EEK!!! A Steek!!!

The first time I cut a steek, I needed a bit of fortification (Bailey's Irish Creme and Kahlua, if I remember correctly), but I don't even think about it any more. Especially when the steek is well marked- there is no mistaking where the cut should be made on the center front of this sweater. And since the front bands and facings have been knit already, there is also no chance of the fabric raveling. And knitting the bands before cutting the steek worked slicker than snot (slower than snot, absolutely, but slicker).

My son arrived at exactly the right time to take a pic of The Cutting, which went without a hitch. I folded the facing in, over the steek, and the last of the hem up, and stitched it all in place, and whaddaya know, everything matched up fine (not always the case, no matter how carefully I plan).

I didn't bother to bind or reinforce the steek edges- they're not going anywhere inside that facing, and I'm not going to bother along the upper edge above the neckline either. That will be cut away soon, and it's not going anywhere in the meantime (or at least, it's not going anywhere that matters).

Next up, working out the sleeve steek placement, zig-zagging the edges on the sewing machine (those do need to be reinforced), cutting those steeks, calculating the shoulder width and the neckline curve (front and back), sewing the shoulder seams, and picking up the neckline band (in increments of 16 sts, so the patterning works out), and then knitting the band, cutting the excess fabric, and sewing the facing down. I would actually like to get all of that done today, but I have some sock book work to do this morning, and that has to take priority.

So I probably should get to work.

Olympic Question of the Day: Are there no curly haired gymnasts?

p.s. Can you tell that I swim a lot?