Tesla waiting to be made whole:
It was not always an easy path, the second sleeve had its adventures and misadventures, see the weekend entry at Sew Distracted (how weird to be blogging myself).
But she waits.
My resolve to remain a one-project woman has failed. I strayed, tempted by the siren call of another yarn previously sitting quietly by the sidelines, tempted by the lure of practicing a new technique, lured by the call of cool weather and the onset of winter.
The affair was brief:
Short row scarf.
Yarn: Noro Kureyon, slightly less than 1 skein, leftover from a previous project
Finished length: 34"
First project of this season for my “Morse Box”. (actually there are a few projects already there, left over from last spring waiting for the return of winter) Each year I try to knit scarves, hats, mittens and gloves for the children at one of Poughkeepsie’s elementary schools. They go to a school downtown with a large population of poorer children. The nurse keeps a box in her office with scarves, hats, and mittens for children who have none. We all know kids can’t keep these things through the season. Many of these children never get a second pair, if they had any to begin with. When I worked downtown it always broke my heart to see the little ones without gloves, h*** little ones without coats or warm clothes on bitterly cold winter days. I never manage to knit enough. I suppose I am too selfish. I always end up supplementing the hand knits with a few purchased goods just to help ease my conscience.
I think the original pattern was in Knitter’s but so many have been made over the years I have forgotten. The original was shaped more like a wide V with a curve meant to hug the base of the neck, but I did not have enough yarn. Besides I think this will be long enough for a 4-7 year old, at least I hope so.
And what new technique was used? Not short rows. I knit this Continental, carrying the yarn in my left hand. I decided to give Tesla a break from from the constant back and forth. It worked well. At first it bothered me to carry in the left and pick while knitting Western, through the front loop, but I eventually got the hang of it. Wool was much more forgiving. Garter stitch helped, no purls, and the wrap and turn portion of the short rows actually was easier and made more sense with the Continental orientation. I don't think I will ever master purling with the yarn in my left hand, except using Combination knitting, where it seems perfectly logical.
I don't think I will ever be a one knitting-style woman again.
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