02-26-2025

Today, I did Yoke rows 1-3. It was not fast. First, I realized that I’ve only done garter tabs before, with the handy little garter bumps along the side from which to pick up stitches. I don’t know why, but I had a heck of a time figuring out how to pick up stitches from the side of the ribbing. Tiny yarn, shiny-but-fuzzy yarn, slippery needles, poor lighting, plus selvedge stitches that seemed to be angled away from me--I couldn’t see where to pick up the stitches, and the slippery yarn was just dying to dive off the end of these tiny US 2 steel toothpicks.

And then my cat who tends to pee on the floor came sauntering into the room, and I was too tangled up in my work to watch him or chase him out.

I finally figured out something that would work, and I went stitch by stitch, slow as could be. I finally got ‘er done. Maybe not as evenly distributed as I’d hoped, but evenly enough.

Row 2 was pretty easy, just a lot of concentrating on getting my stitches even. (I don’t normally have trouble with that, but I’m extra nervous on this, my first garment, which is using delicious, not-so-cheap yarn. I should have practiced with my acrylic stash, but … I’m more motivated this way.)

Row 3 took a while to get to. I first had to watch a million videos on increase methods, even though they largely said the same thing. I wound up deciding to try KLL and KRL instead of the M1 equivalents. Hope it turns out okay.

I have the right number of stitches on the needle in the correct zones. More tomorrow. I’m out of light.

02-27-2025

Yoke Row 4 and repeat one of four for rows 5 and 6 today. My stitches are coming out too tightly. I’m not happy about the neatness (or lack thereof) of anything that’s happened since I picked up stitches. Considering ripping back and starting over again from scratch. Trying to convince myself that it always goes faster and better the second time around, and no matter how much time I put into it so far, this little bookmark-sized strip is nothing compared to the work I will be putting into it.

We’ll see. I’ll take a better look at it tomorrow.

03-01-2025

It’s a snaggly mess in the first row or two below the ribbing. Maybe that will become less obvious with blocking, but I want to try again. What I decided is that I don’t have to rip this one back yet. I have a dozen skeins of this yarn. I can just start a new one with another skein and choose my favorite.

03-01-2025

I started again with a new skein and a US 2.5 (3mm) needle. It went a lot faster and neater, as I’d hoped. I also used the center-pull strand instead of letting my yarn donut/ball flop all over as I knit, and I like that better, too. I think it’s keeping the strands from unraveling, too. A lot less splittiness this time.

Finished the 60 rows of ribbing. Will pick up stitches from my new “bookmark” tomorrow.

03-02-2025

Did Steps 1-12 of the Yoke today. Looking good, except for one of the first rows that is rowed out a bit. Also, my two innermost raglan lines seem to be an indentation instead of a raised ridge. Not sure if that’s right.

03-04-2025

RIP Version 2. I RIPped back to the strip of ribbing and plan to redo it from there. I didn’t decide to do this until afternoon, however, so all I’ve (re-)accomplished today is picking up and knitting the 40 stitches, then doing Row 2.

Four markers and fifty-eight stitches on the cable.

Trying to figure out if I’ll do lifted increases on the raglan or just give up and do the M1s, but that’s a decision for tomorrow.

03-08-2025

Version 3 is still a go. I’m on my first of 40 repeats of rows 15-16. Total progress for today: Rows 9-18.

And I’m doing M1L and M1R for the raglan sections. Might try lifted increases in the body.

03-09-2025

Up to repeat 5 of 40

03-11-2025

6/40

Probably worth mentioning that this time around I switched a 2.75mm needle in place of one of the 3mm needles so that I’d be purling with a slightly smaller needle and hopefully have more even tension.

I’m knitting a bit too tightly. Gauge isn’t perfect. Maybe I’ll go up a size to compensate. Still time to decide (about 34 repeats/68 rows, in fact).

03-12-2025

10/40

Or maybe 10/45. Still trying to decide if I’m going to knit the largest size or just accept this one fitting a bit tighter than anticipated. Since I was knitting it slightly more oversized than prescribed, there is room for that.

03-14-2025

14/40 (or /45)

03-16-2025

17/40

03-17-2025

18/40

03-18-2025

19/40 (53 st per sleeve, 86 st for back, 2 for garter seam, 2 for each outer edge = total of 198 stitches)

03-19-2025

20/40 (55 sl, 88 back)

25.8g left of original 50g skein

21/40 (57 and 90)

03-21-2025

22/40 (59/92)
23/40 (61/94)

03-21-2025

I love this color and wish it was photographable by my puny phone. I sit there knitting and trying to think of descriptions:

• Rainy-Day Terracotta
• Copper Raspberry
• Berries in the Bolognese

None are quite right. It’s warmer and more brown than raspberry. It’s got a little too much raspberry to be a plain terracotta, though. Not important, but it’s the kind of idle, repetitive thoughts I have while knitting long rows. One color I would not have thought of is hibiscus (its official name), but maybe that’s just because I grew up with brightly colored flowers.

03-24-2025

24/40 (63/96)

03-25-2025

25/40 (65/98), total of 234 stitches on the needles

03-26-2025

27/40 (69/102)

03-28-2025

28/40 (71/104) - off yesterday for another migraine
29/40 (73/106) - was starting to drop stitches, so I stopped here for the day.

03-30-2025

I think I’m on 30/40 now, but I was knitting while visiting family, and I didn’t pay any attention to my tension as I knit, so I might have to do it over. I’ll check in the morning. Too dark now.

03-31-2025

31/40 (77/110). I measured a raglan seam, and it’s about 10 inches long.

04-01-2025

32/40 (79/112). Saw something slither down as I did a M1L on the right shoulder, but so quickly that I wasn’t sure I dropped a stitch, and the raglan seam/marker/increase situation made it impossible for me to tell just by looking. I poked and prodded, then went back and counted the stitches on that shoulder, and there were 77 instead of the 78 I should have had at that point. I studied the M1L on the left shoulder, poked and prodded some more, and I finally lay the knitting down on my lap to take pressure/gravity off, and I dropped the M1L I had made to see what I could see. I saw a horizontal bar dropping out of an existing loop from below. Was that a real stitch I’d dropped? Where was the increase? Had I actually made the increase? So confused. I used a crochet hook to pull the horizontal bar back through the loop to fix the knit stitch, put that on the left needle, and made a M1L next to the marker again, then knit whatever that other one was as if it were the first stitch of that section. Which it was. But was it before? Things look right, but it will be hard to tell until I’m a row or two up. So confused. But I’m pushing onward.

If nothing else, this may later prove to be an opportunity to practice an afterthought lifeline placement.

Later: Things look good. 33/40 (81/114)

04-02-2025

34/40 (83/116, total on needle = 288)

04-03-2025

35/40 (85/118) and 36/40 (87/120), for a total of 300 stitches on the needles!

Moved things onto a longer cable (125cm) to avoid a perma-scrunch for a little while longer.

Also, I think I have just enough yarn left from this first skein to finish the next row. Later note: I had 50 inches left of the skein

04-05-2025

37/40 (89/122)

Added second skein about 2/3 into the left shoulder (right side of needle). Used a method I saw on Sorceress Crafts, but I don’t think I did it right. It’s invisible, but the one end keeps slipping back and forth. I’m going to weave it in instead of cutting it short.

Ugh, dropped a stitch more than I meant to on purl side on the right shoulder, and I think I got it back on crooked. Getting dark and I’m getting tired, so I just put a marker, purled the rest of the row, and I’ll drop down and fix it from the knit side tomorrow, if needed.

04-06-2025

38/40 (91/124)

Dropped stitch was prob. twisted on lowest fixed stitch, but others were fine, and I feel like I’d mess it up worse messing with it. Stitches are so tiny, no one will ever notice (but maybe me). Left it as is.

04-08-2025

39/40 (93/126) 312 total

04-10-2025

Dragggggggging today. It’s the start of our hot weather (90 today, and by July or August, it will regularly be 20 degrees hotter than that), and I’m not used to it. It took me almost an hour to purl a 312-stitch row. Feel like I’m in slow motion. Not helping are my cats, draped limply at my sides like a Salvador Dali painting.

On a brighter note, I pulled out the swatch for this cardigan today, and WOW! I got a bit giggly over how supernaturally soft and lovely the yarn feels once washed and blocked. It’s soft while knitting, too, but not like that.

Made it to Repeat 40! I have two 95-stitch sleeves, a 128-stitch back, and 6 asst border stitches. Still need to do the purl row.

Next, that absolutely terrifying set of instructions (break yarn, pick up stitches, rejoin, etc.) that I still can’t visualize…

04-11-2025

I finished the Yoke! Took most of the day, moving very slowly and carefully, but it wasn’t as hard as it sounded. It was just hard to visualize in advance from just the text.

I should have 264 stitches on the needles now (will count tomorrow, in daylight). The instructions said 8 for each ribbing band and 248 for the back. I broke down the math a bit more and came up with:

Ribbing + Stitches Picked Up Along Raglan Lines + End Stitches from Before (2 ea side) + Back + Cast-on Armpit Stitches

So, for me:

(8x2=)16 for ribbing + 128 back + (2x2=) 4 for ends + (54x2=) 108 for picked-up raglan lines + (4x2=) 8 for cast-on armpits = 264

04-12-2025

Did the first three rows of the Body section. Tomorrow, I begin increases.

04-13-2025

Finished my first increase row, using KLL lifted increases instead of M1Rs. (I hate doing M1Rs, and KLL is supposed to be less visible.)

Nimble-Needles: How to do the KLL knitting increase

04-21-2025

Haven’t updated in a while, but I’m a little more than an inch past the first increase row.

04-29-2025

Back from a trip for my father-in-law’s funeral. Brought the project along but never had time to knit.

At some point, the scrap yarn I have holding my left sleeve stitches came untied, so when I held the sleeve open to look at the project today, I inadvertently liberated a dozen or so stitches. Luckily, they didn’t make a run for it, so I was able to get them back on a needle then sew the scrap yarn back through them with a tapestry needle. Then I tied a mega knot. So, NOTE TO SELF: Double check the stitch orientation on the left sleeve when I knit it. Not 100% sure I got them on there right.

04-30-2025

About 2” into first Body increase section. Still on my second skein, but it’s getting floppy. Maybe 1/3 to 1/2 left? I’ll weigh it later.

05-08-2025

~ 3.5” into first increase section

05-13-2025

4” into first increase section, and I added my third skein (under my left sleeve). I thought I was doing this method from NimbleNeedles Norman (#4 Weave in As You Go), but only afterward did I realize that I was crossing the yarns as instructed, but then knitting with the yarn that had just crossed over the lower yarn instead of just tossing the one strand over, knitting from the same strand as before, then tossing the previously tossed strand over but not knitting from it, etc. Did that for 9 stitches. Don’t know what will become of that. Don’t have very long tails to weave in, either. I wouldn’t have needed to weave them in if I’d done it right. I’ll figure this out tomorrow.

05-14-2025

I tinked back and redid it the right way

05-17-2025

Did Increase Row #2 on the Body, using KLL