The sad little scarf

Well, this scarf isn’t turning out quite as I had hoped.
Details:
Wool: big softie
Needles: 8mm
Pattern: knit 2 purl 2 (cast on 16)

Ultimately, I’ve messed up on this scarf a few times…I’ve purled where I should have knit, I’ve twisted a few stitches, I’ve messed up my tension more than a few times. But bless my sister, she says she loves it (so far– I showed her on the 26th) and has said she’ll wear it, goof-ups and all.

A new knitting lesson learned

I learned something new today- and unfortunately, I learned it the hard way.

When I started my scarf I thought I would need two balls of yarn. The idea of more than two balls being used on this scarf was more than overwhelming. Now, as I near the end of the second ball, I realize that It isn’t going to be enough. I went into the yarn store to find that they had SOLD OUT of the colour I was using. I wanted to cry. Part of this is that I knew I would need a third ball, and went in to the yarn store last week, and didn’t buy it. I thought “I’ll grab it when I get closer to the end”. Now, I’m kicking myself for not buying it when I had the chance.

 

So….I guess I make due with what I have. And learn that next time, Buy than what I think I’ll need.

Jinxed myself

After posting about my typical goof ups, I went and added a stitch and knit a whole row of incorrect stitches! Sigh.
This morning, I spent some time undoing my mistake.

Lesson learned: Don’t try to knit after taking prescription pain medication. Sigh.

Things I tend to mess up on

When I’m knitting, there are “those things” that I tend to goof up on. Thankfully, I’m starting to learn how to fix things, even if it’s slow and time consuming to do so (Lesson: Be as Type A as I can be, and every stitch MUST be perfect!!! HA!).

My main goof ups:

• I often “gain a stitch”: Why? I don’t slip the knitted stitch off of the needle completely and end up knitting it again. Fix: Luckily, I tend to use patterns that I notice when I’m off by a stitch (Example: Knit 2 purl 2 results in quite a funny looking pattern if I gain a stitch). I usually count backward and unravel until I get to a row that I know is right.
• I sometimes forget which stitch I should be on: Why? Simply put, I can’t count, and sometimes I put my knitting down and can’t tell if I should be knitting or purling, etc. Fix: As time consuming as it is, I count my stitches (example: I start at the beginning and say “knit purl knit purl knit purl…” until I get to the offending stitch. Apparently, experienced knitters are able to look at the stitch and know what they should be on. I’m not at that point yet with my moss stitch, but I can do this in my knit 2 purl 2 patterns.
• The last stitch on the row looks funny: Why? I have no idea! Fix: I’ve read a couple of different options on fixing this, but haven’t found a method I like yet. One experienced knitter suggested I carry the stitch over as it is without knitting it. When I flip it and start on the next row, this should fix what it looks like. I tried it and didn’t like it but that’s probably the Type A talking again…
• Re-inserting/twisted stitches: Why: I don’t know how to re-insert! Fix: I watched several videos, got a book, and asked for help. When I goof up, I sometimes have to pull the row apart and reinsert my needle. The first few times, I ended up with terribly twisted stitches, and they looked funny. Type A says “START FROM THE BEGINNING AGAIN!” For the first little while, that’s what I did. But thanks to this video (warning: It starts as soon as you click the link, so if you’re reading this at work and don’t want everyone to know you’re reading blogs instead of working, wait until later to open the link!) I have found it much easier to reinsert, and was able to undo two rows and correct what I was doing, instead of 3 feet of knitting which would have probably made me cry.

So there you have it: these are my most common problems. I read a lot about dropped stitches and I’m happy to report that at this point, I haven’t dropped a stitch. Ever. Why is this you might ask- the simple answer is that I am so afraid of dropping a stitch that I am hyper vigilant about it. We’ll see if that holds true when I start working on more complex patterns!