Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Topstitch and downseam


First official sewing class last night. There are four new girls. I am ahead, because I got some sewing done the first week. Handed out some Knit Wits flyers, and some ladies want me to teach them crochet one Saturday. Used the "satin stitch" function on my machine (three little straight stitches, side-by-side) and did a mock jeans seam, a french seam and a top-stitched seam. Really, really cool. Apparently the French call a french seam an english seam, isn't that funny?! :) We filled out some tedious paperwork - apparently now even leisure courses have to be proven to be teaching something (this even applies to students of some 7 years standing). Somebody somewhere does not like trees....

Showed one lady what a wrapped stitch looked like (yes, I'm talking about knitting again)  - the autumn flare skirt continues inexorably. See, I know how to make myself keep knitting - pick a reasonably simple pattern and add a space-dyed yarn. The colour changes keep my interest. I think my knitting mojo was flagging, because I've had a trying few weeks at work, and when I get home, my brain is so fugged, it's easier to collapse on the sofa and watch tv than stare out a cable chart. Sorry, Debbie Bliss cable aran!

Made a dinky little cardigan for PickleSam, just need to make the button band. Don't you just hate patterns, with the following instructions: "Cast on 13 sts, in K1P1 rib. After 4 rib rows, make buttonhole. Make a further 5 buttonholes every foll 13 rows. Knit long enough to fit from bottom of one front to bottom of opposite, slightly stretched".

It's that last line that annoys me. No suggestion for a row count. A rough idea would be nice, you know, say, "knit approx x rows". I made a guess (it's tricky to guess at 10.20pm when the band is still on the knitting machine) and it's at least 50 rows too short - luckily I expected this, and took it off on waste yarn, but now I have to rehang the ruddy thing - didn't fancy it last night, it was getting too late by then and I had to put the bread machine on. So will finish it tonight, hopefully, and can pick up some buttons tomorrow. Hopefully all will be in the post by the end of the week.

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