Knititude

Can you guess where we went on vacation?

(It''s really not very difficult, is it.)

Puoi provare a indovinare dove siamo andati in vacanza?  (Veramente, non e' molto difficile.)

Unfortunately (or fortunately) I was without internet access for most of the week.

Purtroppo, (o per fortuna) non ho avuto internet per la maggiorparte della settimana.

Look at how beautifully and subtly the human bodies are formed in the second photo--something I didn't expect, given the general flatness of perspective of the artists of that era.

(More knitting coming soon.)

Guarda, che splendidamente e dolcemente i corpi umani sono modellati-- qualcosa che non mi aspettavo, dato l'essere piatto della prospettiva delle artiste di quella epoca.

(Piu lavoro a maglia presto.)

Presenting Fern

I think Fern turned out pretty well!  Fits nicely; like the neckline; like the hemline.  I wasn't sure whether I wanted to block the Fern Pattern panels flat or not, but in the end I decided I like the lace rippling a little, as it definitely wants to do.  And I'm not sure that the sproinginess of this particular cotton/microfiber yarn wouldn't make heavy blocking useless, anyway.

Pattern coming soon!

Fern, almost finished

It's a good thing the upper part of a sweater front usually knits up quickly, because I've changed this one several times now.  I find the neckline to be one area of a garment design that benefits from trial and error, no matter how much I might try to plan it out ahead of time.

At first, I tried decreasing along the sides to add further shape to the bust area, but I didn't like the way that looked, so I tried again without the decreases--much better.  Then, it's always a little tricky to determine how much higher the neckline will be once the edge is finished.  I was planning to use a narrow applied I-cord edge, so I decided my first attempt was a little too revealing, and ripped back far enough to add a few rows.  In the picture, the edging has already been worked, but unfortunately I'm not done yet; the edging is rolling outward at the center front and back, and now I'm going to redo it, decreasing a few stitches in both areas, which will hopefully take care of the problem.

Here is a view of the side lace panel.  I'm also going to add the applied I-cord edging to the hem.  You can see from the neck edging that the I-cord has a softer look than the cord under the bust, not as crisply defined, but I think it looks good, and the method I used to create the cord under the bust would not have worked around the arms and neck, as it requires a level bound off edge.

Will she stay or will she go?

Let me describe what you are seeing here:  Fern from hem to bust, with the Fern Pattern panels on each side.  I used decreases  to shape the waist, and wanted this top to fit closely under the bust, so I decided to bind off at that point, to decrease the stretch of the fabric, and then pick up stitches along the bound-off edge and work up from there in stockinette, with some increases in the front to give shape to the bust.  First I tried picking up stitches the normal way, in which case the corded edge under the bust would have been on the inside, but I then I thought that it might actually look nice (and be more comfortable) with the cord on the outside.  (And then an applied I-cord edge around the neck and arms, hmmm?)

Fern is at the stage where I'm not sure how much of her will stay and how much will go; an obvious (in hindsight!) result of the curve of the lace panels at the hem is that they also curve at the top--a curve which may or may not look odd.  I'll probably need to try blocking and see what happens. 

My stitches are usually more even than this; I think the reason may be that the Jo Sharp Desert Garden Aran Cotton has a lot of twist and sometimes kinks up on itself.  I've been trying to let it untwist but it's a constant (and losing) battle.

Mi permetti discrivere questa camicia:  Fern dal orlo al busto, con i pannelli di "Fern Pattern a ogni lato.  Ho usato le diminuzione per formare la cintura, e volevo che questa camicia va bene sotto il busto.  Mi dispiace, ma non so come si dice "bind off," "pick up stitches," o "stockinette" in Italiano. 

Non so quanto di Fern restara` and quanto andra`; con il senno di poi, e ovvio che i pannelli vedrono magari strani.  Dovro` provare "blocking" e vedo che e` succedera`.  

(Oy vey, I think I really might have butchered the language in those last two sentences.)

Six weird things, with a twist*

1.  Ever since childhood I've hated the sound of someone eating a banana.

2.  Whenever I hear the song "Take the Long Way Home" by Supertramp on the radio, I know everything will be okay--in whatever sense or significance "everything will be okay" has, at that particular time.  Yes, it's very vague, I know.  This started--I don't remember why--back when I was in high school or college, and as you can imagine, I heard the song a lot more often then (it was released in 1979).  But I do still occasionally hear it.  It has to be on the radio; it doesn't count if I play it on my iPod, or hear it at someone's house.  And it always makes me feel--vaguely--reassured.

3.  I broke off one of my upper incisors biting into a chocolate reindeer head.

4.  I was born with an extra digit on my left hand.  Well, sort of; it was next to my thumb, and had only vestigial bones, so I couldn't move it.  The pediatric surgeon wanted to remove it immediately, but my parents were afraid to put me under general anesthesia.  Finally when I was almost three they gave in, and unfortunately by then I was old enough to remember being terrified by the hospital smells and the mask they put over my face.

5.  I can't roll my "r"s--a serious handicap when speaking Italian.  (Does every infinitive verb really have to include an"r"?!)

6.  I used to make my little sister cry just so I could comfort her.  Sick, I know.  Or pathetic.  Or both.

7.  I've never been stung by a bee or a wasp.

*Yes, there are seven, because...one of the above is completely false.  Can you guess which one?

The beginnings of Fern

Here's the Fern Pattern swatch I mentioned earlier; the double decreases on each side cause a very strong curve to the stitch pattern, which is in fact why I chose to use it.  I decided it would give an interesting and flattering shape to the garment:  used along the sides, it will create a curved hem, front and back. 

Not that you can see it very well in the photo above, but hopefully the shape will become more obvious after a little more knitting.

Sorry, no Italian today; la prossima volta!