did you miss me? …

We’ve actually been having summer here in Thunder Bay and I’ve been enjoying it. We had a fabulous time in Minneapolis – the Founder’s Fest was so much fun – thanks to the organizers and attendees, I felt I was with a bunch of close, good friends. Sorry I didn’t get a photo of Milky Way, but I promise when the heat and humidity and bad hair days are over, I will. I debated making it again as there were a few things that bothered me about it, mainly the pocket placement – I should have planned it so the pocket top lined up with the beginning or end of one of the lace stripes but when I mentioned that at the seminar they all thought I was being way too picky but I’m still thinking about it.
My new project is that same 3X1 tuck rib from the hems of Milky Way for another longline cardigan, all in that rib, with the purl side as the outside. I have a small stash of Forsell Naturell, a wool/alpaca blend that I’ve used extensively in the past, but unfortunately, it is long NLA (no longer available) but I have some partial cones that I thought would do, mainly 2 almost full (350g each) cones of lima (medium brown) in the same dyelot. My second choice is pullo (an olive shade), one full cone (400g) and a half cone of a different dyelot. To not waste my good stuff, I made the swatch with a grey and a pale blue that weren’t enough for anything other than swatching – using it double stranded to get the weight I want. The swatch turned out beautiful, so I threaded up the two browns and knit a sleeve.
Done, it weighs 50g which means pretty certain I won’t have enough to make this as long as I want - the fold-back cuff on the sleeve is taking up more than usual and maybe I want a hood…
I may regret this, but making an executive decision, I threaded up one strand of the olive with a brown and knocked out another sleeve. You might ask if I plated the yarn, but no – I didn’t do that with the swatch and it looks fine. Plating, there's a subject for another day!

yarn shortage anxiety...

Just finished up knitting my third cardi for the POM - talk about cutting it close - I made it to test out the final pattern and to see how far a 500g/2000m cone will go... the first 2 were my size, so no problem, even with making bands and collars a few times, I had plenty leftover without having to ravage my swatches, but on this one, I’ve made a size larger and added an extra 2 inches to the length of the body and the longest sleeve version - I’ll confess, same yarn, didn’t make a swatch...so I didn’t have that to fall back on, but as I was making the second front, I was thinking ‘contingency plan’ in my head - you know, how would this look with, maybe a navy or black collar and front bands? Fortunately, we won’t know, but it was close!

Here’s my quick course on how to salvage a running-short-of-yarn project.

1. Get a good scale that will accurately measure small amounts. I have an electronic postage scale that is good up to 5 lb/2.2 kg.

2. Get the KNITWORDS index which will quickly help cross-reference other patterns using the same yarn and find the amounts used for comparable designs. This will give you an indication of how far the yarn should go. Keep in mind some stitch techniques use more yardage than others. For example, allover plain lace will use less yarn than stockinette, while a tuck fabric will use significantly more (1.5 to 2X more) than the same size and shape in stockinette.

3. Keep notes of your own projects and weigh each piece before assembly. Having this information is invaluable. I can usually tell from the weight of the back how much more I will need - approximately 2.5 to 3 times that again at least for front, 2 long sleeves and finishing (if back weights 130g, multiply by 2.5 = 325 g more needed) . If the back is done and you then realise there may be a problem, there is still time to revise the design and reduce the amount of yarn required. Changing the neckline, opting for shorter or more-fitted sleeves and the type of bands used for finishing are three ways of conserving.

4. If in doubt, start all pieces with waste yarn instead of making the band. This gives you the option of choosing bands that will consume less yardage or perhaps, using a contrast colour for the edges. Though it will change the finished look somewhat, at least you won’t be in the impossible situation of abandoning the project midway through the final piece. Unravelling and re-knitting an entire project is not my idea of the good life.

5. If you need to re-use the yarn from a laundered or steamed swatch, it will be virtually unnoticeable when incorporated into the bands, after the final garment has been laundered.

Yardage isn’t everything...

So, I mailed my garment off to Knit’nStyle for the August issue and belatedly realized I’d never see it again - they keep it. So what? you say...well, it's totally full of great new techniques and now, I'll need the garment for some of my classes at the upcoming spring seminars:

Knit Knack Shop’s 33rd Annual Spring Fling in Peru, In - a good, little seminar in the middle of the country, very budget friendly - get a road trip going and see you there!! check it out at http://www.knitknackshop.com/ - I’ll also be at the Carolinas Guild Seminar in Raleigh, NC; and at the Pacifically Passap Plus, teaching Japanese machine stuff, of course, near Portland, OR on the Memorial Day weekend - check out my seminar list at http://www.knitwords.com/ for links and dates - east coast, west coast & the middle!!! don’t miss them!

So back to the problem at hand - I figured I may as well knit it again right away while it was all still fresh in my mind (also wanted to check my pattern and wording by re-knitting it before submitting it) - of course, I don't have the same yarn - I used Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima Cotton in a bright corn yellow, 7 skeins, 100g/220yds - I know, you’re going to say that’s not really an MAO colour, but I don’t always get to choose, I take what’s given - it has a lovely sheen and drape and I knew my stitch pattern would show up well in that colour - so, checking my stock on hand, found 14 balls of Eqyptian cotton, 50g/105m and it has the same recommended gauge as the Cascade, so I figure I’m good. I shorten the sleeve and length, because this is to fit me while the sample I send off to KnS is for the size I wish I was - 5’9, 36 bust (in my dreams is right!!) - and I get one front done (1/4 of the project - it’s a sideways knit crochet-look cardigan on the LK150 in a hand selected tuck stitch - not exactly a quick & easy project) and I’m already into the 5th ball - I know I’m not going to make it. Abandon that...

Next plan - with no other hand knitting yarn of that amount or likeness around here, I decide to put together 2 finer coned yarns that are leftovers from standard gauge projects - a linen and a Mini Dina in the same beigy shade - WOW, something more to add to the workshops - how to substitute successfully!!! I’m only telling you this now because I have it all finished, bands and everything and there's at least 3 yds of the Mini Dina left! Darn lucky, I’d say...