The End...is near...plus a test.

Finally, Ranger and I are through with each other! Well, almost. I've lost the third card of buttons I need to completely complete Ranger. Yesterday I took photos. Today, sometime, if I can get access to my laptop, I may be able to load and finally publish this. That, or wait until tomorrow, when my partner is at work, to get back on to my laptop. This is a kind of test post.

I'm writing this on my partner's tablet. It's all kinds of clever magic but is taking some getting used to as it's really a single user thing. My laptop can support multiple users. He has a separate log-on on it where he has everything configured just as he likes it. This tablet allows more than one account user but everything is mixed up together so far as I can see so I need to create an area just for my apps.

I made a break-through with my knitting yesterday! It was glorious. Remember my post about my lumpyily knitted  o w l s  jumper? I did pull the body apart and continued knitting the second sleeve. Even though it knitted up smoother I was sure it shouldn't be like that. After beginning the cast-on for the body, I decided to consult every knitter's helpmeet, Google, for some advice. Took a while but I found the solution and have knitted a good portion of the body already. There is significant improvement. Once I've finished it to the previous point, I'll take more photos for comparison. It was an amazingly simple solution I'd never have figured out by myself.

A few months ago I taught myself, using YouTube videos, to knit in the Continental style. It was simple, yet hard. I began an entire new project to learn it. Most people would figure it out by making a dishcloth. That never occurred to me, I found a simple looking cardi and began the hard way. I really did make it difficult for myself in this respect. After a bit I headed back to a plain sock and it became easier. The final step was moving back to the main project - Ranger - which I recall had the first sleeve only partially knitted. Ranger was completed Continental style. I hardly ever go back to the English method I was taught to knit in now. Speed is one of the reasons for this. Garter and purl are quicker to knit this way. Without realising it though, I was getting speed, but lacking in appearance.  Putting some focus back on the outcome of each stitch hasn't eliminated the problem entirely but with time and attention I'm aiming on getting rid of as much as possible.

Knitting has been a decent chuck of my crafting experience. It took a back seat for many years, while I've pursued other crafts. In that time there's been quite the revolution gone on. I'm not going to outline it all, as everyone's aware of the impact of technology and the internet. I wonder, though, what the impact on knitting, and craft in general, would have been without the ability to communicate and spread information without it. I used to think I was a pretty good knitter. The one thing the internet has shown is how much I really don't know! I don't have a plan, other than to say I'm intent on learning everything I can about construction, pattern, everything. That should take me a decent amount of time. Constant improvement - it's kind of my motto, but I need to remember it more.

As I feel I'm getting rambly, it's time to wrap this test post up and get back to my needles. I want  o w l s  body done by the end of tomorrow, if not sooner!