just another raveller

It started back in   April as a small swatch of the Fleurette stitch from Barbara Walker using KPPPM Koigu on 3mm needles. I was trying out the yarn in various open stitches to see if I could up with something that would break up the colour pooling in an interesting way. I'd been able to buy 9 skeins of the same dye lot in the sale at KnitnPurl before they closed. I blocked it and checked the gauge. I ended up knitting a bigger swatch the size of the back of a cardigan up to the armholes. I blocked it and checked the gauge again. It was consistent: 5 stitches and 8 rows per inch. I contemplated copping out and just doing a drop shoulder  pattern, but something drove me on to conquer the set in sleeve.  I grew bold. I calculated the armscye using the instructions in Vogue Knitting: the Ultimate Knitting Book.  Knit her up and blocked again. The armhole depth was 7 inches. Maybe a bit shallow I thought, but the stitch is an open one and I thought it better to underdo it on such a s...

Finally blocked the fronts and back of the Big Swatch and pinned them out on the spare bed. Pins were used very modestly. Really, I just spread the pieces out, measured and patted them a bit and pinned a few corners for form's sake. In case I have to frog back, I left the skeins attached to each piece. I put them all into a plastic bag to keep them dry and out of the way during the soak. I was oh so careful. Wouldn't you know it, as I patted out the last piece, I noticed that the top had come unravelled. I hadn't secured the yarn correctly and a bit of self frogging had occurred - about six rows worth. Wah! Here's a grainy photo, taken with shaking hands. I grabbed the needles and as best I could, picked up the 30 stitches and knitted the last rows and cast off over again. I was very conscious of the fact that the knitting, besides smelling like a wet dog, was stretching as I tried to reconstruct the last rows. I think it turned out OKAY though and was able to pat it ba...

Knitting progress has been very slow, although I do manage to do a few rows every day on a baby blanket (a la Cobweb Crepe) and the cardigan, of course. I'm dying to cast on for some summer socks using the yellow Sockotta (cotton-wool) that I bought in a friendly little shop in Medina , NY the other week. I cannot in all good conscience do that when I have half of the second sock of another pair to finish and all these other projects going. That hasn't stopped me from buying things, however. My big excuse has been that our nearby yarn shop, KnitnPurl is going out of business as of June 20th and there are big discounts to be had. Back to Medina. We went there to visit a charming little cemetery in search of the grave of George Kennan the Elder , which we did find, but we also found this: Poor Erastus Averhill's stone has fallen down and instead of the pointing to heaven, the etched finger is pointing accusingly to a patch of dandelions: After lunch, I bought the Sockotta: ...

What an awful name for a sweater. I'll have to think of something better. It is kind of like a big swatch, since I'm making it up as I go along.  OKAY. I got the fronts and back knit up to the underarms (Seed border plus 11 repeats of Fleurette ). I put them in order on one needle. On an earlier swatch I had obtained a gauge of 5 stiches per inch and 8 rows per inch. I decreased 5 stitches plus another 6 (1 extra for luck) on alternate rows for armhole shaping. I used the basic instructions in the excellent book,  Vogue Knitting: the Ultimate Knitting Book .   Since that point the trick has been to match the decreases while maintaining the lace pattern. The Fleurette pattern has 12 rows. It's pretty easy to eyeball it and keep the motifs centered but here's the catch. In row 4 you increase the total number of stitches and in row 6 you reduce them to the original number. Then you do the same thing in rows 10 and 12. This adds a bit of interest to maintaining the ongoing ...

Everything is moving slowly. The Spring, the workweek, the knitting. I moved the Hemlock Ring to a longer needle and have slogged up to row 112. There are now 536 stitches on the needle. There are 36 more rows at the end of which there will be 792 stitches. Worsted weight. Pain in the neck. Literally. I've put it aside and returned to the cardigan.  I'm stilling proceeding slowly towards the underarms on the fronts and the back. You may remember that I'm working it in a small lace stitch. I've been a little worried that if I make a regular set in sleeve that somehow the lace stitch will conspire against me and it will end up not fitting. I had in fact chickened out of doing a set in sleeve and was ready to do a drop shoulder style and avoid the whole question of fit.  Setting the project aside for a few days was a good idea. I have come to my senses. My plan now is to get the fronts the same as the back, blocking them to be sure of it and put in a life line. Then I can ...

First, I've decided that setting in sleeves once a month is enough - The Koigu cardi, which will henceforth to be referred to as The Big Swatch, is going to be a drop shoulder affair with gussets like a gansey, but open in front. I'll use the Fleurette pattern all over but may intersperse some seed stitch to give the eye a rest. My hope is that it will drape nicely and look elegant. I think the challenge will be to knit it the right size. I'm worried that the lace will stretch out and I don't want it to end up looking like a dressing gown. Secondly, I've given in and cast on for another project - the Hemlock Ring Blanket. I saw it blocking, here, looking like a big chocolate cookie. That did it. Time to cast on. I've had this pattern in my queue for a while. Doesn't it look like a relaxing knit with all that feather and fan? Plus, since I cannibalized my own grey lap robe to finish the Grey Amusement , my office chair has been naked. I know, this isn't...