next...

The ribbed body section is done – that was easy! Now, looking at the schematic for the sleeve/yoke section, when it gets right down to it, there are some details and measurements missing. I suppose I could just wing it, and reknit if it doesn’t work out, but I like to plan and have a little more accuracy. Here’s what I did: I use the KR11 for my sizing and shaping, so I drew the basic outline using the measurements given, but the actual angle of the decreases from the underarm to the back neck and how wide the back neck should be are not given – there is also a shortrowed dart thing on the other side to shape the back underarm area. I set the mylar in the KR11 and programmed it for the stitches and rows in the actual pattern (16 sts and 26 rows to 10 cm) and manually advanced the rows and plotted the decreases (shown in the green dotted line – the dart is the green dashes) according to the original instructions. Now, all I need to do is set in my stitches and rows from my stockinette swatch (I'm cheating here - didn't make a new stockinette swatch - used the numbers from my 'Angled with Attitude' - same yarn, same application, fairly recent, I'm sure it will work) for the standard gauge machine and this great little gadget will do the rest!! So cool!

analyzing...

OR, how many swatches does it take to steal an idea?

I’m ripping off another design – well, whatever…it was originally done on the bulky machine and I always thought it would make a nice standard gauge cardigan – ‘Rib’nShrug’ by Alice Tang, from Knitwords #53. My niece, Wendy modeled it and it looked so nice on her – really, I have been meaning to make it for her – she’s coming over next Friday, the 15th, and I’m going to commit to it right now.
Now, how do you take something designed for one gauge and re-design it for a finer gauge? We have the schematic but obviously swatches need to be made and new calculations for the new gauge. The body seems pretty simple – it’s actually a ribbed rectangle used sideways – can’t get much easier than that. The rectangle works simply in this design because of the ribbing – it will make a flat piece with no need to worry about facings or edgings as long as the cast-on and cast-off, which form the front opening edges, are done properly and kinda sorta match. Ouch? Not much information in the pattern – it just tells you to cast on and cast off – how did I let this get by? Oh well, sorry…
So, the original is K3, P1, K3, P2, K3, P1, K3, P2, K3….
Swatch #1 (right) To start, I arranged the needles and did a wrapped cast-on, hung the comb and T7/9, knit 20 rows. T10/10, K1R. Transferred sts up and chained off. My thinking was that I needed to have a  looser stitch on the rib bed to match the main bed stitches so it wouldn’t pull in too much – wrong! – the rib bed stitches distorted and looked ugly. And the cast on and off were bad. Swatch #2 (centre) I chained on, main bed only, knit one row. Brought up the rib bed and transferred to my needle arrangement. Had a time hanging the comb, not acceptable – work on that later.  T7/7, K20R. Transfer up. T7, K1R stockinette. T10, K1R. Chain off.
Well, the rib is better, but maybe it should be thicker/wider and the start and finish need some work.
Swatch #3 (left)  - K3, P2, K3, P3, K3, P2, K3, P3, K3…
Just on the main bed, cast on with waste yarn and put in the ribber comb – (see how to do it – wasted…not! Nov 25/08).
Then with main yarn doubled, I chained across loosely. T7, K1R. Transfer to new needle arrangement. T7/7, K20R. Transfer up and knit a row of stockinette. Main yarn doubled, T10+, K1R and chain off – too tight? Huh! Actually the cast-off is good (it’s holding the length of the rib better), the cast-on side is too loose (it’s waving with the rib), but we’re on the right track!
I chose this pretty seafoam 4 ply wool – I think it will look good on her – I made an executive decision to widen the background for the ribs and I’ve changed it to K4, P3, K4, P2, K4, P3, K4, P2, K4 etc…oh, and side away is right side, shown in blue swatch - talk to you later!

Contrasts...

 It crossed my mind that it was about time for a new issue of Knit’nStyle – I clicked through and sure enough, there it is! # 185, the summer edition. I’m pretty pleased with the photo they have – check it out! I talked about the yarn (Linsey Berroco – see ‘light bulb moment’ Nov 18/12) earlier. I finished it up and shipped it off to KnS in late November – I got this note back:

Top arrived yesterday… hung it up and everyone walking past my office is in love with it…Thank you!

 I figured it was because they needed something bright to cheer them up – it was just after the bad east coast storms – their office is in NJ and the area had been hit pretty bad. Anyway, check it out - I was happy with my finished product, but seeing the finished thing in the magazine is nice too! I wonder if they will translate this one into a hand knit version?
Speaking of hand knitting, is it stealing if I see a hand knit garment and make a version of it on the machine? No answer required, but here’s what I did – the new Vogue Knitting has a pattern called ‘Tie Back Top’ – I was not really inspired by it until I went to their website and checked it out in the VK360 – they have a video of a model in the garment – shows so much more than the photos in the magazine!! I thought it was really cute and would make a nice coverup for some cute, tiny gal for a warm vacation or it could be worn as evening wear with a cute bra top or tank. The one in VK is hand knit in a DK yarn and has a stockinette front and very open lace back – I made this one on my standard gauge machine with lace (Silver Reed) carriage using Silk City Zephyr, a fine, linen/rayon with a beautiful sheen  - it’s actually the leftover from my ‘Sophisticate’,  which was in the first ‘Serial Stuff/POM’ collection – it is very lightweight, drapy and the perfect weight for warm weather. I made it with the lace neckline lower than the other and made deep armholes, all edged with my XOXO trim from ‘Band Practise’. The lace pattern is from ‘Me Cozy’, Knitwords #48 – I gave the brother version of my stitch pattern there too. Didn't bother with the ties because I think this is a closer fit through the upper body and really only flares from the waist. Finished, ready to wear in 2 days!! I had to make Sunday supper…

I'll call it inspiration - I'm not writing the pattern!

addicted to yarn spray!

  Yeah, that’s me! I admit it…over the past few years, I’ve developed a yen for yarn spray. It came on gradually – I started off using it on the fine gauge machine – it was almost impossible to get anything done on that machine without yarn spray. I was using it with WCD on the standard gauge...if you’ve never used yarn spray, let me explain – the carriage seems quite stiff and hard to push; you may have ‘floating’  or tucked stitches – where part of the row does not actually complete the stitch, the yarn is only caught by the hook of the needle and looped above the stitch of the previous row – some of this is caused by having the stitch size smaller or tighter than the machine actually wants to perform at. Most times a hard twist yarn - particularly rayon and cotton - is more difficult and troublesome to work with and yarn spray takes the hassle out of it. Also, it will generally sort out any static problems. So the increased use, I hardly noticed, until one day I realized I was putting it on almost everything. It became my secret ingredient, like grainy mustard. 
Now, I was using Lori-Lyn- it had a distinctive vanilla scent that I did enjoy and I thought maybe that was contributing to my incessant p-s-s-s-t-t, p-s-s-s-t-t! Came the day that I used my last little shot of LLYS and found to my dismay that it has been discontinued, out of production, NLA…rats! What will I do? It may be the end of my machine knitting career!
Then one day I called Mike Becker at Distinctive Knits – www.dknits.com – actually, to wish him Happy Birthday – he always wonders how, or more to the point, why, do I remember his birthday? I’ve never told him, but it is the same day as my favourite Granny’s birthday (who has long past but never forgotten) – don’t tell him, let him think whatever – anyway, in the conversation, he told me he had a new product – YARN SPRAY!! OMG Mike, it’s a good thing many miles separate us! ;-))
I got my order from him just before Christmas – 2 bottles of the precious liquid, a couple of new sponge strips for my LK150 and a few other goodies – I could hardly wait to give it a shot – get it? Give it a shot, press the button, a little burst of TLC…
So, the new stuff, called ‘Super Industrial Yarn Spray’(SIYS), is non-aerosol, a good thing. It comes in a nice little 10 oz bottle with a pistol grip trigger spray, with a stop/go control – no odour, stainless, no silicone, washes out easily – it’s all good! The label states: yarn and sewing thread spray lubricant eliminates friction and static…keeps yarn running smoothly! What more could you want? I did want to give it a good testing before I gave it the MAO stamp of approval and here it is, kids! I love this stuff – I even used it on a mercerised cotton on my LK last week – I did a little cardigan for KnS in an all-over tuck with a finer-than-usual-for-me yarn that was misbehaving – I was knitting it  at T3 if that tells you anything (pretty tight, small stitches) – that, combined with the hand-selected tuck was giving me fits until I grabbed Mike’s little bottle of magic – hey, I think he should rename it! – and sh-s-s-s-t, sh-s-s-s-t, problem solved!
I used it on the 4ply wool Geezer remake, sailed through that with no aching shoulders and this week tried it on a slub cotton project that made the knitting a breeze – my little tip: put the yarn in a plastic bag, pull the bag open, give it a quick blast of the trigger on either side of the cone, push the bag back up and knit 40 rows or so – the machine will let you know when it needs another shot!
And I don’t miss the vanilla flavour – light a candle if you want that! Tell Mike I sent you but don’t mention Granny…

KnS - knit'nstyle magazine

LLYS – lori lyn yarn spray
NLA – no longer available
OMG - oh my gosh
TLC - tender loving care
WCD – wool crepe deluxe
MAO – mary anne oger

hybrid knitting?

The practise of cross-breeding knitting patterns - using the shape from one pattern and the yarn, stitch and gauge of another design to make a new model without all the swatching and testing!!!

I love the shape of ‘Geezer Chic’ but how many times can I make it without getting totally bored – it is a long, A-line cardigan in stockinette with full needle rib bands from Knitwords No. 50 and I have remade it same as the original in stockinette in a burgundy cotton which I gave away and then regretted so I remade it again in WCD in a chocolate brown – kept it and love it!! I have used the same shape other times, but experimented and swatched and did ‘Dreamcoat’ and the ‘Tuck Rib Cardi’ (Serial Stuff #2 using green Panama) to name a few.
So, I wanted to mix it up a little without all the trial and error. I have 4 ply wool that I’d like to use so I check out the KNITWORDS index and find some patterns using that yarn – sure enough, ‘Caped Wrapper’ (KW#43) comes up – another garment that I love – the fabric and bands are beautiful! I can take the same stitch pattern (a one-row-tuck), same tension and gauge as in CR - set up my ‘geezer’ shape on the KR11 (my charting device) - it automatically converts the stitches and rows to the new gauge and Bob’s your uncle!
I can use the same stitch size and number of rows from the bands from CW because they were FNR, same as ‘geezer’ but not as deep. When it came to the front band, I checked the index again and sure enough, I had used this yarn in ‘Uptown’ from No 28 and made the front band vertically with FNR, yes! – what a piece of cake!
This is too easy!!

well, the knitting was anyway - for some reason blogger has changed something and I can't get it to load photos here, sorry - check back later to see if I got it fixed...

oh, Valerie, thanks so much - nailed it! - MAO

Sock it to me!

I made 7 pairs of socks yesterday!! I started off just with the idea of being somewhat productive – getting rid of a bunch of leftovers and filling in a few spots on my Christmas list.
Anyway, a few years ago, I had rashly dipped into my sock yarn stash to make ‘Two Left Feet’ and used up about 25g of yarn from several ‘sets’ of socks – just to clarify, sock yarn is usually 50g balls and you need two balls for a regular pair of socks. Some sock yarn is put up in 100g balls – very nice, makes sense to me because if you need 100g for a pair, that’s how it should come, but you can suffer a bit of sticker shock at the cash register. Let me explain –  my sock yarn stash came about from when I would travel and people would take me to their LYS and introduce me to the shop owner, I felt compelled to purchase something and it was an easy way out to just pick up 2 balls of sock yarn – let’s face it, I’m a machine knitter and I’d rather buy machine knitting yarns on cones, but you know, when in Rome…so, here I am in Cocoa Beach this one time and I picked up a couple of balls of ‘Tofutsie’ – without reading or checking the label of course, never mind a price tag, it just looked pretty. At the cash register, expecting this purchase to be less than $20,  when the clerk said, ‘that will be $40’, I almost choked, but to save face, I dug out the cash, thinking what the? When I got home, I realized they were 100g balls and had a list of specialty ingredients, so, no wonder it was so pricey. Socks? to heck with that - for that money, I needed something more!
I decided to see if I could make a summer sweater out of the 2 balls – yes, I could! See Knitwords No 49, ‘TuttiFrutti’.
Now, somewhere along the line, I ended up with 2 more ‘odd’ balls of Tofutsie, one in a pink/grey and the other grey/ivory/black. This is nice stuff and the grey\ivory\black made up beautifully – I made a shorter-cuff version like the summer socks (June 2011) I did last year ( I never did give them to Barbara) and figured I could get TWO PAIRS from one 100g ball with a little mix and match. The first pair has 20 rows of the 2X2 rib and the second pair has 40 rows of rib matching the pink/grey. I had my little postal weigh scale nearby and kept weighing the finished sock and the remaining ball to see how far and what size I could get out of my leftovers. By the end, 52g to 68g of the regular sock yarn, like ‘Regia Cotton’, ‘Schoeller and Stahl Socka Color’ or ‘Regia 4 Jacquard’ will make a pair of 7.5 to 9.5 ladies with 40 rows of cuff.
My circular sock pattern is on my website under FREEBIES – as a free pdf – I call them ‘Warmup Socks’ because I used to make a pair as a warm-up for me on the ribber before tackling a ribber project if I hadn’t done any ribber stuff for a while!

PS - If you put ‘socks’ into the SEARCH at the top of the page, it will bring up a lot of these references, plus others! Just for fun, I put ‘warm’ into the SEARCH – it was fun!!

PPS – I was going to continue and make 2 more pairs today, but my shoulders are killing me!! Back to baking…

Light bulb moment

I’m working on my next Knit’nStyle project. I have Berrroco Linsey, a ‘self-stripping’ DK yarn, a cotton/linen blend that looks real pretty in the skein - it’s a new colorway and there was nothing on their website to show me what it looked like knit up and there are no instructions as to how to use it or anything… It’s for the June/summer issue and I’m doing a summer cardigan with the body portion sideways knit and the yoke knit up and down, in an attempt to use the yarn to its best advantage and control the color placement. First thing I did was to wind the skeins into balls that are useable on the machine – I have an old cone winder that puts the yarn onto a small plastic cone so you can knit some and then take it off the machine without breaking the yarn and rewind it onto the same cone without having to go to the end of the ball…

Looking at the skein itself, there is no way to tell which end you should begin with, but once it’s on the cone you can tell by the outside colour – you have a 50/50 chance of getting the same colour to start…and of course, you can rewind from the outside to change it...notice that random blue one...
I started off knitting one entire ball, experimenting with stitch size to know what tension works best. Then I knit another full ball with my stitch pattern and actual tension swatch and felt like I knew what to expect from this yarn. There seems to be no repeat through the ball. So I made the body back (sideways), beginning with a ball that had red/pink on the outside and  miraculously, one ball took me to the centre of the back, ending with yellow. So, for the other side to match, I used the next ball beginning with yellow. I  got lucky and it looked good. 
Now, for the fronts to match, I thought I should plan a little more. I figured it would be reasonable to make each front from the centre to the side to get them to match. First side done, took about 1.5 hours with the patterning. Second side, reversing direction and flipping patterning, so they would match, another  hour and a half – the pattern matches but the colours don’t… Pick another cone that I’m sure will match the side I want to keep…it’s looking good – an hour and half later I have 2 matching left fronts…arrgghhh!!!

The light bulb goes on! Oh, gosh, golly, why didn’t I think of this before?  It only takes 10 minutes to knit the ball in stockinette same width as the piece I’m going to knit and I could tell if the colours are working out before having to put all the work into the patterning. Bang my head on the wall, knit each ball in stockinette and  pick the correct one for the next piece – get them all made and life’s good, I'll make that deadline  – somehow I don’t feel like Einstein though! Hope this saves you some time!