once upon a time ...

Scoop: looking sweater-ish

From wikipedia: The "rule of three" is a principle of writing which  suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things. A series of three is often used to create a progression in which the tension is created, then built up, and finally released. I just hope the principle applies here.

The first red swatch was too big. I had chosen a larger size to make up for my smaller needles and lighter weight yarn, but after knitting the yoke and trying it on, I decided to rip and reknit two sizes smaller.

The second red swatch was too long. Because I'm tall I lengthened the yoke, but when I took the recommended number of raglan increases and redistributed them across a deeper yoke, the raglans looked oddly distorted. Once more I decided to rip and reknit with raglan increases every second round as written, letting the final stitch count fall where it may.

Fingers crossed that this third attempt will be just right. I've tried it on. It looks pretty good. Finally. With luck I'll have a new finished sweater by Friday of next week. I really, really hope so!

rrrrrrrrip

restarted

This morning just as the subway train pulled into Kipling station and just as I finished the last round of the leg, I had a series of revelations:

 ... this yarn is so soft that it'd be best knit on the smallest possible needles for the tightest possible fabric for the best possible durability,

 ... and, when I said yesterday that I was okay with these socks knitting up too small for me, that I was prepared to give them away to someone with small feet on my Christmas list, I was kidding myself,

 ... and, given that this pattern features a narrow repeat it'd be really, really simple to add an eight stitch repeat to the front and back of the sock to bring the total stitch count to 72,

so I've ripped out and started again. You knew where that was headed, didn't you? I only wish I'd thought that through before I knit the six and half inch leg of the first sock. Oh well, consider it practice.

Year of Projects - Denmark Post 01

mmm ... alpaca ...

Knitting on the Road: Canada • Canal du Midi • Conwy • Dalarna • Denmark • Friday Harbor • Hiiumaa • Huron Mountain • New England • The Road to Oslo • Santa Fe • Spey Valley • Christmas in Tallinn • Traveler's Stockings • Uinta Cabin • Unst • Whitby 

With my Hiiumaa Mismatched Mates finished and blogged on Friday it was time to cast on another pair of socks. Denmark was the next pattern in the book - one of two patterns I'd skipped over to get to Hiiumaa - but I was hesitating. The pattern calls for sport weight yarn and 3.25mm needles. All my sock yarn is fingering weight and usually I knit my socks on 2mm or even 2.5mm needles.

In the end I decided to pick the thickest and loftiest of the sock yarns in my stash: this gorgeous, soft Alpaca Sox from Classic Elite Yarns. And I'm going ahead with 2.5mm needles, because, after all, there are 56 stitches around the foot so the sock won't be that small. With luck, they may turn out perfectly size for someone on my Christmas list!

Hiuumaa Mismatched Mates

So far I'm very happy with how these are knitting up. The yarn is delicious, the colour is gorgeous and the pattern is very satisfyingly elegant. What a nice little cable - just one stitch moves to the centre from each side of making a wide and flat cable - and look, those are nupps at the top of those columns of cables! Neat, huh? Once again as I knit this pattern I'm struck by the careful attention to detail from the designer, Nancy Bush. The stitches are distributed across four needles so that each needle finishes and end with a purl stitch which should hide any laddering from the dpns. And the ribbing flows beautifully into the main leg pattern. Very nice indeed.

Now remind me, why was it that I hesitated to cast on this sock?

finished object Friday

the cat wants in the photo

Hurray, it's Friday and I've got a finished pair of socks. The pattern is Hiiumaa Mismatched Mates from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. Gavin agreed to model them this morning but no matter where and how he stood, the cat absolutely insisted on circling his feet and being in the picture. Apparently she feels that I should feed her and give her a few treats before messing around with socks.

I'm pleased with these socks and not just because they fit Gavin beautifully. And not just because he likes them. And not just because he think I should make a pair of the stripier version for him. Knitted with Kroy sock yarn they're warm, sturdy, sensible socks. I really like that about them.

It's also been a great stash-busting project. The stripes are various leftover bits and bobs of Kroy self-patterning sock yarns. For my year of projects, I'm knitting all seventeen patterns from Knitting on the Road. This is the fifth finished pair and so far it's all been from the stash. No sign of running out of yarn anytime soon!

Have a look at the blogs from crafters who've linked up at Tami's Amis for Finished Object Friday. Lots more to see!

reswatching

rip-it, rip-it, rip-it

Last night I tried on the big red swatch and the news wasn't good. The front of the sweater was too big although the back and sleeves were okay, and the depth of the yoke was too short. But more than that, I didn't like the way it looked. Not at all. The scooped front looked saggy and sloppy and the neckline was uncomfortably wide. Feeling deflated I put it aside and went back to knitting my sock.

This morning I took out my sewing kit with the idea of pinching a dozen stitches out of the front and back to simulate the sweater two sizes smaller. Eureka! The neckline is much better and the front drapes without drooping. It really makes all the difference!

So tonight I'm casting on a second swatch. My plan is to knit the smaller size but add to the yoke to make it about an inch and half longer. If I can find a few quiet moments at work today, I'll sit down to calculate how many rows are involved and plan how to evenly redistribute the raglan increases. All in all, I'm feeling very positive about it again. And now, on my second attempt, I am going to follow the example of other Ravelers and work the increases as yarn overs rather than M1s. Hopefully I'll have something more sweater-ish to show for all of this next week!

work-in-progress Wednesday

this red is truer to the actual red

For the last few days my knitting time has been devoted to a single project which I like to think of as a really big red swatch. If and when all the sizing questions are resolved it may actually develop into a Scoop pullover ... but there are still lots of ifs. Hopefully knitting a larger size will compensate for my lighter than recommended wool and smaller than recommended needles, but until I can actually try it on I don't think there's any way to be certain. I'm five rounds away from the dividing round now; the round where the sleeve stitches are set aside and the body is joined to knit in the round. Once that's done, it should be "try-on-able".

Just glancing at the work-in-progress, the sizing from side to side looks (maybe) okay, but I have the faintest qualm that the length is too short from collar to armpit. I'll thread a lifeline before working the dividing round - that way I can always go back and add one more welt to the yoke to make it longer. It wouldn't be surprising if the extra length were needed ... after all I am very tall.  

I had a look at the notes from other Ravelers to see if I could glean any helpful hints but that just added to my worries. Unbelievable how many knitters made one sweater, found it didn't fit and gave it away, then knit another! Uh oh. Sounds ominous doesn't it? Repeat after me: This is just a really big swatch. I'll knit until I can try it on and then I'll make some notes, rip it out and start again. No biggie.

I'll bet that lots of knitters and crocheters are actually accomplishing something more than swatching this week. Have a look at Tami's Amis to see them all.

a really big swatch

awful photo, really awful

To the casual observer it may look like I'm knitting this sweater. I wish that were so. In fact, since I am using a lighter weight yarn than the pattern calls for and using smaller needles than the pattern calls for, I've cast on the largest size and I'm telling myself that I'm knitting a really big swatch. It would be tremendous luck if it turns out to be a sweater that looks anything like this.

It's a very interesting design: the front welt on the sweater drapes and the sleeves and back are ribbed so that they stretch. Interesting, but it completely dumbfounds me as to what an appropriate finished size should be. I'm also thinking that this pattern needs negative ease to fit well. If it were a normal sweater I could knit a swatch, do the math and figure out how to proceed. But this particular design has me stumped. I guess we'll see by the weekend whether this will work or not. In the meantime my fingers and toes are firmly crossed.