Getting to the Back of the Back

I wasn't expecting so many set-backs in the making of Alex's jumper. I've undone the back twice (!) now and were it not for a) the fact that himself has bought the yarn & pattern and challenged me to knit it and b) the motivation of blogging the project, I would almost certainly have given up by now!
But I'm glad I didn't because despite my ennui with the thing, today I completed the back and it looks good.

The arm hole shaping was easy. Just a decrease of a stitch either end of the knit row, with a gentle ribbed effect on the edges, giving it a bit of definition.

People have commented everywhere I go that it looks good, which is an added boost for my self-esteem and I am especially proud because I know there are no mistakes in it now and it will fit him beautifully!

It waits now on a holding pin, while I knit the other pieces. I've started the front, which knits the same until I get to the neck. It should go quicker, now that I've identified potential problems.

Knitting and un-knitting

What with Mothers' Day, I was a bit busy over the weekend, entertaining the mothers, but I did get a bit of knitting done and I was doing quiet well...

Until I did my regular stitch count and discovered that I had a stitch too many - woops!

I couldn't see where I had gone wrong, so the only thing for it was to tink back to where the extra stitch had occurred.

Tinking is un-doing the knitting one stitch at a time, like this:

 Slip the left needle into the bottom of the last stitch

 

Slip the stitch off the right needle

 And pull the yarn through.

TINK is KNIT backwards, hence "tinking."

I had to tink 15 rows before I found the problem. I had accidentally omitted slipping the old stitch off at the end of making a new one, so the next row offered me two new stitch opportunities. Clearly I wasn't looking properly and took them!

All was going well then, almost to the end of that new row, when a knot (put in by the manufacturer, btw, not me!) came undone and gave me a hole!

I quickly re-tied the ends, but it was no good, I still had a hole in my knitting!

So I tinked another couple of rows(!) and deposited the loose end at the end of the row. 

I have been doing this with all my looses ends throughout the piece and knotting them together so that they are out of the way:

I'm now using a "life-line," which is a contrasting thread, woven through each stitch on a row which is known to be correct. This way, if I screw up again, I only have to undo back to the red line (and then I could take it all off the needles and rip it back, if I want to.)

But I'm not going to go wrong again. I'm re-counting and moving the life line every few rows. It is a bit of overkill really for a simple project. Usually such techniques are only employed in complicated patterns which are prone to go wrong, but I think I need it for a while. I definitely don't want to tink 17 rows again! I'll remove it when I'm confident i'm getting it right.

A Pullover for Alex

I learned to knit when I was a little girl. I was probably about six or seven, but I never really took it seriously. I taught several children to knit, and a few adults, in the intervening years, but I never really progressed beyond making scarves and fingerless mittens (and the occasional wooly hat!)
The reason for my lack of output is, I think, because I lose momentum with a bigger project. Alex, the long-suffering Junksmithing widower, always jokes that I get almost to the end of making something before getting fed up with it, or deciding that it isn't right for whatever reason and undoing the lot! (He is right, actually - I'm terribly impatient!)
Well, he'll be laughing on the other side of his face soon, because I'm now knitting him a pullover!
I thought, if I blog this, as I go on, I'll be more likely to finish it! (We'll see...)
Alex saw the pattern and chose the yarn:

This is the pattern. It is a very straightforward stocking-stitch V-neck pullover with a slight detail on the hems. I'm knitting it in chunky yarn:

It is a wool/acrylic mix, so the best of both worlds really - warm and washable (but sadly not vegan) and it is lovely to work with. And I have invested in some nice bamboo needles (a bit more expensive but well worth it!) I like the feel of bamboo or wood. It's warmer to the touch and makes it a pleasure to knit.

Here is the beginning of my project. You can't see very well from the picture, but this yarn knits up beautifully, with flecks of pale green, soft brown and turquoise amidst the over-all peacock blue. And it comes together quickly, which is good for me. It's going to be a gorgeous pullover (and I'll probably steal it!)

One thing I have noticed though is that, following my tension square, I do seem to knit a bit loose (never knew that!) but I'm deliberately not adjusting my needles (just bought them and, as I said, they were pricey!) No, instead I am knitting the smallest size, which would fit the slender figure of the recipient anyway, and it will just be a little looser. No problem!

Alex loves it, but he did say (rather cheekily, I may add!) "If that thing ever gets sleeves on it, I'll be very surprised!"

Prepare to be surprised, Mr H!