Episode 10: Fear of Finishing

This week we face our fear of finishing and point you to some web resources so you can do the same. If you just want to avoid the whole gig, we suggest you look no further than Barbara Walker's Knitting from the Top.

Episode 10: Fear of finishing (33:50)

Finishing the job
We talk about our finishing woes and successes.

• Salt Peanuts pattern from IK Spring 2004 (scroll down)
• Mattress stitch
• Whip stitch
• Single crochet seaming
• 3 needle bind-off
• The Wire

• Corset Pullover sleeve cap
• Pin & spray blocking
• Noro Prep steeking
• Boogie's steeking tutorial
• Spring 03 Knitty steeking article
• Eunny Jang's steeking tutorial
• Short rows
• Berroco Pleasure
• Go Along
• Best Man's Dress
• Jenny's Dad's Sweater

Help is on the web
There lots of places to get finishing assistance online. We guide you to some of our favorites.

• Vogue Bible (not the web, but in case you were wondering what the heck we were talking about)
• Sock Pron's tutorial on weaving in the ends
• Knitty article about weaving in ends
• Art of Tangle
• Knitted on iCord border
• Chicknit's zipper tute
• So much yarn's photo essay on sewing in a zipper

Look ma, no seams!
Barbara Walker, godmother of knitting, shows us how to take it from the top.

• Knitting from the Top Down
• Almost Felted's top-down set-in sleeve sweater

Thank you Harold, John, John R., Danny, Manda, and ALL OF YOU! Thanks for listening!

Remember to enter our destash tip contest and join our Flickr group.

We will be back on April 24th!

Comments

[Lynne Gehling]

Sorry for the long post before. I did have a chance to wear it to a Yarn Harlot event. Here is a pic from a friend's blog. http://theraineysisters.com/?p=384 I am the happy sweater wearer on the left.
Thanks again. Have a great break.

[Sally, The Fearless Knitter]

I've included Stash & Burn in my Podcast-isms Match-up Game.
Enjoy!
http://fearlessknitter.blogspot.com/

[Sasha]

YAAAYY!!! I'm so excited to have found you!! What a FANTASTIC podcast - I'm thrilled to bits and loving every minute of my indulgent listening sesh in the car each day - catching up with your past eps like the GLUTTON that I am!! hehe! Awesome work, keep it up ladies!! =D xo

[Karen]

Hi girls! I've recently discovered the joys of both knit blogging and podcasts - I listened to the first 3 today while knitting. Thanks for putting these out there!

[Patti]

Thanks for the fun podcast. You've made me feel so much better about my stash. I keep telling DH that partial skeins of yarn don't count. Thanks for backing me.

My best de-stashing trick is a lengthy one. First you have a daughter (or in my case two!) Then you have a stash. Then you leave the house. Crafty daughters take over said stash and voila! no more stash. Perfect excuse for more buying. Of course the daughters must be old enough to leave with said stash (say 15 and 13) and you must have shown them the delights of all things wooly.(I did hide the really cool yarn first! - does this mean I still have a stash?)

Thanks for all the fun and destashing tips. Patti

[Carol Denehy]

Just a comment that you podcast is the only knitting podcast I find worth the effort (except for Cast-on). You discuss real knitting issues not just pretty yarn. Your sound quality has improved as well. Great work and keep it coming!

[Sally Villarreal]

For me, finishing is when it all goes wrong.

My finishing horror story is with the sweater I made Mom that I referenced earlier (BTW- I don't think she has worn the scarf I made to go with it.) Ironically, she claims it has nothing to do with why she never wears it.

Basically, I adapted a basic pattern from "The Perfect Knitted Tee." I used Egyptian Cotton, and in the front I made intarsia criss crosses with some thin sparky stuff. But I didn't use it in the back. I didn't account for the gauge of the sparkly stuff being thinner than the cotton. So despite all my math, I ended up with a back that was way longer than the front.

This was right before I flew home for Christmas. I desperately tried to block the front to make it match the back (that was hoping for miracles right there.) I managed to "spread out" the extra bulk. I spent the entire flight sewing it together. The back sagged in a weird way, but she tried it on and said she liked it, and that she liked her tops longer in the back.

Nearly two years later, she claims that she doesn't wear it because it shows her neck. Maybe she was just being nice.