theraineysisters knitting and so much more

Happy Friday, Everyone!  My knitting is limping along.  I am loving my Kauni knitting: very soothing because it is mindless (and yes, I AM paying attention at the transitions points ;)). 

I am two squares past the armhole steek:

I did pull the trigger on a decision about length.  I placed 8 sts on a holder (yarn) and then decreased 2 sts on each side over the next few rounds to taper the opening slightly.  Twelve sts total are gone on each armhole.  This means the armhole depth can be slightly shorter because you gain ~2 inches across the bottom of the sleeve opening — this will add ~2 inches to the sleeve width as well. I also planned it so the shoulders will fall in the center of a square so double squares do not line up along the shoulder line.  That will make sense when I get there. 

Re: the neckline — I have not decided on a neck, but am leaning toward a square neckline.  I will knit to the shoulders and cut out the “offending section” afterward.  That way no pre-planning is involved and the colors will end where I want them to.  If I steeked the neck opening, the color transitions would get longer from that point to the shoulders.  Many Norwegian patterns are knit this way: they often just knit to the shoulders and cut away the neckline.  I will use the garter check around the neckline.

I am hoping to get something done with this over the weekend.  I have 2-3 projects singing their siren song and am anxious to move along to the next ;).  Unfortunately, two of those projects could be classified as summer knitting — my timing is WAY off!!

 

I’m seeing double!  I’ve been working my way back to you, Kauni — but it’s slower when you reknit something.  It took a little bit of the wind out of my sails. 

The picture shows spliced photos of the old and the new Kaunis.  I really did prefer the old, mistake-ridden colourway, BUT it is better to have the mistake-free version instead.  I am very near the armholes and therefore must do the math so to speak so everything lines up properly.  I hate that!  It means making a commitment to sweater length and shoulder placement, and I am such a commitment phobe with knitting.  Eeeeesh — the neckline comes next! 🙁

PS — I had such a nice evening yesterday.  I met with Maura from The Yarnery and several of the teachers.  They are great people and fabulously talented knitters!  We talked some business and then went next door to Axel’s Bonfire for a lovely dinner.  I had a wonderful time!

I thought I was really on a roll.  This Kauni thing is easy and kind of addictive.  HOWEVER, you still need to PAY ATTENTION!!  Just a little bit!  I mis-counted my rows and obviously spaced out.  I was almost to the armhole steek when I noticed that I had added a few rows and switched polarity on my foreground and background colors. 

It would not have been that big of a deal, but as I said to Sally, “It is bugging me now, it will bug me tomorrow, and it will be all I can see when I look at this sweater.”  To which she replied, “Hang up and start ripping.”  

Right under the blue marker are two red lines: one with 2 rows and a single row red stripe.  That is where I screwed up.  The background of the next section should be red with blue squares.  I would have left it as is if I had not done such a bold red line.  It just screamed “M-I-S-T-A-K-E” at me.  So, it is gone.  I did as Surly told me: I hung up and ripped.  It was painful, but like ripping off a bandaid, it is over and done with.  Time to move on!!

I was asked a couple of questions about the construction of the Kauni Cardigan.  Here are the responses:

1) When you knit the garter stitch block trim, do you work it in the round and steek that portion of the sweater open, or do you work it back and forth (flat)?
I worked the garter stitch check in the round with a steek. 

2) The color transitions are mesmerizing. Did you consciously select combo B by picking where you started each of the skeins? You probably have to be careful when you join in a new skein? I imagine that your tension has to be pretty consistent to maintain the color combo.
The way I chose B was not very scientific, though I did not want to start with light colors.  I started from the outside of the two different skeins I had.  I did not want to pull from the center because the balls are very large and collapse on themselves as they get empty in the center.  I wound off a bunch from one skein – just enough to guarantee that the same color would not meet as I was knitting.  I had decided early on that I would not try to lose sleep over the color combinations — just let it evolve. 

The tension just takes care of itself — nothing special there. 

I wound each of my full Kauni skeins into two balls because the skeins are so big.  I will simply join to the end where I broke the yarn and it should continue in the color transition as established without a problem.  This yarn is 2-ply and very similar to Shetland wool so it splices incredibly easy.  I have come across a couple of knots and just spit splice it together.

I have been playing around with the Clowny Kauni Cardigan.  I started it several times as a matter of fact!  I had difficulty getting gauge and even ripped back after completing two full squares.  I started out on a US 5 (3.75mm) needle and finished the garter check with those needles — a little snug, but blockable.  Then I started the body using the same needle, and it looked sloppy.  Plus, I went up one size to a US 6 (4mm) to do the stranding so it would not “cinch in”.  That is the right thing to do, but the wrong needles.  So I ripped back to the garter check, and changed to US 4 (3.5mm) for the straight knitting and 5’s (3.75’s) for the stranding.  B-I-N-G-O!!  Much better looking and much nicer to knit.  Up to that point, I was not enjoying this project at all.  That has happened to me before — going down one needle size and making the project much more fun to knit (?).  It is amazing how that small difference made such a big difference to me. 

I put together a graphic showing the various color combinations of the Kauni Rainbow yarn.  It is not terribly scientific, nor is it 100% accurate for the colors, BUT it does show how the various combos will play out.  There are 5 sets of colored bars.  The left bar in each pair (separated by black) is the same.  The second bar starts in a different place on the color wheel.  You look at the combinations from the bottom up, as they would appear as you are knitting them.

In the above graphic, the colors are transforming from purple to red to orange, etc.  You can also knit the colors in the opposite direction — purple to blue to green — as shown below:

I am essentially doing combo B from the first graphic — why?  No particular reason — it just worked out that way.  As I looked at the other combos, I guess mine is as good as any, though it is a bit shocking to the eye to start a purple and orange sweater.  My daughter said she won’t be seen with me when I wear it!  It does look a bit clownish at the moment and I keep telling myself that I need to let it unfold and it will be beautiful.  I have looked at many other Kaunis on line and they all share the same color combinations, so I need to keep that in mind and appreciate the totality that is Kauni, not parse out every single color combination.

Here is what I have so far — this picture is quite true to color:

I really like the garter check border*.  The pattern calls for 1×1 rib, which I am not fond of.  If I had chosen ribbing, I would have opted for 2×2.  However, I think the garter check is very much in keeping with the “square” theme of the design.  As the knitting progresses, I am liking my Kauni more and more :).  I have done about 10 inches and looking at Color Bar “B” you can tell I’m about 2/3 of the way into the full color cycle.  BTW: My knitting does not look this smooth in person, but blocking may get it there ;).

*For those unfamiliar with this edging, using Colors A and B:
Row 1: k2(A), k2(B)
Row 2: p2(A), p2(B)
Row 3: k2(B), k2(A)
Row 4: p2(B), p2(A)

And I know you want to see the inside — admit it!

It’s funny.  I was hauling this around today and knitting on it, and people were fascinated by it.  Several people asked me about the yarn and the knitting method — both men and women alike.  I’ve been knitting for years, on all kinds of projects, but this one seems to have a quality about it that attracts and interests people. 

I have other projects to work on right now, but I am enjoying the simplicity of this pattern and watching it unfold.