I have knitted a wide variety of items during the 13 years I've been knitting, including a sweater I knit from scratch based on a sample provided to me by my now husband.
So what does one do to make themselves feel like they are a stupid knitter and know absolutely nothing about knitting?
It's really simple. One easy step. Just decide to knit the Pinoli Cardigan!
Oh my word!
Last night I sat down eager to cast on for this lovely little cardigan. At first glance this beauty looks like it will be a quick and simple knit. However, once you delve into actually knitting it, you realize very quickly just how not simple and not quick and not easy you initially thought it was going to be. Oh no.
Want to know just how quickly I realized this? Ummm row 2. Yup. That's right. Row 2.
The increase abbreviations, and the description of these abbreviations, had me at a total loss. I quickly looked up the abbreviations online to see if there was some new knitting lingo I was lacking. Nope. There isn't any new lingo. My vocabulary seems to be up to date.
My next step was to check with my knitting peeps on Ravelry who've knit this to see if there is any mention of these "new to me" abbreviations. Nope. Seems like everyone BUT me had no problem. Argh.
Last, but not least, I knew there was one more place I could check before I decided this cardigan was not going to be knit by me. My sister.
See, she is knitting it too and has about 4 weeks of work on it ahead of me. After a bazillion text messages back and forth, she pointed me in the right direction. My response was, why couldn't the pattern just say the increases are a "Right bar increase" and a "Left bar increase"? Hello!!!!
With my new found clarification, I immediately started knitting again. All was going well until I tried to complete row 3. My thought process went a little like this:
"Hmmmm. What now?" "Did I not do enough increases" "Let me count all 119 stitches again to make sure they are all there" "Seems like they are all there, but let me just start all over just in case I didn't do something correctly."
Yup, I ripped ripped ripped. Casted on again. Redid the increase row. Counted my stitches. Yup 119 present and accounted for and by this time it was past my bedtime so I decided to leave the row 3 knitting until today.
I had a little time before work this morning. I decided to pick my knitting back up and at least get the third row done. I am knit, knit, knitting along on row 3 and then BAM! I get towards the end of the row and realize I still have a problem. It seems I am short two freaking stitches again. ARGH!
By this time I am really over knitting this cardigan. I am seeing my sweaterless body roaming through Rhinebeck envying all the other knitters who were smart enough to knit their sweaters way in advance of the fiber festival. I have lost all hope. I am depressed.
After sending yet another 911 text to my sister and having a 15 minute phone conversation with her, all has been revealed to me. I am not stupid after all. I do have knitting brains.
It appears there is a lot you have to figure out on your own with this pattern. It's not all crystal clear. You have to have your knitting thinking cap on for sure.
Fear not, my sister has set my knitting sail in the right direction and I believe I can knit the right course now.
We shall see! I will be back with another update soon!
I am loving that sweater and selfishly delighted that you and your sister and paving the way on the pattern for the rest of us knitting know nothings in case we ever get around to trying it ourselves. Good luck, I hate when I have to fight for a stitch count. I've been there so many times and all you want to do is knit!!
ReplyDeleteI have to ask, I see the zipper in that sweater, are you going to have to steek? Cause that kinda scares the heck out of me.
I am hoping that my phone call with my sister is the last one I have to place. I would really like to get some knitting done on it. Turns out my stitch count was correct. The interpretation of the pattern was the issue. The designer leaves you to figure things out without any real explanation. I will try and do a post explaining what we have figured out with this pattern when all is said and done.
DeleteThe zipper is not a steek at all. You do an applied icord on the edges and then sew in the zipper. If a steek was involved I would not be knitting it for sure. LOL Even with all my years of knitting under my belt, I don't know if I could be brave enough to cut into it like that.