Knitting for Summer?

Am working on some designs for summer.

Knitting for summer? Does that even make sense? I used to think that summer knitting was only about the odd shawl or cardigan to drape around your shoulders in an agressively air-conditioned office.

It was actually a sock design commission that made me think differently about summer knitting. I worked on them last April, designing open-toe and flip-flop socks. It made me realize that knitting is an ideal solution for those early spring days when you really do want to wear your summer clothes (and shoes) but it's not really warm enough for them. Want to wear your flip flops? Flip flop or open-toed socks keep you warm. Want to wear a light summer dress? A shawl or cardigan or capelet will insultate you from drafts. A short-sleeve top in long-sleeve weather? How about wristwarmers? A light jacket? How about a light scarf to go with it?

There’s a wealth of patterns for these kinds of early summer projects, and some truly wonderful yarns that provide a nice compromise between warmth and weight and a summery look. Am really enjoying working with Rowan Cotton Rope – it's heavy enough to provide an actual layer of clothing insulation if you need one, and comes in light shades that conjure thoughts of flowers and seaside and ice cream treats.

And who says that scarves aren’t appropriate for summer? I have a white jean jacket that looks terrific with a colourful scarf draped over it.

And a Hat to Go With the Wristwarmers

This used up the leftovers from the 100gm ball of chunky weight yarn I used for the wristwarmers

Simple Hat
One Size Fits All

Materials:
1 100gm ball chunky weight yarn
(approx. 100m)
1 pair 6mm needles

Tension:
20 sts and 20 rows over 10cm/4” square in K2 P2 rib (unstretched) using 6mm needles.

Finished Measurements:
50cm/20” around, approximately
20cm/8” long

Method:
Cast on 70 stitches.

Row 1 (Right Side): *K2, P2; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, K2.
Row 2 (Wrong Side): *P2, K2; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, P2.

These two rows establish K2 P2 rib pattern. Repeat Row 1 and 2 until hat measures 18cm/7”, ending with a Wrong Side row.

Complete final 6 rows of hat as follows:
Row 1: *K2, P2tog; repeat to last 2 stitches, K2. 53 stitches.
Row 2: *P2, K1; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, P2.
Row 3: *K2tog, P1; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, K2tog. 35 stitches.
Row 4: *P1, K1; repeat from * to last stitch, P1.
Row 5: *K2tog; repeat from * across row. 18 stitches.
Row 6: *P2tog; repeat from * across row. 9 stitches.

Cut yarn, leaving a 30cm/12” tail. Draw yarn through final stitches and pull to tighten. Use the yarn tail to seam up the hat.

The Moebius: Indeed A Mind-Melter

Another one to file under "because I had to". I picked up a kit for Cat Bordhi's Moebius capelet on the weekend, and had it finished by Monday evening.

Denny, who has a nice sideline as Moebius cast-on consultant, got me started. She even let me steal a circular needle from her current WIP. Now that's friendship!

Being a mathematician, I do understand what happens... and it's very, very cool. But I'll be damned if I can figure out how Cat worked it out. I'm in awe of her spatial skills.

Another UFO

I was in the shop today. A woman came in carrying a bag that was clearly identifiable as a UFO. She admitted it was probably 20 years old, and had been abandoned for the last 15. She had picked it up again recently and needed some help getting going again.

We've all been there, as I've discussed before.

She took us through the project. It was mostly done. The back was complete, as were the sleeves. Here's where it got a little silly, though... "Well, I didn't like the stripes so I bought all one colour yarn."

Ok, no issue there.

"And I only want two buttons."

Uh-huh.

"And I don't like the fact that the placket is done in a different yarn."

"And I don't like the neckline or collar."

Errr...

Again, I've been there, wanting to make changes to a design. I've used a commercial pattern as the basis or inspiration for a garment many times.

Here's the kicker.

"But I'm not a very good knitter."

I thought Erin was going to run out of the store screaming. I enjoy a challenge, so I had no problems taking it on as a paid design job.

But who on earth sold this poor woman a pattern she dislikes so much??? No wonder she abandoned it.

Free Pattern: Wristwarmers (What I did while waiting for the Olympics to start)

Size:
Small (Teen), Large (Adult)

Materials:
100m chunky weight yarn
1 pair 6mm needles

Tension:
Approximately 20 sts and 20 rows over 10cm/4” square in K2 P2 rib (unstretched) using 6mm needles.

Finished Measurements:
15cm/6” around, approximately
20cm/8” long

Method:
Where two numbers appear, the first is for the Small size, the second for Large. When only one number appears, it applies to both sizes.

Cast on 26 (30) stitches.

Row 1 (Right Side): *K2, P2; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, K2.
Row 2 (Wrong Side): *P2, K2; repeat from * to last 2 stitches, P2.

These two rows establish K2 P2 rib pattern. Repeat Row 1 and 2 until gauntlet measures 4cm/1.5”, ending with a Wrong Side row.

Right gauntlet thumbhole:
Next row (RS): Work 8 (9) stitches in pattern, cast off 3 (4) stitches, work in pattern to end.
Following row (WS): Work 15 (17) stitches in pattern, cast on 3 (4) over gap created by cast-off in previous row, work in pattern to end.

Left gauntlet thumbhole:
Next row (RS): Work 15 (17) stitches in pattern, cast off 3 (4) stitches, work in pattern to end.
Following row (WS): Work 8 (9) stitches in pattern, cast on 3 (4) over gap created by cast-off in previous row, work in pattern to end.

Continue from here in K2 P2 pattern, until gauntlet measures 20cm/8”.

Cast off loosely in pattern.

Seam.

So very proud

Looking for Inspiration/A Confession

I've been flipping through books and magazines seeking a new project, something to challlenge and entertain me. A couple of things of interest in the Winter Vogue Knitting -- love the short aran cardi but as usual I'd have to modify the pattern to get anything like a decent fit. I like being petite, I do, but it's sometimes a huge amount of work trying to get something to fit nicely.

I'm finding myself drawn to the lace designs. I'm looking at shawl patterns and stoles and strange wrappy-things with sleeves, all in lace. I even picked up and seriously looked through A Gathering of Lace in the bookstore the other night. Looked at it not as I used to, with mouth hanging open in fear and disgust. But I looked at it through different eyes... the eyes of a budding lace knitter, perhaps?

What have I done?

Flailing, A Bit

Still in post-Olympic letdown, I think. Still looking for a meaty project to sink my teeth into.

The Malizia shawl idea was dismissed after an evening... didn't like it on small needles, didn't like it on big.

Then I thought I'd give the Feather & Fan shawl a go, in my Noro leftovers. Turns out I don't have as much in the way of leftovers as I thought I had.... lots of ends, but only a couple of partial balls. So I dug out the Fleece Artist Country wool, hoping that the mismatched colourways wouldn't be so obvious in that design.

I spent two evenings ignoring everything I'd learnt with my Olympic project. No markers, wasn't checking my count, no lifeline. I ripped it back three times in total, right to the beginning. I rewrote the instructions so that a) they print on a single page I can leave on my lap and b) fit my counting style better. And I placed a bunch of markers, and evening three marked the first real progress. It's cute, I like working it, and and I like the look, but I'm not sure I'd actually use or wear it. So it's either for a gift or for wrapping around me while I watch TV, depending on when I finish and how I feel about it when I'm done.

The travelling bee sock project is coming along well, though.

Feeling Oddly Bereft

What now? The shawl is done.

Sunday evening at home I was forced to pick up my travelling sock project and by the end of House Monday night I was done.

On the way to work this morning I cast on for the next travelling sock project. I'm rarely without a sock-in-progress in a little nylon bag; I carry it with me for emergency knitting. I get most of the work done during my commute, but I've worked on travelling socks in many places... Bars, restaurants, the doctor's and dentist's waiting room, at the streetcar stop, in the line-up to get my driver's license renewed, and once (only once) under my desk while listening to a marathon conference call. I've got Shepherd Sock bee stripe underway, and the below-mentioned killer Christmas sock variation lined up after that.

But I'm without a big "at home knitting" project right now and it's a bit scary.

Ideas in consideration:
-that Teva Durham double-knit vest
-a feather and fan shawl in all my Noro Kureyon and Silk Garden leftovers -- inspired by this "Feather and Fan comfort shawl"; I've been looking for a way to use up all my leftovers and this might be it
-a scarf for an impossible-to-buy-for relative's upcoming birthday made from leftovers of Malizia I've got lying around

Am not in a sweater mood; am seemingly in a shawl mood, though...

Knitting Olympics: Post-Game Analysis

Lacework is both entirely similar and entirely unlike to cable knitting. It's all about texture, which I love. It's all about watching patterns grow and take shape over time. It's also all about placing markers and counting and keeping track -- all with great care.

Lace and cable work require a high degree of attention. (Movies with subtitles are totally out of the question.)

I enjoy a challenge, so you'd think I'd enjoy knitting lace.

I haven't, in the past -- see previous posts on this topic -- and I pondered this question while working away on my shawl.

I think it's simply that I don't have as much control and understanding as I do with cables. I understand cables, in my bones. I can work them with my eyes closed. I can fix them - often in place, without even ripping rows back -- and I'm able to spot and diagnose a mistake simply by looking.

I'm not there yet with lace. I can sometimes spot a mistake just by looking at the knitting -- but not always. Most of the mistakes I found in the shawl were because my count was off, not because it looked or felt wrong. And mistakes are much harder to fix -- in all but a couple of cases I've ended up ripping back entire rows. (Thank god for the lifeline.) And I can't predict how a stitch will look by just reading the directions or looking at the charts.

A lot of this is to do with familiarity with the shapes and patterns, absolutely, but some of it is to do with the magical process of blocking. Lace changes completely upon blocking. I thought the Olympic shawl was kinda neat before I blocked it; I was blown away by the final result. Blocking for cables helps with construction and finish, but it's not as integral to creating the structure of the finished piece.

I advise my beginning students to stop fairly often and take a good look at their work -- to admire their progress, to check for mistakes, and to count their stitches. I consider myself an advanced knitter, and I wasn't taking my own advice.

And to properly look at lace knitting requires a good stretch -- stretch it out to mimic blocking, to see how it lies, how it looks, and what it's doing.

How many times did I want to throw it across the room? Twice. Once when I found the catastrophic mistake in the lace, the second time when completing the border... 8 rows of 300+ stitches in garter stitch.

Did I enjoy it? Yes, actually, I did.

Will I knit lace again? I just might. It strikes me that lace knitting is ideal for long stretches of plane travel, and the like, when I need something more absorbing than the average knitting project.

I'm proud of my Gold Medal: I achieved a challenging goal, I learnt a new skill, and now I've got my mother's birthday present all taken care of.

Knitting Olympics Day 10: Gold!

Done!

Note sophisticated blocking system -- involving a garbage bag, two old towels and the bedroom floor. Am now accepting bets on how long before we find the cat asleep on it.

Knitting Olympics Day 9: The Home Stretch

Lace pattern repeats are complete. Only the border and cast-off remain. (Note sock-yarn lifeline visible a pattern repeat from the top. Not only did I use one, but I moved it up on a regular basis. PITA, but it's entirely worth it.)

And, of course, the blocking.

Knitting Olympics Day 8: Back on Track

Error hidden, a full pattern repeat completed, and a new lifeline threaded.

Only two pattern repeats (of six) left in the lace portion, and then it's a simple garter edging.

Now to start figuring out what to do about a blocking board...

Knitting Olympics Day 7: Double Argh

So the thing about a lifeline is that it only really works if you thread it through a row that's correct. Grrr... spent a good half hour threading a lifeline, worked for a good couple of hours on the knitting, and then discovered a mistake... which originated below the lifeline. Not the same mistake that's visible in the Day 5 picture, either.

So not much progress yesterday. No photos, too demoralizing.

I pulled back to the lifeline and will fudge it there.

Learning, always learning.

Knitting Olympics Newsflash!

ARRGGHHHH....

just spotted a misplaced YO in the photo from day 5.

Too far back to fix in situ. Argh.

Knitting Olympics Day 6: Moving Right Along

I'm getting the hang of it.

No lifelife visible, but I have been using one. Very reassuring, if time-consuming to set up.

Knitting Olympics Newsflash!

A lifeline! Genius! Why did I not know about this before?

Thank you, blogosphere.

Knitting Olympics Day 5: Onto the Difficult Bit

The lace has started in earnest. It's all lace all the time now.

It's taking me just about half an hour to do a pair of rows -- the complicated RS and the simpler-but-still-requires-counting WS.

I did get 8 rows done last night, between a CSI and an episode of House. But it is MUCH harder to pay attention to the TV when I'm working on this project.

But I acheived an amazing thing last night: I fixed a mistake a couple of rows back, without having to rip the whole thing back. I moved a misplaced YO.

So yes, I'm learning.

And you know, it's looking pretty good.

Knitting Olympics Day 4: That Pride/Fall Thing

There I was, all smug. Was doing so well on the garter stitch. Maybe it was just such a good episode of Buffy (Season 6 Episode 3, FWIW), but I lost it.

I messed up the simple yo increase at the end of the row, and ended up having to rip back two rows (which at 220-some stitches takes a while).

So it took longer than I'd hoped to get to the lace portion. I've done 4 rows, if you include the one where you just place the markers. Which I do, dammit. And I've only had to rip back two partial rows so far.

I guess lace knitters mustn't watch TV when they knit.

Knitting Olympics Day 3: Good Progress

Well, it is mostly garter stitch, and it was the weekend. I'm thrilled to report that I'm roughly a third done, based on yarn consumption.

(The safety pin marks the RS, in case you were wondering.)

Tonight I will be finishing up the first half of the biathalon, and moving into the more challenging portion -- the lace.