Knitting Friday

My painter is working diligently. My living area is in shambles. I have been sleeping in a canopy bed with a tremendous paper tarp covering it all week. Every spare moment, I move furniture. Have I mentioned my number of books is pathological?

I have great new decorating ideas but I can’t vacuum or create dust until the paint dries and that’s about 10 p.m. at night; just the time I seem to be without energy for heavy moving.

But, I will have the weekend. Great furniture moving is planned.

My knitting this week has been of the pulling out nature. The brown sweater is no more. It was just seconds before it became a vest when I realized that a K2, P2 bodice is a horrible idea, especially at bind off. The thing was so loosey-goosey. The neck and shoulder area just stretched. What a mess.

It did frog beautifully though and now awaits it’s first reincarnation.

My green shawl with picot edging is also no more. This is becoming a habit, but just rows before completion, I realized it didn't look ‘finished.” It looked homemade rather than handmade. So rip-it, rip-it.

I was playing with fate with that green shawl. I know, from experience that the only pattern for used, wrinkly wool which refuses to un-kink after washing is the Trinity stitch.

I was playing with fate and lost.

So a tip for Knitting Friday: the Trinity stitch is the only friend kinky wool has and it goes this way:

CO 1stitch
Row 1: K1(front, back, front - f, b, f) - 3 stitches
Row 2 - 6 even: Purl
Row 3: 1st stitch - K & P, K1(f, b, f), last stitch - P & K - 7 stitches
Row 5: 1st stitch -K & P, K1 (f, b, f) *P3tog, K1 (f, b, f)* last stitch - P & K
Repeat Rows 5 and 6 for a warm, triangular shawl.

Note: There are a lot of variations of this stitch. I like this one because it can morph into a rectangular shawl easily. More on that another day.

So, if you’re looking at some crunchy, wrinkly wool which lived a useful life in another form and has now returned to the yarn ball stage but still has fond memories for you ; try the Trinity stitch. It can bring an old friend back for another useful life.