another knitting blog

undocumented knitting

I started this sweater last year sometime after moving to Portland.

I finished the front and most of the back before losing interest in January.

I picked it up again last month and all but finished knitting the sleeves on my trip to Bloomington.

During the most recent heatwave, I doggedly assembled the pieces.

Then, I decided it was about 4 inches too long and lopped off the bottom this weekend.

Just what I need for August: a twenty-pound, bulletproof, wool sweater.

vistas

I've started a new photo album for Portland. Now, I should get out and start adding to it.

Last weekend, I attended a picnic in one of the numerous state parks out along the Columbia River Gorge. On the way, I stopped to take some pictures at the Women's Forum State Scenic Viewpoint and Vista House at Crown Point.

wonky ducky

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

I had a very good birthday. I took the afternoon off and just bummed around one of the many funky little Portland shopping districts.

I really don't mind the thought of turning 40 next year. It's just a number. And, although I am a sober and contributing member of society, I'm never going to be very good at 'acting my age' (whatever that means).

next year on this day...

...I will be 40 years old.

a quiz

I have been remiss at responding to comments because:

A) I have been traveling
B) I have been sick
C) I have been very busy at work
D) all of the above

Sorry, I just don't have the time and energy at present to stay on top of things.

However, let me sincerely (if not individually) thank everyone who had such nice things to say about Print O' the Wave.

To answer the questions about the sock yarn that appears in yesterday's post: It's Mountain Colors Bearfoot superwash in Juniper. That's a color I wouldn't normally choose; however, I think Shannon may be having an effect on me. Or maybe it's the verdant lushness of the Pacific Northwest in general; eventually everything out here becomes a mossy green.

I don't know yet what kind of socks it will turn into. I was thinking of maybe going back to my basic sock recipe. I haven't started any of those in awhile. In any case, don't hold your breath; I expect this yarn will marinate in the stash while I'm working on the Calla Lily socks and all that new Socks that Rock yarn.

[BTW, the correct answer to the quiz is, of course, D) all of the above].

A MERRY KNITTING TALE

[Setting: Bloomington, Indiana, a small yarn shop]

[Dramatis Personae:
   a Knitter, in search of needles for the knitting of socks
   a merry Yarn Shop Owner]

Knitter: Hello, do you sell any size US1 bamboo needles for the knitting of socks?

Yarn Shop Owner [smiles broadly]: Yes, we sell bamboo double-pointed needles for the knitting of socks. Do you desire to purchase a set?

K: Yes, I will purchase two sets. I will also purchase this sock yarn. [aside] And what of it?

YSO [continues to smile]: Very good, shall I wind the yarn into a ball for you?

K: [also smiling]: Yes, thank you.

[They complete the transaction].

YSO: Thank you and have a good day.

K: Thank you, I shall!

THE END.

There is no morale to the story, but it is, nevertheless, a merry olde tale...unlike some others I can think of.

Print O' the Wave

I'm sure my neighbors think I'm nuts after watching me drape the Print O' the Wave Stole over this boulder for twenty minutes.

not only beginnings

I do not only start projects. I also finish. For example, Reid.

And now: Print O' the Wave. [free pattern available from Eunny; although, at present (7/1/06) there is an error in the pattern that I will address below].

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fine in New Age Teal
Needles: US3 (3.25mm)
Blocked dimensions: approximately 22" x 76"

Let's have some blocking shots. [all will enlarge with a click].

For the center panel, I replaced all the k3tog decreases with a double right-slanting decrease that mirrored the corresponding left-slanting sk2po decreases. I think it ended up as being something like slip knitwise, slip knitwise, knit slipped stitches together and return to left needle, pass the next stitch over. Not necessary, a bit more fiddly, but I had to do it.

Another of the changes I made was to knit more than the number of pattern repeats suggested to get the dimensions I wanted.

The center panel is knit in two pieces from the ends in and then grafted together so that the leaves of the stitch pattern will appear to flow down from the shoulders on each side.

I knit one of the sides with 25 pattern repeats and the other with 24-1/2 pattern repeats, in both cases ending with a right side row. The result is that when the two pieces are grafted, they will meet up in almost a mirror image of one another and the difference of half a pattern repeat isn't enough two make the two sides noticeably different lengths.

Of course, knitting a different number of pattern repeats meant that I had to recalculate all the numbers for picking up around the edge and knitting on the border. With some basic algebra and a little fudging, that was accomplished without too much trouble.

Now, to the problem.

Currently (7/1/06) Chart B for the edging pattern contains an error. There are decreases missing on rows 9, 11, 13, and 15 on this chart.

In order to make the edging pattern work, I recommend adding a k2tog (/) one stitch in from the left side of the chart on these rows. That's what I did and you can see the result below.

Also, I think the chart should have a symbol for 'slip stitch purlwise' (~) on the first stitch of row 1 similar to the first stitch of all the other odd-numbered rows.

I really enjoyed knitting this pattern, as evidenced by the fact that I started and then actually finished it all in one go.

If the nice weather holds, I'm going to try and get some beauty shots this weekend.