theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Can knitworthiness be measured merely by the likelihood of knitting for someone else because they deserve it*, or can we also include the act of appreciating one’s knitting?  Case in point.  Look at my sweet old Molly lounging with a pillow I made years ago from a UFO:

She looks so perfect next to the aran cables!!  And my daughter has already proven to be knitworthy many times over.  We met for lunch on Friday and she appeared wearing the Hitofude I just finished as well as the Sweet Dreams shawlette I made her last year.  She wears that shawl every day!! 🙂

Yep.  Two very knitworthy girls!!

*ETA: Anyone you knit for must appreciate it in order to be deemed knitworthy.  However, in Molly’s case, I did not knit it for her, but she seemed to appreciate it anyway — and therefore gets points in my book!!

Gauge. Boring, but essential.

When trying to achieve “proper”gauge, I have usually found that it’s more important to focus on the stitch gauge than the row gauge if I’m having having trouble getting both to match what’s called for in a pattern. That’s because patterns will often tell you to work a piece until it measures a certain number of inches or centimeters. (Even in that case, though, you should keep track of how many rows you worked so that you can make a corresponding piece such as a front the same number of rows if seaming.) However, with some patterns row gauge is critical.

I have long wanted to knit Alice Starmore’s Margaret Tudor. It first appeared in her original Tudor Roses book, and it has been slightly reworked in the revised edition (which is a must have). Seeing it again rekindled my desire to knit it. This is a complex sweater with many pieces and although there are several sizes, they are all the same length in part because of the length of some of the vertical repeats. It would be difficult to shorten without ruining the overall effect of the design.

The yarn called for is Scottish Fleet, a fine and tightly plied gansey type wool. I bought enough to make the sweater years ago and I knit the first panel. My gauge was way off, especially my row gauge. The sweater would have become a long tunic on me at that gauge, which wasn’t the look I was going for. I am a better, more experienced knitter now. My knitting has also become tighter over the years. So I pulled out some of my Scottish Fleet and tried again to get gauge. I simply can’t. I would have to go down so many needle sizes that it would be too hard on my hands. Despite my best efforts, I cannot knit this sweater out of the yarn called for, even though I would have liked to for many reasons. It’s lovely yarn and my strong preference is to support this designer by using her yarns. (I’ve made up for my temporary disloyalty by buying up enough of her yarn for other designs to keep me busy for much of next year. Stay tuned.)

The quest for a substitute began. I did a lot of swatching from yarns I had in my stash, and I finally settled on Madelinetosh Pashmina in the color Antler. It’s a beautiful yarn although it’s not a perfect solution. I won’t have as firm a fabric. That may become an issue, especially when I want to sew on all of the buttons. (I bought the buttons called for in the original Tudor Roses book and still have them.)

Here are two panels side by side, one in the original green Scottish Fleet and the other in the Pashmina. As you can see, I hadn’t even finished five repeats in the green and it is far longer than the fully completed panel in the cream. The new piece is the length it should be. Note that they look similar in length here, but there are a different number of repeats.

This is a project I will keep in my basket and work on in spurts depending upon my mood, so I don’t expect to finish it any time soon. Hey — I’ve been waiting for over a decade so what is the hurry?

Daughter Laura stopped by tonight (to drop off her dog so we could “baby” sit) and tried on her Hito.  Too small.  I should have made the small instead of the XS.  I will re-block it and it should be fine.

She and new hubby are spending their first anniversary in Florida where the temps are in the 80’s vs here, where the temp will not hit double digits.  Smart girl.

PS – I was able to block it to the next size so it should work well for her. 🙂

PS2: Update to the update — the reblocked Hito fits her perfectly.  She loves it.  And Happy Anniversary to her and hubby!  Today is one year of marriage!

From Susan
It is has been a Hito frenzy Chez Susan.  I have been knitting Hitofudes for the past 5-6 weeks!  I finished mine about 10 days ago and started one for my daughter immediately – finished it last night.

Half.  50%.  That is how much knitting it took to complete Laura’s in a size XS compared to mine.  It isn’t fair!  I could get twice as much knitting done at half the price if I was half my size!!  🙂 My Hito took 350 gms and Laura’s took 175 gms.  Yep.  Not fair.

Here is my Hitofude:

I did a lot of extra knitting – added 5 repeats!  I wanted it longer.  When I blocked it, it was ginormous!  So, I had to re-block it and actually put it into the dryer.  Egads!

Here are the two Hitos:

I used Tosh Merino Light for both: mine is Composition Book Grey and Laura’s is Tart.  Two great colors!  Sally has better pictures because she has access to a beautiful model.  I will have Laura try hers on at some point and will add a better photo.

From Sally
Well, it is true that I have a beautiful model, but I don’t think my pictures are any better.  (In fact, I’m pretty sure they are not.)

I also used Tosh Merino Light for my Hitofude.  My color is Tern, which is a more brown gray than Susan’s.  Because I am in between Susan and Laura in size, I used about 2 1/3 skeins.  I made a few small modifications to the pattern.  I wanted additional length, but not additional flare or width on the fronts.  So when I got to the peplum or skirt I did four plain repeats of the pattern (no increases).  Then I did a set of increases over the entire sweater, not just in the front sections as directed by the pattern.  I incorporated that set of increases into the pattern work, which meant one additional eyelet in each subsequent pattern and a ten row repeat (instead of eight rows).  After that, I followed her increases (front only and increased stitches becoming plain stockinette stitches).

My model is beautiful but she was feeling camera shy:

From Susan, In Conclusion
So you can tell we really like this design!  I may even make another, though a break is in order!!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!

PS from Susan — We had a great time last night with my daughters and new son-in-law.  My hubby had to work at 7 pm, so we ate about 4:30.  We stuffed ourselves!!

When John started to get ready to leave, he packed up a dinner for the person he was replacing (who had worked 7 a to 7 p).  He didn’t know if the guy was heading off to a family gathering or not – several of his co-workers are single men who live alone.   We all helped throw food onto plates and into bags: make sure you don’t forget the pie!

When John got home this morning, he said that the guy WAS one of the singletons who said didn’t think he would be having any Thanksgiving dinner at all.  Wow.  That is what I am thankful for today.

That is my goal: a Hitofude for everyone!  I am starting with myself and my eldest daughter.  Where it goes from there, I do not know!

Surly and I both finished our Hitofudes on the SAME day!  They needed to be blocked and photogged to show up here on the blog.  So there will be a delay in their unveiling.

What I will share is my “Tart-o-fude” which is Hitofude in Madelinetosh Merino Light color Tart.  My favorite Tosh color ever.   My daughter loves this color and the style is perfect for her so I hope she will love it.  I am anxious to get it done, and it should go faster.  She is a size XS.  That is EXTRA SMALL NOT EXTRA LARGE!!  Wow.  What a treat it is to knit this.

We will share our finished Hitos in the next few days amidst the holiday hubbub!

Or maybe I should say, it is some family member’s lucky day!  You know exactly what to ask for this year for Christmas (or Hannukah, or a birthday).

Let’s face it.  Knitters are hard to shop for.  We love to spend money on knitting, but others cannot do it for us!  They don’t know what yarn we like, what knitting needles we need, or what books we already have.  Plus, we are E X P E N S I V E to shop for in the knitting arena.

This high end, coffee-table labor of love is the perfect gift because it is:

1. specific — they can’t blow it!
2. priced right (~$25)
3. knitting related
4. you need it even if you already own it!!

The book is Tudor Roses by Alice and Jade SStarmore.  If you have read our blog for any length of time you know we are both huge SStarmore fans, and have knit an array of their designs.

There are several new designs, but also several omissions: specifically the pièce de résistance, Henry – VIII.  There are no men’s patterns included in the new version.  Oh, well.  Nothing is perfect.

But this comes pretty darn close!

PS – I could not find the reference made as to why they left out the Henrys, but it appears to be because their focus was on the Tudor women.  I think the women were like planets revolving around the Henry-VIII sun, and therefore the king should have been included!  Important in their own right, but primarily remembered in history because of their relationship to him.  And, the sweater is stunning!!

I feel like the slowest knitter on earth.  I keep knitting on my Hitofude, but it just does not grow — though Lettie DID say that now her boobs are warm and her a$$ is cold!  Lettie sounds like a chronic complainer, but it’s not true.  She just calls it likes she sees it.  Well, not SEES it, but you get the idea.

I am at least a foot taller than the tiny tomatas from Japan that are modeling most of the Hitofudes, so I do need to do more knitting, but this is ridiculous!

The sweater is meant to be cropped, but I prefer a longer sweater to camouflage some of my “assets” if you know what I mean, and I think you do.  When I tried it on, it fit like a dream and I have plenty of yarn (I bought 4 skeins and have not even tapped the 4th).  I am loving this project and will just keep on knittin’.

On Friday, a knitting peep and I shuffled off to Buffalo (MN) and visited a yarn shop called Silver Creek Cabin.  I had never been there before, but I will go back.  It was jam packed with yarn, yarn, yarn.  Cute kits, great buttons, etc.  She had brands I had never seen before — see the website.  We stopped for lunch at a place near my home called Maverick’s  and had a killer sandwich.  Not fancy at all but great food.  Fun day!!

I wanted to call this post, “My Boobs are Cold,” but Lettie vetoed.  She said that any reference to her boobs (especially in the title) would both demean and objectify her.  I thought it would be funny.  Lettie won.  After all.  They’re her boobs!

I am thoroughly enjoying my Hitofude…but it seems to be progressing at a snail’s pace.  I guess it doesn’t really matter how fast it goes.  It is just knitting after all!

I started out my sleeve section on US 5’s and then thought my gauge was too big, so I started over with 4’s.  Mistake.  Big mistake.  It caused me to have to knit a lot more to get the length I needed to go around my ample upper arms.  So after the ribbing that wraps around the armholes and creates the back neck edge, I switched back to a 5.

There is a decision to be made about the construction of this sweater, and Sally and I split.  In the original version, all the increases (which I just started) are made on the front lace panels.  Another knitter placed the increases throughout.  Sally and I struggled over the decision.  I really don’t think there is a right or wrong answer!  Sally chose the all over increases and I went with the original.  I could just as easily have gone the other way and I think Sally would say the same.

On a different note: yesterday I spent a very pleasant afternoon with two of my knitting peeps.  I had them over for snacks and knitting.  It was wonderful to share time with people who are “of the body.”  Drank the kool-aid.  Whatever you want to call it!!

From Sally:  In truth, I am doing both kinds of increases.  I first did a set of all over increases (which increases the size of the chevrons), but then switched to just doing them on the fronts (which creates wedges of plain stockinette).  So my base chevrons are slightly larger than the original pattern’s, and my wedges won’t be quite as long.  I did that to lengthen out the increases because I know I want my Hitofude to be slightly longer than the original, but I didn’t want the fronts to flare too much.  We’ll see how it works.  I’m on my 10th pattern repeat, and I suspect I’ll need at least 12 to get the length I want.

This is what we woke up to this morning!  Egads!  I was a little worried about the drive because I have a new car and have not tested it on icy roads.  It did okay, but it was not a true test…yet. 🙁

I am progressing on my Hitofude.  Let me just reiterate what Sally already said: this pattern is brilliant in its conception and pure genius in its execution!  It is amazing how it comes together and is super fun to knit.  I highly recommend that you buy 3-4 skeins of a stunning Madtosh Light color and spend the 200 yen ($2!!) for this wonderful design.

I chose Composition Book Grey, which is a mottled gray with purplish undertones.  I love how it looks.  I think mine will fit.  Yay!!  I’ll post some pics when I get it a little farther along.