Now that the first rush of excitement of our Roslin Hoodie pattern is past, and quick before we find any more mistakes, let’s get back to our regularly scheduled knitting and blogging.
I love Halloween — for some reason it’s always been one of my favorite holidays. Mayhaps it’s the candy. I usually carve a few intricate pumpkins, but I confess that this year’s are a little dull:
Fortunately, someone in the wilds of Colorado has been taking up the slack. Remember my little assistant? Here’s a refresher photo for those who don’t:
He’s been immortalized in a Halloween pumpkin by my daughter’s boyfriend. I think he may have found his true calling; it captures Batman perfectly.
As for knitting, I’ve embarked on another Hanne Falkenberg: Ballerina. I’ve had this kit for some time, and suddenly got interested in it when I finished Mermaid. I needed a portable project — my Kauni skeins are too large to carry around. Well, all I meant to do was get it “started,” but I got carried away. I’m just over halfway finished with it already, although I suspect my progress will now slow considerably.
Here are a few shots. First, Lucy is modeling it and wishing I would provide her with some kind of undergarments:
Here are some other shots that show the color and the pattern a little better. I was surprised, based on the photos I’d seen of this jacket, at just how many stripes there were on the sides. That part was a little sl-o-o-o-w.
For some reason, I’m finding this to be a more enjoyable knit than Mermaid — I’m not sure why. One reason may be that you are forced to knit the sleeves as you knit the body, so I know I won’t be faced with the drudgery of sleeves when the project is almost, but not quite, finished. It’s also a very clever design. As you finish the front, you knit one row of a garter ridge (which is always two rows) from the bottom to the neck edge, quickly (ha!) knit a sleeve, and then go back down the garter ridge and finish it. There is thus no side seam — you just keep going. You are supposed to go back later and seam the sleeves.
My clever sister Susan, who made Ballerina earlier, figured out an easy modification that allows you to join the sides of the sleeve in a three-needle bind off as you are knitting so that you don’t even have to go back later and do that bit of finishing. Instead of doing the sleeve increases as Falkenberg directs (by stitch increases), you do a provisional cast on of all the sleeve stitches and increase using short rows (as you do for the raglan shaping, etc.). Then, as you finish the last row of the sleeve, one side of the sleeve is already on a needle. You remove the provisional cast on from the other side and put those sleeve stitches on a second needle, and do a three needle bind off as you knit the last sleeve ridge. It’s brilliant and easy and eliminates finishing. I’m so glad she knit this first.
 
