I devoted all of yesterday’s knitting time to the attempt. I had Montse Stanley and Mary Thomas open in front of me. I unpicked it at least three times.
I need, somehow, to grasp the concept. Instructions-by-rote serve well enough for ordinary st st grafting, but not here. Next time I get to Camp Stitches, I’ll post an appeal for one-to-one instruction on the notice board. As if…
Meanwhile, here’s a surprisingly successful picture of the result. Perhaps because the camera battery is in a near-death state, and it didn’t flash. I don’t think it’s a fatal error. I don’t know what sheep’s tummies look like, and don’t ever intend to find out – do they have a visible seam, like pussy cats? Whether or not, I think this will more-or-less do. At least it’s obviously not sewn. But it’s not grafted ribbing.I wonder how Ted got on at this point?
The other excitement was the arrival of the lace yarn from the Yarn Yard which Natalie has flattered me by asking me to test drive. Needless to say, it’s beautiful – I’ll attempt a picture
tomorrow when I’ve beefed up the camera battery. Pink and yellow like the dawns one sometimes sees in Strathardle at the other solstice.However, my job is not to admire the colours but to assess the yarn. It looks and feels not unlike Helen’s Lace, but that’s half silk and this is pure wool.
Yesterday’s dentistry went well. Today’s early-morning excitement is to take the car in for its MOT and a general sprucing-up. I’ll sign off with an incomplete gallery of some of my recent Koigu knitting.
Well, practice, they say, makes perfect. Or at least makes the effort a bit less imperfect. Perhaps you just need a better way to conceptualise it.
ReplyDeleteI can't help you with grafting ribbing, but your Koigu designs are stunning!
ReplyDeleteI was just consulting "Vogue Knitting, The Ultimate Knitting Book" for garter stitch grafting guidance, and there are specific instructions offered for grafting 1x1 ribbing. At a glance, it looks like they have you separate your knits and purls, graft the knits and then turn the work over and graft the knits on the other side.
ReplyDeleteAlas, I fear this info is too late to be of help.
Your koigu sweaters are an inspiration!
Did no one tell you of the "chimney" method? Lucy Neatby's secret? Ok, here's what you do. Take some yarn of a freaky contrast color. Using this yarn, knit several rows on the piece to be grafted and then yank off the needles. Now, line up your pieces facing each other. With the grafting yarn, go back and trace the movements of the freaky colored yarn in and out of the pieces to be grafted - then unzip the contrast yarn.....heck. That wasn't very useful. Try
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tradewindknits.com/tbsoctoe.html
where she shows it on a toe of a sock. The same concept works for most grafting.
Hm Well Kathy bet me to it. But yes I have grafted ribbing by "separating" the knits and purls and grafting them separately.
ReplyDeleteIt does work but a lot of work.
Cheers >^..^<