It's a Mystery Part 4

I started the whole thing over. I needed better needles and a better technique for casting on. You Tube came to the rescue once again with plenty of good videos on circular cast ons. I used Emily Ocker's found here. I also dug out some vintage double points. I needed all the length I could get.



Things went pretty well if you don't count the stress headache and eye strain.



I got a tiny bump but it was better than last time.



After conquering the cast on, it was time to come to terms with stranding. I am not a strander by nature. I am a wrapper. I want to twist the yarn behind the work every few stitches. Floats scare me to death. I needed affirmation that it was alright so I watched the guru of stranded knitting, Mary Scott Huff. She is also the designer of the KAL, and she told me it was all going to work out, over and over again in this video. It is a two parter. Watch both parts. They are excellent and she is adorable.



My floats are not as pretty as hers, nor were they really "smiling", but I could feel the improvement in the knit fabric and best yet-it was more fun. Wrapping is tedious.



Here is the inside of a hat that I wrapped every 3-4 stitches. It takes a lot more work and a lot more untangling to do it this way. What happens on the front is pretty much the same either way so why bother when you really don't have to. I am a convert.



I've still got a long way to go with this stranding thing so I also went and pre-ordered her new book from Amazon. It comes out in May.



I spent the good part of a sunny winter day quietly playing with all the pretty colors and stretching the limits of my knitting knowledge. I don't get to do that very often out here in the middle of nowhere. I think it was a very good day.