Lisa: I am a knitting machine

Yesterday I finished the right front piece of my Ribby Cardi! Both of the front pieces are curling up like crazy since they have large sections of stockinette stitch, so I will need to pin them to something flat before I can take pictures. I had problems with the pattern again, mostly because the pattern assumes I am smarter than I actually am. It says stuff like "for the shaping, follow the instructions for the left front but substitute such-and-such stitch," and then when you refer to the left front instructions it says "follow the instructions for the back," and that way leads to confusion. Plus, sometimes it turns out that I should be reversing parts of the instructions as well as replacing certain stitches.

Anyway, the knitting in the Ribby Cardi hasn't been nearly as hard for me (a near-beginner) as deciphering the pattern has been. I am finding that it is much more important to have a good overall understanding of how the pattern works (including how the sweater is actually constructed and what stitches create particular results) than it is to worry about following the pattern step-by-step.

So, I have started a sleeve (and a new yarn color!), and I should probably start thinking about where to get an appropriate matching zipper. It is very gratifying to be working on a piece of clothing with shaping and curves and everything. I think finishing an actual sweater will feel like a much bigger accomplishment than just doing another scarf. Yay for moving up to a more challenging level!

For the next update on the Ribby Cardi, click here.