[NFB-Krafters-Korner] Brioche knitting

[Tracy Carcione]

I signed up for a class at my local yarn store.  We're knitting a fancy
shawl with 6 different textures and 5 colors.  I think it will be really
neat.

The first panel features the brioche stitch, and boy is it giving me fits!
First, the shawl is made with fingering yarn, which is easy for me with
socks, but not so easy with more complicated patterns.  Then, the brioche is
knitted with 2 colors.  You knit row X with color A, then slide the stitches
to the other end of the needle and knit row X with color B.  My color B is
slightly thicker than A, and so I have to be real careful not to count 2
stitches when I've got one, or vice versa.  I also have to be real careful
not to mix up my colors.  Luckily, the balls are different sizes.  They also
have braille labels stuck in them.  Even so, I grabbed the wrong color for a
row last night, then had to take it out.

The pattern consists of knit 2 together (or purl) and then slip 1 and yarn
over.  It's really important to get each set of stitches in the right place,
and my yarn-overs tend to jump over stitches sometimes.  And then, if I make
a mistake and try to go back a few stitches, it's hard to unknit 2 stitches
together without dropping one.  Like I said, it's giving me fits.  It is
pretty though, when it's working-kind of thick ribs on both sides of the
fabric.  I suppose the colorwork is interesting-looking, too.

I think this will be the hardest panel.  I think the others are mostly
single colors, and cables and such.  My classmates were also having some
trouble, so at least it's not just me.

Tracy