On knitting projects that are frustrating
Jan. 6th, 2012 11:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
untonugganI am knitting something for my father that I don't really want to knit, but I've knit something for nearly everyone else so it's only fair. He bicycles - a lot. He just got an award for bicycling 200 km every month for 12 months...for the third year in a row. Anyway, he does Old School French bicycling (aka randonneuring), and a lot of the folks who are really into it wear natural fibers in winter. Which means wool. So I'm hand-knitting him bikewear, which (1) he really wants; (2) is the only knittted thing he really wants right now.
He initially wanted a fingering weight balaclava in black, but I delayed too long so he bought one (yay!). I negotiated to dark brown - he wants a dark color so it hides bike oil and sport weight. I'm now knitting him a hat with very small ear flaps. He wants it the same dimensions as a lycra cycling cap he has...so I am inventing the pattern from scratch. Since I've knitted a lot of hats lately this isn't such a big deal. What I hadn't accounted for was (1) not knitting hats with ear flaps before; (2) not knitting hats in sport weight yarn before.
Things that have gone right so far:
- the ear flaps were the right dimension right from the start, because gauge was kind to me and my math worked
- I located the ear flaps in the correct parts of the hat, so that they actually fall over his ears
- It fits around his head and is not too loose/tight (thank you sweet gauge)
Things that have gone wrong/annoying so far:
- the yarn leaves dark marks on my fingers (It is Sweet Georgia yarn and expensive and should not do this). Will definitely be washed well before I give it to him so he doesn't sweat dark brown streaks down his face.
- He kept going on about not wanting it to come down too far, so I did the decreases too early, finished the hat, and then had to rip back when the ear flaps only just reached his ears (I think it would have worked better if it was worsted weight)
- I'm knitting 105 stitches in a k4p1 rib...around and around and around...and the row gauge is small too. I hadn't thought about having to knit a lot more rows with the sport weight yarn.
- The ear flaps are rolling upwards occasionally, despite the fact that they have a garter stitch border. I think his bike helmet will hold them down, but still. Grr.
I put off doing any knitting today because I really, really was dreading frogging so much of the hat. It wasn't so bad once I started. Then to reward myself I cast on for a second pair of socks. I'm doing the top in a diagonal rib (3x2) and it looks wonderful.
I also have plans for a stash-busting lap blanket for the car, because suddenly it decided to get cold and I finally thought of a place where I could actually use a small blanket.
Also, does anyone else feel really superior when they go out in the cold covered in things that you've knit yourself?
He initially wanted a fingering weight balaclava in black, but I delayed too long so he bought one (yay!). I negotiated to dark brown - he wants a dark color so it hides bike oil and sport weight. I'm now knitting him a hat with very small ear flaps. He wants it the same dimensions as a lycra cycling cap he has...so I am inventing the pattern from scratch. Since I've knitted a lot of hats lately this isn't such a big deal. What I hadn't accounted for was (1) not knitting hats with ear flaps before; (2) not knitting hats in sport weight yarn before.
Things that have gone right so far:
- the ear flaps were the right dimension right from the start, because gauge was kind to me and my math worked
- I located the ear flaps in the correct parts of the hat, so that they actually fall over his ears
- It fits around his head and is not too loose/tight (thank you sweet gauge)
Things that have gone wrong/annoying so far:
- the yarn leaves dark marks on my fingers (It is Sweet Georgia yarn and expensive and should not do this). Will definitely be washed well before I give it to him so he doesn't sweat dark brown streaks down his face.
- He kept going on about not wanting it to come down too far, so I did the decreases too early, finished the hat, and then had to rip back when the ear flaps only just reached his ears (I think it would have worked better if it was worsted weight)
- I'm knitting 105 stitches in a k4p1 rib...around and around and around...and the row gauge is small too. I hadn't thought about having to knit a lot more rows with the sport weight yarn.
- The ear flaps are rolling upwards occasionally, despite the fact that they have a garter stitch border. I think his bike helmet will hold them down, but still. Grr.
I put off doing any knitting today because I really, really was dreading frogging so much of the hat. It wasn't so bad once I started. Then to reward myself I cast on for a second pair of socks. I'm doing the top in a diagonal rib (3x2) and it looks wonderful.
I also have plans for a stash-busting lap blanket for the car, because suddenly it decided to get cold and I finally thought of a place where I could actually use a small blanket.
Also, does anyone else feel really superior when they go out in the cold covered in things that you've knit yourself?
no subject
Date: 2012-01-07 07:19 pm (UTC)Yes, or at least very gleeful in knowing that the thing keeping my face/neck warm is something I made with my own hands. I only recently finished my second knit project, a scarf. My first attempt at a scarf was far too wide, but I liked the look of it so I use it as a shelf/mantel cover. :) This one turned out very nice. My next planned project is a blanket, which will probably take me years since I knit in spurts, but a friend gave me some lovely yarns that would make a wonderfully soft blanket/afgan. So I'm determined to move forward with a non-scarf project. :)