This old dog learned some new tricks
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@AdagioM My first steek was secured with a sewing machine. Slow and easy, wide foot. It went OK.
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@wtg That’s what makes it so fun…it’s marginally terrifying! But not really.
It’s easier to knit stranded colorwork in the round than flat, because the colorwork pattern is always facing you. No purling back in pattern. But if you want a flat piece of knitting (or a cardigan) when you’re done, you need to cut it so it’s not in the round any more!
@AdagioM Yes, my friend used to do a ton of stranded colorwork in the round and it is from her that I learned about steeking. I was also the beneficiary of one of her early attempts which turned out much too large for her because she did her gauge swatch flat but when she knit the actual sweater in the round it grew like Alice!
Some of her work:
I love this:
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She was an amazing and incredibly prolific knitter!
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My friend who knitted these sweaters was wicked smart and a doggedly determined person, both in knitting and in life. I have never done this kind of knitting but from what little I know of how it's done I do think it can be quite challenging. @Bernard or @AdagioM probably have a better idea of the difficulty factor from the viewpoint of experienced knitters.
A few more pics:
My friend not only knit, but also did her own designs. Here's an example of the evolution of one design. This one started with choosing the colors for this tam:
Which morphed into a design for this sweater:
And into some other color palettes:
For me, at least, eyes crossed....
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Fair Isle patterns, in themselves, are not difficult as long as only two colors are used in the same row, which is usually the case. The sweater I posted above has some rows where three colors are needed and I found that it took more attention to carrying the threads. Once a person is comfortable using two colors at once (some people carry a different color in each hand, some carry both colors in the same hand), they are set to go. The pattern takes care of itself. It's like following a recipe. More often than not the pattern is given in the form of a chart which gets repeated horizontally and vertically.
A typical chart:
]wtg, your friend's sweaters are stunning.
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So beautiful!
I have no attitude for fabric arts.
I ordered winter clothes and bedding (and barely enough of each) from LL Bean. The total was $$ but it will work in the 40's with no heat and I'm bringing it all with me when I move.
There were many items I wanted but couldn't afford to be blunt.
It was a extravagant but I was cold last winter, it was miserable, and I won't suffer like that again.
You can't do much about the sweltering sun if you don't have electricity but you can mitigate the cold.
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Top-down cardigan for knitters:
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Top-down cardigan for knitters:
