Process to the Rescue!

Yes, it's been eight months since I last posted! I've been knitting, but mainly of the "I hate this project but I'm going to finish it if it kills me" variety. I've also been doing a lot of hand-wringing about improving my tension, and procrastinating on the Basics swatches as a result. This morning I figured it all out.

Tension problem

Arenda's main criticism of my Lesson One swatches (and she was incredibly gentle and kind about it) was that my tension was not consistent on the ends of rows, particularly the beginning of purl rows. I've wanted to fix that, and yet I haven't been doing it. This morning I realized that I should knit swatches in bed at night. That's how I got into knitting in the first place: nightly knitting to fight anxiety and insomnia! So that's what I'll do. Bonus: I will fall asleep more easily!

The Problem of the Long-Ignored Project

Kalahari Tote in progress

The project is the gorgeous "Kalahari Tote" by Vivian Hoxbro, which I've had on needles ("working on it" is inaccurate) for more than two years. Having posted about how I'm a process rather than a project knitter, it's strange that I didn't think of changing the process, until today.

This piece is knit using mitered squares, with many stripe-based color changes that render a sort of mixed chevron pattern. Because some of the colors are dark and the yarn is fingering weight, I find it hard to read the work. So there is a lot of counting, which I always avoid if I possibly can.

Here's the problem: there's no easy way of using a stitch marker to mark the center stitches in mitered squares, because the marker travels one stitch to the left (from the RS perspective) on each repeat.

Making these squares is simple. You start with an odd number of stitches on your needles. On the right side, you slip the first stitch to make a nice selvedge and knit to the middle three stitches. With those three stitches, you do a Sl-K2tog-PSSO double decrease. You knit to the last stitch and purl. Turn. On the wrong side, slip the first stitch, knit to the last stitch, purl. Turn. Repeat. So on every RS, you are decreasing by two. You always have an odd number of stitches.

I did some experimental squares with scrap yarn, to figure out how I could use a stitch marker to mark the center three stitches.

My first square was pretty frustrating; I ended up having to count anyway. The marker started right before the center three stitches. On the next repeat, the marker was between the slipped stitch and the K2tog stitches. On the repeat after that, the marker was -- most annoyingly -- between the K2tog stitches. At that point it was obvious that this process was no easier.

I realized that if I placed the marker before the slipped stitch, and then on every WS row I corrected its position, the process was easy and meditative.  Here's a video showing what I did for the second square:

So on every WS I knitted to the marker, scooped it off with my hand and held it, knitted one more stitch, and then slipped the marker onto the right needle. The marker now stayed in its position relative to the double decrease: on the RS, it will always be before the stitch to be slipped.

I tried this trick both with a piece of yarn and a clippy marker. The clippy marker was better. The yarn marker, while slightly easier to grab and hold, tended to get worked into the garter stitch and had to be coaxed out. You could use a smooth ring marker, but it might be hard to grab and hold on the WS.

It's a good day when you solve two knitting problems and a life problem!

Knitting news and progress 

In Basics, I've just finished Lesson 2 Swatch 5. I'll block swatches 1-5 and answer the questions before I move on to the last three swatches. My goal is to start the Masters in September. I still have a bit of finishing work to do on my brother and sister-in-law's Christmas present. My new rule is never to do a present using acrylic yarn ever again. It's so hard to make the finishing work look nice!  I'm also working on a chemo cap for a friend who is fighting cancer. It's of Paton's Silk Bamboo, which should be smooth and soft and absorbent for her. Still trying to finish the Kalahari Tote -- someday. Someday.

A friend started a monthly knitting group. At the first meeting, I got to teach someone to knit! I really love that!

My most exciting knitting and project news is that I will be knitting a project from Viking Patterns for Knitting by Elsebeth Lavold (newly published in paperback) and reviewing the book for a local weekly newspaper! I'm so excited!

Improved buttonholes!

Today I took half an hour and tackled my buttonhole problem. I watched Arenda Holladay's one-row buttonhole tutorial (linked in yesterday's post) a few times and got in a little practice. These are definitely improved buttonholes:

A thing I love about her video is that on the wrong side, when you're casting on the stitches to replace the ones you bound off, you do the cable cast on purlwise so that the pretty side of the cast on shows on the right side of the work. I like detailed solutions like that!

But I am going to have to practice the purlwise cable cast on, because it's hard to get the stitches as uniform and tight as they should be. I don't know if that's because it's purlwise or because I'm just not strong on the cast on itself. I think part of my problem yesterday was that the backwards loop cast on stitches were not fully uniform (and they were too tight). This seems like an area for me to work on.

Here's a closer look at my third (and best) buttonhole:

Progress.