the sweat

finished and happy. but wait life can't be that simple oi? my head doesn't go through the neck opening.

too aggravated to do something about it. guess it is going to  be enlisted  in the sleep of the righteous department.

neki desu 

 

next

now that thanks to kal2 i can produce wearable items i have a lineup. knit styles  are basically crews,

turtlenecks. boat necks and cardis. then you can make them oversized, normal and painted on body tight. sleeves come in various shapes but at this stage in the game let's say they only come in drop shoulder fashion . so far the gauge sample, but this one has the intention of a cardi. if all goes well i'm hoping to knock off the one hirose suzu wears in the netflix j drama i'm watching as i mentioned.i bought some big sporty zippers at a great notions shop in kyoto and i'm sparing myself from knitting buttonhole bands.

neki desu

 

it went

well after all the predicaments. shoulders joined and first sleeve as well. will come back for full regalia. one thing that is puzzling is that i intrdoduced the gauge and numbers given in the pattern and the program i love to hate gives me some odd results. if i follow what the pattern and the kal videos  say  it does come out without problems.the program gives some weird decreases on hold whereas the pattern instructions say decrease by putting on hold 1 stitch every row 11 times.

would have thought that numbers were absolutes. there must be something that escapes me.                    

neki desu

 

on its way

finally the third one was indeed the charm.some notes, however. it still needs blocking but i think the scoop neck is too low,too wide. maybe it was designed for stocky busty lasses,which is not the case here, so that when the neckband is attached it all falls into place. we'll see. i am constructing the back now then sleeves then blocking.we'll see when i hang everything on the machine to piece it and attach the neckband. hoping and wishing i don't have to repeat the front. ( ˃ ⌑ ˂ )

dying ( mind the spelling) to get on to the next knitting project.been watching the netflix j drama w. hirose suzu and she wears a zippered cardi worth knocking off.i in my lack of experience pressume cardis are easier to knit as i always f*up with holding the center neck stitches.my numbers never match the instructions.and i start with a correct number in the cast on.   ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

neki desu 

 

vanity lives here

hands do get tanned quickly so  spring mitts to be worn until i can wear short sleeves. i am a persistent fool, should forget about knitting sweaters, which evidently is not my league, and concentrate on mitts and open a wholesale business.     (￣ω￣ )

neki desu

 

may the third one etc.etc

let's see if i can complete this number.the first time don't understand whyi ended up with one shoulder with more stitches ergo biffer-than the other. the second time the yarn got caught ant the pass was made w/out yarn. as a result the knit landed on the floor. this is just the front part, still need back and sleeves + neckband. in between what can go wrong will .⋋__⋌.

neki desu

 

sourcing from the stash

samples already done now the yarn. the burgundy yarn is mobelatta from sweeden bought in prehistoric times.it's more of a weaving yarn, hard twist, and a bit scratchy. for the neckband i'll be using the verigated skein which is merino and soft. 

attempting a more shapely number,still no armhole shaping, but lots of neck shaping. let's see what happens.

neki desu

 

back to school

trying to get a better understanding of armhole and neck shaping. when you knit and then join rectangles life is good. now try neck and armhole shaping and get a coherent shape. dug out my self study workbooks by tami nobuyuki , invaluable resources.

the cotton yarn in the samples torques like crazy, but as i have kilos and kilos of it because of a strange exchange so  that't what i use for practice.

my intention is to go beyond the rectangles and knit something with a bit more shape. i parked the two color fairisle cardigan until i feel more at ease with all those needles on hold.

neki desu

 

trying to graduate from stockinette

sampling. a nice grey wool from sweden paired with thinner ones in black,purple and dark blue to see which one looks best.card nº1 standard brother machine.if done fairisle style you get a gooseye texture in two colors.it is not easy to knit a sweater, at least for my skill level, with that set up.but as i need a gauge swatch i am using thyis to practice and gain confidence.then i'll decide. i hasve enough failed projects under my belt.

it is mind boggling how i can knit double bed jacquard  art pieces and how incapable i am of knitting a well fitting sweater.

neki desu

 

if life were a pair of mitts

it would be peachy.two hours all together and i'm not a fast knitter.now i need to make a pair of cotton ones for the spring-summer season.vanity lives here. (￣ω￣ )

 it's been so long since i sat at the loom. with this kind of instant gratification it's not easy. i have to repair the present  mess at the loom and start weaving since i have some projects cooking.that loom has been stalled for an embarrasingly long period, occupied by a failed warp  which i dont' have the guts to trash since it's  silk dyed with natural dyes. i need courage.

neki desu

 

a sucess story

simple has better chances of sucess.pretty chuffed with the piecing, the idiot cord neckband worked well also.there are no fitting problems bcse there is no fitting.the wool yarn was recouped from a failes sweater project so it's win-win. However,

pride always brings along the less welcome humbling guest of the fall from grace

this one is an absolute no go. the yarn dyed beautifully ,but the knitting is disastrous.one side came out a good 4cms longer than the other. still(>人<)

don't understand the hows. anyway i'm gathering stamina to unravel,wind and try again.

neki desu 

 

even the most boring tasks

can be enjoyable if you know what you're doing aka gate peg bind off. geezzz took me an eternity fumbling with fingers, yarns and latch tool.but as the ancients say it's all about practice. they also say it's all about weave sampling, but that's another story line.   (￣ω￣ )

 i was able to do the whole idiot cord bind off without any casualty, and the feeling was that of satisfaction. now i can bind off with that method and turn it into a festival.

＼（＾▽＾）／

this one's proceeding nicely albeit slow.the ribbed bands are already in place .now i need to finish the neckline with the cord, join the other shoulder and add the side tabs and it will be a goner. the wool is a wonderful merino from argentina.

neki desu

 

making things work

this sorry project transformed.i once was told that all weavers are in love with purple.i always stayed away bcse it gave me a sallowish look. but now between the i don't give a F** attitude that comes with the years and 1 kg of logwood that has been idly lying arond for ages we're in the purple  rain period.

purple is not only for weaves, it's also valid for knits  ( ¨¨ ω¨¨ )   this one came out in a nice worn out color. however, i am treating it with ferrous acetate to make it somewhat fade / light resistant. it will eventually fade to lavender,but hey, mono no aware .

 now on with the piecing.

neki desu

 

one idiot,two idiots

think i understand now why they are called idiot cords.totally brainless knitting.

but unlike an idiot this has a 

proven utility. i'm going to use it as 

a neck finish for this .

the tabard is already blocked and now it's just boring work, adding the cord and side bands by hand.

been working hard finishing stuff bcse i want to start sewing to use up the fabric stash. the landfill must hate me bcse i don't feed it.

pd. let me explain myself. when i say idiot i don't mean someone who lacks brain resources i mean people who having brain resources act totally brainless and believe the most absurd theories.and you're welcome to add more examples.

neki desu 

 

not in this lifetime

i'll be able to get lavenders or purples from alkanet. i always get browns or tans no matter how i process the dyestuff.had high hopes bcse i left the  raw material soaking in alcohol for over a week and the liquid was red, yet the outcome was camel color. ⋋__⋌

contemplsting ferrous acetate to darken it.

on the other hand i'm binge-knitting with silk bourette, as i have enough to last two lifetimes.

i can make all the mistakes,which i do, without panicking bcse i'll run out of yarn.

about the knitting program i love to hate, it's unbelievable that you pay a good price for it  and then you end up ignoring the program's directions and  figuring out the decreases yourself. HELLO? ಠ ಠ    ಠ ಠ    ಠ ಠ   

neki desu

 

this one in the we shall see dept.

because it is rather shapeless and i won't know until it's finally blocked. another exercise in we shall see.this one is silk bourette a rather pleasant wear. i bought  three 3 kg cones and it's not self  extinguishable. tried a mock rib on this one bcse i didn't want to transfer the knitting to the ribber, nor starting there and then tranferring to this machine.this machine was already set up not the other hence the act of reckless laziness.

however it still has to be dyed using alkanet  from which i have never obtained the promised lavenders and purples. alkanet according to maiwa gives beautiful colors provided the roots are previously soaked in alcohol.

we shall see the outcome. if blah i'm thinking of overdyeing with logwood with a ferrous acetate post modifyer.

neki desu

 

doing the penelope act

this one was unraveled and now looks promising. feeling chuffed 'with the neckline.it's a sort of tabard-lovely old fashioned word.not sure about the back neckline though and need to knit the rib wich will go on the sides.not sure whether to knit a long strip or 4 individual ones.the merit goes to the beautiful yarn bought at a shop victim of the pandemic.

the aqua will obviously disapear 

neki desu

 

the i won't give up sweater

third time. a shape from pamela cruise . she makes it look easy, but it keeps giving me headaches.

gauge sample exact measurements etc, etc. and from the blocking i can tell it's not going to fit well.

the good news is that the pieces were dyed in  a cold walnut bath for 2 days and then the color was shifted a bit in a weak iron bath.nice fawn brown in person.

now i'm taking measurements from a japanese sewing pattern and uploading them to DAK. it should work , but one never knows.i can work abstract pictorials in double bed jacquard almost blindfold. but sweaters...they require some kind of obscure skill that i seem not to posses.

tonight night  opera night barbiere di siviglia.

neki desu 

 

into the blues

recouping a yarn skein from a knitted project that never really made it. looked too amateurish for my taste. the yarn is atractive, the issue is that it's for handknitting, hence too lofty and prone to splitting.

will try something again. there's another skein god knows where in the studio.

need to get my act together and start making reservations for the trip.decided to move it to mid oct -mid novermber to be sure to catch some of  the colors.

the news is that my two banks do not have currency exchange anymore( everyone is taking the easy way out post pandemic) they operate with an exchange company which gives lousy exchange rates.they claim they don't charge commission.( as if we were dumb).

guess that the way of traveling has changed .good thing i still have yens from the last trip so i won't arrive empty handed to the airport while i change money.

im also depending on my debit card since suica and pasmo cards are no longer available for small purchases and transport. another convenience lost to the pandemic.

japan is mainly a cash country and the reason is that  the yakuza doesn't operate with credit cards for obvious reasons.

neki desu 

 

cranking

a new project. in consultations with my guru bcse i lack the profficiency to execute this. so far the sampling is good.silk bourette of which i have kilos and kilos to burn and brother punchcard 1 set to slip

the idea: i want to knit a cardi with a 

slight flare at the back. i understand how to do this in sewing, illustrated in the photo. you add fabric

to create flares drapes by dart manipulation.

however knitting is a totally different animal and idon't know if this would work.

this is what iwould like to achieve, a slight flare at the back. let's see what my guru says.

 now that i finished tai-chi and pretty soon japanese i have time to work on this.speaking of time ; today i am going to the mall with a friend to our brand new milby store. yes, we have malls here    (￣ω￣ )

neki desu