WIP: Center Square

Center Square is looking pretty good now, but when I went to bed last night, it looked like this:



As you can see, I got off somewhere. It didn't match the color chart. And I know what the culprit is.


I printed this off my parents' printer, which needs some of the color cartridges changed. If I the chart was the same color as the original, I could have easily remembered that red=green and pink=brown. But somehow the murky yellowy colors didn't stick in my brain so well.

So I decided the best way to fix it was to frog back a few rounds. The magic loop actually made that process easier.



I'm using a 40" circular. I pulled the cable all the way through the stitches so I had a long length that I could thread back through the first half of the stitches. Then I picked up the stitches on the row I wanted to frog to, threading the needles through the stitch markers as well.

Then I pulled the needle out of the top of the first half of stitches, giving me enough length to do the second half of the stitches the same way. (Did that make any sense?)

This is an excellent pattern for people who are doing stranded knitting for the first time. (Like me.) The double stranded yarn is little unwieldy though. I think using a single strand of a thicker yarn would be easier.

There are some tension issues in my colorwork. I think that will improve with time and practice. I'm still looking for the best way to control my tension with my right hand. I honestly can't remember how I controlled tension as a third grade, English knitter. I know my tension used to be ridiculously tight back then, so I probably change my technique anyway. (Times have changed.)

I'm also accepting ideas for how to block this thing. I know blocking will even out the tension and stretch out the colorwork that's a little on the (*gasp*) tight side. I know a balloon is common, but I'm looking for something with a little more substance.