Sampler M, Beginning and End

Although I knitted the last pattern on my "Sampler M" a couple of weeks ago, it has been waiting on the needle for me to cast off. I decided I wanted to make a picot-point cast off like the beginning, so I knitted the picot points, but then I realized I would have to sew the last row down.

I knew that was going to be some work, so the sampler sat and nagged at me until finally yesterday I got out a piece of foam and some pins and pinned it out to graft the end down. I used the picot-point beginning to help me see what I had to do. Above, on the left, 32 stitches left to go, and on the right, only 4 left!

After I grafted the last four stitches, I gave it a wash with Orvus (Orvus WA paste, mostly sodium lauryl sulfate) and a couple of rinses. I hadn't noticed as I was knitting, but in my white sink it was very obvious that the thread at the end of the sampler was a darker ecru than the beginning. It was knitted of all one thread off the same ball, so I suspect the discoloration was from the cardboard center.

After I saw that, I started to think I might give it a second wash, so I am letting it dry without blocking. Tatt3r's sampler was knitted from about the same weight of thread, but while I used the Susan Bates gold US size 0 needles, I think she used the greenish-silver US size 1's.

The other thing I could see while it was wet in a white sink was "foreign fiber discoloration", where I accidentally knitted other fibers into it. Usually in our house that means Truffles' very fine, light, floaty black undercoat hairs, but when I tweezed one of these out, it was blue!

Sampler M and my blue waffle scarf often travelled together in the same knitting bag -- it looks like the sampler acquired quite a few very fine dark blue fibers. When the sampler was short, I would roll it up and put it in a hard case with the knitting needles, but the ball of thread didn't fit and was out snuggling up to the scarf yarn.

Fortunately it isn't going to be entered into any competitions where it would be downgraded for foreign fibers. Instead it is going to stay with my notebook of printed-out sampler M patterns and be used to remind me of them. Its most current use will be to help me pick out a pattern or two for the West Michigan Lace Group's March bookmark exchange. The next meeting is coming up in about two weeks.

Tatt3r has already finished some bobbin lace ones. (She is getting a lot done, and raising a sweet Airedale puppy!)