Archive for November, 2007

dodecahedron vs the world

Ah, my little dodecahedron star is ready to take on the world! We’ll be using this as a tree topper in a few weeks in the Berroco newsletter, Knitbits. The instructions will be available free then too.

I’ve had such a blast knitting this. Basically, my star is 12 elongated pentagons knit onto each other. To make a flat pentagon I might dec one stitch each end on each segment every 2nd round. To make each pentagon into a cone I decreased every 5th round. I am dreaming of sock yarn stars, pointier stars, felted stars, stars for my geek friends, stars for my baby friends…

taking shape

Yep, knitters are sooo SMART!

inside out, you’re turning me…

I’ve made a bit of progress & I couldn’t resist snapping this photo:The yarn is Ultra Alpaca Light, worked rather firmly on size 2(US) needles.

I’m knitting what??

What is this thing?  

completed garter

After reading the comments on my “almost garter” post I decided I liked the idea of changing gauge as I changed color. So, when I was about 2/3 through the two original hanks of lavender and grey Ultra Alpaca Light I added a ball of Pure Merino Heather in one of my favorite greens – the one Margery has so deliciously named Pesto Genovese.  The pattern stitched changed when I added a third color. I kept knitting every row, but knitting one row each of 3 colors (in the same order) over and over – produces garter stitch.  I no longer had to use both ends of the needle either. I kept that up until I ran out of one of original colors, then I continued in garter in the Pesto Genovese only until I ran out of it too.  I never changed needles sizes and to my surprise my scarf didn’t change width, even though Pure Merino Heather is considerably larger than Ultra Alpaca Light. So much for the change of gauge! I think, as my friend Janet suggested, that this might be an artifact of the alpaca being a fiber that likes to expand to it’s fullest potential and that Merino wool has a compressible quality. The merino end of my scarf is not a supple as the alpaca end, but I like the contrast, and I love the way the tightly knit merino stands up like little pearls  along each garter row. My finished scarf  is about 52″ long. Not the 5′ I thought I wanted, but it does the trick. Hmm, who shall I give it to in a few weeks?

almost garter

Well, it’s almost garter stitch. Anxious to get started, I used the only Ultra Alpaca Light I had in the house – one hank of charcoal and one hank of lavender. Figuring I needed both hanks to make a scarf of any significance, I decided to alternate the colors – one row of each. This is a job for double pointed needles (or circular). Always knit and always use the color you haven’t just used. You’ll find yourself working from both ends of the needle. The result is a very subtle two tone “double garter” ridge with the colors intertwined. As soothing as garter stitch, but a little mind bending.

I have 31 sts on my scarf. I could have sworn I cast on 30, but you know how it goes… The needles are size 6 (US). Wanting to know how long my scarf was going to end up I weighed the remaining yarn with a kitchen scale. I started with 100 grams – 55 grams are left unknit. The 45 grams used so far resulted in about 18″ of scarf (depending on how hard I tug on it).

Let’s see, here’s one way to look at this:
18″/45 gr = .4″/gr
and .4″/gr x 100 gr = 40″

Seems like my scarf will measure about 40″ when I finish the yarn I have. That’s good for a neat little number that tucks under one’s dress coat. I’m more inclined to favor a 60″ scarf that can wrap around my neck at least once. Maybe I’ll throw in a little unexpected solid garter at the far end. Should it be a third color? Hmm… I don’t have to decide yet.

Oh and BTW, my scarf’s about 5″ wide.

what i’m knitting now

The mad rush to get things ready for the Spring ’08 photoshoot is over. The photos have been taken. No more reknitting necklines late into the night. No more cutting 4″ off the bottoms of things, because, I was, well, WRONG the first time. No more cutting sweaters in half and inserting lace details or raiding my button collection for the perfect finishing touch. Ahhhhh – at least for now.

Oh and also, after getting 2 (or was it 3?) extensions to the deadline on my lastest piece for Vogue Knitting, I finally, REALLY, had to finish up and send it in. That’s done – another ahhhh. Now I can do my laundry. Now I can cook for friends. Now I can sleep.

One question looms though – What do I knit on now? A mindless garter stitch scarf in something soft and soothing, I’m thinking, ultra alpaca light, would suit my brain right now. I like peat mix for the subtlest bit o color next to my black coat. I like size 6 needles. Right now, I like just knitting. My head will recover soon though, and be aching for something a bit more challenging. It’s time to resume knitting on the sweater for my boyfriend.

Don’t give me a hard time. Yes, I know about the boyfriend curse. In fact I discovered it in college – I thought then that I was the first to voice it (although I’m sure I wasn’t).

This boyfriend spent a whole summer (he’s a teacher) demolishing and then rebuilding my kitchen. Surely, if John can commit all of that time and sweat to build a kitchen for me, I can knit him a pullover. He’s a sweater wearing man too. I have to take the chance – he REALLY wants the sweater. The yarn I’m knitting on is not (gasp) from Berroco. It’s spun from John’s best friends’ sheep. This sweater comes loaded with MEANING. While my theory has long been that an overload of MEANING is why men do leave when you give them a sweater, any man who can’t stand up to the MEANING wasn’t going to stay any way. I have to take the chance

The cable pattern in John’s sweater is the same one I used in L’aran in Berroco booklet 256. I expanded it to cover the entire surface. Peruvia would be a great yarn substitution for my one-of-a-kind yarn.

L’aran pullover in Love-it.