Category Archives: Knitting

Row by row

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My second go at the new shawl design is gradually progressing:

Shawl beginning

Although the KnitPicks Gloss Lace yarn isn’t the softest or highest quality lace yarn around, it is a good weight for lace, and I like it for that reason. It has about 800 metres (880 yards) per 100gms, so it’s heavier than some lace yarns. The 70/30 mix of merino & silk also gives it a lovely texture.

I’ve now knitted 12% of the shawl… so there’s only another 43,000 or so stitches to go! Plus beads. Because I love beads. Fortunately, there’s not gazillions of them going in, at least in the first half of the shawl, so it’s not too slow.

Speaking of row by row, at the spinners and weavers meeting last week, I was discussing with a friend the challenges of using row counters on circular and dp needles, and the need to have some way to hang them from the needle. I promised I’d have a play…. This morning, I rummaged in the knitting tools box, and found that I have (at least) four plastic row counters. This afternoon, I rummaged in the miscellaneous bead bags, and made up these:

Beaded row counters
(Not a great photo, I know, but as you can see, one of them’s already in use… and I’m too lazy this evening to move away from the table to take a better photo.)

Problem solved – the hanging row counter works fine. Hopefully I’ll meet up with my friend for lunch in the next few days, and she can choose one of these for herself.

Not quite right (yet)

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Not quite right sums up a few things in my life lately. I’m sore and a bit tired following a minor surgery in Tamworth yesterday – but I did enjoy the trip down on the train on Monday, and I did manage to visit Spotlight, so it wasn’t all medical stuff!

While on the train, and while waiting around for hours at the hospital between appointments, I finished the ‘prototype’ of my new shawl design. And I blocked it today.

Now, those of you who are lace-knitters know that you really don’t see a design properly until it’s blocked. This is especially true when the item is too large too stretch out while on the needles. So, although I’d charted out the various elements of the design, and knew that technically they fitted together, I wasn’t sure how it would all ‘work’ together in actuality until I pinned out the shawl this morning. Some people can visualise things before they’re knitted – while I can imagine a general sense of how something might look, and I did knit a sample swatch of the last motif and border, I really need the finished item in front of me to really ‘see’ it.

And although it’s okay, and I’m proud enough of it to wear it, I’m not quite satisfied with it yet – so I’ve cast on already for another sample, which will incorporate a few changes.

Here’s the protoype, all pinned out:
Semi-circular shawl

What’s not quite right? The last leaf motif is too close to the inverted ‘V’ lace, and its extra-noticeable because they don’t align exactly to flow from one to the other. And the reversing of the diagonal lines along the spines isn’t ‘neat’ enough; it doesn’t mirror the ones above, and it seems a bit crowded against the inverted ‘V’s.

So, I’m planning to keep the diagonal lines continuing in the same pattern right down the spines until the edging. I’ll also put some extra space between the leaf motifs and the ‘V’ motifs, so that the transition isn’t crowded. I’ve charted it all out… now I just have to knit it! One of the advantages, though, of the changes will be keeping the pattern fairly easy to knit, as the rhythm of the spine pattern will continue until the edging rows, rather than changing part-way through. And since rhythm and relative ease of knitting is one of my design criteria, that is a plus!

I’m using KnitPicks Gloss Lace yarn for the second shawl, in a delicate blue/green, and I’m also beading it. Plus, instead of a semi-octagon, with four gores, I’m knitting a 5/8 octagon, adding an extra gore so that the shawl will drape over the shoulders more securely.

Now, I’d better get back to the knitting! According to the handy excel spreadsheet calculation, I’ve so far knitted only 3792 sts of the total 49570 sts required. (Hmm… 7.65% sounds a little more encouraging!)

New things

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I did (finally!) finish sewing the seams of my shawl-collar jacket, and though I don’t have any beautiful photos of it, I have been wearing it – and it is, if not stunning, at least cosy and warm, which is great in the wintry weather we’ve been having.

Here’s Jane, my dressmaker’s model wearing it – although bear in mind that she is a lot skinnier than me!
Shawl collar cardigan

I used a Drops pattern (102-5) as a basic guide but adapted it quite significantly, in particular using moss stitch instead of garter stitch and changing the shaping. The yarn is Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran, which is 85% Wool, 10% Silk, 5% Cashmere – and have I mentioned, deliciously warm?

I’m quite pleased with the overall finished result, although the top button/hole is a bit high, and I’ve been wearing it without that done up. I may end up removing the button and stitching the buttonhole closed.

I’m currently planning a new, top-down cardigan – no more pesky seams for me! No knitting has been started yet, but any day now I’ll raid the stash and cast-on.

What else have I been up to? The prototype for the new shawl is coming along, and although it’s only half-knitted, I have done the time-consuming design and test-swatch knitting of the final two charts. Here’s a swatch of the edge – although I have changed the way the long diagonal lines will be knitted from how I did these ones (and I’m up to knitting them now in the prototype shawl):
Swatch - not final design

And I’ve added some new stitch markers to the Yarnosophy shop:
Green glass bead stitch markers with feature bead

Yellow and gold glass bead stitch markers

Iridescent purple glass bead stitch markers
(I liked these purple ones so much that I made a very similar pair of earrings for me!)

Shopkeeping

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Did you ever play at keeping a shop as a kid? I know I did. I’ve worked in shops since then, and been on quite a few market stalls, but it was still a thrill to package up and get ready to send off the first order from the Yarnosophy shop:

Stitch marker package

The pattern download function is working fine, too – even if the patterns don’t come wrapped in pretty paper! I was a little nervous as I’m by no means a computer programmer, but the system worked for me and then it worked fine for the first ‘real’ customer, so I’m breathing a little easier now.

I made some more stitchmarkers this afternoon, but they still need to be finished off and photographed before they go into the shop. And I’m hoping to get out to the dyepots tomorrow, if it’s not too cold.

My major achievement for today, however, has been finishing the shawl-collar cardigan that has been languishing for a while, waiting for the final seams to be sewn. You may remember this from a week or so back:
Shawl Collar Cardigan
This morning I bit the bullet, and sat down with the cardigan. It took about an hour to sew the last seams, stitch the collar in place, and sew on the buttons. And then I put it on, and wore it into town, and I’m still wearing it now. It’s cosy and warm, and fits quite well; it’s nothing stunning, but it’s fine.

No photos yet – we don’t have a mirror, so I couldn’t really photograph it on me, and it was too cold today to take it off! Maybe tomorrow I can photograph it laid out in a table or something.

I’ve been looking at top-down patterns, and I think that’s the way I’ll be knitting jumpers and cardigans in future. I’ll do almost anything to avoid sewing seams and picking up stitches for bands and necklines… although I’ve conquered this cardigan, there’s a jumper lying around, that needs stitches picked up for the neckline. Maybe the burst of enthusiasm for finishing the cardi will carry through and I’ll finish the jumper this week… but don’t hold your breath!

Knitting on the new shawl is much more fun, and it’s coming along. I still haven’t finalised the last quarter or so of the design, but I’m not up to knitting that part yet, so I’ll have a day or two more to think about it and play with the chart on the Excel spreadsheet.

Beginnings

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My life is a bit up and down at the moment, and I’m kind of in a hiatus on several fronts; looks like I’ll be having brain surgery in the next couple of months, and I’ve also got to start again on the next book – very tough decision to make, but it just wasn’t working. My new idea, however, is starting to bubble away this last 24 hours, and I think the new heroine is going to work. Now I just have to come up with a hero, and a plot, beyond the first few pages!

To counter the down bits and nurture the creative spirit, I’m concentrating on some less-demanding creativity; amongst other things, I’ve started designing another shawl. I’m aiming for a semi-circular shawl this time. I’m using Bendigo 4ply luxury for the prototype, and here’s a teaser:
Knitted shawl beginning

I’m not sure what the rest of it will look like yet, so I’m in the same position as with the new book – great beginning, but still a long way to go!

Did you notice the little red danglies? Yes, I have become a sucker for stitch markers. I love the pretties, hanging off my needles, and for this shawl I need three. I didn’t have any in my small stash of purchased ones that toned properly with the crimson of the yarn, so I made some. Then I made some more. Now I’m just anxiously waiting for the postmen to bring some tigerwire, because the wire I have isn’t ideal. But these ones will be fine for me!
Knitting stitch markers

Wonderfully warm wool

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I’ve always lived in places with chilly winters. Not as cold as Canada and northern Europe, but chilly enough – frosts and below-freezing temperatures most mornings and occasional snow falls. We’re lucky where I live, that most of our winter days are dry and sunny, but that’s not been the case for the past week or so.

After growing up in Canberra, and moving to the Armidale district 22 years ago, I’m very good at dressing for the cold! I’m definitely not one of those people who wanders around in a thin long-sleeved t-shirt, shivering and looking miserable. Nope, my winter wardrobe has a lot of wool in it; not just hand-knits, but bought jumpers etc. Wool, especially mixed with other fibres such as cashmere and angora, are so, so much warmer than acrylics, polyesters, rayons and other man-made yarns.

But have you noticed how hard it is to find pure wool, or wool-blend things now? I went hunting for simple wool-blend black socks… other than Explorer-style socks, there was nothing in womens’, mens’ or boys’ departments with wool in it, and the Explorers are too thick for what I want (and nylon on the outside). Yes, I know I’m more than capable of knitting socks, and I do, but black is a hard colour for me to knit, hence wanting to buy some.

I also went looking for woollen blankets… okay, so I haven’t looked in the expensive places yet, but Target, KMart, Big W used to have them as a regular stock item… and now there’s not a one in sight in our local stores – despite the fact that we’re in one of the coldest towns in the country! There’s plenty of ‘fleece’ blankets, and cotton ones, but no wool.

Wool jumpers and cardigans have disappeared from the cheaper stores, too – fortunately I can still get them in a couple of local up-market clothing stores, and they’re better quality than the cheapies, but naturally they cost more… and aren’t as good as a handknit!

So, to make sure I don’t sound like a grumpy old woman complaining how much better things were in the old days, I’ll cut my little rant short there and mention instead that when I took the dogs out for a walk this afternoon, in the cold, windy, overcast weather, I was snug and warm in my handknit wool/cashmere socks and fingerless mitts, and the handknit pure wool big jumper and matching beanie that I’ve been wearing around the house and for outside work for years.

I love being a knitter 🙂

Winter sock addiction

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The weather is definitely cooling off here, and we’re heading into our frosty winter. Armidale winters are great – yes, it’s frosty and we have a fair few minus temperatures, but they don’t last long in the mornings, and the days are mostly sunny and dry.

Still, it’s great weather for handknit wool socks, and since I’m also racing a deadline for my book, sock-knitting is comprising most of my knitting at present. I know it sounds strange to some, but, as I’m a slow writer, a simple pair of socks on the needles keeps my fingers busy (and not clicking all over the internet), my mind open to creative thoughts, and my butt firmly in my chair in front of the computer.

I have two sock projects on the go at the moment:

Pattern: Charade Socks Yarn: Saffron Dyeworks Amara

The pattern is Charade Socks by Sandra Park, and the yarn is Amara sock yarn from Saffron Dyeworks. I’m enjoying both the yarn and the pattern – simple but effective, and they work well together.

I’m knitting the Charade socks my standard way, on 5 dpns, one sock at a time. But I have been thinking about trying two socks on two circs for a while, and yesterday I bit the bullet and cast on these:

Toe-up socks in two circulars

And yes, I’m adding an extra (new) challenge for myself, and knitting them toe-up! So far, it’s going fine. I have tried toe-up once before, but the heel simply didn’t work for my foot shape, so I’ll have to work out how to do a heel flap for these ones. I’m using Bendigo Luxury in 8 ply, so they’ll knit up quickly, and I’m using the stitch pattern from the Charade socks, since I’m enjoying it. I’m not using an actual sock pattern, just figuring it out as I go along, acording to standard sock techniques and what’s worked for me in the past.

Now, must disconnect from the internet again, and get back to writing (and knitting!) I’ve only got 6 weeks to get this book finished…. hmm, I wonder how many pairs of socks that will be!

Socks!

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I knitted my BIL a pair of Thuja socks for Christmas, and then decided to try the pattern in a finer yarn, and make some socks for me – or for my father, if he needed more socks! I finished this pair a couple of days ago, but Dad says he has plenty of socks, so I get to keep them – and I’m wearing them right now 🙂

Thuja Socks, in fine yarn

The yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills Luxury 4 ply – nice and cosy for winter! I have a few more colours, just waiting to become more socks. (‘Cos a girl can never have too many hand-knitted socks!)

I adapted the pattern for 4ply yarn, and with some decreasing in the leg because my legs aren’t as sylph-like as they used to be.

Finished – Shetland Snow

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I started this shawl on January 1st in a burst of enthusiasm for the 10 Shawls in 2010 challenge… and then became sidetracked by designing and knitting Brangian and her variations. So, my Shetland Triangle languished, with me picking it up and knitting a few rows every now and then… but I decided a few weeks ago to start finishing up some wips, and now I’ve finished this one.

Each year, at the Romance Writers of Australia conference in August, there is a silent auction with all funds raised going to cancer research. Last year, I wanted to donate a lace scarf, but I struck a problem in adapting the pattern and didn’t manage to get it finished in time. So, this year, I’ll donate this shawl along with some signed books to the auction.

It’s a grey, rainy day, so it was a challenge to photograph her:

Pattern: Shetland Triangle. Yarn: Bendigo Luxury 4 ply

Pattern: Shteland Triangle. Yarn: Bendigo Luxury 4 ply

The pattern is the wonderful and easy Shetland Triangle (Ravelry link), by Evelyn Clark. The yarn is 4ply Luxury from Bendigo Woollen Mills. I also added beads from Empire Beads to the last two repeats and the edging (Czech seed beads Round Pearlised White 4.5mm GB5/0):
Shetland Triangle, bead detail

FO – Brangian variations

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I finished knitting my fifth Brangian shawl the other day – this time with a few minor variations to the pattern:

1) Instead of the yo, k1, yo spine in the stocking stitch section, I worked a m1R, k1, m1L spine, and reverted to the yo, k1, yo spine when I started the lace section. This is how that looks:

Brangian shawl - spine detail

2) I knitted an extra repeat of Chart 1, but only the first 8 rows of Chart 2 before continuing on to the edging chart, and then 3) I worked the last two rows of the edging chart again, just to make it a little deeper (and because I had plenty of yarn left!):

Brangian shawl, lace variation detail

Although I like the original version, with the broad border of alternating buds before the edging, I also like this single line of offset buds between the main lace and the edging – I think it highlights both the edging, as wella s the long lines of lace in the main lace section.

Here she is, in all her (early morning, bright sunshine) glory:

Brangian Shawl

This image is closest to the real colour – it’s just on the purple side of blue. Just.

Yarn: a 50/50 silk/merino fingering, that I bought undyed from the Yarn Workshop, and dyed myself.

Size: small

Needles: 4mm circular

Unblocked measurements: Width 98cm, height 50cm; (38.5 inches x 19.7inches)

Blocked measurements: Width 145cm, height 69cm; (57 inches x 27inches)