I started a new project even though I still have Wine&Roses to finish plus two other UFO’s. I need a project to knit when we drive to and from Boston this coming weekend and I didn’t want to get started too late. I also wanted to work on it at knitting group on Tuesday evening; since we sit outside I felt it was much too hot to be working on Wine&Roses there.
This is what I chose:
I am actually using the Phildar cotton called for in the pattern, which I have never used before. It is knitting up very nicely.
I really like the shape of this tank and I am looking forward to wearing it. However I hate knitting even rib. I don’t mind an odd rib for some perverse reason, such as a 3×2 or some other thing, but 2×2 rib just drives me up the wall with its tediousness. Once, long ago I forced myself to knit a ribbed shell just because I hated ribbing and always messed up. I no longer mess up but it is still my least favorite thing to knit. The problem is that I like wearing ribbed shells. Perverse huh?
The front is not bad and I am looking forward to knitting it. The back however is all ribbed. I will like wearing that because sweaters tend to be too baggy in the back and the ribbing will solve that problem.
I thought of starting another project as well, just to spell myself when I get sick of ribbing, but the unfortunate truth is that I would just knit the other project and avoid the ribbing. Besides, I really want to wear this shell this summer.
Here is my progress so far:
It is really turning out nicely.
It has been a long time since I tried new cast on techniques and I decided to learn how to do a 2×2 tubular cast on with this project. I have at other times, been taught how to do a knitted/purled on cast on for rib and how to do a long-tail cast on in ribbing but have never been completely satisfied with either. I used the technique described in Knitters Handbook by Montse Stanley and am pretty happy with the way it turned out. Yes, it does slant, but overall I think it is much more attractive than most other methods I have used for casting on at a ribbed edge.
I will try to post a close-up, I am not sure how much detail will be visible: