Celtic Cable

Celtic Cable

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Saturday, November 6, 2010

I Don't Know if I Can Do This

My progress on the Bountiful Bohus has been quite fast ... I started it on 10 October, and this is where I am now:





It fits nicely, though the armpits are not yet sewn shut. I pulled it over my head, and it was nice and loose, but not too loose, and the arms went all the way down to my hand (it was meant to be 3/4 sleeves, but I don't like those). It's a wonderful pullover. Only one problem ... it's not meant to be a pullover. It's a CARDIGAN.

I have to cut my lovely sweater up the middle to make it a cardigan. It's much faster to knit in the round (going around in a continuous circle on 2 circular needles, no purling) than it is to go back and forth (knitting one row, purling back). I am not a fast purler. In retrospect I could have adapted the pattern to make it a cardigan, but that would require the use of my mortal enemy, math, and math's crafty evil sidekick, graph paper. And colored pencils, which are really kind of fun.

Here is the wiki entry for steek. They are commonly used for arms, but in this case, it's to make a cardigan out of a pullover. I get the gist of it, but I am not a seamstress! I have a sewing machine ... a nice little Janome. I just can't get the hang of those little bobbins, and the thread usually comes out all tangled, or I just mess it up somehow. But there's no way around it -- I don't trust my hand-stitches to something this important. I'm going to have to bit the bullet, down a shot of brandy, and just have at it.

Not today, though. Maybe tomorrow. Here are some more lovely pictures of the sweater, pre-steeking:


The pattern didn't quite turn out right, but I'm not sure where I went wrong. It looks okay from a distance.




And I didn't mess up the cables.












So, there is that ... an almost finished object. I have to steek it, cut it, then knit on the button band and install buttons. This is probably going to be the most tedious part of the sweater, but I look at it optimistically. I'll be learning three new techniques. It's good for the brain to learn new things!

I don't have any other FOs or WIPs to show. I have been consumed by this sweater. I will finish out this blog post with what was the alternate subject: "I Just Want to Make the D**n Bed."

Making the bed is a daily activity that drives Petunia insane. Flipping covers around is for her like waving a cape in front of a bull. No matter where she is, she comes flying into the room and up onto the bed, diving underneath the covers, wild-eyed and crazy.

She looks calm in this picture, right? Like she's napping? Trust me, she is not. She is waiting for me to reach down to straighten the cover, then she'll attack.

At least the dog is calm.

8 comments:

  1. You always make me laugh aloud. Math is my mortal enemy too! Although I get a strange charge out of doing math and getting it right.

    The Bohus is beautiful, and it will be a lovely cardi. Good luck with the steeking!

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  2. Argh! Math! Blech!

    I learned about steeking last year when a friend did it for the first time. I remember her freaking out to. Your knitting is gorgeous and it will turn out fabulous. I, on the other hand, won't be trying it for a very long time because the sweater I started back in August isn't even at the 1/2 point yet. Argh!

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  3. I actually did it ... I had a cup of coffee, lunch, took several deep breaths, made sure I had nothing else on my mind, and did it. I accidentally sewed the contrast yarn to the sweater, and couldn't get it unstuck, so I feel confident I did it well enough to last. I'm doing the button-band now. Phew! It was remarkably easy, but I did read the directions several times and checked online resources. Thanks for the encouragement!

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  4. Looking forward to seeing the final pictures :) Your projects make me *want* to be able to knit, but I get started and just don't have time to finish anything (as you've seen!) Ah well, someday!

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  5. Love it! My math skills and poor instruction reading is why I have not tried knitting yet. Heck, I can't even crochet that well. I am wanting to try though, you make it seem so easy!

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  6. Yeah the math thing absolutely has to be overcome. But it's doable, and I have lots of time to spend on it. In retrospect I should have taken a class rather than teach myself, could have saved myself a lot of trouble and wasted yarn (enormous socks, dropped stitches, etc).

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  7. Your poor dog is a SAINT! Georgie hasn't a prayer with those crazy cats!!

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