The Wedding Purse is done:
The lace edging is from Barbara Walker’s Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns and is called the Queen’s Edging (page 373) — the edging is very fun to knit. I knitted the bag out of one skein of Dale “Stork” color #2, 100% fine cotton, on Size 1 bamboo double points. The beads are Japanese silver lined size 8, color XLT Sapphire (138 total beads used). I lined it in a natural cotton fabric. And there you have it.
As promised, here is a picture of the sleeve in progress:
Someone asked me if I was working on the collar — it does look a bit odd, doesn’t it? I’ll be finishing up the beaded wedding bag today and will place a picture then.  I think it is really turning out quite nicely.Â
I was very sorry to miss knitting group last night. I really wanted to go. Actually, I needed to go! I had such a busy week and really needed to unwind with my knitting peeps. However, daughter Laura had school conferences and two works in the art show. So, I was the the good parent and went to conferences instead of knitting group.Â
I got this in the mail:
Woo hoo — very exciting times! The State Fair is around the corner! Thursdays at Four is sponsoring a $25 Gift Card from Panera’s for the sweepstakes winner. The State Fair is a big deal for knitters in the Twin Cities area so our knitting group decided to get into the action.
I have been working on Ballerina. It is at the “I have to think” stage, which usually is a stalling point. However, I had already done most of my thinking with Sleeve #1 and took copious notes — graphing the entire sleeve on graph paper. It made it so much easier to start on Sleeve #2.
First, you put the side “seam” sts on a holder (why do these pictures look so blue?):
Then you work the raglan sts only:
The waste yarn you see running up the raglan is to mark the activation of the raglan sts — you activate 1 st, then 2, then 1, etc. It is very hard as you are working up the raglan to know if it is a 1 or 2 st row, so I wove a piece of waste yarn around the sts marking 1-2-1-2-1-2- etc. That way no thinking or counting is involved.
The Sleeve: Hanne has you cast on 2 sts at the end of each WS row to build the sleeve. It seemed like a not-so-great method. I did a provisional cast on of all the sleeve sts at once and then I activate the sts as directed. I used this method on the first sleeve and it worked great. I did a 3-needle bind off to join the two sleeve seam edges together and then, in one step, knitted down the side seam (shown on holder above). Sleeve done. Seam done. Sewing none.
I’ll post an updated picture that shows what the sleeve looks like in progress — it is very strange looking. No one would know what it is supposed to be.
Re: Sally’s Icarus Shawl. We heard from Wendy that she opted for the Kidsilk Haze in green for a gorgeous shawl she made. The green is indeed fabulous, but the knitters at Friday’s knitting group liked the grey (it is actually more of a smoky, taupy, lavenderish color) because of the sheen. It looked pearlescent. ALL the colors are absolutely stunning, any of them would be fabulous, Sally’s stash yielded several options without even a drive to the store — so therein was her dilemma. She’ll post a picture soon, so hopefully the full beauty of the color can be seen.
I was talking to some knitting friends and one mentioned that the Aubrey Cap (Simply Shetland 2) is still her favorite hat and that she made several for gifts this Christmas.  I, too, love the hat (if I do say so myself) and have made at least a dozen for different stores in the Twin Cities and even a couple for myself. When Gregory at Simply Shetland asked me to design a hat (in addition to the Rosemary Pullover), I of course said yes. I had never knitted a hat in my life! It is true. Even though I have been knitting for decades, there are certain things I have never made. Up until very recently, I had never made socks and I have only knitted giant felted mittens (not real ones for wearing).Â
So, the first thing I needed to find was a generic “how to make a hat” pattern! I used Nancy Lindberg’s pattern to get the architecture of the hat. Gregory had a very specific style in mind — a cabled watchman’s cap. I made the hat he requested and then designed the Aubrey Cap in addition. They preferred the Aubrey Cap and the rest is history.Â
This cap is knitted up in Cascade 220, Color #I-have-no-idea. The shetland yarn used in the book is a bit scratchy. I’ve knitted this up in various yarns successfully. My knitting group teases me about changing every pattern I ever use, including my own. I did indeed make some improvements to this pattern that are on the Knitting Tips page.
Please also note that the Beaded Mini-Purse pattern has been added under a new category: Free Patterns. The formatting is a bit odd, but hey — it’s free!
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The Summer 2006 issue of Interweave Knits, just out in the past few days, has a beautiful shawl pattern designed by Miriam Felton. And, as I keep saying, I’m quite taken by shawls lately. She knit the Icarus Shawl in Suri Elegance, a very fine Alpaca. I decided that it would look beautiful in Rowan’s Kidsilk Haze. I had enough of four different colors in my stash to make it; therein started hours of indecision. Here is a photograph of the back of the shawl (scanned from the magazine).
The four colors I was debating over were a pale green, a deep chocolate brown, a grey with lavender undertones, and a deep rose.
I love the deep rose, which is less fuschia than it looks here, but kept worrying it was too bright. My husband and some of my online friends preferred the pale green. Susan’s knitting group all went for the grey.
I started knitting with the green and then finally switched to the grey. It’s beautiful, but then again I think it would be beautiful in any of these colors. Opinions welcome. I may knit more than one!
It feels like I haven’t done much on my Hanne Falkenberg Ballerina (color #13) — I’ve just been kind of chipping away at it slowly but surely. Here is the updated progress report. I’m almost to the side “seam.” I have probably 10 ridges and then I’ll start the right sleeve. It is such slow knitting. You’re on very small needles and doing nothing but garter.  I did haul it with me to work today and actually got to knit on my lunch break. I have not been able to knit at work for awhile — and I need that down time to regroup!Â
Here is a detail shot of the back right shoulder shaping:
It is all short rows all of the time. The technique is the yarnover short row — a Hanne trademark. They work pretty well for the way it is designed, though not as well when working the short rows from the top down, as I do with my sleeve variation and for the center back gusset of the Mermaid Jacket. I’ll show pictures of my sleeve detail when I get to that point.
Thursday Knitting Group was quite fun tonight. I did not get home until 9pm. Woo hoo — wild social life!
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I bought buttons, and they are now on my sweater — this may be temporary, though. I am rarely thrilled about the buttons I end up with and usually threaten to buy different ones. However, I have never actually changed buttons once they make it onto a sweater. By then I have moved on and don’t really care any more!
I’ll bring this to my knitting group tonight and get the approval I crave and then move on! My knitting group gets me through the week. They are more than just people I knit with — I really like their company. If I can get them to let me take a picture, I’ll post it.
Every once in a while there’s a sweater pattern that I just fall in love with and must knit. It may take me a long time, but I will eventually get around to it. One of those patterns is from an old Vogue Knitting. Here is the photograph that appeared in the magazine.
It was designed by Lily Chin, which surprised me. It doesn’t look like one of her designs to me — whatever that means. The yarn it called for — Edina Ronay Silk & Wool from Rowan/Westminster — is no longer available. I had to find a substitute. I’m knitting it out of Joseph Galler’s Extra Fine Pashmina in the color Musk (a beautiful soft brown with gray undertones). It’s gorgeous and wonderful to knit with. It will also be one of the most expensive sweaters I’ve ever knit.
I’ve finished the back and am just about to cross the fronts. It’s a tricky pattern, and I have made a few small changes to it. For example, as you can see from the photograph below it has Dolman sleeves. (It’s a horrible picture; sorry.)
The pattern has you cast on 6 stitches or so multiple times to get the curve and length of the sleeve. Instead, I cast on all of the stitches using a provisional cast on, and then added them in using short rows. Instead of binding them off in sets as the pattern instructed, I used short row shaping at the top of the sleeve as well. In other words, the stitches along the top and bottom of each sleeve are still “live.”
That means that when I finish the front, I will join the bottom edges of each sleeve using a three-needle bind off. At the top of the sleeves, I think I will graft instead for an even more invisible look.
This is a project that I started a long time ago and set aside for some reason I don’t even remember now. But I will finish it because I still love the pattern and the yarn.
I finished the ST cardigan. With a notable exception — it is naked. No buttons. I bought buttons as planned on Friday, but after seeing the finished product, they just don’t go. For those of you who finish a cardigan from time to time, you already know that finding the right buttons is nearly impossible. Even for a simple little project like this one.Â
The other thing I did not do is block it.  I would have said last week that I ALWAYS block the individual pieces of a garment before sewing it together. But, it did not seem worth the effort on this one, given the rustic texture of the knitting. I normally would not “show off” my knitting when the sts are so uneven, but I’ll blame it on the nubby yarn and lack of blocking! I may wet block it after I figure out the button situation.Â
After putting it together, it fits perfectly.  So, I am pleased!
Here are some detail pictures:
This is a not great picture of the bottom edge of the button band. I picked up the first st right into the cast on edge so that the bottom edge of the band would be even with the hem of the sweater.
Here is a close up of the side seam:
The great thing about even st ribbing (2×2, 4×4) is that it works great for mattress st seams.
This is the back neck.Â
The neck shapings did not affect the change I made from set in sleeve to raglan. The button patrol is now on duty.Â
(Knitted in Rowan’s Summer Tweed)
I finished knitting the pieces of the ST cardigan, basted it together, and it fits!!!!! The sleeves are the perfect length. The body is the length I wanted. I am amazed, shocked and speechless — in a good way. I started sewing the seams last night and I’ll buy buttons on my way home. It should be done and ready to wear by this weekend (xxxxx — crossed fingers). I will post a picture of the finished garment. Chalk up another one for moi!
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