My Dottie Valentine...

Happy Valentine's Day! I didn't plan to post today, was just going to skip this holiday, except for eating (truffles! petit fours! bbq!) and drinking a toast (cabernet!) to the occasion. Somehow, though, when I was getting dressed this morning it dawned on me that the shawl I blocked Sunday would be appropriate for the holiday.

It's Dottie, a beautiful pattern generously provided free by Lilia Mankki. The yarn she used looks very much like Malabrigo lace weight, prompting me to choose the pattern after I impulsively bought 2 hanks in Damask Rose last summer. After struggling with the first bit, though, I put it aside. I didn't pick it up again until last month, then stuck with it until I finished, even though I had long since fallen out of love with the color.

I planned to knit the gathered sections in one of Malabrigo's hand-painted colorways, but changed that plan when I decided it was too busy. Even so, I kept the contrast garter stitch stripes I had put in as borders for the gathered sections. I had a little cherry red cashmere left from my stork's nest scarf and was determined to use it up.

The only other modification I made was to put in extra eyelets along the edge of the border. You'll find more details on my my Ravelry project page for Dottie. For non-Ravelers, the pattern is available here: Dottie Shawl pattern.

Knitting Less

As other projects increasing demand more of my time and attention, I am turning to simpler projects to knit, something I can knit when I'm distracted, when I'm tired, when I'm looking for something soothing and satisfying. Ironically, the boring parts of projects, the bits I struggled through before, are now appealing. I only just realized how much I am avoiding the difficult knitting I used to crave. Last month, I knit eight inches of 2x2 ribbing on size 3 needles for a beret, only to put the project aside after 5 rounds of the long-awaited lace pattern. Who needs a beret in the spring?, I reasoned. The day before yesterday, I began a complicated lace border for a relatively simple shawl. I was pretty excited when I found the pattern for the edging. I thought the leaves would complement the central leaf design of the shawl.

Upon finding I was a stitch short in the third row, I put it aside. Today, after three attempts, I managed to complete 14 rows correctly, but I don't like what I see. I think a simpler edging will do. I'd like to finish this one off and put it away. It's too bad, really, because the yarn is great (Malabrigo lace) and the pattern is pretty (Dottie). I clearly remember craving this color when I bought the yarn, but I can't work up any enthusiasm for it now.

On the other hand, I am really enthusiastic about a simple dish towel I completed with leftover dishcloth cotton.

All it took was one look at the stitch pattern and a rummage through my bin of cotton scraps to have me happily knitting away on it. My earlier towels all look a bit ratty, anyway. That's reason enough to send me rummaging again.

This time it's a rough copy of the Nina shawl from Mason Dixon Knitting. So, although I've got sweater ideas running around in my head, I'm swatching laceweight on size 4 needles, and I'm counting my available sock yarn (enough for 50 pairs!), all I'm knitting is dish towels.

No apologies for that, though. I've got a lot else going on and my knitting, for this year at least, will be a refuge and not a trial.

Four color knitting

Last month, the discovery that my latest project required knitting with four colors in the same round made me shut the pattern book. The book, opened after I used three colors on a couple of rounds in my Equinox, had previously only been opened a few times a year, allowing me to admire the pattern photo. Oh, how I loved this design. I studied it for years, admiring its silvery gray, the darling snowflakes, those chunky braids. With enough of the recommended yarn in the almost-right colors, it looked simple, just a stranded hat, knit in the round. It lulled me into thinking it was no big deal. That is, until the discovery of the four-colors-at-the-same-time exercise. Just one more color, but certainly enough for me, at least at this point. Three colors on most of the rounds, four colors on about half, and floats that stretched over 20 stitches jerked me awake.

Awakened, I opened the book and cast on. I'm glad I did.

The top and bottom of the design have four-color rounds, the same as in the middle. They aren't visible here because I used a navy blue there. Once I saw the contrast wasn't great enough, I searched my Kroy stash for a lighter color. I finally settled on the aqua cut out a scrap of Kroy FX, but only had enough for the middle diamonds. The pattern notes indicate that the diamonds should be done with intarsia, but I stranded them. Intarsia? In the round? I'm not sure if the instructions hinted at intarsia or if the reference to twisting the yarns at color changes to avoid holes was provided to explain how to handle the long floats. Either way, there were a couple of vague or questionable points in the pattern instructions. If I knit it again, I'd change a couple of things.

I'd shape the hem with decreases to fit the ear flaps, making it possible to continue knitting a lining up to the crown, possibly throughout the hat. A full lining would eliminate that dent caused by sewing the lining to the flap. However, a lining would also tighten the fit. Since I wanted the hat to be a bit larger than the 20" specified in the pattern, I wasn't worried when I saw that my gauge would put the hat between 21 to 22 inches. However, the row gauge is off as well, making the hat too long. Even at the pattern-specified 8.5", it would not be a snug fit. Now, at over 9", it is slouchy, as is the current fashion, but not in a fashionable way. The stranded fabric is a little stiff to drape nicely. One solution to this problem would be to decrease more often at the crown.

A flatter crown would make the hat more of a pillbox and less of a stocking-cap style. Then there is that tassel. The pattern calls for 14" long strands, braided. However, that means there are raw edges at each end of the braid. Once I finished braiding it, I couldn't figure out how to fasten it neatly to the hat. I just opened the top of the hat, stuck in the braid and tightened the hat back around it. Maybe I was supposed to fold the strands over and have a much shorter braid, about 4" long? It doesn't appear to be that short in the pattern photo. As I did it, the braid is not securely fastened enough to stand up to heavy wear. I'm not going to change the attachment just yet, though. This hat won't see heavy wear for a while. I'll keep it on display.

With its four-color rounds, long floats, miles of braiding and finishing details, this is a new milestone for me. Here's the hat on Ravelry.

Casting off 2011

Through the wonders of technology, I've encapsulated the old year, settling on one photo for each of the months of 2011. I tried to avoid the difficulty of choosing just one photo out of a set by using the first one that "popped" out at me, provided I hadn't blogged it already. The only exception is the one shot of knitting, the mittens for February. It was published here before. But then, I had to have a little knitting in the slide show.



The last few months of the year are represented by only one photo, of food, because the celebratory nature of the photo typifies that season for me. There's not much to photograph outside, all is gray and dim. Inside, there is a lot of knitting and eating. It was a good year for knitting, finishing with a couple of very fine projects. That is, fine materials. I can't claim much skill in production since I used two well-written, often-knit patterns.

I used two hanks of Koigu kppm for these Double Heelix socks. (Yes, my jeans are really that raggedy--it is the weekend!) This great pattern was generously provided in Knitty last year by Jeny Staiman. Since Jeny used Koigu as one of the colors in the sample socks, I was inspired to finally use the almost-green hank I'd been holding since I impulsively ordered a Charlotte's Web shawl kit in 2005. This is some of the oldest yarn I own. The other 4 hanks that came in the kit have been used here and there, but this one was too pretty to use in bits. The pattern lets it go in a hunk, top or bottom, starting off in the spiral heel.

I used the largest heel in the pattern to maximize the spirals, then turned them opposite ways for a mirroring effect. The gray is Koigu, too, just some I had bought for contrast heels and toes. I was lucky to have it, since it sets off the green so nicely. All in all, these are nice socks. I've gotten a lot of compliments on them as I've carried them around, knitting on them here and there through the holidays. Since the heels require concentration, I knit each one at home, then took the heel on the road to add the mostly-stockinette feet and legs. Done that way, the pattern makes a good travel project. The difficulty of the heel is balanced by the simplicity of the sock. As I said, it is a great pattern.

The project below was knit only at home. It didn't travel well because it is all lace, wonderfully soft cashmere lace.

As I mentioned in my last post, I found that Evelyn Clark's Swallowtail shawl requires only 400 yards of yarn. I actually had several yards of the fingering-weight Carmen (Saffron Dyeworks) left over. I was sorry about that, in fact. I wanted to use every bit of the fabulous cashmere. Knitting with it was so luxurious, I hated to see the project end. However, with only 300-some yards to knit in a few fairly simple lace patterns, it ended rather quickly. I finished it in less than two weeks, even though I devoted very little at-home time to it.

And that method, devoting very little time at home, is the way I treated the rest of my projects so far this year. I'm on a bit of a knitting break, but not because I want one. I've got lots of ideas spinning around in my head. Once I get the decks cleared, I expect 2012 to be as fun to knit my way through as 2011. When I get the head-spinning events sorted out, I'll show my knitting plans.

Links:

Double Heelix Sock pattern

Carmen yarn (that's my colorway!)

Ravely projects, socks and shawl.

Knit slowly, knit fast

At a time when the daylight hours are waning, my perception of my current knitting project reflects my perception of the turning of the seasons. Each day, our sun is slowly dwindling away. The unfortunate clouds aggravate this process, emphasizing that sunlight is at a premium. The change is subtle, but persistent. Eventually, over the course of what seems a long time, the days shorten and the clouds clump up. The rare bright spot of sun is the only reminder that things have changed.

**Quick, the sun is out, get the camera and take a photo of the knitting!**


A few nights ago, I finished the first set of braids on this hat after days of purling in the round, a movement that seems so wrong, deliberately twisting two yarns around and around, then reversing the twist on the next round. Once I finished the first set of braids, I worked the little band of stockinette, knitting six rounds. I knit and watched a movie for what seemed a few minutes. When I looked at my counter to click it for the next round, I was startled to see that it read "6". Eep. I knit 6 rounds without noticing. What a shock, especially since I had looked forward to this knitting as I struggled through the six rounds of braids during the past three days. (OK, 9 rounds, counting the k1, p1 rounds that begin each braid.)

Because I have lived it before, I know that the lengthening of the days will repeat this time shortening experience. Once the sun begins to return, I will not notice it. The days lengthen steadily, but the process, taken for granted, is accelerated for me. In a month or so, I will look up in the late afternoon and think, "Hmph, the sun is still up. When did that happen?" It's like knitting stockinette in the round. I do it, but I'm oblivious to the process.

What would life be like if I lived it as though I were braiding? It would seem longer, but punishingly cruel. I'd struggle through each moment and yearn for the time when I'd be free of the tasks I'd undertaken. It is preferable, I think, to suddenly be struck by a change that happened gradually. At least my awakening is a sign that I was enjoying the time as it passed so quickly and that I found the going easy.

I enjoy the seasons as they pass, but don't want them linger too long. I'm happy that the Solstice is almost here.

The hat I'm knitting is from a relatively obscure pattern. Here's the link to the pattern on Ravelry for those who want a preview of the FO. I'll probably blog it again once I finish it, since I consider it a small milestone.

Cast off, year's end

I've cast off a couple of important knits. First, a sweater-

This sweater, the Equinox Yoke pullover from the Fall 2006 issue of Interweave Knits, is important to me not only because it represents the culmination of years spent admiring the design and yet more years spent accumulating the appropriate colors of Misti Alpaca worsted (aka baby alpaca), but also because it is a milestone for me in pattern modification. Having finished it, I feel like the poor woman on the soup commercial, vainly exclaming "It fits!" to an unconcerned listener. Alas, it doesn't have the impact of the original, which plainly didn't fit the model. That sweater was slouchy, slumpy and oh-so boho. It had style and impact. No wonder it was the cover shot. Unfortunately, it was also, as verified by many of the projects on Ravelry, unwearable, at least if you wanted to lift your arms.

Thanks to the collective wisdom of the more than one hundred Ravelry projects for this sweater, I re-engineered the fit and the form, largely relying on Elizabeth Zimmerman's percentage system for yoke sweaters. The result is a shorter yoke that brings the armscyes up where they belong, as evidenced below.

Again, I exclaim: It fits! Yet one more benefit of this knit is that I found another old gem of a pattern right next to it in the magazine and am now happily knitting Evelyn Clark's Swallowtail Shawl, in Carmen, a wonderful cashmere from Saffron Dyeworks. I had begun another project in this yarn months ago, only to rip it out once I realized that a mere 400 yards is not nearly enough for a shawl. Now, I see that this pattern relys on just about that amount. Maybe I will have enough. If not, I have the leftover alpaca from my second Mathematix to fill in. Either way, I hope to have it finished for Christmas, along with a Christmas-themed dishtowel.

Another Christmas knit has been delivered and approved.

I won't really brag on these, except to say that I'm enormously happy that they are done. Knitting the inner sock that lines them, then struggling through the intarsia circles, adding heels, then sewing the sock top onto the soles altogether wore out my enthusiasm for this project. I have another pair of soles to make myself some slippers, but I can't face them (not a referral to the construction).

Instead, I'm back to working on those holiday-inspired projects. I hope I finish them before Santa arrives. I hear the bells jingling--I'd better get to knitting!

Related Links:

The original Equinox Yoke Pullover

My Equinox on Ravelry

For the skeptics, the Ravelry page for those slippers. Mine really is the only project!

Double knit sock heels done

When I knit the second sock in the pair with double-knit heels, I knew I was facing an intricate and time-consuming heel. Once I had slogged through the plain leg, however, I was happy to concentrate on the heel, improving it with a couple of simple mods, using a smaller needle to tighten up the stitches and cutting out the too-dark blue bit in the striped yarn. It was all to the good.

I am happy enough with this double knit heel that I can recommend it. I may even try it again someday, especially if I see that these sock heels last longer. If I do knit another one, I'd start with fewer stitches and plan on fewer rows in the heel. I wasn't prepared for the larger gauge. Although using a smaller needle didn't fully eliminate the difference in gauge between the double knit and single knit fabric, it did smooth out the bumps and tighten up the holes.

Once these engrossing socks were completed, I should have turned my attention to my other knitting projects. Unfortunately for them, I decided I needed quick satisfaction, in the form of a dishcloth.

This is the second garter stitch dishcloth with edging I've completed. I find them so useful and gratifying that I'm turning my old lacy ones into dust rags. Though I was quite tempted to start another, I resisted the lure of the easy knit and turned to one that is just the opposite. On request, I'm attempting a pattern that no one else on Ravelry has tried. Or, perhaps they have tried, failed and not bothered to post about it. While that strategy is looking more appealing to me, I haven't given up yet.

These are or rather, they will be once they are finished, boot-type slippers, complete with suede soles. They are made by first knitting a toe-up sock, using a heel flap and short row construction that was a struggle for me. Since I couldn't produce a sock that fit by following the directions, I had to rip it out and modify the heel by shortening the heel flap. The sock is the liner. It is covered by an outer layer that is knit flat. The spots are intarsia. After the leg is complete, the foot is knit with no shaping for the heel and minimal shaping for the toe. It fits as well as the fabric stretches.

Rather than trust the pattern (me?), I tried adding a heel flap to the outer layer. This modification complicated the project even more and didn't improve the fit. I am considering a slightly different approach on the second slipper, but that would mean that I'd have to rip out the first one and knit it to match. There's enough that I don't like in this project--socks knit flat, heel flaps in a toe-up sock, intarsia--that the thought knitting it a third time is discouraging. The one bright spot is that the boot seems to fit if I wear it over a thick sock. Since the person who started all this, by talking me into the project and helping me pick the yarn for it, has larger calves than I do, it is possible that these may fit her without further modifications.

I'm much more satisfied with another project, my Equinox sweater. I've finished both sleeves and begun the body.

I am really happy with the look of the turned hem. Now I have several inches of plain stockinette to knit, as long as the yarn holds out. To compensate for the boredom of a plain stockinette sweater, I have started my chevron sock--the cuff-down version.

The colors here are a little washed out.

It is very pretty and very much fun in real life. However, I haven't worked on it in a couple of days, mostly because I can't decide if I want to stick with the green yarn or go back to the blue at this point.

My original post about Chevron Socks can be found with this link.

Here's my Ravelry project page for the socks with double-knit heels.

and, the one for my other dishcloth.