Monday, February 19, 2007

GAH!

Todays Confession: There are times certain knitting techniques are like giving birth...it hurts like hell but you forget the pain once it's all over.

My first experience using crocheted steeks, to put it mildly, was #&^*@%! hell.

Friday night, I pulled out my snips and with drunken abandon cheeky fortitude, I began snipping my way into a nightmare.

The snipping wasn't that bad. I'll admit, I felt a wee bead of sweat run down my back and my hands shook ever so slightly. But hey, I wasn't performing neurosurgery. I was confident that everything was going to hold up. I felt in power over my knitting.

Until I started picking up stitches around the steek to prepare it for the sleeve.

Stitches started unraveling before my disbelieving eyes like the ending of a one-thousand page saga.

I'm either not smart enough to crochet a steek...or the yarn isn't smart enough to stick. I vote for the latter.

I did keep my wits about me and hauled out my ancient, five hundred pound sewing machine. You will note that I am embellishing. It only really weighs about 100 pounds. Anyway, I haul out my sewing machine and fix the mess of what was supposed to be a neat and tidy steek. Considering that I HATE TO SEW and was so pissed that this was happening, I did a remarkable job reweaving and stitching those errant stitches back where they belonged. I also stitched the other armhole steek and the neck steek.

I then had absolutely no problem at all in finishing the sweater. The machine stitched steeks held up wonderfully and I have a new pullover that I will cherish forever...because just like giving birth to a child, after all the pain, you love it unconditionally.

Click for larger view


Pattern: Telemark Ski Sweater

Designer: KnitPicks

Yarn: Telemark in colours black, bayberry and drift

Needles: 3.75mm in various length circs and dpn's

Keep On Knitting...

11 comments:

HPNY KNITS said...

you are so brave. i have never done this. it just seems so extreme...
looks good though!

Terby said...

How pretty! I'm sorry to hear the steeks didn't work the first time, but the end result looks great!

Unknown said...

While crochet has it's uses this is just further proof that it's not to be fully trusted! Thank god for your internal fortitude & a sewing maching.

Anonymous said...

What an absolute labour of love. I might have given in to doubt after the failing of the crochet steeks, but you hung in there. Looks amazing!

Samantha said...

How scary! I'm glad it all worked out. The sweater looks wonderful. :)

dragon knitter said...

ok, that tears it. no crocheted steeks for me! (not that i'm brave enough to steek, anyway!)

Marlene said...

I've heard of too many people having trouble with the crochet version of steeks. I think it you do it "right" there is no problem, but it sounds WAY too easy to do it "wrong". I think I'll stick with the sewn version. Anyone who has ever tried to get a line of tiny, machine sewn stitches out of a hand knit knows that it will never, ever come out. Ever.

Your Telemark looks great!

Anonymous said...

It looks great but how annoying and scary! I've got one of those sewing machines. I use the carry around hobby one instead.

Unknown said...

You go girl! Telemark looks incredible! I'm so glad that you were the first to finish, so that I can pick your very talented brains when I start my steeks..hehe. I'll be back online soon. I'm picking up my new laptop a week Sunday (everything takes longer in the country)..oh yeah...my water pipes have been frozen for three weeks now...wish me an early spring thaw please.

Talk to you soon darling and keep up that amzing knitting! Love,K

Lacefreak said...

Your sweater looks wonderful! You are much braver than I am. I have never been able to put scissors ro a sweater I've knit I doubt I ever will, but your sweater came out fabulous. Thank God for sewing machines!

Carrie said...

Wow. I'm sorry you had so much trouble! Your sweater looks great, but I guess I'll learn from you, and sew the steeks with my machine before I cut 'em. Yikes!