Love/Hate Relationship

Today I want to talk about my love/hate relationship with the three needle bind off. Generally, I love it. It's pretty quick, now that I have the hang of it. The bind off's neat looking on the right side, and has enough stretch to make a comfortable sweater. Sometimes I have trouble when I sew up a seam, making sure it has enough "give", but not with the 3-needle BO. These things I love. I first heard of the bind off from my mother-in-law, Suzanne. She spoke of a friend (I want to say it's Val, but I'm not sure, and I'll leave out last names just in case.) Suzanne's friend does a wonderful job knitting and from what I heard, she has a very special way of attaching shoulders (sounds so magical and masterful, doesn't it?) that's so professional. That's how it was described. Something about how Suzanne talked about it made this particular skill become a quite enviable. And for good reason. Anyhow, I love that every time I do a three needle bind off, I feel like a knowledgeable and accomplished knitter. Plus, it doesn't help that Suzanne (whom I consider to be a "good" and experienced knitter) can't ever remember how to do it, and she goes over to Val's house for help. Really makes me feel good. Well, almost every time.

Why I am not fond of the three needle bind off is that I futz it up a lot.

I'm not aware of the proper term for this. I can only say that every 4 or so times I do a 3-needle BO, I do it inside out. Uh-huh. Irks me something awful. Of course, I have to pull it out and do it all over again, and it really just goes up my butt. Come on, how many times do I have to do it before I remember?

Apparently, about five. Humph.

Don't worry, it's been fixed.



This came yesterday from The Plucky Knitter:

ELMER'S sock yarn


It's 80% Merino Wool and 20% Cashmere. I was originally planning to make the Lettuce Leaf Scarf with it, but I'm not so sure. While I was balling it up, it seemed to have quite a few knots, and I'm not sure how well I'll be able to hide a bunch of ends in this scarf. What do you think? The browns, blues, and grays are really lovely, and it's wonderfully soft. I'll either do the scarf or perhaps a simple pair of socks for me. Yum--luxury. Oh, I should say, that by "quite a few" I mean maybe 3 or 4...not sure if that's a big deal or all that unusual, but I thought it was a bit for 400 yds. Maybe it's normal? I'll have to consider it for a bit.