When all you are knitting is lacy things for the neck, it doesn't take long before you have a collection of them to show off.
Like the lemongrass neckwarmer thingy.
I chose to use EZ's sewn bind-off, thinking I would need something stretchy to go over my head. But it actually made the bound off edge wider than the cast-on edge, so I'm not sure I would do that again. There is plenty of stretch in the lace, anyway.
And even though this is not a better photo than the one I have shown already of the almost finished object, here is my original Warrick Scarf in its colourful glory. (Though as you can see in the photo, in some lights the colour is actually a little dull.)
Just for comparison, here is my Silk Garden Chunky scarf. (We won't think about what that scarf would have cost if some of the yarn wasn't a gift.) I may eventually give away many of my other knitted treasures, but this one is staying with me for good, I think.
And finally, not a finished object, but something that will surprise and amaze the people who know me and my knitting. Though not Lyz, who will not be surprised, since the only reason I can show you this is because of her patient and dedicated tuition in the art of the...
SOCK HEEL!!!!
And if it weren't for Lyz sitting with me and taking me through it step-by-step, this sock heel never would have happened. That's because I was trying to use the Yarn Harlot's Knitting Rules book as a guide. Now, Yarn Harlot is a very funny and entertaining writer of anecdotes and observations, but she is not by any stretch a good writer of usable instructions.
I am allowed to say that people! (Dudes, whatever.) I am trained in the art of instructional writing. You do not insert conversational drivel in the middle of your instructions! Not if you want people to understand what you are saying and be able to learn a complicated technique from what you have written.
Ahem. End of rant. I like the Yarn Harlot. (Sort of.) Really I do. (Sort of.) I don't have anything (much) against her.
Really.
5 comments:
Hey Karen, YAY! (I am still saying that) Give yourself the credit where credit is due. You did the work. (I just made sure you did it in the right order and un-confussed you where needed LOL)
One comment about your rant though, I do agree. On reading Yarn Harlot's heel instruction written in the midst of conversational story telling, I only totally got it because I am a seasoned heel maker. I enjoyed the written banter but I think that the actual instruction could have been added as an aside for knitters who are new to socks and heels.
Wow! Your first heel, and you handled it with total calm, cool, confidence. You deserve a GOLD STAR on your forhead.
Congrats on the sock heel!
Have to disagree about the instructions in Knitting Rules though, they were the first instructions that made sense to me and the ones that I refer to again and again.
You might find Ann Budd's book Getting Started Knitting Socks to be more helpful. It's my 2nd go-to book for the details. There are lots of photos to refer to as well.
I couldn't fit Ann Budd's book into my knitting bag (small brown one). Knitting Rules happened to fit, so I brought it along instead. (Instructions for the heel flap were fine.) It was not my first choice, but I expected to be able to decipher it. Maybe I was just too disgusted with the poor writing style and gave up too quickly...
Anyway, I have to commend Lyz, because her instructions got me through turning the heel -- probably better than any book, because she could check my work for me.
Karen! Ok, so I just visited your links about the YH! Dang girl, I had no idea you had hit the big time!
I have to say that I think she had a huge over-reaction and I am a bit disappointed in that. Being famous has it's caveats. So does posting to a blog. ~I am virtually ducking now~ So, we are all kinda in the same boat eh? And I like her work. Really. Except for Knitting Rules, Casts off and Things I learned. heheheh ;-) (but I own them anyway)
Yay for the sock heel! Are you addicted to socks yet?
I should be safe this time. I didn't put any links to the Yarn Harlot's blog in my post. Also, she's probably a little busy with Sock Summit right now.
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