Preparing the upper trim and the neck band

This post is about a knitting technique that I used for the fichu Afternoon Break. The aim of this technique is to allow the continous knitting of two different sections from the same starting point, without picking up stitches there. Once you get the first few stitches done, you’ll find how easy it could be! Eventually the technique will save you some time and result in a smooth transition! (or at least I hope you’ll think the same!)

You can use this technique on both sides, and I am showing it from the right side, because I spilt the neck band and the upper trim from the right side in Afternoon Break. Apart from the pair of needles you’re using, you’ll need two other spare needles, preferably of smaller sizes (they don’t have to be same size), for seperating those stitches.

1.

This is the beginning of a right side row. I have 14 stitches on the needle (10 st st and 2 edge stitches on both sides).

2.

(RS) Simply knit back and front of each stitch (increase one each stitch). 28 stitches on the needle.

3.

(WS) Use the first spare needle to transfer the first stich on the left needle. The use the second spare needle to transfer the second stitch. To show this clearly, in the picture, I put the first needle in front of the WS and the second needle behind it. The following picutres are for the purpose of showing the transfer step by step.

4.

Transfer the third stitch on the left needle to the first spare needle (front needle).

5.

Transfer the fourth stitch on the left needle to the second spare needle (back needle).

6.

Continue putting the odd-numbered onto the first spare needle and the even-numbered onto the second. This picture shows that I have transferred 8 stitches onto both needles: four onto each spare needles. At this point, you should feel at ease transferring stitches this way!

7.

After doing this the whole row, now you’ll have odd-numbered on the first spare/front needle and the even-numbered on the second spare/back needle, if seeing from the WS. The picture shows it from RS, so the first spare needle is on the back (the one with yarn tail). If you don’t like the feeling of dangling needles, feel free to transfer the non-working row to a strand of waste yarn. Now you’re ready to continue the knitting of different session!

8.

This picture is just showing what it looks like if knitting the back session first–it will leave you with a row of live stitch in front of the piece.

I hope this tutorial would be helpful. ^_^

Recapping my knitting activities

My regular life in the past few weeks was loaded with streams of unexpected activies because of some interview invitations (one from a UK top Ten Uni! though I didn’t get the job). I had to read plays and articles, as well as visit some archives, of all had nothing to do with my own work. I imagine in the following weeks, life would be the same, except that we’ll get more and more sunshine and this fact along cheers me up!

The progress of my work is reasonably lagging behind, which I tried to rectify the situation whenever possible, but the knitting was doing fine-not as much as I’d like it to be, but I did manage to have TWO FOs in the past month. These became my second and third FO of the year (not very productive) and in the end it became relatively unstilumating, because I was knitting the same design, the first time I’ve ever knitted one pattern twice!!

I cannot reveal the pattern just now, but it will be published online very soon. The pattern is done, but I am still struggling to master Adobe Illustrator in order to perfect the pattern. I love this photos, so until it get published, I am posting it here nonetheless:

As always, I am lucky enough to be able to get “Vogue Knitting” early (a.k.a. the not-so-vogue Designers Knitting for us UK knitters), directly from the USA.

With limited knitting time, it makes more sense to me to design and knit my own patterns, however, sometimes there is just something very beautiful that I’ll have to make it, so I cast on this one,

though I never am a sock knitter! Plus, it would mean that I’d got a pair of stocking very soon, if I didn’t get the second sock syndrom this time. Probably won’t–there are 4 charts needed for this design, one is available on the magazine, and three others from the website. As of this morning, VK hasn’t uploaded the rest of the charts! This means I’ll have to put on hold the first sock and cast on the second sock tomorrow and doing so reduce the possibility of getting second sock syndrom.

All I hope is VK uploading them before I depart for my (working-)holiday next Tuesday!

The Double-knit Argyle Scarf

I decided to knit an argyle scarf in the hope of making it a quick Christmas gift in 2007. I remembered spotting a stylish argyle scarf from the (then) just-published Son of a Stitch n’ Bitch and decided to take that as a reference to knitted one. But soon after I realised that it was far from the right project to suit that purpose! This was what it looked like before the end of 2007:

Occasionally, I was carrying this scarf with me, trying to finish it off for different important dates (V-day, b-day and those alike). But more than often I was playing catch-up with it after those dates, such as the post-b-day effort captured here:

Fast forward. One year and one Christmas passed, and it remained unfinished. I put the blame on me disliking the double-knitting technique! When I returned to London in January, I decided to tackle it again for yet another important date. The date was in mid-January, so it means I had to knit the scarf on the move. To accomomdate to purpose, I replaced the pair of Surina rosewood needles that I used for the project to a pair of Lantern Moon circular. To my surprise, the change of needles made huge impact on my progress, and the scarf got lenghtehed quickly!!!

I was so glad that finally I’d be able to keep my words and got it ready for Dr Wang’s graduation ceremony at Royal Festical Hall!

The scarf is handsome and warm, and I would recommend knitting it as a scarf for me. However I won’t do double knitting in the near future I am sure.