Friday, February 1, 2013

Sleeve Trouble

by Kelly

Have you ever noticed how troubles seem to multiply? First I was having a problem with the sleeves of the sweater I'm knitting, then when I came here to the computer to download the 'in progress' picture, I discovered that our digital camera isn't communicating with computers today.  If it was a person it would be sitting with it's face averted, arms crossed, lips clamped.

So while our camera is electronically sulking, and I am trying to wrap my brain around the math involved in making the slope of a sweater sleeve come out correctly, I thought I would share pictures of another hobby I have: gardening.

I don't know what it is about the month of January that makes me dig out the gardening catalogues and dream about spring. Do you do that too?











And lastly, a garden visitor who was just passing through when I opened the kitchen door and stopped him in his tracks:


I don't know which of us was more surprised. He recovered first, though, and took off after his mom and siblings.

And now I'm off to dig out the flower catalogues...and dream over the flower seeds that I got for Christmas. So much potential.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Raglan Sweater Weirdness

by Kelly





Still working on the Bernat Denimstyle Turtleneck Sweater. I was merrily following the directions when I reached a weird part - at least it was weird to me:


This is the front panel, and when finished it has two points on either side and an unworked part in the middle. That thing in the middle is a stitch holder (imagine a big green safety pin) that is holding the unworked stitches.

I looked at this completed panel and instantly was plagued with doubt. How could this be right? But apparently it is...for raglans.


via Knitting and  Crochet Guild


Thank heaven for the Internet! The link above goes to a site I have never seen before which looks to be a fantastic resource for all things crochet and knit. Even better, the page I landed on had two diagrams, one of which showed how to piece a Raglan sweater together. Whew!

There's also a wonderful article on Knitty.com that explains way more about sweater construction than I ever really wanted to know, but it cleared up a few mysteries, and more importantly, reassured me that I was on the right track here.

I've added Knitting and Crochet Guild to the sidebar under 'helpful sites' and look forward to exploring there sometime. Meanwhile, on with the sweater. Sleeves are next - and as a side project, maybe another pair of leg warmers for my aunt-in-law, while the cold weather lasts.