Redeeming Myself, But Not Without A Load of Trouble

When my other half of my ripple top came off the machine last week 10 rows too short I was suggested many ways to fix it.  Make it the front and have it short.  Gather up the long side as you sew the sides.  Make a whole other side and throw this one away.  My only thought was to rip it back and do it right.  I wrestled with this bad boy today.  Throwing it away, became a viable option a few times.

I knew I needed to rip back all the neckline and 7 rows of ripple stitching.  After that was done I realized I need to rip back the 2 rows of underarm decreases too.  That's when I remembered the loop about 10 rows below.  I had originally thought I'd just let it go.  It was close to the side seam.  I'd just tack it down some how.  Since I was already ripping back what the heck let's just rip back and fix this loop too.  Have you heard "No good deed goes unpunished."  Well, that's how my day of knitting went.

It took me 1 1/2 hours to get it on the needles and ready to continue stockinette.  After all the ripping back.  I didn't get it on the correctly numbered needles, but thought that would be OK.  As I started knitting I noticed my row counter wasn't adding correctly.  I had knitted 2 rows and it said 4.  Maybe this is where my trouble began... a faulty row counter?  hmmm.  I corrected the RC and started knitting my 21 rows.  The row counter add correctly while I was watching it like a hawk.  Because I was watching the RC I ended up with knots, loops, dropped stitches during that 21 rows.  I've never ripped back so much in my life.  It was 11:30 am now and my machine knitting meeting is over at noon.  I thought I'll scrap it off and finish another time.  We had a small group today just us regulars.  They encouraged me to keep on knitting that there was no hurry to give up our room or time limit for them to lock up.  I really didn't know how much more time I needed to finish.

So, I'm at the part where the pattern has one making the ripple stitch, which is the beginning of the sleeves.  Now the fact that the knitting isn't on the correct needles has just come back to bite me in the butt.  I scrap it off the machine and rehang on the correct needles.  This pattern uses all my needle bed.  The knitting has to be on the correct needles, so the sleeves can be made.

I begin the ripple stitched sleeves and of course there are some dropped stitches from rehanging doubled stitches back on the machine.  At this point I'm beginning to become brain dead.  I can't figure out how to latch up a dropped stitch.  Duh I know how to do this, but right now I can't figure out from which side the latch hook needs to come to accomplish this.  Thank goodness for my machine knitting friends and their encouragement as they are still here knitting themselves.  I yell, "Becky!  I dropped a stitch and I can't figure out how to fix it."  She tries to teach me and realizes, "Ahh just move over" she fixes my dropped stitch.  I continue on with my ripple stitch chanting to myself "3 forward, 2 back."  I timed myself and it took me 4 minutes to do one row of ripple stitches.  I need to get 7 done.  This is of course if everything goes smoothly.  The knitting is getting hung up on the gate pegs.  More loops of yarn.  Why O why am I having such a hard time today.  It took me more time to do half a sweater than it took me to one whole side.

Becky and Hugh patiently waited for me to complete my ripple sweater.  They were so happy for me as I excitedly pulled the completed side off the machine.  I matched it up with the front side of my sweater and they were the same length.  Hallelujah Amen is all I have to say.  Now to start sewing it up, so I can wear it!

Machine Knitting Bozo!

That's what I felt like yesterday when I found out the other half of the top I was making turned out 10 rows short.  I used the row counter and everything.  How the heck I knitted 60 rows instead of 70 I'll never know.  When I was doing the 70 rows of stockinette it did feel like it went faster than the first time.  Isn't that how things feel normally?  They also feel faster when you inadvertently knit 10 rows less too.  Here's pictures of  the front and the properly row counted piece.

It's beautiful in the picture, but you can't really get the full beauty of this yarn.  In person you just want to drape it on a scoop of vanilla ice cream and eat it with a spoon.  I'm calling this top Very Berry Ripple.  It is a Linda Jensen pattern called Ripple Top.  It's super easy to make and knits up quickly... when you don't have to rip back and correct a mistake.  She's gone pdf so you can get this pattern NOW and be wearing it tomorrow.