Right up until Christmas morning, I was devoting almost all my knitting time to finishing up my Mother’s socks. After they were completed, I still had to finish a pair for my Father (whose birthday is today, actually) but I decided to take a breather and work a few more rows of my Rocky Coast cardigan in between the sock knitting. It was at that point I realized that I had done about 27 cabled rows too many. Twenty-seven! (I’m blaming it on the fact that the collar is added later, so the yoke doesn’t look very long when you separate the sleeves from the body. Plus all those holiday distractions.) I had to rip over four inches of work.
As I mentioned in a comment on one of Tina’s recent posts, I decided, instead of being sad and frustrated about the wasted time and work, I would be proud of the fact that I ripped back to a certain point and was able to pick up all the stitches again—something I’ve never done before and was quite scared of! Here is a before and after of my ripping. And above is obviously where I’m at now. I’ve separated the sleeve from the body and now for the long stretch of cable rows.
A while back, I borrowed Literary Knits
In reading news, I really haven’t been doing very much. For a long time, I didn’t seem to have the concentration required to follow anything with a plot or linear story line. Instead I was flipping through magazines and cookbooks and other flip-through-able books. But the other morning, I awoke very early and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I read the first chapter of Woodswoman: Living Alone in the Adirondack Wilderness
What have YOU been knitting or reading?
If you’d like, you can share what you’re knitting and reading every Wednesday with Yarn Along over at Small Things.
January 9, 2013 at 11:22 AM
My stomach hurts just thinking about all the Brave frogging you did with this gorgeous sweater. Although, I’ve ripped many a project out, and found a weird sense of peace when doing that too. Loved reading we took to the woods ! She was one Brave woman.
Best,
elise
January 9, 2013 at 12:19 PM
Your cardigan looks wonderful, love the pattern. Shame you had to rip so much out but what a great attitude you have towards it.
I read only recently about cable without a needle but for the life of me can’t remember where! if I do I’ll pop back and leave another comment.
That totally sounds like my kinda book.
January 9, 2013 at 1:07 PM
27, huh? sorry. i’m glad you decided to keep going. and i suppose you can view it as some extra practice, although as nice as it looks like on the photo you don’t seem to need much practice at all!
January 9, 2013 at 3:43 PM
Wow congrats on the patience test, you definitely passed. I always struggle to find that mindset at moments like that. As for reading, right now I’m devouring one English crime book after another and after a year and half of reading in Danish for school, devouring is the only word I applicable.
January 9, 2013 at 4:05 PM
I’m looking forward to seeing your new cardigan!
Right now I’m finishing a pair of ballerinas slippers. I just cannot wait for it.
January 9, 2013 at 4:23 PM
You have a great attitude about it. I learned so much from ripping out my mistakes. It’s frustrating at the time but worth the extra effort. Can’t wait to see your sweater finished!
January 9, 2013 at 5:09 PM
Congratulations on your success to picking up all those stitches, it can be very stressful! I also cable without needles, but I usually have a loose live st or two, so no help with the links sadly!
January 10, 2013 at 6:07 PM
Liesel, I usually just simply transpose the stitches and then knit them as they present themselves, but Grumperina has a more complex technique–is this what you meant by “no live stitches”?
http://www.grumperina.com/cables.htm
(The way I do it is illustrated in this Techniques with Teresa: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter07/FEATwin07TT.html)
January 13, 2013 at 10:59 PM
Thank you so much for digging up and sharing some links, unfortunately neither are quite what I am thinking of. Perhaps I’ll do video or photo series of what I’m talking about. In the meantime, here is how I’ll word it:
For C4F what you do is skip over the first and second stitch on the left needle and instead knit in the back of the 3rd and 4th stitch but don’t remove any stitches from the left hand needle. Then you bring the right needle to the front and knit stitches 1 and 2 as usual, slipping each off the needle after knitting. And since you already knitted the 3rd and 4th stitch, you can then slip both of them off as well.
I’m going to play around with C4B a bit more to see if can figure it out. Since I’m 3rd in the queue for the book at the library, it could be a couple months before I get my hands on it once more…
January 10, 2013 at 8:14 PM
oy, that’s a lot of ripping back! That would be so disappointing to have to do!
I’ve been crocheting too much lately, my hand is rebelling against me! I’m wearing a hand support now but still trying to crochet haha It’s slowed me down though and that was probably needed.
January 11, 2013 at 2:40 AM
your cardigan is looking really lovely, i know you’re glad you went back and well done on picking up the stitches. i do not know of a link to share, but strangely (i guess) i enjoy using a cable needle.
January 11, 2013 at 4:39 PM
The knit is lovely. :) I’ve read Woodswoman and enjoyed it and just finished Deep Country, fFive Years in the Welsh Hills by Neill Ansell and it was FANTASTIC. :)
xo Brooke
January 14, 2013 at 9:18 AM
I got Literary Knits for Christmas. If you want, I can photocopy the pages that explain the technique and send them to you…..email me at augustdaughter@hotmail.com
The cardigan is looking very pretty thus far.
January 17, 2013 at 10:30 PM
Up next for me is Madeleine Tosh’s Mara, although I speedily knit two warm hats one right after the other. I just finished The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris, and I can’t decide if I want to start a Simone Weil book or, um, another Kathleen Norris (either Amazing Grace or Dakota).
And your knitting is so lovely & inspiring… love the color with the pattern.
February 9, 2013 at 9:11 PM
I’m going to check out Woodswoman!!! I’m a beginning knitter so I’m working on some fingerless gloves. I just finished “Snow Child” by Eowyn Ivey + now I’m re-reading “Moominland Midwinter”. Cozy!!!