Mossy Cottage Knits

Congratulations on the successful steeking! It looks wonderful! Pat yourself on the back several times. That takes real nerve, that does! Now that I've seen yours, I may have to give it a try. I can't go on knitting cylinders forever :)

Were you pleased with how things came out? Would you do anything differently next time?

Frankie's "play date" sounds too cute for words; I bet it was loads of fun!

The pyrethra(?) are gorgeous. TMK got an electric fence around them now? :)

Har, har about the pyrethrum, Robbyn, you sassy girl.

With regard to the steeking, I wish I had known more about the tension and length of the stitches I used to sew the stitches. I didn't know if they were long enough or loose enough, or perhaps too long or too loose. Also, I forgot whether I should use a matching thread color or a contrasting one. The fact that I used a matching one was the the main reason that that one line of stitches was so hard to take out--I couldn't see it! Also, because of the rolled edges it was hard to get the sewing exactly right; there are some very few knit stitches I had to leave loose at the top. Either that, or I would have had to squash and flatten and sew down the rolled edge, which would have looked really ugly. However, I don't think in a real garment rolled edges would be a problem.

Rumor has it that "real" wool, like Jamieson's, wouldn't even need to be sewn first. Apparently, it is so wooly that the fibers automatically stick to themselves. This was a very smooth wool so it required sewing, but I think cutting without sewing would be the ultimate test!

Bottom line, unfolding the swatch and laying it out flat was quite the magical moment! Until that point, you could only see one snowflake at a time; when, all of sudden, you could see all three snowflakes, it was very neat!

I promised I wouldn't ask why Robbyn was laughing at herself in a second comment posted....so I won't. But the question is out there. It is.

I would love to be a fly on the wall for the doggie play-date! I have 3 Lhasa Apso/Shih Tzu mixes and that's enough playmates in the house.

Ryan, the steeking (is that a real word?) looks amazing. I am not going to profess any fear at 2 color knitting or at fair isle or anything else for a while or you will just challenge me and, being an Aries, I cannot refuse being challenged. *sigh* One of my biggest downfalls. I'm hoping my hubby doesn't catch on or he'll be challenging me to clean stuff within a certain amount of time. ewww

The pyrethrums are just amazing. Umm..as an aside, is it that you just post her good points, or is TMK just that perfect? And how irritating could that be? *giggle*

Have a great day!!

How ironic, Angie. All my life, when people couldn't think of my name, they have, in a pinch, called me Robin (or Robbyn, in this case) and now *I* went ahead and put "Robbyn" in the name field in my own comment. Silly me. Thank you for pointing that out. It's been fixed. The comment should make much more sense now.

Yes, "steek" and "steeking" are real, bona fide knitting words. It just means the extra stitches you add to a knitting project to give you a place to cut, and the process of cutting those stitches.

Don't worry; I won't challenge you to do anything else, at least not for a while. I'm still resting on my laurels after having convinced you to try cabling! And, ahem--WHERE is the picture your promised?

As to whether I just post TMK's good points, well, you'll just have to come visit to find out for yourself!

Congrats on the steek; it's very liberating, isn't it? Made me want to smoke a cigarette after I first did it, & I've never smoked!

Ok, here's what I did to help me get that sewn line straight: I took a contrasting piece of sock yarn & ran it through the vertical knit stitches with a seaming needle & than sewed over that line. Sorta like loosely basting before actually sewing. It took extra effort, but I knew I'd never get that stitching straight if I didn't.

Pretty pyre-what's-it. Could you send TMK over to my yard? I have a black thumb.

Smack on the forehead to me, followed by a big fat "duh!" Samina, I had read in a bunch of places about doing the basting first but then when I really got down to it, I completely forgot about it! So an extra big thank you to you for the reminder. (In fact, now that I think about it, I think that's why the idea of a contrasting thread was lurking around in my brain in the first place...)

Of course, you realize you've now made it known you are Someone Who Knows About These Things, so I may have to start sending my steeking questions your way as well.

As for sending TMK over, what can I say, except take a number! In fact, I need her to come work in MY yard this weekend. TMK?

Dear Ms. Edward Scissorhands,

Good on you! Brilliant job! (Can you tell I've been watching British videos all week?) I'll second the note about basting threads being oh-so-useful. Beforehand, one just KNOWS that one will be able to follow the line, but it is so much trickier than one would think, getting a straight line.

The stitching always shows up better on the backside of the knitting.

You asked for suggestions: The standard way to do the stitching is up and down the sides of the single center stitch, rather than having several center stitches. However, this has not yet been codified by the Council of Knitting Know It Alls, so you can do whatever you want! In fact, Rick Mondragon of KNitter's Magazine does his crocheted steek stabilizing right next to the actual knitting, leaving several center stitches to trim out later.

The play date sounds like fun. My dog would hate it, but I think we've raised another introvert.

Although I've only spent a little time with TMK, I can testify that she does seem to have a lot of good points!

Janine, I can assure you you were sitting squarely on my shoulder during the steek-cutting process, from sewing time all the way through cutting time.

Thank you for all the advice! Of course, my next steek, the one for the Baby Norgi is completely different--but, one thing at a time, I say.

I'm looking forward to the next Ferals!

There is a gardening magazine called "Fine Gardening" put out by Taunton Press that each month has on its back cover, a tantalizing combination of plants. However, I must say, the photos you've shown lately from TMK's garden rival any of the ones I've seen in the magazine. Absolutely marvelous flowers, TMK!!! I bow to your gardening ability.

As for all this steek talk--I'm itching to try my first, but alas, it's gonna be awhile. Janine, I have absolutely no idea what you were talking about in your post--not because it wasn't clear, but because I just can't get my brain to see what you're saying (yet). Ryan, your pictures helped a lot. You (and the other Ferals) can help me with my steek on my vest, as Janine (sob, sniffle) will be happily settled in Berkeley by then....See you Monday! Mary

Mary, if you ever want a tour of TMK's garden, just let us know. She/we would be glad to show you around!

Have you started your Fair Isle vest again?

Hi, sugars!

Sorry it took me a while to get here -- I was havign birthday hooha -- lasted days, apparently -- and playing with the New Ipod.

It's a neutral noun; therefore the plural is pyrethra.

But in actuality, the only people who say things like that are people like me.

Who says, for instance, things like "cacti" instead of "cactuses," which Makes Me Insane.

love love love

Ha! What am I SAYING!

Neuter, not neutral.

Neutral's what my car's in.