Sunday 12 October 2008

Elizabeth Zimmerman....

... and I are not friends at the moment! I'd great plans of whipping up a little February Sweater on Two Needles as a wee token for my colleague's new granddaughter, thinking it'd be a breeze having already finished (stress free) three of the adult version. How wrong I was:o(

This blessed thing has become my knitting nemesis; leaving me scratching my head, stomping about my lack of knitting prowess.... The baby is now here and the blessed top is still on the needles! I've become a Zimmerman 'groupie' and am now a member of every EZ group on Ravelry. I've stalked poor knitters on Ravelry who have teasingly posted the cardigan on their finished project pages and hounded my knitting buddies on knitting forums (Thank you, terri!)....
Other knitters love this pattern and I absolutely agree the finished sweater is really sweet. My difficulty has come from trying to interpret the pattern instructions. For me, the instructions are somewhat sparse - the entire pattern is described over only 11 lines, with the gull pattern detailed as a seperate 4 lines. The sleeves have been where my problems arose. Patently, I've misinterpreted and was knitting the sleeve over 42 stitches initially - which may have worked for a baby with the arms of an navvy... I'm on the right lines just now and am working the sleeves of 28 stitches.

I will not be beaten;o) By next weekend, our battle of wills should be over and I'll be posting pictures of the completed garment!

However, there are positives from this experience:

  • I have new friends on Ravelry

  • I can absolutely vouch that Crystal Palace Bunny Hop yarn is a star which copes well with being knitted, frogged, re-knitted, re-frogged.... Despite all the abuse I've thrown at it, the yarn still looks and feels like a soft, squishy dream.

  • Insight increased too. It seems I am a technical, rather than process knitter. Give me instructions - direct, line by line instructions and I'm a happy knitting bunny. I don't do abstract or obtuseness in knitting, though seem happy enough to work with very loose parameters in other walks of life?
ooOOO

Look no further if less than keen on reptiles!
DD1 was off house sitting with her boyfriend the other week and left me babysitting! She's the proud 'mum' of 2 Bearded Dragon Lizards and absolutely dotes on her 'babies'...
Saying hello for the first time
Friendships made
(Female at back; male in foreground)
Sitting pretty?

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19 Comments:

Blogger Daisy said...

Good luck with that knitting - you have a lot more patience than me!

Sunday, October 12, 2008  
Blogger blog-blethers said...

lol ooooh daisy, if you could hear just how much I've sworn at this project, you might hesitate in mentioning patience;O)

Sunday, October 12, 2008  
Blogger Kitty said...

Hi. Thanks for visiting my blog, and taking the time to comment. I've had a lovely time looking at yours - gosh, but you do some beautiful knitting. I wish I could do that!

Take care :-)

Sunday, October 12, 2008  
Blogger blog-blethers said...

oooh thank you, kitty (blush). You're work is fab ... I'm hiding the monkies from my daughters at the moment!

Sunday, October 12, 2008  
Blogger Silvia said...

Thank you for visiting my Blog.I never knitted anything by EZ...yet. And after reading your post Im quiet glad. I will have a go sometime tho. But I do kow you will get that jacket finished you have some beautiful knitting...of to check you out on Ravelry now

Monday, October 13, 2008  
Blogger Silvia said...

Just realised I don't know your Ravelry name!!! DOH!!

Monday, October 13, 2008  
Blogger Joy said...

I do so admire your patience and sticking power Angie. I would have sworn too. Badly!! And left it alone, not come back to it.

It is so going to be worth it in the end:-)

Monday, October 13, 2008  
Blogger Linda said...

Well done on sticking with the knit. I like your lizard pics!

Monday, October 13, 2008  
Blogger blog-blethers said...

lol It's more of a clenched teeth determination not to be beaten, Aknita, than anything as healthy as patience;o)

Monday, October 13, 2008  
Blogger blog-blethers said...

Lin, it's weird how I've become fairly attached to them. DD1 keeps calling me through when they do something cute - like sitting, doing nothing, but with a locust on their head like a hat! They both come to the side of the glass to see us and, wait for this... they wave at us! Or at least that's how daft daughter and I decipher it!

Monday, October 13, 2008  
Blogger tandemsandy said...

hi lovely wee babies... My Dd1 had a burbor skink and he was lovely too. Just the wee critters he ate that caused a wee problem lol

Monday, October 13, 2008  
Blogger kathy b said...

I too am a line by line instruction knitter. I thought it was a weakness. I've decided if line by lines make my knitting WITHOUT tears, then line by line is the only way for me. good luck!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008  
Blogger Sarah said...

Good perseverance - can't believe you're up to three of the lady versions! Throw the lizards an insect for me, they're fab.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008  
Blogger Kath said...

Sorry to hear EZ is causing you grief - what you have so far looks lovely and the end result will no doubt be great. Sometimes you just have to be in the right frame of mind for these things!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The sweater pic looks gorgeous. I hope you manage to get it done. Not knitted any EZ patterns yet.

Thursday, October 16, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

10/10 for perseverence! (sp? eek)good luck with finishing the baby cardigan, the yarn looks yummy!
Those lizards look fantastic too!

Friday, October 17, 2008  
Blogger Probably Jane said...

I'd threaten the cardigan with those lizards - look like they'd make good carding combs!

Saturday, October 18, 2008  
Blogger RoxyK said...

Oh I just love those bearded dragons - absolutely beatiful!

Sunday, October 26, 2008  
Blogger Morticcia said...

I totally understand the EZ angst. I'm glad ravelry could help. I've seen a little bit of snobbery on the EZ boards there that was discomforting.

Monday, November 10, 2008  

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