Scarf

[elizabeth_mn]

I finished my scarf! My Kernel!

I blocked it yesterday and it is still laying out to dry.  I found the grafting to be pretty difficult, as I expected.  I have never been good at grafting.  This time I tried it on a swatch first, and it did not look right, so I knitted an extra row on the scarf and fiddled with the stitches a bit, and it still did not come out quite right, but I think it looks great anyway!  Certainly the best job of grafting I have ever done.

I tried to use the grafting instructions from TECHknitter in the latest issue of Interweave Knits, but they were way too confusing for me; odd, because I usually find TECHknitter to be so clear.  But I used the directions in the pattern, and they worked really well for me.  I think one thing that helped was the terminology: "left to right" instead of "knitwise."  I've been knitting for a dozen years, so I know what knitwise and purlwise mean, but I could probably knit for a hundred years and still right and left would be more deeply ingrained in my brain.

While I was knitting this, I had planned to buy a set of blocking wires.  When I blocked my last lace scarf, I used every pin I owned and the edges still looked sloppy.  But the unforseen sewing machine troubles have caused me to economize, so instead I sewed a length of thin cotton yarn along each long edge.  When I pinned it out to block, I pulled the cotton yarns very tight to straighten the edges and pinned them in place by little loops tied at the ends.  I'll have to wait until I un-pin it for the final effect, but so far it looks great and it was really simple to pin it out straight.

Photos when I have time - hopefully as soon as it dries!

Comments

[undycat.livejournal.com]

congratulations!