I’ve spent most of the past week indoors. Not that I wanted to be shut up when there was glorious sunshine outside, but that newsletter mentioned last week was well overdue. It seemed to take forever. When one item was laid out, I’d need an illustration for the next, and went off down an internet rabbit hole looking for the perfect one. On top of this, because I only use the software infrequently, I occasionally needed find help to refresh my rusty skills. Thankfully, it’s now finished and sent off.
Trolley gone wild
There seems to have been a software theme to the week, perhaps because so much time has been spent at the computer. A replacement program for a no-longer-supported screen calibration device needed to be found, because the proprietary one ceased to work. Fortunately, in the past I’d tried a free third party alternative which just needed updating. This was more complicated than clicking a button in the app store, as the program needed to be downloaded direct from the development site and installed. (A screen calibration device connects to the computer and adjusts the display to show more accurate colours.)
This time last year . . .
Then there was a glitch with the digital car keys. Usually, the doors magically open when I approach the car. However, for a little while I’ve had to use the key fob, which I always carry after once locking all the keys in the car. The car’s phone app gave the puzzling message, ‘disconnect and reconnect your phone and watch apps’ but gave no clue on how to accomplish this. Eventually I signed out and in, which sorted it out. I approve of simple solutions.
But despite spending so much time at the computer, the hood is nearly finished. The edging is complete. The stitch counts didn’t match those in the pattern on the final row, but I decided that it wasn’t important enough to rip out and re-do. A perusal of Ravelry project pages pulled up another knitter who’d had the same result, so at least I knew it wasn’t just me.
For the edging’s cast off, I wanted to fine one that used both colours and also didn’t curl. An internet search pulled up lots of ways to ‘braid’ stitches within a piece, or two-colour cast-offs for double knitting. Eventually I found the ‘Icelandic’ cast-off, which gives a non-curling, braided looking edge. The braid effect doesn’t really show in when worked in two colours, but it is a firm, tidy edge with some give. It took a while to get the hang of it from the written directions, but once I did, the cast-off went along as quickly as it could when you’re changing colours every stitch.
With the edging is done, I’ve moved on to the next step. This is the hood extension, which lengthens the hood with a long, narrow tube. The first few rows of this are done, after which it can be made as long as you wish. I might set it aside to work on during Zoom calls, and start on the next gansey.
Oh,that is beautiful!
Thank you!