Starting off right
We’re having a KAL for Palpitation, and I’d be delighted if you joined us! I find I want to knit a few more of these, but it feels like some sort of breach of etiquette to knit in my own KAL. So I’m going to pretend that what I’m doing is using a few more hearts as a way to talk about some finer points of making these. But we all know what I’m really doing is indulging myself and making a few more. But don’t tell anyone, ok?
So…in that spirit, let’s talk about casting these on. If you’ve never used Judy’s Magic Cast On, there are instructions over here, and you can read about a figure 8 cast on here.
And that brings up another important point. The first few rounds of this have you working on very very small numbers of stitches. It is absolutely normal for things to feel (and maybe even look) a little wobbly for the first 5 or 6 rows. About the time you’ve got about 18 stitches on your needles, things start to feel a lot more mellow. And by the time you get to this point, everything is easy. So just a little cheer leading…don’t worry if it feels funny, it’s normal, it doesn’t mean you did anything wrong! Keep going, it will get easier in just a few rows.
And, the natural counterpoint to casting on, let’s talk a little about casting off. At the end you’ll have two groups of 8 stitches each…one on either side of the heart. You can either kitchner them or just thread your tail through and cinch them down like the top of a hat. If you go that route, I like to go through each stitch twice (it helps keep them from looking loose or sloppy). Either works, either is cute, it’s totally a matter of preference!
Any other questions about these you’d like me to talk about? I know they’re a simple project, but there’s a surprising amount of room in there for little details to make a difference! That…and I don’t mind an excuse to make a few more.
You know…these things are contagious. And I find myself thinking about what to do with them. I have a Beekeeper’s Quilt underway (and it will be for some time), and I keep wondering if there’s a way to create a similar (but different) covering using the hearts, with maybe a little crochet to fill in gaps. Hmm….got some mulling to do….
Hearts don’t tessellate quite as tidily as hexagons, but the somewhat flexible nature of knitting lets you have a little wiggle room. You might try making them all the same size and stacking them in columns (point nestled between bumps) and then having each column offset by half with the one next to it. Or try making strips with an upside down heart next to a right side up heart, and then stacking the strips.
And if you do make a quilt, I would absolutely LOVE to see it!
I’ve been playing around with both of those configurations, and I think I can make them work. If I ever finish a quilt (or at least get far enough along that you can see how it would go), I would happily share the pics. Let’s see….I’m almost 74….my health is good…maybe in this lifetime…lol!
Blankets always do seem like such big projects don’t they!
I would really love to hear about up-sizing!
I’ve got a post in the works about sizing up and sizing down!
Is there a way to knit two flat hearts and seam them together? I just bought the pattern and can’t wait to get started… just don’t love den’s… so fiddly
You probably could if you wanted to. But I never feel like my seaming is as tidy as I’d like, so it’s not how I’d do it. But if that’s what you like, you totally could.