Starting last fall, I've been working on a 2-DVD set about how to finish knits. It's for machine knitters and hand knitters, and includes things like beautiful seams and grafts, blocking, and a number of other details that make your knits look expert, and maybe win a blue ribbon.
Well, I went wandered right off my plan. I had a seminar or two to do, and then a wonderful trip to Israel, and then the flu, then the holidays, and then year-end close at work.
So, this week I went back and took stock of where I was on the project. I scarcely recalled the work I did, ending back in October, but there was about an hour and a half of finished, edited video showing a ridiculous number of seams and grafts, in addition to a bunch of other video lessons that weren't yet edited when I got interrupted. I was editing them and adding them to the course in a sort of logical order, and then next logical thing was grafting (Kitchener stitch) for knit two, purl two ribbing.
I had endless video showing that, and I watched them and saw why I kept re-filming. Some of the videos had a bad picture - too-dark yarn, maybe, or a poor contrast between main and waste yarn. In addition, those days that I was filming, I made every possible speech mistake and finger fumble. But, if at first you don't succeed, try about fifteen more times and you'll get there. After watching all this terrible dreck, I decided I don't like any of it, so I knitted new samples and re-filmed it. Tonight I finished editing that technique demonstration, plus another one showing knit three, purl three ribbing, illustrating how you can graft any ribbing invisibly if you graft the beginning live stitches of one piece to the ending live stitches of another.
And that fills disk one, putting me at the halfway point in the process! Now, on to the second disk, starting by going through the video I filmed in the fall. This project gets the award for the most goofy-looking little samples, lots of little squares sewed together various ways.
Also, recently, I've come up with a couple new demos for this year's YouTube videos and my local knit club. I've also knitted, but not assembled, two new sweaters for myself. I've got a different way to do an industrial neckband, which I tried on one of my sweater projects and find quite satisfactory.
Knit a little every day, that's my motto. Or, how about this one - any day is better, if I can just get a little while to knit.
I'm sitting here wishing I had your video on grafting and smiling at your tale, today I too redid a simple step 15 times, one goof after the other, I think each was slightly different but instead of getting frustrated I enjoyed my day knitting and getting better at it, Though if someone had watched me they probably would not believe that statement, but I know you understand completely and I thankyou so much for sharing with this community of pretty amazing people. I knitted the ribbing separate from the sock, I ended it with stockinette and will graph to stockinette using kitchener stitch, I did use waste yarn and I remember you have a video showing how to do this, so in the mean time I will continue to practice this. Looking forward to learning more about seaming!
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