Knititude

Sailboat Knitting: The Sequel

Last August during our annual sailboat trip I was working on Sorelle; this year, the as-yet-to-be-named top-down raglan pullover (Tilli Tomas Fil de la Mer) is still torturing me, although I have finally got the sleeve worked out, and hope to finish soon.   As you can see from the calm water and lack of sails (and the fact that I am letting $$ worth of yarn and hours of labor sit there untethered), there was very little wind the day I took this photo.

 I saw this gorgeous swift at the Nantucket Whaling Museum-- while at sea, whalers apparently spent their ample free time creating gifts for their womenfolk out of whalebone.  Note the carved fist that forms the base-- with wedding ring, no less!  (Was this a message to the wife to remember her marriage vows during her husband's long absences?!)

And below, a little fellow we met on the beach (no worries, he was returned safely to the water).

Errata and Notes for Aran Wrap, Vogue Knitting Fall 2008

1)  The wrap is really a big rectangle with sleeves, and when worn, the ends of the top of the rectangle and the ends of the rectangle drape into folds to form the fronts-- or wrap and overlap across the front of the body.  Thus the usual knitted measurements are a bit hard to determine exactly:  for instance the "bust" measurement depends on how the wrap is, well, wrapped.  The shoulder to hem length is less variable, because the sleeves control the placement of the wrap on the body; however, note that this length does NOT include the fold-over part of the collar.  Thus the actual length of the short side of the rectangle, from top of collar to hem, is about 31".  The long side of the rectangle-- the top or bottom edge of the wrap-- for the M/L size is about 49". If you look at the photos you can also see that if left open and allowed to drape, the fronts end up being longer than the back (and longer than the 25" shoulder to hem length given, which is probably most accurate for the back).

2)  In the original pattern I called for the zigzag rib sections to be worked in K1, p1 rib for 7 sts (WS:  (P1, k1) 3 times, p1; RS:  (K1, p1) 3 times, k1) for the 1st 5 rows, then inc 1 in each section as directed in the VK pattern, and THEN begin with Row 1 of the zigzag rib charts (continuing all other charts as established).  The VK directions have you work the first 5 rows of the zigzag charts on only 7 of 8 sts (??).  Okay...but the major problem with their directions is that the zigs and zags will not line up with the cable crosses in the double braided cable DBC) and reversible rib cable (RRC), as I intended (see photos of the back here), if you don't work Row 1 of the zigzag charts with Row 7 of the DBC and RRC charts.

Edited 9/4/08 to add:  You must also decrease in these sections to work the k1, p1 rib at the Right Front edge, shortly before binding off:  after completing Rows 1-24 of the Left and Right Zig Zag Rib charts 11 (14) times, on the next (WS) row: 
Left: p2tog, [k1, p1] X 3
Right: [p1, k1] X 3, p2tog. 
Cont k1, p1 rib as est until bindoff.

3)  Sleeve decreases:  Under "Dec rnd 2" the term "armhole edge" is introduced:  "Work 3 sts tog at armhole edge."  I find this confusing, because by now you are a number of rnds down the sleeve and away from the armhole edge.  Anyway, here I would have said, "Work to 3 sts at center of moss st panel at center underside of sleeve and work these 3 sts tog-- 2 sts dec'd."  Under "Dec rnd 4" I would have said, "Work to 3 sts at center underside of sleeve and work SK2P over these 3 (not 13!) sts.

4)  Edited 8/12/08 to add:  Row 21 of the double-braided cable chart should be the same as row 19, and Row 23 should be the same as Row 13.

Florin Friday

Say hello to "Florin," the child's vest I've been working on!  I named it after the gold coin minted in Florence, Italy during the Middle Ages, both because of the "Coin Cable" trimming the hem and the back neck, and because of the vest's refined details-- to me, Florence conjures images of finely wrought gold, handmade marbled and printed paper, frescoes and bas reliefs...okay, so I'm getting a little carried away.  But this little knit is great fun, because the Coin Cable is not your average cable; and because the armhole and neck edgings are worked with the body, meaning very little finishing time; and because the heavy worsted yarn and in-the-round construction mean rapid progress!  I'm having a second sample knit up, and the pattern tech-edited (and I'm SO happy not to be doing all of that by myself!), and plan to have the pattern available for sale in September-- in plenty of time for holiday knitting.  Look for a coordinating hat pattern too!

Birthday Loot

I don't tend to get a lot of knitterly gifts-- not to worry, I purchase plenty of yarn and needles and books and knotions for myself!  I did get this cool T-shirt from my sister last year....   Anyway, this year for my birthday I was lucky enough to receive two skeins of this lovely cashmere yarn, in colorway "Cape Sky," hand dyed in a lobster pot, no less!!  And with them came the cutest birthday card ever; AND, a couple of days later, I received a "Daily Dose of Fiber" Ravelry shirt in the mail (haven't yet gotten a photo of that).  Thanks Carmen!

Yarn substitutions for Aran Wrap

I've had several questions on this topic, so I've decided to list a number of yarn substitutions for the Trendsetter Journey yarn which was used for my Aran Wrap in Vogue Knitting Fall 2008.   This is a lovely, 100% alpaca yarn in beautiful heathered colors, but it does have the disadvantage of being quite heavy.  I'm not talking about heavy as in yarn thickness, i.e. heavy worsted (which this yarn is, at a ball band gauge of 16 sts to 4"), but heavy as in just plain heavy, at only 55 yards to 50 grams.  The construction and fit of the Aran Wrap means that it is really just a large rectangle of knitted fabric with sleeves, and the fronts either fall in folds or are overlapped.  While this makes it a cozy layer on an autumn day, it also makes it potentially quite weighty.

When I swatched for this design, I actually used a worsted weight wool (Classic Elite Skye Tweed, if anyone is curious), but the VK editors chose to substitute a heavier (in both senses of the word) yarn.  Personally, with careful swatching, I think one could go back to a medium worsted weight yarn, meaning a gauge of 17-19 sts to 4"-- but I'm not going to get into making recommendations for that here.

So here are some possibilities which have the same (or very nearly so) ball band gauge as the Journey.  I've listed all of their weights per 50 grams to make them easy to compare, but if they are supplied in different sized skeins, the actual skein yardage and weight is also noted.

Adrienne Vittadini Trina, a merino wool/ microfiber/cashmere blend, 71 yds/50 gms.  I'm currently using this for another project and like it a lot; I've had to frog small sections a couple of times and resurrect some of it once, and it has held up well.  Shows stitches very nicely.
Valley Yarns Berkshire, 85% wool/15% alpaca, 71 yds/50 gm (141 yds/100 gms).
Reynolds Candide, 100% wool, approx 86 yds/50 gm (170 yds/3.5oz).
Berroco Peruvia, 100% wool, 87 yds/50 gm (174 yds/100 gm).
Cascade Eco Wool, 96 yds/50 gm (478 yds/250 gm).
And the lightest heavy worsted of them all:  GGH/Rebecca Bel Air, 90% merino wool/10% nylon, at a whopping 143 yds/50 gm!  Produced using "new spinning technology!!"  If anyone uses this, I'd be very curious to see how it turns out; for a project like this, it certainly sounds good in theory.