On The Needles 11/15/2013

On the needles Friday or in my case the story of the Mukluks.

Last Sunday I decided to start a new project, because I didn't have enough on the needles as it was. Of course I had no needles in the size I needed. How that happens I do not know.

1. Run to Joann's on Sunday afternoon to pick up a quick set of cheap needles. Do you know how many crazy people are in there in the afternoon? Of course they do not have the size I need.

2. Run to Michael's (it's on the way home). You know how many crazy people are there in the afternoon? Of course they don't have the needles I need either.

3. Get home and figure out to use a smaller needle on the top section and a larger needle on the bottom section. Of course that could be backwards because I don't remember exactly what I did.

4. Realize the yarn I bought for this project sucks is not to my liking. It was a lambs pride variegated pink and split to much for me and was not allowing for a smooth knit. Of course I didn't figure this out until the third time I cast on. I figured it was me the first couple of times and I was just not knitting loose enough to get the stinking stitches to work right. Doing 4 increases in 4 stitches has a way of making my stitches tighter than a buffalo's..well we won't go there.  And by the way why does it take 3 attempts before I figure out it ain't gonna work.

5. Find a skein of chunky down in my inexpensive yarn tote. I ended up with a Deborah Norville chunky variegated yarn that feels a lot better. Again cast on 2 times and get to row 6 (each and every time including the lambs pride yarn) and still have my stitches tighter than tight. I finally cast on a third time and am a little looser, now mind you that is a play on words and I am glad I ended up using some inexpensive needles because I swear the tips of each needle have left and impression in the other needle the size of the Grand Canyon.

6. Realize that I am just gonna have to fight with the tightness of this yarn because that is just the way the pattern is and I am not going to cave in at this point. Finally finished the foot part of the Mukluk on Sunday night. I ended up having to fight and stretch and squeeze and scream (well not out loud anyway) and fuss and pretty much send my whole family out of the room but I got it done. I have also increased the muscle mass on my arms ten-fold with the fighting increase but that is ok. I don't have anymore increases and the legs of these puppies are going to be a piece of cake. Ok...a really hard, left out for weeks piece of cake, but a piece of cake none the less. Oh snap! I still have another stinking one to do, unless I want my poor little niece to only keep one foot warm at a time.

7. By Tuesday night they are both done and whip stitched close. Oh yeah I would rather knit in the round the whip stitch anything closed again. Yep, that is why right now I am working on a hat for the same precious little niece that is also knit on straights and whip stitched close. What was I thinking?

So I now have a beautiful pair of mukluks that are a little snug at the top because I apparently can't not knit loose enough with this stinking yarn and this stinking pattern so I obviously can not bind off loosely either. Yeah, didn't dawn on me until I was done with the second one to actually switch to a pair of needles that were maybe three times larger to get a loose bind off. If they at least last her through this winter I will be happy.

I can say that I will not be Mukluking again anytime soon.

Until I took this picture I didn't even realize that toes looked so different on each foot.

They don't look like they are the same size but they are exactly.

I love the colors. It is actually a blue/aqua/yellow/lime green. I need to get better at pictures for sure.

 

 

For more On The Needles head on over to Judy's and see what other projects to start.

 

 

Michelle