Knititude

Vi raccomando una visita

(Or:  what I did on my vacation.) 

(Oppure:  che cosa ho fatto durante la festa della Liberazione.)

Last week I finally got around to visiting Villa Carlotta, further down the lake in Tremezzo.  The garden is renowned, in particular for its azaleas and rhododendrons-- and right now they are in full bloom!  Azaleas the size of tour buses and  rhododendrons as tall as houses-- unbelievable.  With Lake Como and Bellagio as a backdrop, and behind them a line of snow-capped mountains-- you must go there. Go there now. 

La settimana scorsa sono finalmente andata a Villa Carlotta, piu lontano sul lago a Tremezzo.  Il giardino e famoso, innanzitutto per le azalea e i rhododendri-- ed adesso sono in piena fioritura!   Azalea grandi come  pullman e rhododendri alti come case-- incredibile.  Con Lago di Como e Bellagio in sfondo, e dietro le montagne nevose-- dovete andarci.  Ci andate ora.

And then go to Venice, but not to Venice itself (yes, okay, go, it's a must, even though Piazza San Marco is chock-a-block with pigeon shit and tourists):  take a water taxi across the Venetian lagoon to the island of Torcello, have lunch at the Locanda Cipriani, and gaze across their garden at the centuries-old churches of Santa Fosca and Santa Maria Assunta.  Mamma mia.

E poi andate a Venezia, ma non proprio Venezia  (va bene, si deve andarci, anche se Piazza San Marco e piena di guano di piccione e turisti):  prendete un vaporetto attraverso la laguna veneziana all' isola di Torcello, pranzate alla Locanda Cipriani, e guardate le chiese antiche Santa Fosca e Santa Maria Assunta attraverso il suo giardino.  Caspita.

Of seaweed and slipped stitches

Now that the Interweave Knits Summer 2008 preview is up, I think it's finally safe to show a detail of my Wakame Lace Tunic.  I found the lace pattern in a Japanese book of stitch patterns and fell in love with it; the undulating curves of the cables and the foamy effect created by the eyelets immediately reminded me of breaking waves.  And since the yarn (Tilli Tomas Fil de la Mer) contains seaweed fiber, I thought "wakame" would be a good name; I'm glad IK saw fit to keep it!  (By the way, the fabric in the photo is doubled; I draped the tunic over a chair to get the picture.)

As for the Roped Shell, the design was originally for a sort of tube top with cable straps, and the yarn originally chosen was Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, but when they were reluctant to ship their yarn to Italy,the IK editors chose Filatura di Crosa Luxury instead.  This silk yarn has a lovely drape but very little stretch, which seemed to me to be an unforgiving (and very difficult to fit) combination for a knit tube top!  In addition, the slipped stitch pattern loses its nice curvy effect if it is stretched much, so I suggested that we change the design to a sleeveless shell instead; the Cotton Fleece would have suited the more casual style of a tube top, but I thought that this finer silk yarn would work better in a somewhat dressier top.  I also wanted to find a way to hide the jog in the stripes at the beginning of each round, so I took advantage of the slipped stitch pattern to create a vertical stripe at each side "seam."  Not the best photo, but at least you can see how light and drapey the fabric turned out to be.

Etrusca errata

For patterns purchased before today:  On Row 8 of the Lace Chart, stitches #22 and #30 should be "P on RS, k on WS"; as this is a WS row, you will knit, not purl these stitches.

Seaside Gloves

If you’re like many knitters, during the height of summer you may find yourself impatient for the brisk days of fall and even winter, when you can pull out those woollen items created with long hours of pleasant labor.  And yet-- human nature being what it is-- during those wintry periods, even knitters may find themselves remembering with longing those lazy hours on the beach in July or August:  the penetrating heat of the sand, the glints of light off the water, the cooling salt spray flying off the crests of the waves.  That’s why these gloves are a perfect anytime project:  during the warmer months, they’ll augur frosty days to come, and once those days arrive, the wavy stitches, deep ocean teal and crystal bead droplets will remind you of those carefree seaside afternoons.

Sizes
Women’s S-M (M-L)
Circumference (unstretched):  7”/18 cm (8”/20.5 cm); to fit hand circumference of 7-8”/18-20.5 cm (8-9”/20.5-23 cm)
Length:  10”/25.5 cm (11”/28 cm)

Difficulty
Intermediate knitter/beginning beader; skills required include reading chart and working in the round.

Materials
Alchemy Yarns Synchronicity (50% silk, 50% wool; 118 yds/108 m per 50 g skein); 30W: Spruce; 2 (2) skeins.
Size S-M:  1 set US #5/3.75 mm double-point needles OR size to obtain gauge
Size M-L:  1 set US #7/4.5 mm double-point needles OR size to obtain gauge
tapestry needle; waste yarn or stitch holders
bead needle for threading beads (I used The Big “Eye”)
Clear glass beads, size 6/0 (4 mm), 52

Suggested Yarn Substitutes
Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Superwash or Karabella Aurora 8

Gauge
Size S-M:  24 sts/ 32 rows measured over 10cm (4 inches) in stockinette stitch (st st)
Size M-L:  21 sts/ 28 rows measured over 10cm (4 inches) in st st

Pattern Notes
See attached charts.  The original stitch pattern (“Seaweed” from Barbara Walker’s Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns) is used for the left glove only, while the pattern for the right glove is its mirror image.

Both left and right gloves are fully charted to show the position of beads and construction of thumb gusset and fingers.  Directions are the same for S-M and M-L; altering gauge by using different size needles results in two finished sizes.  Follow written directions as well as charts!  Picked up and knit on stitches for upper hand and fingers are not shown on charts, but are worked following chart for stitches adjacent to each part.   

Thread beads onto yarn before casting on, pushing beads down along yarn until they are needed.  Beads actually sit between 2 purl stitches; to place bead, purl first stitch, push bead into place, and purl second stitch.

Click here to purchase pattern pdf ($3.50)!  Includes written directions, photos and full charts for both hands.  By the way, if your fingertips prefer to be covered, instead of binding off each glove finger, just continue the stitch pattern as established until each finger is slightly longer than your own, and then do not bind off:  instead break the yarn, thread it through all stitches, pull to close, and then fasten on the inside of the finger. 

The Invasion of the Tomas Swatches

With each of my last few projects, the number of swatches I have done has steadily increased (I hope this trend doesn't continue!).  I've done multiple swatches for different reasons; for my project for an upcoming issue of Vogue Knitting, it was to find different stitch patterns that played well together, while for Etrusca, it was to find an assortment of yarns in different gauges that could be substituted for the Karabella Empire Silk I used-- and to choose among several stitch patterns.  The swatches pictured here are for the next project I hope to turn into a pattern for sale:  a top-down* (my first!!) raglan pullover using Tilli Tomas Fil de la Mer, a lovely, lovely yarn.  By the way, I'm NOT planning to incorporate all of these stitch patterns into one garment.

On a COMPLETELY different topic, I read in some trashy magazine at the gym that various actresses have "girl crushes" on Angelina Jolie, and I thought, "Hmm.  To each her own, I guess."  Then I wondered who my girl crush would be, and having recently seen A Bridge to Terabithia, Zooey Deschanel came to mind.  Then I saw this article about her recent CD release; in the article she is called a "crafty girl" who knits and crochets.  OK, found my girl crush.  Who's yours?!

*Knitting From the Top by Barbara Walker is a great book, but I kinda wish they'd update that cover photo.

Reader knit: Fern Fitted Shell

Many thanks to Terry for allowing me to post this great photo of a beautiful Fern!  (She used KnitPicks Shine and was very happy with the result.)

Another day in the sun for Seaside

I'm really quite fond of these gloves...but no, I don't normally wear them to the beach.  I dug up this photo from my archives of almost exactly two years ago, when I was planning to submit Seaside to Magknits for publication.

Ever wonder how I decided where to place the beads?  (They are not spaced regularly, after all, but are supposed to look randomly scattered like droplets of water.)  No?  Well, I'll tell you anyway.  After trying to place a few of them as I progressed, and ripping back more than once because I didn't like the spacing, I considered charting them all before knitting, but decided it would be very difficult to tell from the chart exactly where they would fall on the hand.

So I knit the first glove, and then sewed the beads on.  When I was happy with their placement, I charted them, created a mirror image of the chart, and then knit them in on the second glove.

   

Get your Cinnabar and Rose-of-Sharon here!

Sadly, the Magknits site has been abruptly shut down; I will always be grateful to them for the chance to showcase several of my early designs to a wide web audience, and it's unfortunate that the same opportunity won't be available to other new designers--nor the library of free patterns to all knitters.

As for my own Magknits patterns, the Cinnabar scarf pattern was already available on my site (and I've now updated the formatting to be more consistent with my self-published designs), and the Rose-of-Sharon hat and purse is now also available in pdf form:  just click on the link below.

Download rose_of_sharon_hat_and_purse.pdf

I started to reformat the Seaside glove pattern, and realized that the charts will need to be redrawn; as both gloves are fully charted, this will require a significant amount of time, so I've decided that this pattern (when ready) will not be free, but will cost $3.50.  If it's any consolation, I promise that the pattern pdf, and especially the charts, will be clearer and more prettily presented than the Magknits version!

Etrusca Sleeveless Top

The intricate ornamentation of ancient Etruscan jewelry was the inspiration for this top, in which a lustrous gold-colored yarn and the varied surfaces of garter stitch, a simple lace border, and slipped stitches combine to create a richly textured fabric.

To keep the border stitch pattern complete, no partial repeats were used, limiting the number of sizes to four; to fit a wider range of measurements, dimensions are given below for these sizes worked in four different yarn gauges, and a number of yarn substitutions are suggested (some of which I have swatched).  Knitting progress is given both in inches and in rows, so that a yarn of a different gauge than that pictured can be easily substituted.  Note that if yarn is substituted, yarn requirements are a rough guide only! 

The pictured top has staggered waist decreases and increases; all slipped stitch columns curve slightly in and then out at the waist.  But since the decreases and increases show slightly (look closely at photos), directions are also given for working all waist shaping at the sides only, if desired.  Front and back are worked flat to take advantage of the garter stitch base (knit every row!).

DIFFICULTY
Intermediate:  skills include reading chart, increases/decreases, three needle bindoff, and picking up stitches for neckband and armhole trim.

GAUGE
20 sts/26 rows to 4” in st st; 19 sts/30 rows to 4” in EG (Embellished Garter) and charted lace patterns.  EG and lace patt row gauges are different from that of st st (st st gauge given mainly to make yarn substitution easier); to calculate garment length you will need your EG row gauge.  Check gauge on blocked swatch.

SIZES & MEASUREMENTS for gauges 21 (20, 19, 18) sts to 4” in EG patt.
Note that sizes S-XL do NOT necessarily correspond to the sizes given in the CYC standards.  Bold #s are for gauge as given above; if only one # appears, it applies to all gauges.
                         S                              M                               L                           XL       
Bust/  31 (32½, 34, 36)       37 (39, 41, 43)        43 (45, 47½, 50)        49 (51 ½, 54½, 57)”             
Hem      79 (83, 86, 91)     94 (99, 104, 109)    109 (114, 121, 127)     124 (131, 138, 145)cm
Waist  27 (28½, 30, 31½)    33 (35, 36½, 38 )     39 (41, 43½, 45 ½)     45 ½ (47½, 50, 53)”
             69 (72, 76, 80)         84 (89, 93, 98)      99 (104, 110, 116)     116 (121, 127, 135)cm
Length             20                                 21                                22                            23”
                       51                                 53                                56                           58 cm
Armhole depth 5½                                6                                6½                            7”
(approx)          14                                15                                17                           18 cm
Armhole circ    14                                15½                             17                           19”
(approx)           36                                39                                43                          48 cm
Shown in size S and gauge 19 sts/4”, with bust circumference of 34” and 1” ease.

The top is shown with a deep scooped neck in front and medium scooped neck in back:  it can also be worn backwards, OR worked as two “fronts” or two “backs.”

MATERIALS
Karabella Empire Silk (100% silk), color 504 deep gold, 6 (7, 9, 10) skeins, or 540 (630, 810, 900) yds.
US size 7/4.5 mm circular needle, 24” US size 7/4.5 mm straight knitting needles.  Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain correct gauge.
Stitch holders, tapestry needle

SUGGESTED YARN SUBSTITUTIONS
(Same gauge/needle size as above):
Berroco Touche’ (cotton/rayon), suggested color 7912 Dijon; Classic Elite Premiere (cotton/Tencel), suggested color 6212 Mimosa.

FOR OTHER GAUGES:
Tilli Tomas Fil de la Mer (silk/seacell) on US size 6 needles for 21 sts to 4” in EG patt, suggested color Goldenrod; Berroco Touche’ on US size 8 needles for 18 sts to 4” in EG patt.

Or try these (not swatched by me):
Louet Euroflax on US size 5-7 for 18-22 sts to 4” in st st, color Mustard; Berroco Ultra Silk (rayon/nylon/silk) on US size 10 for 19 sts to 4” in st st, suggested color 6113 Dijon.

Click here to purchase pattern pdf!  Includes all written instructions, chart, schematic and photos.

Bentornata a Como, Primavera!

(Welcome back to Como, Spring!)