Translate

Friday, December 31, 2004

A Lot Of Nuthin'

I knit and knit yesterday. I knit so much that my hand ached. I had a goal in mind. I wanted to complete the knitted in Latvian cord that I am using as the turning point of the hem on the Daugava. I knit off and on throughout the day and as the end of the day approached and my goal was coming close, I saw it.

Something was definitely not right with a portion of the braid. At first I thought it was an uneven tension, but as I looked at it closer I found I had gotten the alternating black and white stitches out of order on the first row and it was throwing off every subsequent row. I could have left it I suppose but it would have irritated me every time I looked at the cardigan. With all the work I am putting into this, I do not need to have negative emotions attached to it.

So, out it came. I ended up having to frog six rows.....and at 486 stitches per row it was a LOT. It even took quite some time to rip. First I ran my "frogging needle" (yes, I have one designated primarily for that purpose.....it's an extremely thin circular needle) around the entire row, below the mistake, to hold the stitches and then I pulled out the knitting needle and ripped and ripped. Adding to the complexity of this particular frogging episode was the twined nature of the Latvian braid. I actually had to cut one of the strands so that I could get them unwound.

So after all that knitting, I went to bed last night EXACTLY where I had left off the night before. *sigh*

Yes, as a matter of fact, I am whining.

3 comments:

amandazen said...

And I thought I was the only one who spent all day and came out with what I had started... Glad to know I am not the only one.

Have a happy new year!
Amanda

Maggie Ann said...

You are plucky Marlene, thats undoubtedly part of what makes you the "pro" knitter that you are !! I admire your talent. Happy New Year to you !!

Leisel said...

I know it's not much consolation, but...

at least it's not lace!

I was helping my mom learn the stitch pattern for a feather and fan scarf. The first time, she managed to lose three stitches within the first two pattern repeats (it might even have been just one), and the second time, she dropped a stitch that went through one of the yarn over areas, and I wasn't able to pick up the dropped stitch correctly for her. So, we had to frog it twice.

I finally asked her if she wanted me to just get her started (she did), and I did about 3 inches or so for her... but I figured that wouldn't be much help in the end if she had the same problem. Luckily, I came up with a solution (which would be running some waste thread through one of the rows every pattern repeat... it's a pain, but so much less so than having to frog it every time).

I'm sorry to hear about your mishap. I'm sure it will come out better next time.

- Leisel