I am totally smitten with provisional cast-on !!! As you may have observed, every Spring and Autumn I knit a sweater , times two, for my nieces. . . and well, it’s creeping up on the Vernal Equinox very fast. I must make considerable progress this week ! Here is a very blurry shot of me picking the ‘right legs’ of the ‘live’ stitches beneath the pink crocheted chain I used to knit into . . .
After picking up all the stitches from the provisional cast-on, it’s . . . zzzip . . . the stitches are set free, ‘live’ , and ready to go get knit up into an edging !!!
(( By the way, I’ve decided against lace this year, as a total amateur I’m just not ready yet to face all those yarn-overs ! ))
I am doing a knit 1-purl 1 rib, then a 2-stitch cord bind-off (really, more commonly known as i-cord bind off) . Smokey grey and dusty purple for OneWhoIsThirteen . . .
Soon I will have finished Pin-Striped Spring Sweater Tee One to show you !
But then there’s Pin-Striped Tee Two making progress. . . bright green and aqua for TenYearOldKid . . .
And speaking of green things, I found this critter out on the deck today.
(( Apologies for another blurry shot, I swear I do not how to use our camera ! ))
? ? ?
We have many oak trees about our house, does anybody have any good guesses as to what species of moth this might be ?
Jenjoyce Design 
I love the colours of your yarn in your sweater pictures. What are you using chooky? As for the moth, it’s very pretty but thank the Lord you never took a photo of a spider – you would’ve heard me screaming all the way from here! 😀
Kelly, the yarn is left over sock yarn from two sock projects last year, plus some new unused sock yarn. I think fingering weight sock yarn (75%superwash merino wool, 25% nylon (Knit Picks “Stroll”) knit up with big #6 needles makes a lovely airy springy fabric for kids ! I don’t do well with spiders either, but snakes, lizards, and the other wildlife around I do pretty well with, for which I’m rather proud of myself. I’m even getting better at confronting rattle snakes and scorpions….. eeek!!!
Oh my goodness, I’d rather handle a spider than a scorpion or rattler!
Oh and I meant to mention that the smokey grey & dusty purple is choice for 13yr old niece, while the bright green & aqua for my 10yr old niece, her little sister. 🙂 I don’t handle either of them actually 😉
I think I’d rather handle a scorpion or rattler than a spider. I am frozen afraid of those things. Uh!
Cool…it looks like a Merveille du Jour…don’t you think? Isaac loved it.
And I LOVE the sweater tees. Both colour combos are STUNNING. xo
http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=2247
Oooh, I checked out the link you left, and the only thing which made me curious was that this is California, not Europe. But I’m sure cross-intercontinental species are common. Thank you Debbie & Isaac !
See if Isaac might find some other resources… a fun learning project for him ! 🙂 I”m sure he’ll nail it for us all ! 🙂 xx
I noticed that…but also saw pictures of this species under links marked “California Moths and Butterflies”…so perhaps. 🙂
That’s it then !!! :: jumping up and down:: Isaac should be proud. 🙂
He is. ❤
I’m pretty sure thats an Owlet Moth, Feralia februalis. Fuzzy little buggers.
You think ? Jen, have you seen them in your neck of our woods ??
I’m wrong, Debbie’s right on!. Marveille du Jour.
You’re the expert around these woods , so if you say Debbie’s right, then you’re right ! 🙂
Phew…I hate making a fool of myself in public. 🙂
I came here not to get distracted by talk of spiders, lol, but to comment that now I know (sort of) what a provisional cast on is for! I’ve seen that in some of my patterns, and that was enough to make me cast them aside. One of these days I’ll tackle something new again. Like the mitts! Spring break is coming up! And those two sweaters are just beautiful, I need some new superlatives because they are worth it. The springy colors are just so enticing, I’m tempted myself to knit some for a change. The moth is really pretty too 🙂
Martha , thanks ! Ok, maybe I’ll make a demonstration of the way I did this provisional cast-on, because there’s so many ways apparently. I never tried it before either, yet I knew that working from a traditional or long-tail cast-on was limiting if I changed my mind. Often I invent as I go (okay, most always I invent as I go) so I’ve decided, though it’s a little work, that provisional cast-on is super duper cool. Its the ‘ cool de grace ‘ 😉 ps. I handle snakes regularly (with exception of rattlers) as I do lizards, but insects and spiders I do not like to handle. It must be in our DNA to avoid them.
You have a thirteen year old? Mine is fifteen…I feel your pain;0) Those pinstripe sweaters are awesome! Where you are afraid to try lace, I don’t want to wrestle with the icord bind-off….
Hello Angela ! My thirteen and ten year old girls are my nieces ~ as I don’t have kids of my own, I stole my brothers… ( ha !) Yeah, lace is just something I haven’t tried yet. I”m not a very lacey personality too, so that might be part of it… I”m so… so… stockinette kind of girl.