Knititude

Old News

Deadline knitting isn't good news for the blog, which I why I have some old news to share today.  I worked up a design for some stranded knitting awhile back, and knit up a swatch, but never got around to posting photos.  As you can see, the colors in my paper pattern are definitely not quite accurate, and--I was a little surprised to see--the motifs look taller and narrower in the swatch.  The boxes on the paper pattern are stitch shaped-- wider than they are tall-- so apparently the stitches in the swatch are more square than I thought they would be (and in fact the gauge is 12 sts/11 rows to 2 inches).  I wonder if this is typical of stranded knitting or whether this means that the tension on my floats is too high?  (Anyone?)

As for the colors, I like the combinations in  both of the large motifs-- the orange and the blue/green bands-- and I like them both with the narrow motifs.  But I don't think I like the large motifs together:  the bright orange and the muted green just don't do it for me.  And I've already used up a precious ball of that green to make swatches for a submission to Vogue Knitting*, so that is the band that will require major color re-mixing.  Once I re-mix the colors, redraw the motifs so they don't come out so vertically stretched (especially the lower one), and fiddle with the background bands so they blend more subtly, I'll be ready to try another swatch.

Could take awhile.

*WHICH they accepted for their Fall 2008 issue; woohoo!

Yarn deliveries

I've had several yarn deliveries in the past week.  The RYC Cashsoft has arrived and when I have a moment, I'll try to figure out how to work one or both colors into my Wyvern Wrap.  The other yarn?  Doesn't look like much, I know, but it's lovely, and destined to become something for the IK Summer 2008 issue (and that's all I have to say about that).

Hurry up and wait

After finding out last week that Interweave Knits accepted a couple of my design proposals for their Summer 2008 issue, AND that I have about 6 weeks to knit both samples and write up the patterns, I realized that I had better get a move on to have any hope of finishing my Wyvern Wrap before the yarn for the IK samples arrives.  So knit away I did...and it became quite clear after I finished the Right Front that I will run short of yarn before I finish.  (The Good News:  with calculator and new numbers--the weight of yarn I've used so far and the area of the piece I completed--my assessments of yarn requirements for the wrap, previously based only on extrapolation from the child-sized sample, appear to be quite accurate.  Also, the piece I finished blocked to measurements--no surprises there.)  I did rewrite the sleeves to make them wider after I started knitting...a difference, as it turns out, of about 100 square inches--a necessary addition, unfortunately.  

Sadly, Filatura di Crosa Trilly has been discontinued, and my attempts to find a stray skein or two via the internet-- Google, eBay, Ravelry-- have failed.  So, unless someone out there happens to have a little Trilly in colorway #301794 (lot number?  HA!  I'll take any lot at this point), I've had to mull over alternatives.

Starting over with a new yarn?  No.  Don't have the time.  Working a "waistband" in a different yarn?  This would mean putting the completed front piece on the inside, and doing something to cover the waistband portion of it that wouldn't be overlapped by the left front--a wider sash instead of the modified I-cord, perhaps.  I liked this idea until I realized that the "waistband" would have to be 4 inches wide--too wide, in my opinion.  Knitting the overlapped part of the front in a different yarn?  Hmmm...maybe.  Using a band of a different color across the upper back and arms?  It wouldn't be visible from the front; the stitch pattern would cause the edges of the stripe to undulate, which might be nice....

Nothing in my stash will work for the new yarn, so I've ordered a couple of different colors of RYC Cashsoft DK, which means I will soon get a chance to see this suggested substitute in action.  And now...I wait.  (At least I have my old friend Sherwood to keep my hands busy in the meantime.)

Yarn substitutions for the Wyvern Wrap

(or the Dragon-Skin Wrap from the IK Holiday Gifts 2007).  I've been asked for some possible substitutions, so here they are.  Please remember that swatching is more important than ever when substituting yarn!  In addition, I have personally worked with only a couple of these yarns, so don't consider the list below to be anything more than a starting point for finding an alternative for the Kollage Yarns "Yummy" called for in the pattern.  Especially since there is a PLETHORA of yarns in the proper weight range!  My criteria for putting a yarn on the list:  same gauge using the same needle size as the "Yummy" (5.5 sts per inch on US #6 needles*); range of colors that appealed to me; some sheen; yarns that would seem to have good stitch definition.  I also tried to choose yarns from a variety of price points, and finally there are some yarns suitable for warm weather or "no-sheep" types, too.

Bamboo/wool blends (like the "Yummy"):  Classic Elite Wool Bam Boo, Sirdar Baby Bamboo
Alpaca/silk blends:  Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK, Knitpicks Elegance
Wool/silk blends:  Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, RYC Silk Wool DK,
Wool/cashmere blends:  RYC Cashsoft DK, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK
Non-wool:  Katia Linen (linen/cotton), Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy (hemp/cotton/nylon), S. Charles Collezione Kyoto (cotton/rayon/silk), Louet Euroflax Worsted (linen)

OR:  Feeling adventurous??  How about Noro Silk Garden Lite (silk/mohair lambswool)--the Dragon Skin stitch pattern just might look really cool with this yarn.  Or how about Rowan Scottish Tweed DK (wool)?  I'm not sure the tweedy look would work well with this project, but then again....

*I noticed that the Kollage Yarns website now calls for US Size 7 needles with this yarn, but the ball bands on the leftover yarn I have call for US Size 6.  Which is what I used.

(Photo:  Lake Lugano on the Swiss-Italian border, from the top of Monte San Salvatore.)

I was wrrr....

I don't know why that episode of Happy Days-- the one where Fonzie struggles mightily to say "I was wrong," but only manages to choke out "I was wrrr"--has stuck in my head for all these years.  Certainly I have no trouble admitting when I've made a mistake (disregard any comments the husband might have on this subject).  Anyway, it has become clear to me--and I will be the first to say that I should have realized this sooner--that the sleeves for the Wyvern Wrap, as I originally conceived them, were just not wide enough for comfort, given the style of the sweater.  (This should not be a problem for the Child's Dragon-Skin wrap, by the way).  So I've rewritten the pattern, including updating the sleeve circumferences and the yarn requirements, and I've already emailed the updated pattern pdf to everyone who purchased the pattern.*  By the way, this means that the Dramatic (or full length) sleeves, with a circumference at the wrist of 15 to 21 inches, truly deserve that description; unless you have a powerful inner diva, or are willing to practice eating, drinking, performing the tea ceremony, and using the rest room without knocking anything over or dragging the sleeve through anything yucky, I would suggest the Practical or 3/4 length sleeve option.

*At least I think I have; if you purchased the pattern before it was updated, and did not receive the email I sent today with the updated version, please contact me!

Working on my Wyvern

The right front of my Wyvern Wrap (size small) has been growing at a good clip; I'm almost finished with the side shaping increases, and soon will cast on stitches for the right sleeve.  I'm having a nagging fear that the sleeve, which is essentially a drop sleeve, may end up being too snug for this style, at a circumference of 13 1/2 inches for my size.  I think this fear will be best addressed by knitting a little farther, so I can see how the sleeve looks and feels.

I went into my stash for the yarn:  Filatura di Crosa "Trilly," 50% silk and 50% cashmere, which swatched for me at the same gauge as the Kollage Yarns "Yummy" (merino and silk) called for in the pattern.  The Trilly has a nice tight twist--not the slightest bit of pilling or fuzzing, at least so far--and a silvery green color which reminds me of the leaves of an olive tree--beautiful.  I love the texture of the unblocked fabric, but the wrap isn't going to fit me if I leave it that way!