December 23, 2007

• New Cast Off

  I learnt a new Cast Off last night, from Elizabeth Zimmerman.  She didn’t appear as a vision in my flat, while I was watching ‘The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, but her book, courtesy of OHP was there. I needed a relatively elastic cast off for Mum’s Ascot, and, rather than trusting to going up several needle sizes, I went hunting.

  Enter the sewn cast off.  Ridiculously easy: break off the yarn leaving slightly more than you think you might need and then some.  Thread this end onto a darning needle.  The Knitting Needle with all the stitches should be in your left hand.  Stick the darning needle through the first two stitches purlwise, and pull the yarn through, leaving those two stitches on the needle.  Then stick the darning needle through the first stitch knitwise, pull through etc, and also slip that stitch off the needle.  And keep going like that, two steps forward, one step back.  It’s really easy to adjust if you’re going a bit loose or a bit tight, and it looks good:

  

  

   The scarf itself is wondrously soft, but feels quite heavy and dense.  Should be nicely snuggly.  I want to knit something for myself out of it: I’ve found the yarn label, it’s Blue sky Melange 100% Baby Alpaca.  Very luxe.  I’m a bit worried about having enough: I may have an expedition out to Islington this afternoon if the shop’s open and my lungs start functioning (am now at the icky phlegm stage of being ill, along with having No Appetite.  However, the phelgm is beginning to shift and it isn’t a strange colour.  Hmmm.  I feel like that terribly awkward conversation in ‘Cabaret’, just  before Sally starts talking about Bumpfening….).  Could also do worse than locating a pair of jeans that are approximately the right size.  I think I got rid of my really skinny jeans, which was possibly a mistake.  I’d given up hope of fitting in them comfortably ever again (I could fit into them uncomfortably, but that wasn’t the point).

  xxx

  • 4:55 am
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