I've been reading about top-down knitting, which is of great interest to me because it is so different from how I usually knit. I usually do a muslin, and knit pieces to match the muslin then sew them together. Very old school, but it combines my experience with sewing clothes and knitting them and works very well. However. Knitting top-down is more about working in three dimensions. So I figured I would try out a pre-written pattern first, to get the hang of it.
This pattern from Zephyr is a very easy top-down raglan knit in the round. The pattern is so easy to follow that I think even somebody who has barely learned to purl could understand it. And with it being knit in the round, there's hardly any purling to begin with. I doubt I will use it again, though, because doing this sweater is showing me just how easy this style of knitting can be, and the design is nice but not something I want fifteen of.
The thing about all that knitting with no purling or anything really complicated (yarnovers do not count as complicated) is that the whole thing goes very fast. I started knitting Thursday, and have only put a few hours into it.
Only one thing has slowed me down, and that is that yesterday Goldie grabbed the knitting off the couch and chewed it around and made a mess with it. Not too bad as far as dropped stitches (only two, easily picked up again) but she bent my circular needles, which makes them a bit funny to hold (you can see the dramatic bend on the right needle in the photo above). Also, the ball of yarn, Bamboo (Southwest Trading Co.) got all messed up and was hard to unravel. But I think I've worked out that kink, and at this rate I'll be moving on to the next ball soon, anyway.
I will say this: bamboo yarn is really nice and soft to work with, if a tiny bit splitty. I will definitely be using it again. Also, I will be more diligent about putting my knitting out of reach of the stupid dog.
