Mistakes - fix 'em or forget 'em?

Yesterday, I brought my knitting with me to boardgaming night at the BURPS HQ. After a few games I decided to take a break and just knit a bit while friends (including Polycrafty) continued playing.  I had knit several rows and took a look back at my work and there was something... missing.  Rather than continueing the stripey bands that make the dishcloth look like so many stacked bricks, I had somehow dropped this section and sort of knit over it.

I guess this is what it's like to do my best.

I paused a bit and dug into my knitting with the spare needle and found the stripey part, but somehow I had knit right over it, covering it up and ruining the effect.  Usually at this point I'd just shrug and keep going, but I had already prided myself on how I hadn't even made any mistakes yet (that I noticed...) and has shown such improvement. 

Anyway, I yanked out a few rows and kept my place and re-threaded the thing on my needle and realized that I was forgetting to pull the yard forward and back before slip stitching, and it resulted in me covering up my hard work. But I undid my mistake! And I figured it out! And I fixed it!

This isn't typical for me.  And now I'm even further than before.

Ballband: Take Two

A few weeks ago, I received a package from my mother. As it turns out, she picked up on my not-so-subtle hint that I'd be happy to take any old knitting supplies off of her hands... and she came though in flying colors. She had 7-8 pair of needles in the box, most of them rather old since they belonged to my Oma but a few newer pair as well that my mom picked up. These was even the start of a sleeve on a tiny set of double-pointed needles with a ribbed cuff that went about a third of the way to the elbow -- this was something that my Oma was working on at some point. The stitching was really lovely. My mom also threw in some Twizzlers and Starburst since they wouldn't melt in the heat.  Atta girl!

My mom's ballband dishcloth. Blue!

Anyway, in order to get my mom to ship the package out, I resorted to bribery* and offered to make her a dishcloth to match her kitchen. She selected a dusty blue, and since my size 7s were empty, I cast on while watching Iron Man to celebrate the 4th of July and by the end of The Incredible Hulk I was about 1/4 of the way through (including a nice break for dinner... ribs on the grill).

Already, this piece is much nicer than my first go, and I don't think that I've even made any mistakes yet. The rows are more even, the whole thing is at a more balanced tension, and I'm pretty happy with how it's coming along. Give me a few more hours and I'll have this one knocked out of the park, too.

I like the feeling of finishing things!! I fear what might happen when I start something a little more lofty, like a sweater, since that will take hours and hours and involve lots and lots of mistakes.  Hm.  We'll have to see how this plays out.




* I'm pretty confident that my mom didn't actually need to be bribed.

Halfway there: N's fingerless mittens

Yesterday I had my only final for the Spring Term. It was online and there were true/false, a few short answer, and some multiple choice. I studied hard and think that I did well, but I'll have to wait and see. In addition to this, I worked on homework assignments and team paper writing and more studying... gah!

After all that work I needed a break!  Fortunately, I had my beloved Netflix subscription and a documentary that I've been wanting to see, Word Wars, was available!  What does this have to do with anything lovingly handcrafted, you might wonder?

A fingerless mitten! Pinned up the side for testing.

This!

I finished the first of two fingerless mittens for Nathan. Now, this one is just pinned together up the side to check the size so it's not finished.... but I'm so happy and it looks great.

It has a few rows of waffle-y stitch at the bottom with a stockinette cuff, then more waffle for the main hand portion and it it topped with a little stockinette band at the fingers. 

I'll wash it, block it, then sew it up the edge leaving room for the thumb and then I'll get to start a new one.  The big question: should I cast on the 2nd piece now... or wait until I make my momma a dishcloth in blue? 

Decisions, decisions.

Cast on: Fingerless gloves/handwarmers

So, after finishing my dishcloth I was eager to start something new. I owed my mom a dishcloth, but I was waiting to hear what color she wanted to match the kitchen, so I wanted to wait.  I also want to make a lovely shawl or sweater or something but since mom is sending me some of my Oma's old needles, I wanted to wait and see what sizes I get (and maybe circular?)  And I didn't want to buy anything.

Nathan's hand warmers. Look! Waffle stitch on the right!

Fortunately, I had a bunch of yarn that was gifted to me from a friend when she moved out of the Cleveland area that has just been sitting in a cabinet, not being used.  I pulled out some Bernat Denim Style (cotton, acrylic blend) and searched ravelry for a beginning pattern that's knit on straight, size 7 needles that won't use too much yarn (I only have 1 skein).  Ta da! Knit flat and then sewed up later, I have a simple, free pattern to start on a set of hand warmers for Nathan.

I am doing okay, but a few kinks:
- This called to cast-on 36 stitches, but since Nathan has Man Hands I added an extra 4. I'm sort of concerned that this will be too big and it won't have enough stretchy part to fit. I think if this is the case, I'll just sew these up with an overlap and maybe add some decorative-type buttons.
- For the waffle stitch, I have to knit 2, purl 2 over and over along the same row. I am a little confused since the working yarn ends up on the wrong side when I switch from knit to purl (and vice versa)... but I've just been bringing the yarn over to the other side under my needles. I guess it looks ok? But I don't know if this is right.
- I don't know if I'll want to make a second one after I finish the first. Always a threat with me. :)

I'm really happy with how it looks so far. I have nice little "V"s on the front and cute little dashes on the back... and my waffle stitch at the bottom is so waffle-y!

Yay!

Ballband Dishcloth: Finished!!

And.... done!
I finished my first knitted dishcloth yesterday afternoon right down to casting off and tucking the ends of yarn back into the piece. This pic is sort of awful, and the dishcloth is wet because I'm trying to 'block' it so that the edges are straight.

But! In person it's beautiful.*


*Ok, ok... so about halfway through I must have missed a row and then my frontside vs. backside pattern switched and I didn't notice until 3 rows later and I would have taken that out and backed up, but I didn't really feel confident that I'd be able to actually back up three rows without losing loops and messing the whole thing up. Note to self: find some way of counting rows.

A few rows of ballband

So it has happened! I have knitted 12 rows and I am not even angry or frustrated.  My pattern for this ballband dishcloth includes knit, purl, slips, and yf and yb (yarn forward and backwards, respectively).

12 rows of a dishcloth!

It was supposed to be in two colors (and addition to this buttery yellow I have a dusty blue), but after watching all of those youtube videos I don't really want to watch anymore to learn how to work another color in. This yellow was a gift from a RAK that showed up a couple of days ago.  Anyway, multiple colors will have to come with cloth #2. I wonder if I can finish by the time Nathan gets home?

Detail of the pattern, this will repeat until the end.

Guess what came in the mail...

So, a package arrived in the mail today from someone on the RAK - Random Acts of Kindness - group on ravelry who wanted to gift me with sugar and cream yarn to start knitting my first dishcloth. I'm really excited to get started and I have to run to the store for needles. She threw in a couple of really cute stitch markers ... little yarn balls and sheep so I can't wait to get started!