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The Last Class
Saturday, February 19, 2005
I have my last machine knitting class tomorrow. I want to take the next one, too; I hope there are spaces left. The sweater we're making is so fugly. It's a nice shade of teal wool, almost the same color as "Remembering Honey", but the style is yucksville. it's got drop shoulders and dolman-type sleeves and mock rib at the cuffs and hems. I hate sweaters with tight cuffs and bottom hems. So unflattering. But I'm learning how to use the machine, so that's good. They teach more interesting things in the next class.
I don't want to get up tomorrow! Seven is way too early to get up on a Sunday morning. On a cold Sunday, too boot.
Ugh.
On the lighter side, I'm taking a break from Tweedy Cardigan hell to knit Kyle a big, striped roll neck. It's the "Marine Pullover" from Hollywood Knits Style by Suss Cousins. My gauge came out different, so I reconfigured the pattern a la Stitch 'n Bitch Nation's directions. Boy, do I hate math. Kyle doesn't know what a lucky man he is, that I would break out the calculator just so he can have a handknit sweater.
posted at 11:54 PM .
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Intermission
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
I'm still chugging away on my "Tweedy Aran Cardigan" from Interweave. I've done the back and one of the fronts. Now I think I'm gonna go on hiatus and work on something easier for a little while. I got yarn to make Kyle a sweater, Patons Classic Wool pullover with dark grey heather and navy blue stripes, and I got myself some butterscotch Wool-Ease to make a ultra cropped long sleeved sweater from the new issue of Knit 1 magazine (with out the gay furry collar). It's small and short and will take no time at all, then I'll have something I can wear over my dresses for those chilly spring nights. I also got Fun Fur so I can make my mom a scarf. She wanted a furry scarf. I've never knit with Fun Fur before, so I'm a little scared, which I think is kind of funny. It seems like everyone who has learned to knit in the past three years has made at least one big, furry, garter stitch scarf out of novelty yarn. Everyone, that is, except me.
posted at 11:23 AM .
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I Finally Have It
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Today I went to my lys and finally, FINALLY, bought good buttons for my "Must Have Cardigan". I finished the cardigan back before Christmas but, in lieu of proper buttons, I sewed on some wooden toggles left over from another sweater. I didn't like the way they looked, but I swore I'd get new buttons some day. Today was that day. So, with out further ado, here is the "Must Have Cardigan", with cool, shiny buttons! I really dig it.
posted at 5:58 PM .
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Sunday Morning Blues and Greens
Monday, February 14, 2005
How time flies. I went to the first of my three machine knitting classes with out even telling you about them. I'm very sorry. Must be the weather...
I read about the class in the Winter 04/05 issue of Vogue Knitting. Karen Allen, who you might remember as Marion from "Raiders of the Lost Ark", is a lifelong hand knitter who took machine knitting at FIT and now she's got her knitwear own company up in the Berkshires. I'd never been interested in machine knitting, but the article made it sounds interesting and the garments Karen makes are very interesting colors and patterns. I rarely knit with color. I'm kind of scared, I guess. And I hate weaving in ends. So, I stick with complicated textures and cables. It's less bother, at least in my mind, and when I'm done everyone thinks I'm a freakin' genius.
Anyway, I read this article and thought, "Hmm, that's cool. I think I'll take that class." And since I'm fortunate enough to live in New York City, I did. It's one of the cool things about living here. I barely leave my house and go to Manhattan only once a week, but if I read about some obscure thing happening there, I can go. And it hasn't been that weird going back to FIT. The class is Sunday 9:30 - 4:30, so the dorm kids are passed out with hangovers. I don't feel that old, just a little old.
After the first class, which I left after having knit two sleeves, I planned on taking every machine knitting class they offered right away. I went home devising where I'd clamp the knitting machine I planned on buying from the instructor. As the week wore on, my enthusiasm waned. On Saturday I griped about having to get up at the crack of dawn the next day. I decided that I could wait until next semester to take the following course. Maybe I didn't like machine knitting after all. My attitude was the same for the first couple of hours of the class. Then I got into it again. We went on a field trip down the hall to see the industrial knitting machines and the three cut Brother knitting machine, which is the one I'm interested in getting. The machines we're learning on are seven cut Brothers, which knit fine gauge yarn. The three cut is for worsted/chunky yarn and it gives a more hand knit look. The instructor had told us we could get a good starter seven cut machine for $400, but the three cut is $600. After I found that out, I was less interested in the class. It's hard to maintain interest in something when you can't go home and do it after class.
So, I'm still unsure what kind if machine, if any, I will buy. But I'm going to take the next class, regardless of my Sunday morning angst. At least it gets me out of the house.
posted at 12:43 PM .
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