Wednesday, September 30, 2009

An absolutely BRILLIANT solution for a problem!

OK, So, still working on projects, still have tons of posts to make (just have to find time).

In the meantime. I donated my time to put up an auction item to raise money for United Way. My item to the auction is a hand-knitted Christmas stocking that the user would select from a selection of patterns... and I would customize to their requirements.

Since I have hand-knit stockings that someone else knit for me (ages ago)... I was thinking about the fact that in the inside of the stocking there are lots of yarn loops (that catch on everything I put into the stocking)... from the multiple colors used to knit up the stocking. So, I had planned to do a technique that can be quite tedious (called inartsia) and can create a lot of loose ends that you have to weave in (which I hate) -- but at least the person who bought my stocking wouldn't have to deal with all the yarn loops.

But... once they selected the pattern they wanted (From Knitting Digest Magazine) - Gift Santa Christmas Stocking (1996)... would you believe that they designed the stocking with an even better solution?

The entire stocking is knit in only three colors Leg & Foot; heel & toe are in contrasting colors. THEN they have you knit up the ornament - Santa with a lap full of presents... completely separately - and then you simply attach it to the front of the stocking... and ergo - completely encase all those loops of threads between the ornament on the stocking and the stocking itself. The inside of the stocking a) has no extra yarn loops and b) no hundreds of cut ends of the yarn to weave in... because they can all be hiding behind the ornamentation.

OMG... I've had a couple of ideas for making scarves with characters on the ends of the scarf and or putting initials on it... but didn't want the reverse side to look funny. I can SO do this for that project as well.

It's like a lightning bolt of creative ideas just based on a simply brilliant solution that the back of the knitted piece that has lots of different colors in it just doesn't look good.

Who knew? I sure didn't even imagine trying something like this.

No comments: