Well, I'm afraid I have to bore you with seeing my giraffe again lol. I do have a few other wips to show now too.
I now have 2 legs totally finished for my
Not So Itty-Bitty Giraffe and another more than half way done. The legs have been the most boring part about making this. They seriously take me several hours each and it's just knitting a tube - snooze-ville. Hopefully this justifies why I will make a leg or so and then start a crocheted animal to pep me back up again lol.
I also have decided I want to learn to knit continental style. Not only does my typical English style seem to take a long time, it is also totally killing the pinky finger on my right hand as that is how I keep the tension. This decision is easier said than done though. It's like learning to knit all over again. While I am certainly better with my hands than I was last June when I learned to knit, it's still very cumbersome for me to knit continental. How do you people do it? I am able to hold the needles correctly now, which is a far cry from before, but it's still very hard for me. I pressed on though and went back to my tried and true
Knit Lab Craftsy class and watched the section on how to do the stitches again and just mimicked Stefanie Japel's style. I was able to do it a little and you can see my results above. It doesn't look bad in the photo, but it is very loose - much looser than my English knitting. Maybe this is why I can never get gauge right now? Everyone else's stitches are done in a way that makes the looseness normal. Anyway, I will keep trying and hopefully pick it up so I can be speedier. Purling is crazy hard for me - I just can't pull the yarn in the right direction with my left hand, and I keep having to grab the yarn with my right finger and pull it down anyway which seems to kind of defeat the purpose of trying to go faster. Anyway, we shall see...
I've also started another Colette Jasmine Blouse :) This one is in a lovely pale blue chambray and the cuffs will be a bright navy blue. After my weird fitting problems last time showing me in the end that I just cut out way to big of a size, I figured I could just cut the right size from the start and avoid the problems. Not so, folks. Apparently my boobs are not as full as "the norm" for how wide my bust measurement is, because I had to seriously adjust the curve of the bust. And by adjust I mean basically remove it completely.
Those are my seam lines, lol. I had to revert to the old put it on, pin, sew, put it on again, repeat method. It still isn't perfect, but at least now it doesn't create a weird right angle at the apex line and it doesn't gape away from my upper chest. I'm still working on it. I'm just hoping I don't have the problems with the collar not fitting right this time because of my adjustments.
So that's what I'm working on this week. To see everyone else's, head over to
Tami's Amis' blog and look around :)
This is a very interesting post. I am a continental knitter and always wondered about learning to knit English style ... mostly for doing colour work. I taught a friend to knit 5ish years ago and I didn't realize till about a year ago she was twisting her purls.
ReplyDeleteI had never thought about the different between English and continental for color work. I've never done it myself, but I can see how English style would certainly make it easier to have all the different colors easily available.
DeleteTo knit faster purls in Continental you need to wrap the yarn around needle backwards, and then on the knit row knit into the back. The only time Cont is faster is when you are knitting in the round. And faster really depends on the person knitting. I knit very fast in English, so it isn't always the method, it's the rhythm and the person. Beth Brown Reinsel also has a Norwegian Purl technique for easier purling.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip on the purls - it was nearly impossible to do it how I was trying. I am actually knitting in the round on dpns right now so I guess that's why continental was recommended for speed. I will say that I have definitely gotten faster the more I've worked on it. I'm on my 4th leg now and it's going by much faster than the first or second. I honestly can't tell how or why because it seems like I am doing everything exactly the same lol. I guess the reason English can slow me down is that sometimes I end up bracing the end of the needle against my chest or stomach while I hold the tip securely and throw the yarn around. Thankfully with short needles there isn't much need to do that. And I'll have to look up the Norwegian Purl technique - thanks so much for the suggestion!
DeleteThis is really interesting, I'm more of a crocheter than a knitter - I had no idea there were different techniques! I love the colour of your Giraffe.
ReplyDeleteThanks :) The colors are actually the exact yarns the pattern calls for (which is a rarity with me). I bought them as a kit through Craftsy; they are both Cascade 220 Superwash and I received 2 skeins in Daffodil and 1 in Orange. I'm addicted to this yarn now lol. I wanted to go the extra mile with the components as I am putting so much time into making it and hope it can be a family heirloom when I have kids :)
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