Slipping Along
Slipped stitches have always seemed a little bit magic to me. It's rather amazing how so many (and such varied) pattern stitches can be based on such a minimalist maneuver - slipping a stitch from the left needle to the right needle without doing anything else to it at all. I'm thinking about working up a tutorial on the basics and the possibilities. But before that can happen, I will need some swatches for examples, so I have started on the first.
***************************
Monday was sock mending day. This picture demonstrates why I don't usually do a classic darn. Its not very pretty, though it will serve the purpose (cover and hold together the gaping hole under the heel). I'm not sure why I attempted it, except maybe to see if this time I could do it neatly. As it turns out, I could not.
This next pair, however, hadn't developed an actual hole. The yarn had worn so thin that I was afraid to put it through the wash, but it was still in place. So I was able to use Swiss Darning (aka Duplicate Stitch) for a very unobtrusive mend. The socks are semi-felted, somewhat matted and pilled from many washings, but (partly because of the felting) toasty, toasy warm. So I'm glad I can keep them going.
(BTW this is the Not Really Cable sock pattern, which you can have for yourself if you scroll down the sidebar to the "free stuff" section)
*************************************
And on a completely unrelated note: sometimes there are obstructions to making up the bed.
He will probably stay there, a contented lump, until the sun is well over the yardarm.
7 comments:
I've never done slip stitch knitting, so am looking forward to your tutorial! I actually checked a book out of the library on the topic a few weeks ago, but I only skimmed through it...
I've tried a bit of slipstitch, and it is easy and so pretty, though my tension needs a lot of work. A BK tutorial, well, I'll be looking forward to it.
Your kitty is so cute; more pictures of adorable cats are always good blog material. Is he a 'tuxedo' cat?
Look at him, all tucked in! I get in a real quandary when I find a cat on a bed that I need to strip to change the sheets. I usually come back later because I'm a softy.
One of the most magical characteristics of slip stitches is the way they can marry two or three yarns that don't really want to get along into a harmonious whole. And you can pair dissimilar weights and make them work together, too. Lots of magic in slip stitches.
What kind of cat is Baxter? Well, his mother was a black housecat, and his father an (unidentified) barn cat. He has a Siamese crook at the end of his tail (along with the blue eyes) and he looks like a picture we saw of a "Snowshoe" cat.
Elizabeth's right on about the potential for combining yarns with slip sts - another pattern swatch I need to do ;). Fortunately (unlike gauge swatching) I love pattern swatching. The "tutorial" may end up longer than anyone wants to read....
One of my favorite cat (and dog) poses is under the covers, just the head and maybe a paw out. They always look so cute.
Awww, what a contented little lump you have there!
Thank you for answering catbookmom's query regarding what kin of cat he is. I was wondering the same thing myself. He is beautiful and very unusually marked. And I love names like Baxter, Jasper, etc.
I meant to write what "kind".
Post a Comment