Monday, June 13, 2005

Steamy Seamy Knitting

I finished the second sleeve of my Good Bias shrug at last. This meant it was all over except for the seaming. In my past knitting life, this would have meant stuffing the pieces in a drawer for a few weeks in order to put off the inevitable frustration of the finishing work. I then would have haphazardly stitched the pieces together in about fifteen minutes (because I wanted to wear whatever-it-was to something-or-other), hoping that no one would look at it too closely.

But that was then and this is Now. This is the Age of Knitblogging, where people share pictures of their finished seams....and other people actually pretend to find that interesting. Sloppy just would not do.

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So, armed with this amazing book, and some alcoholic fortification, I sat down in my un-air-conditioned dining room on one of the muggiest nights of the year, and I showed those seams who was boss. Here's a bad picture of the preparation for one of the the arm seams:
Click here to see an inside look at the finished seam.






But were gorgeous arm seams enough? Oh no. In order to finish this shrug, I had to kitchener-stitch like a mad woman. Fifty-six stitches on each piece, successfully grafted together using the waste-yarn technique (as suggested by Erica).
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See that lovely horizontal seam there?

By the time I was finished, I was very impressed with myself. DH pretended to be was impressed with me, too (although maybe he just wanted me to stop waving my shrug in his face while babbling about the art of grafting in a heat-and-alcohol induced fervor).

My finishing skills have always been the weakest part of my knitting, but I Am No Longer Afraid.*

Kitchener stitch? Bring it on, baby.

*Except maybe for set-in sleeves. But you know, you have to tackle one fear at a time.