20 January 2013

when spitting is proper etiquette ~ posted by Melissa

What do you think about when you have 580 stitches on the needles and the rows seem to take forever?  I'm all over the place ~ for instance:


'Doctor Dolittle' (1967)
If you spit-splice two llama hind ends together, could you really get a push-me pull-you?

 
'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'
My dream job would be to knit costumes for movies.  I think about it.  Alot.  We're doing a Harry Potter movie marathon this weekend ~ have you seen Mrs. Weasley's fantastical over the top outfits?  These crocheted sleeves are amazing!  (And yes, my husband humors me and lets me pause movies so I can take pictures of things like this.  One of the many reasons why I love him!)


 
I thought about how off the yardage requirements are for this pattern when I was able to knit almost the entire first 3 charts of Leaves with my first ball of yarn ~ do I really need the other 4 skeins?  And as I watch how quickly ball #2 is disappearing into chart D, which I've barely made a dent in, I remembered that Jared never steers us wrong.
 
 
 
I try to think of a way to encourage a kal'er who seems to be abandoning the knitalong not to obsess quite so much about the size of her yarn overs and give this just one more try.  She does beautiful lacework (I've seen it in person) and I guess I would tell her that blocking is her friend and you can even out any inconsistencies you think you might see when blocking.  Please don't give up! (If anyone has any tips for yarn overs, please share them!).
 
 I also want to say a big hooray to Eileen who I saw commenting on a few blogs that we both read about how she was really struggling with the cast on in this knitalong and had many starts and restarts and was sounding really frustrated and now I see that she is starting chart C....way to keep trying!  You won the battle!  We can't wait for you to share a picture of your progress and your yarn! 
 
 And I've thought about Tracey and her inspired poncho (it's lovely!!) being finished and how now she should be ready to cast on Leaves and join us!
 
Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!  Better get ~ I've got a date with my husband, Ray Lewis, Harry Potter and Jared Flood today :)    ~ Melissa
 
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20 comments:

  1. Melissa ~ twoknitwitJanuary 20, 2013 at 11:21 AM

    'spitting is proper etiquette' ~ Jeff Korn
    (almost forgot to credit you for my favorite knitting quote ever!)

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  2. AndeeJanuary 20, 2013 at 11:50 AM

    Your Leaves of Grass looks amazing! Such a fun and exciting post. I took mine to a kids birthday party today where I thought I could sit and knit. But when I saw there were over 40 kids and double the amount of parents I realize the was just no where to sit and knit. How rude.

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    1. Melissa ~ twoknitwitJanuary 20, 2013 at 6:49 PM

      Andee ~ I don't think I could knit with one little being running around let alone 40!!

      Delete
  3. Kelly LightbeamJanuary 20, 2013 at 1:52 PM

    Great photo! I tried to figure out a way to get a proper photo of mine and I just couldn't do it ;) I'm at half an hour per row at this point, which takes a while to get much done!

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    1. Melissa ~ twoknitwitJanuary 20, 2013 at 6:50 PM

      Kelly ~ are you still knitting leaves? I thought you were supposed to be resting your muscles ;)~ don't hurt yourself more!

      Delete
    2. Kelly LightbeamJanuary 20, 2013 at 7:40 PM

      I'm still on hiatus, knitting a Ginkgo shawlette. DK weight is fine ;) I'll be back to knitting Leaves in a few days though, and I'll restrain myself to 2 rows per day!

      Delete
  4. Lori annJanuary 20, 2013 at 2:25 PM

    oh how those outer rows gobble up yarn! your leaves is looking so beautiful melissa! you would be good at that job. yay for tracey and eileen and i do hope the kal'er will continue also!

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    1. Melissa ~ twoknitwitJanuary 20, 2013 at 6:52 PM

      thanks, Lori ~ I'm on row 14 of chart D and my second ball of yarn is close to gone! it seems like it's going much faster but it must be my imagination!

      Delete
  5. EileenJanuary 20, 2013 at 5:42 PM

    Your leaves are looking wonderful. I have had a slow start but now I'm getting on a roll. My counts are staying correct, { thank you Jesus }.
    I almost quit on Friday but so glad I didn't, I'm loving this knit now. Could I please have another invite as a guest poster, I deleted my by mistake ;(. Thanks

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  6. PumpkinJanuary 20, 2013 at 6:02 PM

    That is a lot of skeins, but it is really pretty yarn so it wouldn't be the worst thing to make something else from the leftovers. The detail on that shawl is amazing, it is going to be a masterpiece!

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    1. Melissa ~ twoknitwitJanuary 20, 2013 at 6:53 PM

      thanks, Pumpkin...maybe you'll join us for our next knitalong?

      Delete
  7. Kelli WyllJanuary 20, 2013 at 6:02 PM

    Looking good. I'm chugging along on chart D row 21

    Bella got her Drivers Permit so every chance we get she wants to drive, I can't knit then!

    I do love lace but it does take so long~

    Look Melissa at what I just found ...♥

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    1. Melissa ~ twoknitwitJanuary 20, 2013 at 6:54 PM

      goosebumps ~ Bella is driving ~ how did that happen?
      I learned to do this ~ ♥ ~ from Lori's blog ;)

      Delete
  8. UnknownJanuary 20, 2013 at 6:13 PM

    I am with you on the confusion about yardage. I think that caused me to lose a bit of steam. I kept looking at the partial skein and remaining 3 skeins and thought I wasn't making an progress. Two FOs later and my interest is renewed

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    1. Melissa ~ twoknitwitJanuary 20, 2013 at 6:57 PM

      I saw where someone on Rav figured %'s and chart a thru chart c is 25% of the yardage and chart d is 50% (!) and oddly, even with the longer rows, my knitting speed seems to have picked up (I think it's because I don't put it down midrow which means I put it down less ~ make sense?)

      I think Lori said she's already doing the edging so she's at least 75% done!

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    2. Kelly LightbeamJanuary 20, 2013 at 7:42 PM

      This! The rows are looong! But the repeats are easy to remember, so it's not so fiddly.

      Delete
  9. karenJanuary 21, 2013 at 8:35 AM

    that is quite the date! lovely lace knitting (as always) and I'm enjoying the posts and watching everyone's progress with different yarns!!!

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    1. Melissa ~ twoknitwitJanuary 21, 2013 at 10:44 AM

      thanks, Karen ~ you should join us again next time if you're not too busy with your teaching schedule ;)

      Delete

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