"Correctly?" you say, in that inquisitive tone?
Let me explain. You see, back in 2008/2009 I started one of my first constructed pieces of clothing (The other was a sweater knit in the round but this one was in pieces, which required seaming). I honestly can't remember today what I was thinking then, but I "seamed" the pieces without researching in any of my knitting books or googling or anything. And here was the result:
Can you tell why I (fondly) refer to this project as "The Ugly Vest" on Ravelry?
Honestly, it looks like it should be called "Frankenvest". Something out of the closet of Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs. Ok I'm done.
To summarize: my first attempt at seaming was wrong, wrong, wrong. I think I put that article away unfinished because it was just so darn ugly. And as it turns out, I made the right choice because it needed to sit and wait (patiently, I hope) until the day when I had gained enough experience to make it pretty.
Fast forward 3-4 years. I was in bed today, still getting over the nasty whatever-it-was I caught over the weekend. And I slept for a few hours, then I just could not sleep any more. So I did a little reading online. I was catching up on Young House Love, then I perused some of the back logs of Making It Lovely, in which the very-talented Nicole Balch designed and decorated a dollhouse for her daughter. I am not exaggerating when I say, this dollhouse is brilliant. Check it out here.
The only relevancy this has is: after reading my blogroll, I always get inspired. This time, I realized since I was not going to get any more sleep today, yet I didn't have enough energy to actually get out of bed, I could work on one of my SOs.
I wandered into the craft room, and lo and behond, Ugly Vest was at the top of the pile. So I took it into bed with me and did this:
frog [frog, frawg] noun, verb, frogged, frog·ging,
noun
1. any tailless, stout-bodied amphibian of the order Anura, including the smooth, moist-skinned frog species that live in a damp or semiaquatic habitat and the warty, drier-skinned toad species that are mostly terrestrial as adults.
2. Also called true frog, ranid. any frog of the widespread family Ranidae, most members of which are semiaquatic and have smooth, moist skin and relatively long hind legs used for leaping. Compare toad ( def. 2 ) .
3. a slight hoarseness, usually caused by mucus on the vocal cords: a frog in the throat.
4. ( often initial capital letter ) Slang: Disparaging and Offensive . a French person or a person of French descent.
5. a small holder made of heavy material, placed in a bowl or vase to hold flower stems in position.
6. a recessed panel on one of the larger faces of a brick or the like.
7. Music . nut ( def. 11b ) .
verb (used without object)
8. to hunt and catch frogs.
(source: dictionary.com)
And my own addition:
9. to unravel or unweave any number of rows of knitting or stitching; the action is so called because you "Rip it, rip it."
All this to say that I frogged back the seams and started over.
When the seams were all ripped out, I had a moment of pure, crystal clarity on what I should do. I was not to simply seam it up properly; no. I took a pair of US size 8's (and a cable needle), I cast on 8 stitches, and with the remainder of the skein, I began to do this:
I carefully counted the stitches up the side-seam of Ugly Vest, and I worked 91 rows until I had a strip of cabling. Then, I got out my yarn needle (yep, the same one the kitty chewed on) and started to follow the seaming method I learned while working on the Cream Zippy Cardigan.
The result brought a little bit of joy to my life:
Yes, it's the same seam. Let me post the before picture again, for comparison.
Before:
After:
I'm going to repeat that, because it bears repeating.
Before:
And just because I'm THAT excited about the end result, here's another view, this time of the inside of the seam.
Before:
After:
Two clean seams, on either side of the cabling.
I have never felt so accomplished on a sick day in my whole life!
Have you ever taken something you started (or finished) years ago and went back to update and/or fix it?
Mrs. Pi
P.S. These pictures are terribly deceptive. The vest is actually a grey-green in person. Here, this one shows it better:
P.P.S. I took that picture January 11, 2009 when I last worked on Ugly Vest, to chronicle my progress. Thank you, date tags on cell pictures!
P.P.P.S. I have gained (no word a lie) 49 pounds since I took that picture. It is one of my many sources of inspiration for eating healthier and getting back into shape.
P.P.P.P.S. Since there's a decidedly "Before and After" Jeopardy! category-esque theme to this post, I will (reluctantly) post an "after" photo:
You can say it: Yikes.
But I'm working on it. Since I started eating better and exercising more (last week), I have lost 3 pounds. Forty-six more to go. I'll keep you posted on my progress.
Yay on the seam - it is beautiful! I really am in awe of what you can knit.
ReplyDeleteAnd ... yay on the -3 lbs! You can do it! :)
Thank you Debra! (sn) I am still so stunned at the seam results!
DeleteThanks for the encouragement, too. I fell off the wagon this week with Plaza Azteca and a Moe's lunch ... can you see a pattern in my weaknesses? hahaha!