theraineysisters knitting and so much more

April 18, 2007

From Sally — Quick Answers to Some Questions

Filed under: Knitting Tips,Widdicombe Fair — surly @ 1:37 pm

Toby asked a few questions in the comments to my last post, and I thought I would answer them here to make sure she saw the answers.

1. I have never knit Fair Isle, but given your comments I think that I might try one of these one day. Would you recommend a class or is it possible to learn Fair Isle from a book?

That’s a hard one. If you want to try to learn how to knit fair isle two-handed (holding one color in one hand and the other color in your other hand), then you might want a class. True confession time: that’s not how I knit fair isle. I never got comfortable doing it that way and didn’t feel like taking the time to practice. (Thank goodness there are no knitting police.) When I did try it, I found that my gauge wasn’t as consistent as I’d like. I know that practice would greatly improve that, but — well — then I’d have to be practicing instead of knitting. So I drop one color and pick up the next; I’ve gotten very fast at doing that. I keep the dark color always hanging to my right and the lighter color to my left. It’s just how I do it.

Anyway, back to your question. The only tricky parts are cutting and finishing the steek. You might be able to find someone to give you a private lesson on that if you can’t find a class.

2. Do you order the kit from Virtual Yarns or purchse the yarn from your LYS?
Is the yarn in the kit a wool that is soft enough for a baby? Is the pattern available separately from the kit?

You can’t purchase these blanket patterns separately; they are only available as a kit from Virtual Yarns. Although it’s not the softest yarn in the world, it is much softer than other fair isle yarns in my opinion, especially after having been washed (by hand of course). Moreover, if you used a different yarn, you’d probably have to do some sewing in order to keep the yarn from unraveling after you cut the steek.

3. One thing I wasn’t clear on is where there would be steeks in a straight piece of knitting. I’ve read about them. I thought steeks were normally inserted in a sweater where the piece was knit in the round. Is the blanket knit in the round and then cut?

Yes. The blanket is knit in the round and then cut. It fits nicely on a 24″ circular needle. As I said in my first post, I started with a provisional cast on. When I finish all of the repeats, I’ll leave the live stitches on the needle. Then I’ll cut the steek, pick up stitches along one side, pick up the stitches from the provisional cast on, and then pick up the stitches from the remaining side. The border is then knit in the round as well. There will have be a LOT of stitches on the needle, at that point but I’ve done this before and the border is slow but not difficult.

From Sally — Widdicombe Fair

Filed under: Widdicombe Fair — Sally @ 11:03 am

I made the mistake of looking at the calendar, and realized it’s mid-April. I decided that I better knit the baby blanket I promised my husband I’d make for some dear friends who are expecting their first baby. I love making fair isle baby blankets. I’ve knit three or four of them. They’re fun, they’re quick, and they make a wonderful gift because they will never be outgrown.

I told my husband he could choose the one I knit from among several Jade/Alice Starmore patterns. He chose one I’ve already knit: Widdicombe Fair (which I often call the Carousel Baby blanket because the pattern is carousel horses). It’s available as a kit from Virtual Yarns in both a red and blue colorway. I’d already done the blue one for my niece’s baby so I was tempted by the red. My husband really really really wanted me to do the blue one again. So I am. Here’s a photograph of the finished one I’ve already made:

It’s kind of anti-climactic to post pics in progress once you’ve knit the whole thing, right?

Even though I just started it yesterday, I’m almost finished with the first repeat (out of five). One of the advantages of these baby blankets is that they’re only a little over two feet wide, which means that you have fewer than 200 stitches on the needle. That’s a lot fewer than I would have if I were knitting a fair isle sweater; it’s one reason the project goes quickly. Moreover, because these are, after all, baby blankets, the patterns are very obviously pictorial. It makes the pattern quite easy to see and follow without needing to consult the chart every few stitches. Finally, there is no shaping and only one steek. Therefore, I think that a baby blanket like this would be a good first project for someone thinking about doing fair isle. Just my opinion.

For this particular blanket, the directions tell you to knit two rows with one color before starting on the actual chart patterning. You are then supposed to pick those rows out later, when you want to have live stitches for the border. ???? I did not do that. Instead, I used a provisional cast on. I’m not sure what the advantage could possibly be of the other method.

I don’t do any finishing to the stranded back on these blankets, other than the finishing I do to the cut steek edges. The strands lightly felt and stick to each other anyway; I don’t foresee a problem with a baby’s fingers catching in them. I suppose you could sew a complementary fabric backing to it and if someone I give a blanket to wants to do that — that’s fine with me. I’m not going to do it, though. I knit them. That’s it.

While perusing the Virtual Yarns site to get the link for the blanket kit, I came across something else I’d like to knit: this Rheingold Wrap. It comes in a gold colorway, too. I’m intrigued by it. I’ve always wanted to knit the Persian Tiles one as well.

So many projects, so little time.

April 17, 2007

From Susan — Brief Response

Filed under: Eris Cardigan — lv2knit @ 4:57 pm

In answer to Melanie’s question, the width of the collar = 15″ across:

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I think that mine may be narrower because I pulled up the collar a bit with the i-cord edging.  I’ve seen other pictures and the collars seem wider.  The actual shoulders will conform to the wearer because of the raglan shaping.

My zippers just arrived and none of them are great — one is so bright it’s like neon green!  Whoa, put the lights out please!  One is really dark but kind of goes.  Not sure what I’ll do yet…

From Susan — Eris is Fantabulous

Filed under: Eris Cardigan — lv2knit @ 7:07 am

Eris is wonderful and I don’t mind saying so. I made a sweater that fits like it was made for me :). Yes, they ALL are, but in fact, only some actually do ;).

All of my trepidation went out the window post blocking.  It is a thing of wonderment — when all the variables came together in the right way.  One small problem: The sleeves are about 1-2″ too long, but that is totally easy to fix with top down sleeves!  I was also pleased that there is very little evidence of ‘rowing,’ which often happens with back-and-forth stockinette stitch.  [Rowing occurs when one’s purl row gauge is slightly larger than one’s knit row gauge].

Now, here is the source of my pre-blocking angst:

Slide1-7.jpg

The place where the collar joins the body of the sweater rolled over funny.  I know that’s pretty technical talk!  But it looked weird when I tried it on, and I was nervous it would not block out, but it did.  Woo Hoo!  Here it is after blocking, just flopped onto the table:

Erisfinis005.jpg

I think my short rows are better on the hem shaping — I had a bit more practice with my Japanese short rows by then.

The sweater fits great.  I will actually post a picture of me wearing it once I get the zipper sewn in.  In the meantime, here is Lucky Lettie, draped in the fantabulous Eris:

Erisfinis001.jpg

Erisfinis003.jpg
Yarn: Cascade 220, Color #9460
Needles: US 5’s (cabling) and 6’s (body)
Cost: about $60 (incl. pattern and zipper)!!!!!  It only took 7 skeins of yarn! (at least I think it took 7 — I bought a bag of ten skeins and three are untouched — not heavy mathematics there)

For those of you contemplating this pattern, I say go for it.  The pattern is extremely long, but it’s no more knitting than an average sweater.  Jenna just provides too much a lot of detail.  It is not as forgiving as the Rogue Hoodie if you have gauge issues (because of the collar and hem cabling), but it can work.  The one thing I recommend is to do after-thought I-cord edging (using 5 sts) and for that all I did was omit the edge sts along the neck and hem edges. It took extra time, but I believe it was well worth it.  I did this on the hood of Rogue with very nice results.

April 16, 2007

From Susan — Heartbreaking Reality

Filed under: Uncategorized — lv2knit @ 7:57 pm

Before posting another knitting update, which seems so frivolous and small, I have to speak about how much my heart is aching for the people in Blacksburg and those at Virginia Tech.  I cannot believe that as I sit here with my mundane life, there are people right now going through the most horrific and painful experience that anyone could imagine.  And people thoughout the world go through this every day while we go about our business totally unaware.  These events bring the reality home in a very personal way because we know it could be our son, our daughter, our sister — and it is too much to bear.

The folly of one man can bring down the many.

P.S. From Sally: I wondered whether to post anything on this today or not. It’s been weighing so heavily on me. Blacksburg is relatively close to DC; lots of students from this area attend Virginia Tech and I know families whose children are there.

It reminded me of 9/11, when my then-fourth grader was in school on Capitol Hill, just a few blocks from the Capitol. His classroom had a view of the Capitol Dome. When word came that a plane might be headed for the Capitol, it was a hopeless and helpless feeling. We are 20+ minutes away when there are perfect driving conditions, and of course all of the roads were closed. There was no way for us to go get him.

When that yellow school bus finally pulled up at our house after they started letting people out of the cordoned off area — well, it was a wonderful feeling. I have thought all day today about those parents who are not getting that relief and that happy ending.

April 15, 2007

From Susan — Eris 95% Complis

Filed under: Eris Cardigan — lv2knit @ 9:54 pm

It is true — another “FO” graces our pages.  I finished Eris this evening and now she is drying.  I’m not entirely done — I am waiting for the zippers I ordered.  I’m hoping one of them will work.  XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -> these are my crossed fingers :).  This zipper should be a lot easier to put in than the one in Oregon because of the way the fronts are constructed. 

Blocking001.jpg

Here is the collar:

Blocking003.jpg

And the sleeve:

Blocking005.jpg

My sleeves are a little different than the pattern. I just did not like the way the original hemline looked on the sleeve.  I tried three times and it looked terrible, so I finished it off like the fronts using a 5 st I-cord bind off.  When I decided to switch to this edging, I had to add another inch to the sleeve which is another reason I changed up my sleeve decreases. 

I will put her on Lettie when she is dry and take another picture or two. I sure hope she fits ME, too!! 

Now all I have to work on is my lil silk top, so it should get done pretty quickly.  What is next, my friends, what is next?

PS — Could someone please explain to me why Sally needs a one-pound cone of Zephyr laceweight?!!?

PSS — I remembered where Marina must have seen Erisort:

YarnHarlot4-4-07.jpg

Shelly Kang posted this picture on her blog after the Yarn Harlot’s visit :).  That’s Kim on the left (the friend who gave me Lettie) and Shelly is on the right.

From Susan — A Very Minor Setback

Filed under: Eris Cardigan,Peacock Shawl -- Susan's — lv2knit @ 9:45 am

I can’t blame this one on the knitting gods!  I have had to rip back the sleeves a few inches on Eris — I was literally at the point of binding off the sleeves and thought, “Hmmmm, they really seem too small/narrow at the wrist.”  They were.  So now I’m backing up a few inches and changing my decreases to every 8 rows instead of every 6.  I should still be blocking this baby today.

Sally and I both have unnaturally small wrists — we’re such delicate flowers, aren’t we??  Plus, I am unnaturally tall.  So what I usually do is cast on for the smallest size sleeve and continue doing increases to get me to the size I am making, which tends to be one of the largest sizes.  I can then accommodate my delicate wrists and the unnatural length of my arms in one fell swoop.  That often works.  What I also do is take the bottom hem of the garment and wrap it around my delicate wrists and pull it over my hands to see how many sts I need for the wrist and then calculate my sleeve increases (or decs when top down) from there.  I did both these things, but it was still a little bit off. 

I am working on the silk Vittadini top.  It is not quite as mindless as I had hoped: even though it is stockinette in the round, the ten-ply yarn can be split easily so you need to look at it while knitting.  Darn it!

Romi just started her Peacock Shawl, so I’ll be able to knit vicariously through her for the next few days whilst I await my yarn.  The good news is that she is using the same Zepher yarn Sally used (and that I am waiting for) and LOVES it.  She says the shawl is flying off the needles.  Be still my heart.  So, I will track her progress and hopefully get to start mine before she finishes hers.

To the sleeves, Batman!

April 13, 2007

From Susan — Don’t Mess with the Knitting Gods

Filed under: Back Story — lv2knit @ 7:25 am

My hubris has come back to haunt me.  I said I laugh in their smug faces — what a mistake.  I take it all back, honest!  I didn’t really mean it!

Last night I rushed home to my mail box.  I threw it open and there was the envelope I have been waiting for: it was a special USPS shipping envelope, the right size, it obviously held two balls of yarn, it had the right amount of squishiness.  I was ebullient! 

I tore open the envelope and for a moment could not comprehend what I was looking at — it was not peacock blue, and it was not yarn.  Slowly the realization came over me: it was a rejected design submission.  My knitting design had been rejected and returned.  Snap!  Talk about adding insult to injury!

Later I checked my email and found out the peacock yarn is on back order — probably thanks to Surly, who spawned such a resurgence of interest in the Peacock Shawl that now the Zephyr yarn is sold out throughout the entire knitting world!

The knitting gods do not have a sense of humor, do they?

April 12, 2007

From Susan — Doesn’t It Deserve a Second Chance??

Filed under: Current Projects,Vittadini Nicole 1 in Silk — lv2knit @ 7:46 am

What — my silk, of course!  I have decided to give my beautiful silk one last another chance.  I was thinking of trying the Diagonal Triangle Tank but felt a bit discouraged after reading about Gale’s fiasco.  Many of her issues were with the yarn itself (Regal Silk), but a number of the problems had to do with the pattern, the fit and basic construction. 

I stumbled on this Vittadini pattern (I say that as if the magazine was on my front step and I tripped over it when I went out to get the paper — actually I “stumbled upon it” at a yarn store 🙂 ).  I thought it had some of the same cute design elements as the Diagonal Tank, but with fewer potential fit problems and the ability to adjust the size easily.  We shall see, n’est-ce pas?

VittadiniPattern.jpggreen_lilacmulberrysilk4011.jpg

Mine won’t be as snug fitting, but I think this would look gorgeous under a linen shirt.  I’ll give it a go.  This will be my take-along project as Eris is mere hours from being done and far too big to haul around easily.

Stephanie, the winner of a copy of my “Lace Tam and Scarf” pattern and 2 skeins of Rowan Silk Wool DK, posted a progress picture of the tam.  Way to go, Steph!  It’s looking good.  Let us know when it’s finished.

The yarn gods are teasing me and did not allow my Peacock yarn to arrive today.  I actually think they are testing my resolve — will Susan maintain her excitement and enthusiasm for the Peacock Shawl even if days pass, allowing her fervor to cool?  I laugh at the yarn gods, I laugh in their smug faces!  I shall maintain my resolve, assuming that nothing else intervenes in the next couple of days — and where the heck is my yarn!??!!

PS: I do believe, I do believe — in global warming…despite this evidence to the contrary!

AprilSnow002.jpg

April in Minnesota — ahhhhhhhhh!! 

PS to LimeDragon — The Vittadini Pattern is called Nicole 1 and is from Issue 27.

April 11, 2007

From Sally — Rose Colored Glasses

Filed under: Cap Shawl,Knitting Tips — Sally @ 1:41 pm

I have shawl fever. I can’t stop myself. After finishing the Peacock Shawl, I needed to knit yet another one. The yarn I’ve wanted to knit with for a long time was even in my stash: Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Blush (Shade 583). I bought a fair number of skeins of this yarn a long time ago, but had never decided on the perfect project for it. Now I have: the Cap Shawl in the Victorian Lace book. If you have the book, the pattern is on page 28. If not, here is a thumbnail photo I was able to find.

The Cap Shawl is a circular shawl approximately 74 inches in diameter, and it may very well be one of the easiest patterns in the book. Even so, it is gorgeous and dramatic. It would be a great shawl for a beginner, except for the start. (I think that the start of a circular or square shawl can be a bit tricky for beginners, but maybe I’m wrong.)

Here is mine the day I started it (two days ago).

I was going back and forth about which size needle to use. The pattern, which uses Kidsilk Haze, called for a U.S. 7 (4.5 mm), but I thought that would be too loose. I started it on a 6 (4.0 mm), and that looked a bit loose as well. I jumped all the way down to a 4 (3.5 mm). I did that because I knit my Icarus Shawl out of Kidsilk Haze on a U.S. 3 (3.25) and it turned out well.

I finally liked how the center looked on the smaller needle, but I was a bit concerned that the shawl might not stretch enough when blocked and end up being too small. So, after about fifteen rows, I switched to a U.S. 5 (3.75 mm). Now, I might have stayed with a 5 except for one problem: I wanted to knit it on Addi Lace Turbos and the only ones I could find in a hurry (I’m a bit on the impatient side) were size 6.

What to do? What to do?

I decided to put in a lifeline, try the 6, and then rip back to the lifeline if I thought the knitting looked too loose. If you are unfamiliar with the term lifeline, it’s a way of saving your sanity in lace knitting. When you are at a point where you know your patterning is correct, you thread smooth yarn through your live stitches and leave them there. Later, when — I mean if — you make a mistake, you have a safe place to rip back to. (It can be very tricky to rip back down safely to the right row when you have all the decreases and yarnovers involved in lace knitting.) The idea is to do periodic lifelines — every ten or 20 rows — so you are only “risking” a certain number of rows of your knitting.

Well, this is not the kind of pattern I would normally take the time to use a lifeline with, but I went ahead. I was on my Knitpick interchangeable needles, so I just threaded some spare yarn from my Peacock shawl through the little hole you use to tighten the needle tip on to the cord. That way, I could just knit a row and automatically pull that yarn through for the lifeline.

NOTE: If you do this — or even if you are threading your lifeline through your live stitches with a tapestry needle, DON’T PUT YOUR LIFELINE THROUGH YOUR STITCH MARKERS!! If you do, they won’t move with you on the next row. Yeah. It would be a problem. Here is a (slightly out of focus) photograph of the lifeline right after I put it in. Note how the lifeline jogs around the stitch marker.

I have not had much time to knit this week, but the first half of this shawl is so easy (I don’t need to even glance at a pattern or chart) I’ve made some progress anyway.

Here is a photograph I took today as I went from a 24″ circular needle to a 32″:

Finally, here’s another photograph. I’m including this one because you can more clearly see the lifeline I put in two days ago. I’m staying with the size 6 needle, but I haven’t bothered to pull that lifeline out. I could (should?) put in another one, although I don’t think I need one. (Saying that out loud probably dooms me to some horrible mistake.)

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