Brings answers!
Last week, a few of you asked me questions and I have answers!
Carolyn asked these burning questions:
“That photo, what a treat!!! With your phone? Or serious camera?”
I took that photo with my phone, which I think is a very serious camera! (Why? Because it is the camera I always have with me!!) I have the latest iPhone, which has a great camera. A “real” serious camera might have gotten a better image, but by the time I got it, the bird would have been gone. And I hope this provides encouragement to all of you who want to capture a photo of your backyard wildlife… your phone camera works!
Cathy had a stitching related question:
“I wondered what your back ground fabric was please?”
Though I did answer this in the comments from that post, I thought I could do a bit better. I use plain old linen from Joann’s Fabrics. I like how it holds stitches and you can find it (frequently) on sale. I do not pre-wash it, the bit of fabric sizing helps as you break the fabric down to the size you want to stitch on. And as you stitch it, it softens considerably. And for those of you wondering what I stitch with, I have an assortment of pearle cotton threads with the added bonus of an assortment of embroidery flosses from my temperature project!
Houston, we have a button band!
And finally… some thoughts on The Great Cabled Sweater! I *finally* finished the right front. Hindsight is never a friend… but I have some thoughts on how I could have done the fronts better. Knitting them both at the same time would have been ideal… sigh. I could have set them up on ONE needle and had less flipping of pages… and I would not have missed so many things. I discovered an error of my own making… from WAY back at the beginning of the fronts… the ribbing. I should have been slipping the selvedge stitch each right side row. I did not then… but I am now. I am absolutely NOT ripping back to “redo” the ribbing. I am calling it a design element. The knitted separately, but joined, button bands/collar is a curious… but I am going with it and I have completed a couple more button holes, which I thank my “before” self for making such good notes on how I did the first one (because my brain had NO memory of this! LOL)
That point where I realized what the edge was supposed to look like… sigh.
Happy MLK Jr Day to all in the US, and Happy Monday to the rest of you! See you back here on Wednesday!
OH I would love a new phone but I’m too lazy to go and get one….I need tires for one of the cars first,, lol. And I’ve been dragging my feet for new tires!! Lovely knitting and isn’t this weather inspiring to knit all the woolies??
Listen, that is absolutely a design feature and I would also not have ripped back! It’ll look great in the end.
The non-slipped ribbing is a lovely design feature, and I think that if anyone is bending over in a position to closely inspect it, you are permitted to push them over and never show them your lovely knitting again!
When I worked at a local fabric store I had a friend who always said, “it’s not a mistake, it’s a design decision.” Stick with that! And you’re absolutely right about the best camera being the one you have with you. The iPhone takes excellent photos.
I’m tempted to get an IPhone…Colin is trying to convince me (I still use an Android)…but first I need to get acclimated to the MacBook I am getting!
I suspect you are likely to be much more critical of your stitches than anyone else, so if you can live with the non-slipped stitches, you will be fine. I doubt anyone is really going to notice (and if they do, there’s a much larger issue of their not respecting your personal space).
Stay warm!
I have a “real” camera, but I have found my phone takes BETTER photos (except long zoom). So, the real camera hardly ever leaves the house.
I think your sweater will be just fine with the edging. It’s not going to come apart and that would be a problem. Differing stitches? Not a problem.
Absolutely, the ribbing edge is a design element. The sweater is going to be lovely.
I am so impressed with your perseverance on your sweater. It is going to be well-earned when you finish it! I hope you’re staying warm this week – take care!
It’s amazing how GOOD the cameras on our phones are! (Except when you’re trying to take nighttime photos of leg lamps . . . ) And GO YOU! with that cardigan! It’s going to be worth it by the time you’re finished with it. Have you ever considered using the KnitCompanion app? I use it all the time . . . It takes some getting used to, for sure. But it allows you to re-order patterns so you don’t have to flip around pages, etc. (Like you can cut and paste and move things around. There are MANY excellent features.) Anyway. Your knitting “hassles” are going to pay off in a huge way with a beautiful (very customized!) cardigan. XO
I am never sure whether to slip the first stitch or not. If the edge will be visible, I slip; if not, I knit. Or vice versa — hard to say, really.