Obstacles and Setbacks (A Masters Handknit post)

Swatch 14

I knew they were fragile.
I knew they didn't handle big changes in temperature and weather.
I knew they were old.
I knew hauling them around in the trunk was a bad idea.

But.....

There was so much else on my plate.

 

 

I think the knitting fairies are trying to tell me something. 

So....I'll just keep telling myself it's the process, not the destination.  In the mean time I have bought another pair of needles and will start this little dance of yarn and frustration from the top.  Never being anywhere for more than 3-4 days without having to travel again makes "best work" just that much harder - I'm currently settling for " Wow, I actually knitted a whole row" before having to attend to something or someone.  I'm all about brainless or simple knitting at the moment. 

 

Okay, I'm through whining.

 

Oddly, I think the frustration and setbacks are actually making me a better knitter in many ways - go figure.

 

 

My New Best Friends - Bookwise

Since I have become my dad's primary caregiver, time is at a premium these days and I am still struggling to figure out how to complete the Master Level 1 handknitting program. Time is at a premium and my knitting is the mindless kind these days, the kind I can pick up and put down and not think too deeply about. Having said that, I have been indulging in some knitting retail therapy - book wise. 

Charles Gandy recommended Nancie M. Wiseman's The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques.  I have been knitting a child's cardigan and I was at the point of fitting the sleeves into the armholes.  This gave me the opportunity to practice the joining technique.  Was it a great job?  Not really.  In the Master's Handknit we submit swatches which are to be a reflection of "our best work".  It is easy to get fixated on that one small part of the program.  I think the real value of the Master's hand knit program is the ability to research, practice and expand one's knowledge.  This sweater is also helping me practice weaving in yarn ends.  As a side benefit I learned that the duplicate stitch method is a great way to 'fix' or reinforce sloppy, loose gauge on the sides.  Sloppy side gauge is a separate issue that I need to work on. 

I also picked up The Knitter's Handbook. Small, portable and spiral bound.

I am finding there is a lot of different information out there regarding knitting.  Knitting is a very slippery business with different definitions for many of the techniques.  I am knitting a simple cowl that has mobious in it's title.  It is not technically a mobious.  It is just circular knitting with the cast one row having a twist in it. This does create a twisted fabric, but a true mobious it is not.

I am surprised how my knitting is secretly improving.  I used to look at Vogue knitting magazine and think "Yea right, I will never be able to knit that stuff".  Now it doesn't seem so out of reach.

Reframing the Masters

Fun Knitting

As John Lennon said, life is what happens when you are making other plans.  With my Dad's hospitalization in November I am now spending most of my time at his house in the role of caregiver.  He can't drive anymore, needs help with his medications, finances and those other things which are so much a part of living independently.  I am still trying to figure out how to manage this new situation.

 

With my one year deadline coming up on the Master's level 1 in March I had to think hard about what the role of the Master's was going to look like in my life.  Add to that the change in the instructions and I really had a conundrum. I could put a lot of pressure on myself to power through the rest of the requirements or I could just practice letting go and accept that the Masters and I are going to have a long slow courtship.   It was while knitting a small sweater for an imaginary grand child that I had an epiphany.  I have struggled with the correct way to weave ends into a knitted piece.  Arenda Holladay had tried to help me at the recent Reno conference, but my brain was on overload and she probably thought I was a complete dunderhead. So while looking at about 20 ends that needed weaving in I thought I would just practice, it wasn't for the master's so there was no pressure for perfection and I could just practice learning the technique.  If I made mistakes,  the mistakes wouldn't matter, I could just use them as an example of what worked and what didn't.

 

In other words I am letting go and plan to have a long slow courtship with the Master's Level 1.  There is enough pressure in my life right now without adding more.  So I now have the new instructions and a new sense of peace about completing anything by a certain deadline.  Knitting is more fun and I think I am finding the balance I need to make learning fun.

 

 

Just Shoot Me Now - A Masters Hand Knit Post

You would think that answering a series of questions regarding your knitting of the swatches would be pretty easy.  Basically Question #4  asks you to look at a couple of swatches and tell them whether you like the bumpy or the smooth side better in the cast-on and what you might want to do about those differences in a personal project.  Pffttt.....except the cast-on edge of the two swatches I'm looking at aren't looking different because I didn't do them as instructed!   As I said, just shoot me now - I get to do this swatch over (again) because I don't think they are going to buy into "let's pretend I really did it right".  I'm pretty sure they are going to want to see it done correctly.

And the question about bumpy and smooth, well heck the more I dug into the nature of this cast-on the more complex the answer.  Two hours later I know a whole lot more about this particular cast on and what options I have for manipulating bumpy and smooth cast-on edges.  Amazing what you can learn.

Now if I could just get the magic knitting fairy to show up and leave a whole new swatch under my pillow tonight that would be wonderful - hey, it could happen.

Serious Whine - The More I Try And Improve The Worse My Knitting Gets.

Pity Party For One
Table in the Corner
Pass the Whine

It seems the more I try and improve the worse it gets.  I keep pulling out old items I have knitted and that K2P2 is just fine thank you.  It is even, consistent and there is a whole sweater of it, but can I knit a swatch for the Master's level1? - apparently not.

I even bought the metal signature needles that were getting such great reviews, but for me they are heavy, very slippery, and probably because of the way I learned to knit I have to grip them so hard to keep them in one place, my tension is tighter and my hands ache after awhile.  So, I am no fan.  I went looking for some wood needles but didn't find any at my local shop and my usual shop is closed on Mondays.  Actually, I think I am just chasing excuses - while I am sure I am learning things, the biggest thing I am learning is I probably don't have the technical ability to manage this program.  Others will breeze through it......but for me, well sometimes you just have to learn that not every thing you want to achieve is possible.