The Green Sweater swatch take two

Wednesday - well Wednesday didn't work for blogging, I was out of town and didn't get back till late, besides not much has happened that I can blog. Work is hectic, simply mad, I want to use the word stupid, and I think I can, safely, as in I'm not using in to describe a person, but a process imposed with scant regard for the physical practicality. The time frames for some of the documentation required for teaching requires bending of time and space - something I have yet to master but is obviously a skill I am expected to have. I've been knitting what another calls The Unbloggable Project, which one day will be bloggable (but not yet), and I made some progress with the second Green Sweater Swatch.

Remember if you will that swatch one was under gauge, and so a second swatch was in order, larger needles and perhaps if I was knitting a second swatch the opportunity for testing the techniques, the steek, the hem, and the facing. Swatch two has been knit for some time, but the hem needed dealing with, and there were options to consider for stitching it in place. The steek needed - well - steeking, and then it needed blocking to see if the bias lean was removable.

First I unraveled the provisional cast on. I used a crochet cast on, and it worked well. First I slid a needle into the first row of stitches then zzzziiiiippp away it unzipped.

Then I stitched the hem down, or rather up. I chose to test a little variety of methodology here, in that some was stitched with a whip stitch, just thru the loop and thru a purl bump on the fabric behind. The other method I tried was to graft it into place, with a purl graft top and bottom, and then with a knit graft to the hem, and a purl graft to the fabric behind. I liked that effect the best. I left the needle into until it was grafted, and that worked well. I stitched the hem, unstitched it and restitched it, I discovered that you need to stitch the hem to a row of stitches a lot higher than you would think for it to sit flat. I knew that, but had forgotten.

Then I whipped stitched the steek, but got it in the wrong place, not quite in the middle of the steek stitches (just as well it was the swatch eh?). I used the yarn, and it worked well, I had wondered how a single would hold up to stitching a hem and a steek - and the answer is for this yarn - very well indeed.

Then I cut the steek, snip, snip, snip .... the magic of the steek never fails to impress me, that a little row of whip stitches can create this lovely stable edge.

Then I soaked it in warm water with a little wool-wash, and smoothed it out to dry. I like, like very much.

Now I have to measure the gauge, and compare it to the first swatch. Its looser and with any luck will be on gauge so I can cast on (fingers, toes and legs or eyes crossed ....although it either is or isn't so crossing body parts isn't going to change much), and decide which density of swatch I like. and yes it bias's .. still, but I'll steam it and see, and perhaps I will re-vist those knitting this on Ravelry and see if it was an issue for them.

Tonight I'm off to the local settlers museum for a tour of the costume collection store .... so that is all I'm posting now. bye.

take care
stella