Gentle reader,
You’ll be pleased to know that there’ll be no cloaca-talk this time (except for just now, whoops!). But, there will be an update on the intarsia sweater I’ve been working on! The pieces are all done, and it’s blocking; all that remains is to make it up and knit the collar ribbing!
Look, intarsia is not hard. But, I’m finding that – for me at least – it’s one of those things that just comes to you with practice. You’ve just gotta be patient until you find your rhythm, like your tension when you first start knitting. I mean, I was doing it, but I was getting frustrated with uneven stitches, and I tried any number of things to combat that, and yet, I still ended up with some messy bits. I sat down with Judith and got some tips, and they certainly helped from a technical perspective, but… my intarsia still was not perfect, and that frustrated me! I suppose you can’t really expect things to be perfect the first time you do them, but I expected it to be a bit better than what I got! I was ready to rip it out and start over, but everyone told me to keep going and assured me that all of these little imperfections that were bugging the bajiggity outta me would come out in the blocking process. So, I persisted.
And so, when I’d finished all the pieces, I soaked them overnight and then started blocking them. And… I guess it looks a bit better than before, but there are still all kinds of uneven bits and odd things happening! Blerg! I’ve always been really pleased that my knitting is usually quite neat and even so this really, really bothers me. On one hand, I think it’s a decent first whack. On the other hand part of me wants to rip it out and knit the front over again. But, I want it finished by tomorrow because I intended it to be a gift, though now I’m not so sure (note to self, a gift is probs not the best project to tackle a new skill on. Not too bright, are we?). I’ll see what it looks like when it’s sewn up and check in with my knitting pals to see if there are anymore tricks I can do.
I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer about it, though. I really enjoyed making it, and I’m keen to have another crack at it! Whenever I learn something, I have this habit of jumping in the deep end, because it can only get easier, right? And usually I struggle with it until the light bulb goes off and then I feel all giddy with excitement and satisfaction. I think what happened here is I finished this project a little before I got my light bulb moment. If I’d wrestled with it a little longer I might have gotten there. But, I’ll be content with this one for now, because it’s not awful, really. I’ll definitely give intarsia another bash, though!
Speaking of giving things a bash, the other week I took my new camera out for a wander to take some snaps. I’m really happy with how they came out. I haven’t done any post-processing on these except to rotate a few.
I think if I did any adjusting, I’d up the exposure on the statues, but the others I’m happy with. It was so nice also to have a little sticky beak around a part of Melbourne that I’d passed plenty of time but never had a closer look. I had such a wonderful evening wandering around, taking snaps, finding little interesting things here and there. It can be so easy to pass things by these days, and sometimes it’s nice to stop and smell the roses so to speak (or literally, even!).
I am having a few issues with the camera, sometimes the colors aren’t as accurate as I’d like, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out after some experiments and another flip through the destruction manual.
Have you ever tackled something that didn’t quite turn out how you wanted? How did you fix it? Sharezies!
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Looks like it’s coming along wonderfully! I especially love the rabbit =} I just get impressed by anyone who can tackle large knitting projects because they seem so daunting compared to crochet projects. As far as the camera goes, congrats on the purchase! I can’t wait to see some more photos! I just dropped $1540 on the Nikon D7000 but I’m also a freelance photog so hopefully it will have paid for itself soon enough..! Yeah Nikon!!
Well, it’s not too large… it’s just a baby-child sweater. I guess… maybe two hats worth of knitting? I was surprised how quickly it came along, even with the intarsia.
I’m far from professional, so my little Coolpix will do me fine! I wouldn’t know where to start with a fancy one like that!
Wow, I haven’t even got intarsia on my list of things to attempt yet. Great job!! Seriously good.
I do know myself that I always, always, feel disappointed when I’ve finished something, or even as I’m nearing the end and I’m tempted to pull it all out. I think it’s just a stage I need to work through and then it will be ok, and then I’ll quite like it (although I did completely rip out my cable jumper and reknit it, so, hmmmm…)
Anyway, I thought I’d attempt some stranded colourwork next before I get to intarsia, some fingerless mitts from a Rowan book in Felted Tweed…
(my name is Tony and I am addicted to Felted Tweed).
Is it really addiction when it’s just that good? haha
I tend to get a rush of satisfaction and happiness when I finish and I love it, and then when that wears off I notice all the mistakes or things that I think I could have done better. But, that’s what keeps me making; the next thing I do I try to make better than the last. So, it’s a good thing to have.
I really want to learn intarsia, but I am totally scared to try … not a good combination! I think your rabbit looks really good though! I also like the green wool that you used ^_^
Whenever something doesn’t turn out quite the way I want it, I guess I just try to weigh up how much it’s going to bother me. If it’s something that I think I can learn to live with, I leave it. But if it’s going to keep me up at night, I fix it. I think it’s good to live with a few mistakes … otherwise I’d end up re-doing everything! ^_^
I do the same! If it’s something for me, I’ll generally let a lot of things go, but I’m much more fussy if it’s going to be a gift or for sale.
Honestly.. it looks perfect. You just need another perspective on it!
Thanks for the other perspective! I’ve sewn it up and just have to do the collar ribbing and then I’ll see how I feel. ^_^
Intarsia scares me, so I’m so impressed with yours. Love it, wonky stitches and all!
Thanks heaps, Nicholas! You should definitely give it a go! It’s pretty fun, though a little tricky. And I suppose if you don’t want wonky stitches, you should just go out and buy it, I suppose. Handmade charm (or that’s what I’ll tell myself…) ^_~
oh raynie! it doesn’t look awful. if you haven’t weaved in the ends yet, you can probably “adjust” those stitches with a crochet hook! intarsia stresses me out, because it’s never really perfect.
The ends are woven in, but I should still be able to do some tweaking. I’ll keep you posted!