Friday, June 08, 2007

You're cutting your knitting??!!?

In the interest of explanatory photos, as I've worked on this sweater I've been having the husbeast snap pictures for me. Usually it's just a matter of saying "now, please", and he'll get up and stand behind me, take a couple shots of my hands, and that's that.

Tonight, he was well down a glass of Jack, having worked eighteen hours yesterday and fourteen hours today. I was cutting the steek when I said "now, please" and he looked over and gasped and said "You're cutting your knitting?"

I can't believe he's never seen me cut a steek before - it seems like half my sweaters have steeks in them somewhere - but now that I think on it, I'm not sure he has. So he marveled at my bravery and skill while he took the photo, and remained impressed until I accidentally cut a float on the back of the jacket and had to fix it. (Belatedly I remembered I was on a buncha painkillers for my wrist. Whoops. I should do a tutorial on fixing cut floats, shouldn't I? Not that any of you would be dumb enough to cut a steek while drugged.) Anyway, after that, he wasn't quite so impressed.

In my efforts to simplify the rest of this process as much as possible, I've decided that it will be easier to do the back-and-forth stuff of the shoulder straps and back of the neck AFTER the steek is cut. So that's how we'll do it: shoulder decreasing, cut steek, shoulder straps, back of neck, button band, and hems. Oh, and arm pit grafting. That's all that's left of the jacket, and I hope to have the shoulder decreasing directions up by the end of the weekend.

Ah, the weekend. Guess what we get to do. Remember last year's shop picnic with the husbeast's fellow Navy guys? The one where they fed the alligators? Yeah. That's on again for this Sunday. I'll make sure to take photos of the stupidity this time, respect for privacy be damned.

As for Saturday, that's Knit in Public day. Uh, anyone know if there's somewhere in Charleston doing that? Anywhere?

Sekhmet likes the steeked jacket, too:

Anybody want a cat? Cheap?

8 comments:

Sheepish Annie said...

Me! Me!!! I want a cat cheap! How cute is that??? Although I suspect that the Cute Factor may wear a bit "thin" after a few episodes of feline neediness...

Bells said...

sekhmet knows good knitting when he says it.

The husbeast only just noticed? That's funny. Yes, please provide a tutorial on fixing snipped floats Julie. I want to be prepared for any eventuality!

Barb Outside Boston said...

After seeing your and Eunny's tutorials, maybe someday I will be brave enough for steeks. I may start on a baby sweater first, though.

Alwen said...

I love me that cute little nip of pink tongue showing!

Dana said...

No official KIP-ing that I know of, though there's always a group that meets at the LYS on Sats. The guild does a Knit Out in November usually. I'll probably do some unofficial KIP-ing at the beach or pool - if I don't melt.

Terby said...

I saw a woman KIPing at the Children's Museum. Socks in Tofutsies. Personally, I'm staying home where it's nice and cool.

Anonymous said...

hi, julie --

i'm knitting a yoked raglan by elizabeth zimmerman's method. i've done many plain yokes before and usually things work out well.

this time, however, i tried it on about 3 inches shy of completion and bad news: its a bit too tight for some one my age who isn't trying too hard to be a `'sexy senior citizen." it needs about 2 inches of ease.

the yarn is 3-ply 100% hand-dyed uruguayan wool (not superwash) which i bought through a coop. it's a heavy worsted knitted on a 9 circular needle. i have two 220-yard balls left. it's green and black, not the light to dark green i expected from the web site, and looks rather like camo, but that's ok. i still love the yarn.

i have four choices, as i see it (though if you or readers have other ideas, bring 'em on, please):

1. give the sweater to someone smaller. that would be my daughter. she doesn't like wool sweaters that well.

2. lose 20 lbs (i need to anyway . . . !)

3. frog the whole thing down to its components, and then frog and re-knit the body, join the pieces and knit it to completion.

4. complete the sweater, pretend there's a steek, baste the front, cut it and knit on a band to turn it into a cardi.

i know free advice is said to be worth what you pay for it. well, i pay attention to your blog regularly. does that count? --grin--

ellen in indy

Amy Lane said...

That damned cat has taste, you have got to give her that... and kudos for the husbeast for recognizing that you are, indeed, a brave samurai:-)