Argus Knitalong: Week 6.2

[laughingrat]

Peeps, first of all, my apologies. All-work weekends kinda cook my brain. Only excuse I have for letting the update post go so long.

I know some of us are still working! I've *just* gotten into the sort of boring bit at the end of Chart C--the part that makes the edging. Anyone else finish this week? Anyone nearing the end? What would you do differently, if at all?

Comments

[uninvitedcat]

I went wrong *again*, had to rip back a few rows and then got hit by a bout of stoopid and have failed to identify where I now am on chart B.

I swear, this project is not going to win!

(It doesn't help that I got sidetracked by an Eastercon project to knit a Clanger - which is almost but not quite finished...)

[laughingrat]

Oh no! That's crummy. Are you able to read your stitches much, with the yarn/needles you're using? I wonder...I don't have the charts with me now, but I wonder if you pinned it out and took a fairly clear pic and posted it, if people could help do detective work. :-D

[uninvitedcat]

I'm not very good at "reading" stitches at all, and I think it's because I've been making stitches in a very peculiar fashion. So whenever I've identified that I've gone wrong, I've either unpicked back to the point where I made a mistake (if it's in that same row) or ripped back completely (if I've knitted past it without realising it).

Hopefully, now I'm aware of the weird way I've been knitting I can start going a bit faster. But first I need to:-
- take all my stitch markers off (because they're in the wrong places)
- count all my stitches
- work out which row I'm on in Chart B
- put stitch markers back in the correct places
- get on with it!

I'm not as demotivated as I could be (given the huge number of times I've gone wrong), but that's mainly because I'm still learning tonnes from this project. I'll definitely be on the look-out for more lacework projects, and possibly another shawl or two...

[laughingrat]

That's really cool, that you're not feeling wholly demotivated by this. I'm glad you're feeling like you can keep going! I think a lot of people's first lace projects are rough, and when I finally get my teeth into a really meaty cable project, I know I'm going to have all sorts of issues. :)

I was thinking the other day about another one that might be fun for you to knit (yes, I ponder the KAL fairly often, for all that I am not super timely on posting :)), and I was wondering if you'd seen the Icarus shawl. It does look like the primary motif, lace columns, is fairly similar to Argus, though. It might get dull for you. But with something like that, it might be good practice on how to read knitting, since everything basically lines up in straight lines. Interesting about your stitch formation--were you knitting through the back or something?

[uninvitedcat]

I've just looked up the Icarus shawl, and boy that looks pretty! I did quite like the look of the Tongues of Fire shawl too. Decisions, decisions!

I was expecting to have a few issues with this project because I've never knitted anything as big as a shawl before, never followed a charted pattern before, never done lacework before etc. But as long as I'm still learning, it's OK to go wrong. (I've not even *looked* at cables yet...)

I'm not sure if I can explain the stitch formation thing, but I'll have a go.

If you look at my left-hand needle at the start of a row, it'd look like this:
//////////////

What I was doing was pushing the right hand needle through the bit of the stitch closest to my body, so from left to right:
/////////// ->/

So I was having to work against the natural direction of the stitch. Watching a more experienced knitter at Eastercon, I saw that she was working with the direction of the stitch, by pushing the RH needle from right to left through the part of the stitch furthest away from her body:
/////////// /<-

Does that make any sense? Does that have actual proper names?!

[laughingrat]

Interesting! From the verbal description, it sounds like you were doing it right, but if they were slanting so much, it sounds like there was something unusual going on. I don't want to say "wrong" because lots of people knit in a way other than English or Continental style--Annie Modesitt, I think, has a twisted-knitting style which is sort of a hybrid.

[uninvitedcat]

I'm not sure that description is any good. If I ever get sorted out with picture hosting, I'll take some pics and draw arrows all over it!

As for what I was doing - well, it still looks like proper knitting (I've done a few scarves that way) so it's not analogue-wrong. But I can already tell it's much easier to work *with* the angle of the stitch. It may even help me speed up!

[willidan]

I've just started chart C. But I honestly don't know how it's going to turn out. I did a couple of rows this morning before work and it looks like a dropped a stitch, but I have the right number of stitches on my needles. I'm not even sure if it's fixable. Despite the problems I've had, I have really enjoyed this project and for the first time I've worked from a chart, it's gone a lot better than I expected it would. Next time I make it (possibly for a Christmas gift) will go much better. *is hopeful*

[laughingrat]

The first lace project I did, Seraphim, I had a lot of things like that too! When you say it looks like you dropped a stitch, do you mean you found a stitch flapping loose a few rows down, or more that it seems there's a hole where there shouldn't be?

[willidan]

A bit of both. I know it's where I wrapped the yarn around (i.e. increase) and there should be a hole there, but it also looks like I dropped one. I marked the place and when I come to it I'll make sure it looks right, but... I just don't know.

[laughingrat]

Hm, yeah. That's tough! I hope it works out okay.