Fifty First Dates Starts

Fifty First Dates Starts

Here I am doing real-time full-scale prototype paradigm modelling.

Or, if you’re a knitter, swatching.

The rust coloured wool shows rows of experimentation, trying different ways to get the right stitch pattern for a Pidge. I had come across this through Ravelry, where the home-made version has been nicknamed the Smidge.

They had worked out a stitch pattern that looked right, but it involved double-knitting. I had never done double-knitting, so I was looking for another way.

I didn’t find a satisfactory one.

I then started experimenting with the stitch pattern which did involve double-knitting. I wanted a particular look for the yarn, so I tried a sage-green cotton.

This was a Really Bad Idea.

Firstly, the yarn feels quite un-soft and stringy, so it’s not all that nice to knit with. (un-soft is not the same as ‘hard’)

Second, the cotton has no give at all, which makes it hard to knit.

Third, the ply is very pronounced, which makes it too easy to accidentally hook just a part of the yarn.

And lastly, because the ply is so obvious, it did not have the smooth, silky luxury look I wanted. The ply became more obvious knitted up than it looked on the ball.

I made about fifty first starts on this scarf. Well, maybe about eight. I now wish I had taken photos before I ripped back, but I was not in the mood for taking photos, I was more in the mood for chucking the lot on the bin and going out and kicking the cat for a while.*

I knit as far as you see, and then stopped. I haven’t ripped it yet. It’s just sitting there, reminding me how to do those stitches.

* No cats were hurt in the making of this post.