So I decided what to knit, though it’s none of the options I presented in my last post. I cast on for the Autumn Arbor stole (first introduced to me by graciechiao) with the Cherry Blossom Silk Lace from Sundara.

And then I brought it to knit night. And then I continued to work on it while attempting to watch soccer coverage in Spanish, which I barely understand but am trying to learn. This is what happened:

I was tempted to leave it. If the mistake can’t be spotted from the back of a galloping horse, who cares, right? But you know who could spot a mistake from the back of a galloping horse? An eagle.

Time to tink.

I believe firmly in tinking over frogging for virtually any kind of mistake, no matter how far back it is. Frogging is reserved for whole-project errors, or if I have less than two rows completed. They say in programming that you introduce a new bug for every ten lines of code you write. I believe there’s a similar rule for knitting, that you make a new mistake about every X stitches. Tinking means re-knitting fewer stitches and that means you’re less likely to make a new mistake in the course of your repair.

Of course, proper set-up for tinking makes all the difference. Clear your workspace. Get good light. Banish children, pets, husbands, and liquor to another room. Failure to do so is like being a surgeon at Seattle Grace.

Continued after the jump.

Continue reading… »

So uh, I’m down to one project on the needles again. And the Tangled Yoke Cardigan is mired in a sea of stockinette. You know what that means: One Project Paralysis. Must cast on something new!

However, I am (chronically) on a yarn diet. Considering the limits of space, budget, and sanity, this is the best thing, trust me. Thus I need to cast on something from stash. But I’m not sure what! Tell me, help me! What should I knit?

1. Lace. I have a skein of Sundara silk earmarked for a scarf/wrap thing for my mother-in-law. It’s a beautiful pink with the occasional streak of sage green. I was thinking of making one of these, but am open to other suggestions.

   

2. Socks. There are quite a few options here, but the downside is that all this sock yarn has been earmarked for my own designs. Or it might be an upside, depending on how you feel about my designs—if you like them, you might vote to kick me off my duff and get one done. The percolating designs are:

   • Purple all-over lace sock
   • White sock with lace cuff and eyelets down the leg and foot
   • Hot pink heavily-cabled sock
   • Blue-green sock with one cable panel
3. Toy. I’ve got yarn to make a toy version of an oomingmack.
4. Sweater. I’ve got the yarn for these:
   

   Probably not the Vintage Pink Cardigan, as that’s also a sea of stockinette, but maybe the Venezia, which has colorwork to keep it interesting and would be perfect for knitting to podcasts.

Thoughts? Suggestions? What do you want to see me knit?

Photo by Randall Smith

Pattern: Saturday Night, by Lauren Abrams and ME!
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, Cavern, 2 skeins
Needles: US 6 (4.0mm) and US 7 (4.5mm) Addi Turbos

Saturday Night, aka Mystery Project #3, is the first result of an ongoing collaboration with Lauren Abrams.

Lauren is the woman behind LaBeana Bags. Her designs are beautiful and she is a joy to work with. The look of the bag is all hers, I’m just the one behind the scenes, translating her art into a knitting pattern. Not that knitting can’t be art, but my role in this project is more of an engineer.

I hope you enjoy the pattern as much as I enjoyed helping to create it.

And yes, Mystery Project #4 in the sidebar is also a Lauren collaboration. I’ll be shipping her the finished sample this afternoon.

Other pattern news: I’ve made two small corrections to the Amy Scarf pattern (fixed a typo in row 17 of the pattern, and deleted an erroneous knit stitch in the instructions for KRL). Please download a new copy!