Friday, September 02, 2011

Aw crap.

A couple of years ago I reviewed a book called "Knitting and Tea". One of my favourite patterns in the book is the Garden Jacket, a cool reverse-stockinette thing with a trowel and a garden fork knitted right onto the front. I LOVE it.

I started knitting it last week, using my stash sweater-bag of Jo Sharp "Luxury Merino 8-ply DK" wool, which is not really DK at all. Using the ball-band-recommended needle size, I got a comfortably dense fabric of 19 stitches to 4 inches.

The ball band says I should have 22.5 stitches over 4 inches.

With nothing else appropriate in the stash, and having stared at this yarn for a year, wanting to knit it, I decided to just go with it anyway. I did the math and cast on for the smallest size...with the tension difference, I will end up with a size 44, which is perfect.

I was really motivated on this project, and knit the back in about three days. The back has a great little flower motif knitted into it high up between the shoulders...look how cute.


Carrying on to the front, I knit the right side first, and was about two inches from finishing it, when something bad happened. I picked it up and noticed there was a tightly gathered row right at the bottom of the trowel motif (four inches or so from the cast-on edge). There was a yarn end at the side, so I thought it was where I had joined in a new ball of yarn, and that it must have been pulled somehow and gathered the row. I smoothed the gathering out, and to my horror this is what came next.


ARGH!

I think what happened is, I (or someone - because I have no recollection of doing anything like this) must have pulled that piece out of my knitting bag, and it caught on a stitch holder or something, hooking it onto the end of one knitted row. It pulled out a length of yarn and snapped it. I thought it was a yarn tail from joining in a new ball, smoothed the gathers out, and.....

Sigh. I'm reknitting the entire piece. It is fixable - I've done this kind of repair before - but honestly it might be for the best...the piece was looking like it might be a tiny bit too small. I was using a Hiya Hiya needle, which is just like an Addi Turbo. They're slippery and I think I tightened a little to compensate.

So now I reknit with a bamboo needle, and hopefully the size is better. And hopefully I remember to take all sharp, hooklike objects out of my knitting bag so we don't have to go for Right Front 3.0.

My in-laws are visiting from Ontario this week, and my lovely mother-in-law brought me some cool Old Stuff from her house. I love it when she does this. She has lovely old things she has saved from the previous generation, and doesn't know what to do with them all. When I came along and married her son, I turned out to be a good solution...I love Old Stuff.  Look at these beautiful tea cups she brought.


I love these colours. I think I'm going to go put the kettle on, so I can rip out my carefully-knitted trowel while sipping soothing Earl Grey out of a pretty new cup. "Frogging and Tea"...great title for a sequel.

8 comments:

Carolyn said...

Ooooh - ouch!

May v2.0 behave itself much better.

freedomnan said...

GOOD GRIEF! It is great you have good news at the end!

Ames said...

Painful.

Awesome tea cups.

Dave Hingsburger said...

I'm guessing, and it's just a guess, that you didn't say 'aw crap' ... perchance you said something a bit, um, saltier?? I love the name HIYA HIYA needles, something very pink pantherish about the name. Good luck on the new one, remember 'don't sweater the too small stuff'.

kate said...

I so feel your pain. Gah!

The tea cups, however, are gorgeous.

lizbon said...

a) damn.
b) They don't make them like that anymore (teacups). Every day I drink my espresso out of the last of my grandma's teacups that survived the world's worst movers 3 years ago.

Susie Hewer said...

Oh the joys of frogging! Bad luck. I loved that cardigan when you reviewed the book and now I've seen it again I really want to knit it so must go and buy the book.

Those cups are beautiful. We use china that belonged to my parents and I grew up with. Those connections feel comforting, quite apart from it looking lovely too.

oceangrl said...

Ahhh Earl Gray tea will make the ordeal all seem fine.( well almost fine!!) Frogging is so much easier when soothed with the that lovely warm nectar and knowing that the 'new ' finished product will be your usual wonderful!
Don't the colours on the teacups inspire you madly!
hugs,
karen