War of the Weasley, Part 1

I want to relearn how to knit. The Coronet at knitty.com is calling to me. I got the appropriate needles (dpns, cable needle), printed out the instructions, and bought two knitting books... a basic how to knit booklet, and "The Knitter's Book of Finishing Techniques", in order to relearn how to knit.

Then I decided that a project involving both double pointed needles and cables was perhaps not the best starter project.

I also really want a Weasley! Hmmm... miles of stockinette... sounds like a good practice piece to me! (Assuming the miles of stockinette don't drive me batty.) The pattern was a problem... it's such a simple, basic pattern, but it's no longer being published because the royalty fees were too high. I tried searching ebay. No luck. I tried posting a comment at the blue blog, to see if any knit-alongers wanted to part with their patterns. Also no luck. The only place selling this pattern now is as a kit, and is located way over in Britain. Oh... and the kits are only in kids sizes, too.

If I had more knitting experience, I'm sure I could have just figured out the pattern. However, I have very little experience, and that all consisted of scarves back when I was in elementary school. Figuring out how to get the hem to roll, etc, was beyond me.

So I did a little calculation, figuring out just how much this kit would set me back. I decided it wasn't too bad, and I could just purchase the extra yarn to make the kit an adult size. Yeah, the dye lots would be different, but I would put the extra yarn in the sleeves, and work in a bit of striping to make it look intentional, if the colour was too off. I bit the bullet, and placed the online order. (Normally I don't have any problems with placing online orders, but this was overseas, and a store I wasn't familiar with... and to top it off, their website isn't exactly super-professional.)

My package arrived Friday. Yay!

But, um, the contents are a little strange. The pattern isn't an officially printed pattern... it's a photocopy of a photocopy (I'm not sure how many times) of a hand typed pattern. I do believe it is the same pattern... it's just not quite what I was expecting. And the yarn... not a single ball has a label. It looks like it's probably Rowan Felted Tweed, but since I've never seen RFT in person, I couldn't say for sure. It's a really pretty yarn, certainly. However, I'm not sure I'd be able to find a match for it. What makes me think it *isn't* RFT is that the pattern claims the yarn is 90% wool and 10% silk... a nice blend, but not the same as RFT. Oops. If I understand their measurements, there will *not* be sufficient yarn here to make myself a Weasley, even though I ordered the largest kit size. (Gee... at 29, I'm bigger than a kid, for some reason. ;) )

That's okay... I can handle this. I have a cousin who's still in grade school, and has Weasley red hair. The navy blue will look great on him. His mother (my aunt) is a librarian. I'm sure this cousin would *love* a Weasley. I'll just have to make two... one for him, and one for me. I'll still make the largest size... he's pretty small, but growing, and I have no idea how long it'll take me to knit this thing. (Hopefully not too long... I'm not sure how much stockinette I can take.)

I check what size needles I need, and pick up a selection at Wally World while I'm there anyway getting my mattress pad. Since I know I never achieve gauge in crochet, I got one pair the right size, one pair a size smaller, and a pair each of the two sizes larger. I had hoped to get circulars rather than straights, but they didn't have circulars in the size I need. Well, at least the straights were pretty cheap. (Although they're also the same brand as the hooks I don't like... hopefully I'll like their needles better.) I also got some other items while I was at it... point protectors, ring stitch markers, stitch holders, etc. And, because Wally World has an amazing ability to suck up all my money, I finally picked up a copy of "Pirates of the Caribbean"... it was down to ~$13 for the dvd.

On the bus ride to and from Wally World, I read the knitter's book of finishing techniques, to see what kind of cast on I should be using. (The Weasley pattern didn't specify which.) Since I know I crochet tight, I chose a cast on that was easier to make too loose than too tight, and also said it tended to roll.

When I get home, I recheck the pattern, and discovered that I mis-remembered what size needles it called for. I discover that instead of saying 3.25 like I thought it did, it said 3.75. So now I have three pairs which are too small, and one which is too large. (They didn't have the exact same size.) Oh well... I'll just use the too-large size.

I pop in my new DVD, and cast on for the back. 100 stitches. I didn't want to waste valuable yarn on a swatch. I need practice casting on anyway... so even if I have to re-cast on, it won't be too bad. About half way through the first purl row, I wonder if the movie distracted me into making a mistake... I purl a few more stitches, and then look at what I have. I realize that, whether or not I did make a mistake there, I'm knitting too tight, and my stitches on the needle look funny.

I frogged what I had. (I forgot to take a picture first.)

I then crocheted for the rest of the movie. My first knitting attempt will obviously take more concentration and attention.

I may have lost my first skirmishes, but I will soldier on. I will not lose the war of the Weasley. If nothing else, I will make this first one for my cousin... *before* he gets too big for it!

Oh... and if there's any Weasley victors out there reading this, would you be willing to send me a snippet of RFT in midnight and/or corn (assuming you used either of those colours). I'd like to compare, to see if I actually do have RFT. Thanks!