Well, it's good to be home. It took nine and a half hours of driving with five of us in the car to get there and nine and a half hours of driving with five of us plus four chickens in the car to get home. I made a little progress on Birch, mostly car knitting, managing an entire pattern repeat which I was pleased with:
I would have had at least six pattern repeats to show you but something went badly adrift in the first line of the sixth repeat. I put this down to knitting way too early in the morning (about 5am) after a very bad night's sleep (I'm just not very good at being away from home these days!). It was very, very hot and I was very, very tired so I am now at least one stitch out in one area of my pattern. Here's the photographic evidence:
Can you see the troublesome area? The easy way to tell if the pattern is right is to match up the birch 'spines'. Well, mine don't anymore for about six pattern stitch repeats on one side of the shawl.
I ripped out a few rows and tried again but must not have gone far back enough (this was all done in the car). I re-knit a section, then ripped it back again and tried again but it's still not right. Kidsilk Haze is hell to frog. I'm feeling a little delicate about it now. It's the result of knitting when too tired, similar to knitting when too drunk - it never looks right in the morning! Did I mention that Kidsilk Haze is hell to frog?
I remember reading about using a 'lifeline' when knitting lace which I think I can thread through the last row of correct stitches using a sewing needle. That's if I can find an entire row of over 200 Kidsilk Haze stitches. Please let me know if you have any other suggestions for correcting this. I know there's a lot of information about this on the Rowan forum so I'm off there to check it out. Send good knitting vibes my way!
Posted by Anita at August 12, 2004 08:28 PMOh Anita - nightmare ! You have my sympathy but sorry, no tips on ways to do it. You see, I knew there was a good reasonn for me not knitting Birch !
Posted by: Heather at August 12, 2004 09:06 PMWelcome back! Nine and a half hours is an ungodly drive (I've done that before), and you deserve a rest! Er, chickens? Pets, I hope!
I've done a lifeline with embroidery floss every pattern repeat before (on my lace tank top), which you can do from the last row of the last pattern repeat. I've also just frogged stitch by stitch; slow, but it works. Good luck with KSH! Hope Rowan can help...
Posted by: MJ at August 13, 2004 06:09 PMYour BIRCH is quite lovely! I'm now thinking of starting one. I started a vest in KSH and love it very much. I need to very careful when working on it. Soft & fuzzy!
Posted by: JZ at August 13, 2004 08:46 PMHell to Frog...that could be our motto. I am making this also, am only a couple of rows into the first repeat. I have used dental floss before for a lifeline; think I will for this as well. I like your idea for markers. The ones I am using allow the yarnovers to migrate.
Posted by: Lorette at August 14, 2004 10:48 PMI know, Birch is very frustrating. All I will say is that I know that there are several mistakes in my finished Birch, but that one year on I cannot find them. At the time I was knitting I consoled myself with the fact that I had read somewhere (I can't remember where) that Shetland knitters used to say that only God could create perfection, therefore it was only right that there was at least one mistake in any knitted garment made by a mere mortal. I would not define myself, by any stretch of the imagination as a religious person, but this halped me to stop frogging and finish the beast.
Posted by: Sandra at August 15, 2004 08:13 PMFrog one stitch at a time,then have a little break from Birch. ;-]
I've just found the patterns I gathered for you & thought I'd posted...ooops ! Sorry. I'll bung in the post this week.
I find the best thing to do about frogging is just to do it. I ripped back and did not try to reskein it. Sometimes I ripped too quickly and got bald patches. It's still a fine yarn to work with and the end result is simply beyond words.. so keep going.
Posted by: P at August 17, 2004 08:19 AM