Mossy Cottage Knits

Gordian Knot

The fastest way to F a UFO (for those who think I’m being crude, that means Finish an UnFinished Object):

Finish a pair of socks in January. Decide that the foot of one is unacceptably longer than the foot of the other and will have to be partially frogged and then reknit shorter. Put the socks in your I-Will-Punish-You-By-Ignoring-You-and-Allowing-You-To-Be-Covered-With-A-Suffocating-Layer-Of-Dust UFO pile.

Pick the socks up again in August, try them on, decide they fit just fine and put them in the Done pile. Ta-dah!

---

Some of the more experienced Fair Islers, color stranders and steekers often say to me, “I don’t know what all the fuss is about. I steek all the time. It’s easy!” I believe this, I do, because I’ve seen them do it, and I’ve even done it uneventfully a couple of times myself. See? See? And see? But, on occasion, it’s not quite the no-brainer they would have you believe because sometimes, just sometimes, things like this happen in the process of getting a project ready to cut, especially when the steek is, cruelly, only one stitch wide:

Believe it or not, every strand or string you see there has a purpose, as follows:

1 The wine-red yarn: The tail end of one of the yarns used in the stranded pattern.
2 The medium-blue (actually, navy) yarn: Ditto.
3 The gray yarn: Ditto.
4 The purple yarn: Currently holding all the stitches of the sweater.
5 The yellow yarn: Marks the location of the steek, like this:

6 The grey thread: Used to stabilize the stitches on either side of the steek.

I do see in the picture, however, on the right side and toward the top, a turquoise blue I don’t recognize. Huh.

Soon after this picture was taken, the Medusa-like mess was finger-combed, trimmed and snipped into a more manageable configuration and the steek was cut. One more to go. Another year of girding my loins and I should be ready to sew the sleeves on.

In comparison, I seem to have much more control over the yarn in this project, where the stitches loop when they're supposed to loop, zig when they're supposed to zig, zag when they're supposed to zag, and there is absolutely no cutting involved. The beginnings of a scarf knit in the Barbara Walker Drooping-Elm-Leaf lace pattern, using TMK’s Caramel Sauce merino/tencel yarn:

---

I was tickled to see that some people have already bought Evelyn Clark’s new book (with the one-time-only, special-price-for-you TMK cover!). Per commenters Terri and first-time delurker "I," it can be bought through www.knitty-noddy.com and www.lacis.com. Even more exciting, local knitter (and prez of our Guild) Jessica has already knit a shawl using Evelyn’s “recipe.”

And, no, Carrie, if you off me, you can not have my yarn and my Mata Ortiz. With my last breath, as I collapse to the floor, I plan to set fire to my yarn with one hand and drag the pottery off the shelf with the other. It’s a tall order, but I think I can do it. (You funny, funny girl.)

Posted by Ryan at August 15, 2007 10:24 AM