Sunday, October 23, 2011

Like Sands Through the Hourglass

I spent a big chunk of this day of our lives finishing up my Twisted Hourglass Socks. Because I’d gotten some long-deferred yard work out of the way yesterday, today was just for me, some PBS shows I needed to catch up on, and lots and lots of twisted stitches. Some more twisted than others.

At least twice, I found that one of my running twisted stitch lines was going off in the wrong direction. Rather than tink back a few rows, I undid the three or so stitches that were mis-ordered, laddered down a few rounds, and then worked my way back up. This is kind of tough to do when the middle stitch is a purl stitch, and I had to wrangle the “working” yarn in front to execute them. The stitches in these repaired sections are a little wonky, but I’m hoping that they’ll even out over time.

I can definitely recommend this pattern. It may seem a little intimidating at first, but hang in there. The pattern is easily read from the work and I soon found myself not having to look at the pattern much. The designer, Robin Griffiths, is kind enough to warn you when things might appear weird. It’s comforting when designers give you that personal aside, patting you on the shoulder and saying “I know you wouldn’t normally do this here, but trust me.” Much appreciated by someone given to second-guessing himself. Most of the cabling or twisting is simple enough that it can be done without a cable needle – my only exception was the seven-stitch cable down the side. I managed to do it once, but that was enough to scare me back to standard practice.

    

So now, I have nothing on the needles! I haven’t been in that state in a very long time. I do have plans for a Windschief hat for myself, plus there were some nice stranded socks a few issues back in Interweave Knits that I’d like to try.

But that would mean buying some yarn. Like that’s a bad thing.

2 comments:

  1. I'm working on a pair of gloves with lots of twisted stitches and tiny cables (those socks are in time-out). I realized that, about 15 rows back, I had mis-twisted, and considered dropping down to fix it, but then chickened out! I'm sure it won't be that noticeable....

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  2. These socks have been in my queue forever, and now they are a lot more likely to get knit thanks to your fine example. They look perfect.

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