is what I have been doing. 15 hour shift yesterday (which is better than the 18 hour shift that loomed imminent for a while). Yawn.
So I’m at work. Boring. The most exciting thing that’s happened so far this morning is that I ate my eggs. I love a good hard-boiled egg. With salt. And because I work in close quarters with four other people, I announce it when I come out of the kitchen and slice the eggs at my workstation (a whiff of eggs, without notice, can be alarming). "Eggs on the floor!"
"Eggs on the floor," they repeat. It used to be a joke, but now it’s just a thing, as things go. I find the fact that we say it seriously quite amusing.
Still. Boring. Ooh! I thought I had nothing to show you, but I just remembered I DO have one picture for you.
This is the MomRedux sweater! Hers is obviously on the left, since it’s all fancy with a collar and all. Mine is the darker one (that’s what I get for trying to remember the color while ordering yarn online), and while I added one repeat in the middle section of dots to add a tiny bit of length (okay, that was accidental), otherwise, it’s spot on. Size, width, patterns, everything. I’m really proud of it, happy with my copying-ability.
So happy that I’m kind of scared to move on. It’s all done, just need to steek it, attach the arms, and make the collar/facing/button-bands.
I used a terribly sticky yarn, Jamieson’s Spindrift, so for some ungodly reason I felt confident enough to make a really narrow steek. 6 stitches. First, SIX STITCHES? Why didn’t I make it an odd number, so that I actually HAD a center stitch to cut down? Gah. Second, I’m not sure how I want to reinforce the steeks. I’m tempted to trust in the godlike powers of wool and just CUT away without reinforcement, because the thought of trying to machine-sew a straight line with my machine along that dark wool fills me with pre-planned frustration (and the steek is rather puckered in places — wouldn’t be easy to sew). I tried to reinforce it with crochet, my usual method, but the stitches are SO dark and small, I just couldn’t do it. Man, I know I should at least machine-sew the armholes. Yeah, I can do that.
That would be easier, actually, since those steeks aren’t as puckered
as the front one.
Anyone ever had trouble with this yarn running away after a steek? Can I just cut the center one? Please?
Also, Lala gives thanks. Yarn-related thanks! And I must mention this: last night when I got home, she was trippin’ out, saying she was unmotivated and not driven enough. She said this WHILE RIDING A BIKE IN OUR LIVING ROOM. On a trainer. For an hour and half. With no one making her do it. She is crazy but very, very cute.
Having a crazy, but very, very cute wife is what keeps me going most days.
We’re lucky gals, aren’t we Rach?
That copy is awesome! I can’t do color work well to save my life, so you’re pretty much my hero!
and Lala is my hero too!!! My friend Aron is also doing Lifecycle this year, yeay!!! and best of luck to those crazy crazy riders.
I was stuck on a sweater, a cotton DALE of Norway, yeah, cotton, body and sleeves complete and could not bring myself to cut it. I went to my LYS and ran into a woman shopping for buttons for a beautiful (fair isle) sweater she had designed and knit, everyone was having fits about it, in a good way. I mentioned my dilemna . She was very encouraging and confident and gave me a piece of advice, it made sense in a way that my head suddenly seemed clear when I didn’t know it had been foggy. She suggested I put tissue paper under the sweater while running it through the sewing machine. Until then, the thing I could NOT picture was getting a decent stitched line on that thick cotton knit fabric. The woman turned out to be the Janine Bajus!
http://feralknitter.typepad.com/feral_knitter/
I had never met or seen or heard of her before, but now I see (like on your blog) and hear of her all the time. It was a such a cool way to meet her.
Just cut it! I did my first practice steek with Spindrift (which is what the won’t-be-finished-in-time-for-the-wedding vest is being knat in). No reinforcement, just cut away like my Shetlandic ancestors, then stuffed it in a Ziploc in my backpack for three days. Nothing. bad. happened. Seriously.
Just have faith in the steeks. All will be well. The wool will hold.
I am very impressed with your copying abilities, too, Rachael! Perhaps you could do a backstitch by hand on the steeks, rather than by machine. I don’t know, having never steeked in my life, but you’d have more control stitching by hand than by machine.
Egg smell is definitely something that needs a warning. Also, fish in the microwave! That one just about killed me one day in the office.
Definitely just cut it. Shetland Spindrift is going to hold just fine. When I cut my first steek in that stuff I was terrified, but several years later, the edge has only raveled back about half a stitch from the cut edge.
I’ve never done a steek, so I can’t help with that. I just had to comment on how impressed I am with your copy. Good luck cutting!
The sweater looks FAB. You should be so proud of yourself!
Match?!! The color was MUCH more of an identical match when I compared it…I think the camera sees more into the infrared and recognized your “cooler” wool. Ambient light, indoors = identical color. It was amazing to see how perfectly you mirrored yer moms sweater.
And once again, cameras lie.
Dad
The directions for my Philosopher’s Wool sweater has a, get this, ONE-STITCH steek. Granted, the wool is worsted weight, but still, one stitch? Freaks me out.
Go! Set a great example for us weenies!
Go ahead and cut your steek. It’ll hold. I have 20 year old fair isle sweaters and they’ve not raveled one little bit.
I love that your dad leaves comments on your blog.
Dude, just cut it. I promise that nothing bad will happen.
Eggs on the floor made me laugh.
You could try Eunny’s Hand-Sewn Steek tutorial if you want some reassurance. But seriously, Spindrift? That stuff is like velcro, I would just cut.
Rachael, I just hand sew the steeks on the OUTSIDE edges…for you…between stitches 2-3 and 4-5. just do a backstitch and be very secure around the bottom and top. Then cut between stitches 3-4. I just cut a steek with J&S yarn and it held fine but I was glad to have the sewing. #WHat would a 19th century woman do? no sewing machine.