Friday, October 14, 2011

finished object Friday

a sunny spot

I'll be the first to admit that my first attempt at this Serengeti Sun dishcloth is a bit wonky. But it's done - finally, after months and months on the needles - and I love it! And on a rainy fall day, it's the perfect pick-me-up, isn't it?

Progress on this dishcloth came screeching to a halt when I couldn't understand the instructions for the first point. I tried and tried and tried again. And ripped and ripped and ripped again. I even contacted the designer, who tried to help even though she is dealing with serious health issues and vision problems after a head injury earlier this year. As the only Raveler on record as having attempted this pattern I had nowhere else to turn, so I posted my plea for help in the patterns forum on Ravlery.

And no sooner had I clicked "post" when I realized my problem: I had to work the increases by knitting in the front and back of the next stitch. By using a M1 increase I was screwing up the stitch counts. DOH!

I'm definitely going to knit another - I'm confident that it'll turn out less wonky on my second time through the pattern. There a bunch of things I've learned:

  • Work the increases by knitting in the front and back of the next stitch
  • Where the first two stitches of a row are slipped, slip them purlwise with the yarn in front. Enlarge the above image and examine the right sides of the points - the bumps are from before I clued in. 
  • When picking up stitches for the applied iCord, remember that the end stitches were K2togs - you only need to pick up one stitch not both. Picking up both is really, really hard; ask me how I know!
  • For your first time through it might be wise to knit the small size with just a single strand of the yarn. Knitting two strands of cotton can be painful, especially after ripping back a bunch of times.

How about it? Want to knit one? If not a Sun, then what about this Star from the same designer which looks to be of similar construction? I'll gift the pattern to the first twenty people who leave a comment before the end of the weekend expressing their interest on this post. In your comment please indicate which pattern you'd prefer and provide your Ravelry user name.

Don't forget to check out all the good work at Tami's Amis! Happy Friday and spread the sunshine!

11 comments:

Nicky said...

Don't know if I'm one of the first 20, but I'm glad you decided to finish it. It's incredibly cute and a perfect pick-me up.

I'm definitely interested in knitting the pattern. My Rav name is Neosoul

Anonymous said...

Very cute!

Alittlebitsheepish said...

It looks good, I have made the exact same mistake with increases in patterns, using the wrong sort and messing up the stitch counts. Gald you worked out what went wrong

Anonymous said...

Super cute little project :) Definitely an adorable pick me up

Dawn said...

I am in awe at your commitment to finish this design and it is adorable as well!

Meg said...

So cute! I definitely have to knit one for the madre.

MagicalJane said...

hooray for you! You conquered it.

autumngeisha said...

So cute! And a great way to learn lots of new techniques. These would make wonderful gifts, too.

Andria said...

I think your sun is awesome!! I am also glad you stuck with it, I too refuse to be bested by a pattern!! Well done.

Unknown said...

Cute dishcloth. I admire your dedication to finish it.

stephanni :] said...

i love your dishcloth! so cute & it's looks just fine. :o)

thanks for your lovely comment, sorry i'm just now getting with you, been a busy weekend with the party & all. :)