Monday, August 21, 2006

Update

Wow! an actual post about knitting.

Well we got back from vacation and managed to develop sinus infections. I have been the living dead for a week now. Since my boss decided to give himself a two week vacation, I have been alone at work, therefore unable to take sick-time. I spent the weekend sleeping and lying on the couch. As a told a co-worker today, I was so sick I didn't even want to knit.

But now I am on the mend and the urge is back. So here is an update on my projects...

Kyoto is awaiting its sleeves and the neckband. I want to do the sleeves in the round and I'm having a few kinks in that plan. The sleeves are too small to do on circulars but too big to do on the dpns I have. I'm passively looking for longer US#4 dpns. I really don't want to knit them straight and seam them.

These are the socks that I started on my trip. Just a basic sock pattern in Cascade 220.

And then there is the shawl. *sigh* Or rather my absolute disaster shawl. Yes I finished it. But it is huge....then I went to block it thinking that might help...once it hit water it became beyond huge. I just don't know what to do about it. It is too large to leave as is. I have two options.

1. I did wet and then toss in the dryer one of my swatches. The swatch shrunk about an inch. It felted slightly but not in a disaster sort of way. The yarn lost its smooth look and the pattern some of its definition. I could do this to the entire shawl. Or...
2. Reknit the whole thing and drop down 2 needle size and make an effort to knit tighter. But the original took about 2 months of hardcore knitting and do I really want to do that again?

what would you do?

4 comments:

Lisa said...

Oh man....you should see the knit length-wise scarf I did a while back! I *though* I had the gauge right, but really couldn't tell as it was all squashed on circular needles. I knit and knit and knit, and built a huge ruffle on both outside edges. And when I bound off, I swear to god this beast was sixteen feet long.

Perhaps you could try steaming your shawl. I've managed to reduce the size of a few smaller garments that way. Less scary than tossing it in the wash!

Did I tell you the story about the super delicate cable-and-bobble bolero I was making for a co-worker's wedding that turned browny-yellow in the sunlight (apparently the cotton in a cotton/wool blend will do that -- who knew?) and then turned bright monkey orange from the bleaching that the fiber company suggested I do. (Yeah...turns out that the wool in a cotton wool blend will do *that.*)

I soaked it peroxide for a week (It looked like a brain in a jar of formadehyde), and eventually 'fessed up to the bride that I didn't have time to salvage this particular disaster. I cried many tears over this one...

My sister insists all this happened because the bride gave up her maidenhead while I was knitting!

Anonymous said...

I'd just block it to the suggested dimensions anyway. I've had a few wool patterns stretch waaaaay out when wet, but dry to the smaller gauge.

roxtarc said...

i'd give it to them and call it a blanket or a lap blanket...
it's BEAUTIFUL (even if it's not what you meant it to be)....

MsFortuknit said...

Sorry about this hun!