Steek

Yes today I steek, life seems pretty full at present, it is that time of year for us academics in New Zealand, marking, getting results all in so students can graduate, and for us in the applied area - the student show looms. Then there are the frantic round of end of year AGM's and committee meetings that get scheduled for November - because - well you know December has a whole 'nother round of social events. I feel tired, not jaded, just tired, which I know will pass, I'm on leave from the 15th of December for 5 weeks, but even today some one was trying to schedule meetings for the 18th .. which I am resisting heartily. So in the midst of the turmoil at work, where a phone call with news of a sponsor pulling out or a missing peice of work can create panic - I calmy took scissors to my knitting. I think its a controlled reaction to the chaos around me, see me take charge of my knitting, feel the power of knowing that I am in charge of at least one thing.


But this is about the knitting, so about the knitting I will write. Right now it feels right to focus on one project, that being Poppy's top down raglan. Last night it seemed long enough so this morning before work I hauled out the sewing machine and stitched the steek. I had marked the steek edges with a garter stitch border, which looked pretty from the back.








Then I cut the steek






I am a bear of little brain, in that simple things can amaze me, such as the fact that a few rows of machine stitching can quite securely hold a cut edge in knitted fabric.




At that stage I tried it on Poppy who wanted to know if it was going to be a sleeveless vest .... mmm I wonder. Little cap sleeves, or just a rib around the arm holes .... or the sleeves I had planned.










So now I am picking up the stitches, the first round is in pink, subsequent rounds are in the white ... I am still making it up as I go. I did have a few white stripes at the lower end of the rib before I steeked, but frogged them. Plainer is better I think with the ziggy zaggy yoke colour work. I'm also not sure if I will enclose the steek with a double layer facing as I have done in the past, or leave it exposed - which feels brave. If I do that I will catch stitch the facing down to hold it flat.



Thats all for today, and I'm not sure if there will be a post in the weekend, the show is Saturday night, and, well I'm out thursday night twice (double booked), friday night, and then the saturday ... Sunday might be a lazy day ... before the week starts again.
Hope your week is calmer tham mine feels
Stella