KCBW, Day 6

Day six: 2nd April. Something to aspire to.

As I mentioned the other day, I can't really think of anything in knitting that I don't yet feel capable of doing - at least not in terms of 'difficulty'.  There are many thing I haven't done, but most often this is because I have no need to make them.  Lace, for example, is not something I've knit very often.  Max's christening set is the only lace project I can think of, but even then (except for the shawl), its not really knitted lace.  There are lovely lace shawls out there, but I don't think I'd wear them much (nor would anyone I might knit for), so I've never had the desire to actually knit one.  The same goes for Entrelac.  There are some very pretty entrelac projects, but most of the ones I like are in shawl and/or wrap form, so again, I haven't found a reason to knit it yet.

What I do aspire to do, however, is to design and knit clothing for adults - complete with up-to-date styling, flattering shaping, the right balance between texture and type of yarn, and, hardest of all for me, a clearly written pattern that can easily be used by others.  Of  the few garments I've designed and knit for kids, not one of them ever got more than a few scribbled notes on paper to qualify as a pattern.  My goal is now to re-knit them so that I can translate those notes into a pattern, but for the moment I have too many other things that need knitting.

Which reminds me... maybe there is one aspect of knitting that I do not yet feel ready to tackle - steeking!  I promised Mike I'd make him a Whistler sweater for the Olympics.  (Its possible I may have at one point specified that I meant the Vancouver Olympics, but I'm trying to help him forget that part!).  So far I have the body finished, and 3/4 of one arm.  I knit the body of this 1 1/2 times (my gauge was off the first time and it was much too small), and then the colourwork sections became fairly labourious so the project couldn't travel (or qualify as TV knitting), and then 2010 Olympics came and went and summer came and I kind of left this aside.  And so you have the makings of a UFO, to which I'm sure all knitters can relate.  Anyway, I'm now back to working on this as much as possible (I've promised it to Mike for his birthday at the end of the month - not that he believes me!), and I am becoming a little concerned about the steeking that will be required to finish this.  You can see the neck steek location - its that red and white dotted line above the maple leaf in the center of the chest.  I also have to make two cuts into the sides, where the arms will be sewn in.

In principle, I'm okay with this. There are very many tutorials available, and I've done this before on other (much smaller and less time-consuming) items.  What worries me, therefore, is my sewing machine...  The tension isn't really reliable on it, and most sewing projects require considerable fiddling about and ripping of stitches, until I finally get fed up and decide that the never-properly-tensioned bottom thread isn't going to be seen anyway, so I'm just going to have to be content with all the knots and tangles, because at least this time the bottom thread can't be pulled out like all the other 5 times I've sewn this seam.  I think I need to just suck it up and buy a new machine.  Hmm, maybe if I hurry up and finish knitting the sleeves, Mike will be forced to let me get one, just so I can finish his sweater!!   Now there's a win-win situation if I ever heard one!  :)