KnitMe

I have two undertakings to

I have two undertakings to report today. First, here is my newest WIP, Poetry in Stitches p.124 (this is the pullover version of the cover sweater).

I'm not very far along, but maybe you can see the two different shades of pink behind the flower pattern, and how the eyelet row is going to turn up to make a pretty picot edge.

It's interesting to knit a color design that is NOT geometric but rather representational. She still has a horizontal symmetry in her chart that makes it easy to follow, but vertically it's making a picture instead of working out a pattern.

I'm using 3.5mm needles which is one size larger than I'd use for a standard fair isle sweater. I knitted too tightly at first so as you can see I have some puckers to block out especially in the darker pink area. Also I stupidly found myself carrying the light color above, which doesn't work since the light color is the pattern in this sweater and not the background like it was in the last sweater I made - so we've got that worked out too and it's starting to move along more quickly.

Dyeing - Another Thing I Swore I'd Never Do...

Here's a little photo journal of my dyeing of my plain white merino (spun on my wheel - about 2 3/4 ounces and about 140 yards) with easter egg tablets on Saturday.

First, the yarn before dyeing:

The dye mixture itself, a small amount of vinegar with the tablets dissolved, and me being a showoff with my stained fingers just like the big girls:

I put in the blue and pink tablets, looking for a medium purple, and got: BLUE. In a fit of giddiness I dropped in the purple tablet, and got: BLUE. So I guess this dye was meant to be BLUE.

The dyebath (water brought to a boil, with the dye stirred in):

The yarn just put into the dyebath:

The dyebath after the water has gone clear, about 3 hours later:

The yarn when it was all over:

It may be hard to tell from this picture, but there is a slight variability of color that makes it look much better than it should for the amount of work I did! I couldn't wait for the water to be totally cold - after about 8 hours when it was still warm I rinsed it in water the same temperature and it seems not to have been harmed.

My plan is to divide it in half and get as far as I can on a pair of ankle socks, and finish the feet with some other bluish yarn I have lying around. I want to reinforce the heels but all my reinforcing yarn is rather dark, I may have to go looking around for some lighter. The pattern I'm thinking of using is the 'basic sock' from Learn To Knit Socks by Edie Eckman. I really found this to be a great book for learning the mechanics of top-down sock knitting and I still follow it when I have to graft.

The bottom line of all this is that if I can do this dyeing thing, anyone can!

Prudence

Rose Diamond

I'm happy to report that I'm knitting again, after a brief hiatus due to my move to L.A. Here's what my sampler looks like now.

Below is a close-up of the latest motif, the Rose Diamond Lace. Sharon Miller warns that it's tricky to knit, and boy, is she right! I really like the result, though. It's basically a more close-worked version of Rose Lace or Rose Trellis. This pattern will need very careful blocking, I think.

Linette

Here are updated photos of

Here are updated photos of my two WIPs - both are really satisfying but going so slowly...

This is the 'Faroese Style' shawl by Myrna Stahman, from the Best of Knitters Shawls and Scarves book. The yarn is Nandia silk/cashmere in sky blue, a fairly thin yarn. I've gotten used to the yarn, and my rosewood 3.25mm needles have turned out to be a good fit for it. The pattern is very simple. This is the center-back panel, which grows out of the neckband until it is the required width, then stays even for the rest of the shawl:

This is an attempt to show you how the same pattern is used in the side panels, which grow quite fast so that it's impossible to spread out the piece. The center panel is on the lower left side of the picture.

The other one is the 'Byzantine' cabled pullover by Kathy Zimmerman from the last issue of Interweave Knits. The yarn is Berroco bluefaced leicester which has been discontinued unfortunately, in a shade called 'dahlia'. What gorgeous yarn. I'm using size 8 needles and probably knitting a little too loosely, but I like it much better than I would have liked the very bulky yarn specified in the pattern. Can you pick out the mistake a bit below center and to the right??

Sorry not to be very clever-witted today but I wanted to get the pictures out there for you to see and now I'm going to retire for the evening! I plyed merino for over an hour and am puzzling over how I can spin what must have been 3 ounces of fiber, in a weight something like sport, and end up with less than 150 yards. Either I counted wrong, or I wasted more than I thought I would. Either way it's fried my brain so my cleverness quotient is quite low...

Prudence

River Grass Gansey

Thanks to the Caroline for reminding me that finished objects are a good thing! With her encouragement, I was motivated to finish up the River Grass Gansey which I started early this year. I'm so glad to have this finished for fall, as it will be a very warm and cozy addition to my wardrobe.

The design is from the Jamieson's 2 Book and is knit in Jamieson's Shetland DK. This is lovely yarn which I bought at Colorful Stitches in Lenox, MA. Colorful Stitches is a gorgeous store that is well worth the trip. I stopped on my way home from vacation last fall. The yarn color is cinnamon and I made the largest size.

One of the nice things about this sweater (besides the lovely cabling pattern) is that it is knit in the round up to the armholes, then back and forth for the front and back. I finished the neck before starting the arms. The arms are started from the armhole and worked in the round to the end of the sleeves. The only finishing work is binding off the shoulders and weaving in the ends.

I've started on Checkers and have finished five and a half rows of the blocks of one sleeve. I thought that this sweater may be tedious to knit, but with all of the color changes and the expectation of moving on to a new row of colors, the knitting is going quickly and remains interesting. Additional motivation to keep moving on this project is Michelle's beautiful finished sweater.

Mary