It’s too bad I never wear vests because I really am not of a mood to knit the sleeves on my Pearl Buck cardigan. So, in addition to a bit of stealth knitting, I’ve gone back to my damask Kauni, which I started in a burst of enthusiasm and then set aside. It’s just what I have been in the mood to knit the last couple of days, however. Here is how it is looking.
I’m getting to the point where I need to figure out exactly how long I want it so I can decide where to start the armholes (which means dreaded future sleeves). I also need to decide what kind of neckline I want. To that end, I made some graph paper to my gauge and charted the pattern again onto that paper. Then I used that as a kind of stencil — making multiple copies of the pattern repeat. Now I’ll cut and paste my sheets of graph paper together so that I have a paper duplicate of my sweater upon which I can plot out the neck. Doing it this way makes it easier for me to make sure that I’ll start the neck shaping at an attractive place in the pattern.
I love this! Your fair isle projects just impress the heck out of me. FYI, I nomintated you for a Make My day Award. Both of you are such inspirations to me. Thanks for being you. http://knittingobssessions.blogspot.com/2008/02/rhoda-you-made-my-day.html
Comment by Kendyl Young — February 2, 2008 @ 7:23 pm
From Susan — I think this is gorgeous and I have decided to partake of sleeve avoidance by making my Damask into a vest. I saw one on ravelry and it was wonderful. I can’t wait to see yours finished…
And thank you, Kendyl, for the nice commentary and blog mention!!
Comment by lv2knit — February 2, 2008 @ 8:30 pm
This is just so amazingly beautiful. Good luck with the graphing and calculations!
Comment by jessie — February 2, 2008 @ 9:10 pm
oh – my – god – faboo – is there anyone who might want to sell me the damask chart? I’ve been searching higher and lower to find it, but no one seems to be able to want to part with it – I’ll pay handsomely, and have the paypal balance to do so –
unless someone can direct me to a place where I can actually buy it –
of course your work is stunning – and why wouldn’t it be?
thanks for sharing,
Comment by margaret — February 2, 2008 @ 9:28 pm
That is so beautiful! I do understand how tempting it is to skip the sleeves though. They sometimes seem endless – and there are two of them. Whatever you choose to do I’m sure will be delightful.
Comment by Karen B. — February 3, 2008 @ 1:19 am
It’s just gorgeous!
Comment by Carol — February 3, 2008 @ 9:12 am
So beautiful. I’m really looking forward to seeing where you take it from here.
Comment by Saralyn — February 3, 2008 @ 3:38 pm
Sally- My Kauni still awaits inspiration.
Oh no, the dreaded SSS- not to be confused with the sock SSS.
Comment by Lorraine — February 3, 2008 @ 7:44 pm
It’s so gorgeous! Guilt really is the great motivator. I could ignore Kauni as long as you were ignoring yours! Honey and I are off next week on a getaway. My Kauni may just need to go along. Sitting in church this morning, I had an idea for a double breasted front band, since mine is too small. I wonder if Jameison has a gold that would match. I wish I had time for a trip to Needlework Unlimited this week! Keep the photos coming!
Comment by Maria — February 4, 2008 @ 1:01 am
Stunning! But I’m also drop-jawed at the custom made graph paper–what is the secret technology behind that??
Comment by Andrea Grant — February 4, 2008 @ 8:24 am
Are you going to go a kangaroo pouch for your sleeves? I am doing a similar Kauni, I’m using the charts from a Dale pattern and I am getting towards where I need to place the sleeves and I don’t want to do the normal Dale method. If you’d rather email me back on Ravelry I’m Mountain Purl. Thanks for any suggestions.
Comment by Kathy — February 5, 2008 @ 9:19 am
…I’m going to ask a naive question….hope that’s okay….i don’t understand about the yarn?….i’m a fairly new knitter – 2.5 years – and i haven’t done any stranded knitting…..does the yarn do that by itself?…i mean does it come that way with the different striping of colors?….or do you do that when you knit with the different colors?…..i love this piece so much…..how do you order the yarn?….and where?….
Comment by sally — February 5, 2008 @ 10:35 am
Hey look at that stunning cup cozy over there! Heh. Couldn’t resist. Gorgeous work as always Sally.
Comment by lyric — February 5, 2008 @ 3:50 pm
Absolutely gorgeous!
Comment by Bereni — February 5, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
Lovely, the pattern is very conveniently lining up the contrasting kauni colors for maximum glorious contrast. Did you do that on purpose or was it serendipity?
I hadn’t realized how many knitting tricks I had learned from your blog until I got my hands on a library copy of Principles of Knitting and found it all strangely familiar! Thanks for the entertaining education and the inspiration to do everything the right way… inside and out!
Comment by Natalie — February 6, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
I am delirious and giddy to have found your blog. I have had the Kauni sitting in a basket and am also going to embark on the Tapestry pattern. I had hoped to knit this in the round without a steeked center but after much thought, I don’t think this will be possible and keep the integrity of the tapestry pattern.
Thanks for the detailed posts.
Comment by Patricia — February 22, 2008 @ 3:30 pm
Sally, I love how your Kauni is knitting up. Do you know approx. how much yarn it is taking? I have this pillow pattern also and my LYS sells Kauni yarn. They have it listed in so many different weight skeins; I wasn’t sure how much I needed to buy.
After seeing your Kauni, this is something I have to try. I’ve never tried making a sweater except by following a pattern before. This will definitely be a learning experience for me.
Comment by Maureen — March 17, 2008 @ 10:39 am