Thursdays Are For Knit Group

What a difference seven days makes in the weather.  Last week, at knit group, complaints about the cold, grey weather circled the room.  Today, the opposite - exclamations about the heat.

Hot weather didn't stop Ruth from knitting on her latest project - a mohair sweater.

 

 The yarn was a gift.  The beautiful blue colour will really brighten a winter's  day for you Ruth.
  
 Ruth said it took her some time to find a pattern  that matched her gift yarn for both gauge and quantity.   She finally found one, but  she finds it  disconcerting as it is written in 'metric speak' only. 

She had to buy a tape measure that speaks both languages to help her  translate.


Sandy B, as promised, wore her newly-finished Linen top today. 

 

It is gorgeous.  Such a simple design - two rectangles, knit sideways, the front  longer than the back to provide extra fabric for the twist.  I suggested that her striped yarn gave the piece extra pizazz.  But Sandy said the display garment that originally caught her eye in her LYS in Florida was done in black.  It too was gorgeous, she said. 

We made her try it on backwards, just to see.

 

I'm thinking fancy, dress ball, Sandy.

Doreen pullled a very old work-in-progress scarf from her bag and asked me if I remembered it.

I didn't.  Until she reminded me that  it is knit in what, at the time, was a new-to-her stitch and   initially  it caused her great  grief.  Once she mastered it, she put the piece away.  It's now been sitting so long she wonders if  she remembers how to do it.

 I liked the scarf she was wearing. 

A long, ropey scarf, knit with a row  - or sometimes two  -  of garter in between rows of double, dropped stitches.  Very open and very summery, Doreen.

Doreen's other project of the day was to learn how to use her  new Ipad  a gift from her son.

 

Nicki, our Ipad specialist,  gave Doreen a lesson. 

Wilma, a relatively new Ipad owner herself and  wearing Gemini that she knit last summer,  listened in on Doreen's lesson.  In front of Wilma is her latest project. 

A sweater with a knitted upper portion and crocheted lower band.  In a colour that coordinates well with  her Gemini.  A twin set perhaps?

There was talk of  beach knitting now that the weather has turned.  What could be more perfect than knitting on the beach - unless it is knitting at the library.  Either one pleases.

A Big Start

Thank goodness for foresight.  This morning, with a few 'found' hours due to a rain-cancelled hike, I decided to get started on my machine-knit Contrasts.  With the combination of unknowns in this project - yarn, pattern, machine -  I knew I would start with a gauge swatch.  Being a lace pattern the only accurate way to swatch would be in lace, not stockinet.  And since I had to knit lace to swatch, why  not just start the back of the sweater and see how it goes.  The no-swatch, gauge swatch, so to speak.

Noticed first - this lace pattern is not as easy as I'd like.  My machine, being an LK 150 and described as a 'hobby' machine, means that I have to hand manipulate the stitches to create the open lacey work.  The machine does not do that for me.  Contrasts'  pattern is manipulated every two rows. 
In between all that lace is what the pattern calls a 'tuck' stitch.  Another hand manipulated stitch.

Not wanting to do too many rows with all that hand manipulation only to find out the garment was not going to fit,  I took it off the needles after ten rows .

I am knitting the 40 inch size.  Take a look   at how many inches wide my swatch is.

Yikes!  A re-think is required.  Tighter gauge for one thing.  Perhaps a smaller size as well.   Backing up to square one here.

Mindless Still

The mindless  would be my knitting to which I am referring.  But if you thought it meant me - well, you wouldn't be the first.

This weekend, we had some driving to do to attend a family reunion.  With lots of  passenger-seat time, I finished tier two of Tink's Twirly Skirt and about an inch of tier three. I am in love with the colour of my Tink's but having never before knit a skirt, I am reserving judgement on the look of my hand knit skirt in the real world of wearing.  The range of imagined looks runs the gamut from hand-made/hippie to high-end, one-of-a-kind.  The latter has been my vision and inspiration and obviously my aim, but as  said  -  judgement reserved.

Regardless of the outcome - rip it or wear it  - the knitting of Tink's is FUN!  Round and round and round.  Easy peasy with  colour changes providing the motivation to go faster, faster, faster.

Here it is so far.