Wednesday, March 04, 2009

I say, "cardigan"

Fate says, "Nay"
This blog entry was to showcase my brilliance. Sadly, we all know what happens when we get too cocky. That's when fate steps in.
Here is my sad tale...
Meet mohair the star of this post.

It is lovely stuff. It knits up soft and warm. However, if you are a knitter capable of error -- like yours truly. It also knitters up frustratingly.
Notice, if you will, the hairs. Once knit they glue together and make it impossible to tink or unknit or frog or tear back. I have been known to become so angry that I have attacked knit mohair with scissors. ...not something I'm proud of...but I'm only human.
So, aiming for an easier more enjoyable knit I sought a solution.
I found one.
I knit a strand of mohair and a strand of acrylic.
Yes, that's right I said it. I said, "acrylic".
In these days of environmental enlightenment acrylic has become an ugly word.
Well, to most but not to me. I still knit with acrylic.
Why?
Well, because I know and value it. I know that I can throw an acrylic sweater into the wash and rest easy. I know that an acrylic sweater will not shrink.
Yes, this is the biggest concern for me.
Yes, I am too lazy to wash a sweater by hand.
No, there is no laundromat on Mayne Island.
I do knit with acrylic. I have knit with acrylic blends.
I have knit with natural fibres. I have knit scarves, hats and vests. Things that don't require weakly trips to the washer.
Okay, for those who are still with me, let's continue with this tale.
So, there I am with one strand of mohair (actually, to be truthful, a mohair blend) and one strand of acrylic.
It was an enjoyable, fast knit.
I knit without a pattern. I knit without setting pen to paper. I simply knit.
The result....

Please notice, that the width of the sleeve is much smaller than the width of the armhole. Did you notice it?
Oh, I know you did. I can hear you laughing.
I can hear you laughing and I agree it is funny. Now I can agree. Then I couldn't.
Lesson learned -- I hope -- I will now take some notes.
I will record the number of stitches to the inch. I will record the width of my armhole.
I will.

Moving on...
How do I sew seams?
I begin my anchoring the seam on both ends.

I continue sewing an invisible seam.


The result...


After the seams, I now weave in ends.

I found it easier to weave in the acrylic yarn and the mohair separately.
Now, you may ask, "What happened? Do you have a cardigan?"
Well, sadly, the answer is, "No!"
You see, I didn't have sufficient yarn.
So, my cardigan became...
a vest.
I will wear my vest to the World Day of Prayer service. The service will be held on March 6th. On Mayne Island the service will be held at Saint Mary Magdalene Parish Church. The service will start at 2 pm. This year, the service was written by the woman of Pupua New Guinea

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