Hey everyone, I was invited along to the knit along by ceres. Since I've never even attempted to knit in my life, I'm doing the simpler pattern. After many, many mistakes (including somehow doubling the amount of stitches in the scarf without noticing @_@) I'm making some good progress! I'm also enjoying knitting a lot.
Looking forward to getting it done, and trying some different projects as well.
ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
I have 25 repeats done as of right this second. Only... 46 more to go.
...
In other really annoying news, my scarf got screwed up in transport over the course of a couple months and I couldn't figure out how to fix it, so I had to start over.
I keep feeling like I'm making backwards progress lately.
Everyone should post pictures of their work so far! I vote @knitdan wears his, since it's finished.
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
Do you know how hard it is for me to take a selfie? Logistically I mean.
I haven't even touched the second one since I finished the first, I've been working on a dragon.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
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ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
Nope.
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
That was one of those rhetorical questions.
I'll try and put something together tomorrow.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
+3
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ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
Oh! As it happens I finished today and blocked it out as well.
Teeeeeerrible cell phone picture ahoy:
I'll need another morning with good sunlight to take actual nice photos, which probably means next weekend.
First time in use, and the foam mats are super awesome for blocking! I never saw a need for gridlines--eyeball approximations are good enough. I hope they don't wear out super fast though, because each time I block I need to shift pins around like whoa and every pinprint stays in the foam.
The blocking wires continue to be invaluable. As are the thick T pins.
knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
I really need to upgrade my blocking game.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
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ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
Yeah I'm still pretty sure blocking is voodoo.
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
Pics in spoiler.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
Aw,thanks! The first one is probably my favorite.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
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ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
The last one is my favorite and why can't I register my awesome more than once dammit Icy
Those are levels of amazing and the shawl is beautiful. I hope mine ends up a fraction that nice.
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
I forget how summers in Canada means there's still some sunshine when I come home from work.
I'm contemplating having Wyborn model this for the thread. :P
What's hilarious is that by blocking this out, I realize I must have made an error in my previous Rock Island (which was knit with the exact same colourway/yarn).
I have noooooo idea how that happened. Oh well! Guess I've grown since then.
ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
As I go on I'm becoming concerned that my yarn will break when I go to block it.
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
SilverWind's blocking ends up looking like something out of Hellraiser
Yarn is tough as hell
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
I don't have a picture of it but my shawl ended up with two points at the bottom so I dunno.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
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ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
Did you guys end up with laceweight or fingering weight?
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
The one I posted is made from laceweight.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
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ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
Hmm.. yours doesn't look like it's going to disintegrate... maybe it will be fine.
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
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knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
Does it pull apart easily in your hands? If not it's most likely fine. Even if it does, it's probably fine. You've got to remember that the strength of a fabric made from a yarn is usually greater than the tensile strength of a single strand of that yarn. Just try not to split the plys.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Mine is laceweight as well! Along the short edges, I chose to insert the wires where two strands would be tugged instead of one on its lonesome (you can see it clearly here with the leftmost point).
But blocking involves very slow and methodical stretching, and you can feel when your piece can't/shouldn't stretch any further. Plus, there's a lot of adjusting around (making sure all the points are evenly spaced and evenly pulled). It's much more important to get the general desired shape down instead of stretching it as far as it'll go.
If you're looking to buy some blocking materials, I got mine from Knitpicks, but you could also just use regular pins (and I've heard of people going to hardware stores to get the wires cut!)
And for foam blocks ignore the knitting branded ones--you Americans have a million options. I searched for cheapo interlocking mats at Walmart. http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/10066893
Oh, and you should have a spray bottle handy too, as by the time I'm done pinning most of it is nearly dry. :P
knitdanIn ur baseKillin ur guysRegistered Userregular
Hello everyone! I've been working on my second Rock Island again, so I thought I'd bump the thread. I got to the end of the charted lace but I wanted to keep going.
So I've written it out in a way I can read it, and figured out how it repeats. The only tricky part for me is figuring get out how many times the central pattern repeats on each new line past line 24, but then I relaized it doesn't really matter for my knitting purposes. The only thing that really changes is the stitches before the pattern, the central stitches, and the end stitches. Once you get into the pattern itself it is pretty easy to repeat without really knowing how many repeats you need. You just watch where you are in relation to the central bit or the end bit and work to that point.
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
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ceresWhen the last moon is cast over the last star of morningAnd the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderatormod
Yeah I haven't forgotten about this at all. I've been having a number of medication issues that are seriously impacting my ability to get anything this complicated done; I end up tearing back to my lifeline each time. I'm hoping I'll soon be back in the kind of shape to pick this up again, I love working on it.
And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
I think I should report in that I've worn my rock island twice since finishing it--which is more than I've ever done so for any shawl. It just lends itself very, very well to being worn like... well, like a large bandanna bib, loosely tied behind the neck, and goes well with a plain top and a pair of jeans. :P
None of my other shawls really suit this very well--they're more back-drapey, which I feel should be reserved for fancier-wear? (I am not a fashion person, so I don't really know this for sure.)
I'm totally going to knit some more shawls that can be worn bib-like, though. And probably in some lighter colours, because as much as I love darker colours, all of my tops are dark coloured too.
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At this rate I hope to finish either by the end of this week or next.
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Looking forward to getting it done, and trying some different projects as well.
...
In other really annoying news, my scarf got screwed up in transport over the course of a couple months and I couldn't figure out how to fix it, so I had to start over.
I keep feeling like I'm making backwards progress lately.
Everyone should post pictures of their work so far! I vote @knitdan wears his, since it's finished.
I haven't even touched the second one since I finished the first, I've been working on a dragon.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
I'll try and put something together tomorrow.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Teeeeeerrible cell phone picture ahoy:
I'll need another morning with good sunlight to take actual nice photos, which probably means next weekend.
First time in use, and the foam mats are super awesome for blocking! I never saw a need for gridlines--eyeball approximations are good enough. I hope they don't wear out super fast though, because each time I block I need to shift pins around like whoa and every pinprint stays in the foam.
The blocking wires continue to be invaluable. As are the thick T pins.
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
My ACNH Wishlists | My ACNH Catalog
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Those are levels of amazing and the shawl is beautiful. I hope mine ends up a fraction that nice.
I'm contemplating having Wyborn model this for the thread. :P
What's hilarious is that by blocking this out, I realize I must have made an error in my previous Rock Island (which was knit with the exact same colourway/yarn).
I have noooooo idea how that happened. Oh well! Guess I've grown since then.
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
My ACNH Wishlists | My ACNH Catalog
If it makes you feel any better, I have blocked the fuck out of a ton of shawls and sweaters and never busted yarn
Yarn is tough as hell
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
But blocking involves very slow and methodical stretching, and you can feel when your piece can't/shouldn't stretch any further. Plus, there's a lot of adjusting around (making sure all the points are evenly spaced and evenly pulled). It's much more important to get the general desired shape down instead of stretching it as far as it'll go.
If you're looking to buy some blocking materials, I got mine from Knitpicks, but you could also just use regular pins (and I've heard of people going to hardware stores to get the wires cut!)
http://www.knitpicks.com/accessories/Lace_Blocking_Wires__D80589.html
http://www.knitpicks.com/accessories/T_Pins__D80634.html
And for foam blocks ignore the knitting branded ones--you Americans have a million options. I searched for cheapo interlocking mats at Walmart. http://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/10066893
Oh, and you should have a spray bottle handy too, as by the time I'm done pinning most of it is nearly dry. :P
Weeeeeird. Weeeeird! I wish I still had my other shawl for comparison. I suppose I should be thankful both look decent regardless.
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
My ACNH Wishlists | My ACNH Catalog
So I've written it out in a way I can read it, and figured out how it repeats. The only tricky part for me is figuring get out how many times the central pattern repeats on each new line past line 24, but then I relaized it doesn't really matter for my knitting purposes. The only thing that really changes is the stitches before the pattern, the central stitches, and the end stitches. Once you get into the pattern itself it is pretty easy to repeat without really knowing how many repeats you need. You just watch where you are in relation to the central bit or the end bit and work to that point.
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
I think I should report in that I've worn my rock island twice since finishing it--which is more than I've ever done so for any shawl. It just lends itself very, very well to being worn like... well, like a large bandanna bib, loosely tied behind the neck, and goes well with a plain top and a pair of jeans. :P
None of my other shawls really suit this very well--they're more back-drapey, which I feel should be reserved for fancier-wear? (I am not a fashion person, so I don't really know this for sure.)
I'm totally going to knit some more shawls that can be worn bib-like, though. And probably in some lighter colours, because as much as I love darker colours, all of my tops are dark coloured too.
Switch: SW-7603-3284-4227
My ACNH Wishlists | My ACNH Catalog