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January 14, 2006
Crossed eyes
Finished the hat, it looks good. Finished the back ribbing, that is ok too. Started the back cables, eyes crossed and brain (what little is left) shut down. Sooo yesterday I spent the entire day doing something that I beleaved I would never do. I re-dreafted the charts to "What you see is what you knit" format. So row 1 (ws) shows all the knits and twisted purls, row 2 (rs) shows purls and twisted knits. It is a format I have heard of but never actually seen in use.
So today after I finish the saddles for the FLAK, I will attempt to start the back cables using the new charts and see if that helps at all.
Please someone tell me you are having trouble with the mental gymnastics.
Or stop me if I have the whole thing screwed up!
Posted by anita at January 14, 2006 10:50 AM
Comments
I had trouble until I did what had been suggested in some of the comments :
- scan the chart into your hard drive and then you can enlarge it.
- flip it horizontally and now you have the whole back and both left & right fronts.
- make a few copies, cut & tape them together so you have the pattern for the whole darn thing
I then highlighted all the "flying fish facing left" on the wrong side to remind me to put my cable needle in the front as that was the part that was giving me problems.
Posted by: Marina at January 14, 2006 02:45 PM
I did mine a little bit differently. Only used half the pattern, but on the margin gave myself the following (with the understanding that on the RS, then knits were twisted, on the WS, the PURLS were twisted).
RS
Left leaner=front cross
Right leaner=back cross
----middle of pattern
Left leaner=back cross
Right leaner=front cross
WS
left leaner-back cross
right leaner-front cross
-----middle of pattern
Left leaner=front cross
right leaner-back cross
All for the fish with the line underneath, remembering that if I had a knit and purl, I knit the knit and purl the purl...
If I had two knits, I knit both, two purls, I purl both (flying fish, no underline), always twisting the stitch that was traveling "on top". If you think about celtic knots, you know that there is generally an "over/under" braiding style, and that's exactly how the stitches "travel" across the front of the sweater...
SO...that said, and now that I've thoroughly confused you...if you knit those that are known to be knit/purl/knit tbl/purl tbl, the rest will present as a knit/purl doublet or a purl/knit doublet OR a knit/knit doublet or a purl/purl doublet.
knit/purl doublet = front cross
purl/knit doublet = back cross
knit/knit doublet (two knit stitches present, and the fish has no underline) = front or back cross, but you twist the traveller (the one that is supposed to be "on top" on the right side) as a knit, and knit the other one.
purl/purl doublet (two purl stitches present, and the fish has no underline) = front or back cross, but you twist the traveller (the one that is supposed to be "on top" on the right side) as a purl, and purl the other one.
Now, when I do a front or a back cross, I stick my needle in the 2nd stitch from the end in the appropriate orientation (either from the back (for a front cross) or from the front (for a back cross)), I drop stitch #1, and hold onto it with my thumb and forefinger of my right hand, then work #2 stitch, put #1 stitch back on the left needle and work it.
Any other way just confuses me. The only thing you have to watch out for is the orientation of the stitch (making sure that the twist is correct on the left needle when you move it, which sometimes (for me) requires a little finagling...but I get it, and I'm nearly half done with the back, about 3/4's to the underarms, and it looks GREAT. Everyone's raving about it.
I'll try to take a pic and post to the blog tonight.
Posted by: tenna at January 17, 2006 12:59 PM