Any Gauge patterns by Deb

Deb on instagram