Shoulders

The Ribby Cardi for DD grows apace (then I rip and knit again). We have VERY square shoulders here, so I haven't knit a raglan in many years. I chose frog-able yarn with this in mind. Above is a photo of the basted body and a large size sleeve basted in (with circ cables) and the beginning of a much larger sleeve.

The blue yarn is a one-off of really lovely fine 4-ply wool from Morgaine, some she dyed herself. It's actually a muted variegated marl indigo, close to the color in the top image. DD chose Cascade 220 in color 2427 for the sleeves, a deep red that sets up a wonderful resonance with the indigo. The blue fabric has cush and great elasticity. The red isn't as soft to the touch but appears to be sufficiently compatible.

For the body, I cast on the largest size, then decreased two sizes in the first row of the stockinette panels with a series of k2togs over some of the single purls. It accommodates DD's hourglass figure nicely and without any flare. Even though I knit all but one sleeve in less than a week, she outgrew it so I'm probably going to have to re-knit the entire thing. I may be re-knitting this sweater until she hits six feet.

The new sleeve is many inches longer and larger around than Bonne Marie's largest size, in part because DD needed a lot more ease in the elbows. Her pattern is very logical and makes it easy to do massive size mods. I'm having to add significant width to the top of the sleeve to fill the gap made by those shoulders. When knitting sweaters with set-in sleeves, DD and I add at least two inches to the height of the yoke. To maintain the visual line of a raglan, I'm keeping the body yoke pretty much as writ and making most of the changes in the shape of the sleeve cap. A typical raglan sleeve is almost triangular; I'm using a wide bell shape, truncated at the neckline. The additional width in the shoulder area of the sleeve drops the yoke down a few inches, and it may overemphasize DD's linebacker shoulders, but with luck it will fit.

I was knitting one of the fronts at the grocery store last week and was nearly at the point where I would change needle sizes so had the next circ poked in the ball of yarn. When I got home with the groceries I realized I'd dropped the needle. DD and I went back to the store and she asked for the lost and found at customer service and the lady took one look at DD's WWKIP t-shirt and said, "I think you need this!" and handed us the circ. YAY! I had a spinning t-shirt on, but that WWKIP tee was very effective. Dolores to the rescue!

Chickadelicans

I am knitting constantly and will post when I've hit a milestone. In the meantime, here are three fellows who were diving for striped bass yesterday evening. For a sense of scale, wingspans are normal for around here, between five and six feet. I have numerous photos and will post more on another day.

Ribbed Cable Photos

Baby Cashmerino 5-cable, washed



Baby Cashmerino 5-cable, detail



Mission Falls 1824 Wool 3-cable, washed



Mission Falls 1824 Wool 3-cable, detail



Crossover gap

Ribbed Cable Muffler

Ribbed Cable Muffler (with lots of yarntalk)

This is a cushy, very elastic ribbed cable muffler. The cable is a smaller version of the one Starmore uses in St. Kilda (In the Hebrides, no link because I really don't think the book is worth $200 used!), and Lily Chin showcased it a few years ago as a reversible rib cable. There is a pattern for a scarf using ribbed cables here, but the pattern lacks some finesse (is that sufficiently PC?).

This muffler is best knit in a wool yarn that will hold its shape after washing, but it also does well with the sinuous quality of superwash wool and has enough depth that it doesn't deflate totally after washing, though the cables do tend to elongate.
The pattern below is for a sportweight yarn with a grist of approximately 1240 yards per pound (ypp). There are notes also for using an aran weight yarn that is 770 ypp. If you follow the knitty.com link above, she has a beautiful photo of the cable worked in laceweight. To maximize the cuddle factor, knit it with an elastic yarn and a relatively dense gauge. For a shawl with the texture of a raked zen garden, try KSH at an open gauge and double or triple the number of cables.

There are a few tricks to knitting this muffler well. Increase the number of stitches in the second row and decrease in the penultimate row to minimize edge flare. Use a sturdy, slender cable needle and don't drop stitches while cabling. To prevent gaps, use more than your usual tension when crossing the cables.

Yarn: 5 balls Baby Cashmerino (125 m/50g)
Needles: Size 4.5 mm for casting on and binding off. Size 3.75 mm for knitting. Yarn needle for weaving in ends.

Notes:
m1 = Increase by knitting in back of stitch.
c8b6 = cable 8 behind 6. Place 8 st on cable needle in back, work next 6 st (k2, p2, k2), work 8 st from cable needle (p2, k2, p2, k2). The stitches on the cable needle change in this row from k to p or p to k in order to preserve the ribbing pattern. This creates a soft, slightly slanted bar on the reverse of the knitting. It also means those first two purls from the cable needle can be stiff. Try to keep your hands relaxed. Cables are staggered. They are crossed every 12 rows, with row C crossing the outer and center cables and row D crossing the two flank cables.

Knit the cast-on row. With a 4.5 mm needle cast on, long-tail, 75 st.
Knit an increase row. WS. Switch to a 3.75 mm needle and slip 1 purlwise, p1, (k1, m1, p2, k2, p2) x 10, k1, m1, p2. [86 st]
Knit row A. RS. Slip 1 knitwise, k1, (p2, k2) x 20, p2, k2.
Knit row B. WS. Slip 1 pw, p1, (k2, p2) x 20, k2, p2.
Knit row C. RS. Slip 1 kw, k1, p2, (c8b6, p2, (k2, p2) x 4) x 2, c8b6, p2, k2.
*Knit rows B, A, B, A, B.
Knit row D. RS. Slip 1 kw, k1, p2, ((k2, p2) x 4, c8b6, p2) x 2, (k2, p2) x 4, k2.
Knit rows B, A, B, A, B, C. Repeat from * until desired length.
Knit row B, then row A.
Knit a decrease row. WS. Slip 1 pw, p1, (k2tog, p2, k2, p2) x 10, k2tog, p2. [75 st]
With a 4.5 mm needle, bind off, knitting the knit stitches and purling the purls.
Weave in ends.

I actually used 5 balls plus a few yards to do a total 34 sets of row C crosses. Finished size, relaxed, before washing: 6.5" x 52". Finished size, relaxed, after washing: 6" x 60". Washed, the Cashmerino opened significantly, the cables grew longer, and it began to pill. [The yarn was on sale and it really does feel good.]

If you know your yarn is going to droop like Cashmerino, you can cross the cables every 8 rows instead of 12, but it will be tough on your thumbs and hands. Working this style of cable puts a lot of torque on the hand bones and should be done in stages interspersed with more soothing knitting, and never with a deadline.

The crossovers form large gaps, not visible because they are hidden in and make possible the layering of the fabric. I could write an entire post about the formation of those holes and how they effect the fabric. Another variation (in theory, anyway) of this scarf is to do a single truly monzo cable braced by the narrow rolled edge and a single inviolate rib, the pull one end of the scarf through a gap a few crossings from the other end. I'll knit one soon in a fine yarn and post a photo and pattern.

A few years ago I knit the same formula as the sport-weight pattern above, except with three cables instead of five, in Mission Falls 1824 Wool. I used a 5mm needle for the entire muffler. Cast on 47 and increase to 54. The bars on the reverse hardly show at all when the yarn has a deep plying texture like that of the 1824 wool. Finished size was 5" by 60", weight 265 grams.

Please tell me in the comments if you find a mistake; this is a draft, untested pattern. Thanks! There is a link in the sidebar to a terse print version that is the same as the previous post.

Blogger still isn't letting me upload photos. If you would like the packet that illustrates this post, leave your email in the comments section. If Blogger ever opens the gates, I'll post the photos with captions in a separate post.

Ribbed Cable Muffler Pattern

Yarn: Approx. 700 yards/250 grams sportweight yarn
Needles: Size 4.5 mm for casting on and binding off. Size 3.75 mm for knitting. Yarn needle for weaving in ends.

Notes: m1 = Increase by knitting in back of stitch.
slip1 = On WS, slip purlwise and on RS, slip knitwise.
c8b6 = cable 8 behind 6. Place 8 st on cable needle in back, work next 6 st (k2, p2, k2), work 8 st from cable needle (p2, k2, p2, k2). The stitches on the cable needle change in this row from k to p or p to k in order to preserve the ribbing pattern. Cables are staggered. They are crossed every 12 rows, with row C crossing the outer and center cables and row D crossing the two flank cables.

Knit the cast-on row. With a 4.5 mm needle cast on, long-tail, 75 st.
Knit an increase row. WS. Switch to a 3.75 mm needle and slip 1, p1, (k1, m1, p2, k2, p2) x 10, k1, m1, p2. [86 st]
Knit row A. RS. Slip 1, k1, (p2, k2) x 20, p2, k2.
Knit row B. WS. Slip 1, p1, (k2, p2) x 20, k2, p2.
Knit row C. RS. Slip 1, k1, p2, (c8b6, p2, (k2, p2) x 4) x 2, c8b6, p2, k2.
*Knit rows B, A, B, A, B.
Knit row D. RS. Slip 1, k1, p2, ((k2, p2) x 4, c8b6, p2) x 2, (k2, p2) x 4, k2.
Knit rows B, A, B, A, B, C.
Repeat from * until desired length.
Knit row B, then row A.
Knit a decrease row. WS. Slip 1, p1, (k2tog, p2, k2, p2) x 10, k2tog, p2. [75 st]
With a 4.5 mm needle, bind off, knitting the knit stitches and purling the purls.
Weave in ends.

New and old

The main thing I've been working on this week is a ribbed cable muffler UFO in Cashmerino that was about half-done. I'm using a size 3.75 mm needle, which makes a rather dense and very cushy fabric, because I know this yarn will go slack and grow when washed (hmph). It will also pill. At least it feels wonderful to knit.

822 yards/475 grams of variegated indigo marl wool from Morgaine. No idea what it will become. Lovely wool. One ball has a wider range in depth of shade. Perhaps a vest in linen stitch? DD's wearing my size now (scary!), so 800 yards doesn't cover her the way it used to.

Here's the half-Pi on DD. It stays on even in a high wind. The Knitpicks merino laceweight really clings! Using small format open stitch patterns in the first 96 rows and a larger format, more dense stitch pattern in rows 97-192 made for a nice fit around the shoulders and good drape.

Wild Orchid

Epipactis helleborine

Shawl Notes

My dad emailed to say that DD wore the new shawl to summer school this morning. YAY!!!

Kat, here's the blocked photo in a larger format. I sharpened it a bit and increased the contrast to make it easier to see the stitch pattern.

Cassie, the reason I washed the yarn before knitting was it was a new yarn for me and I wanted to avoid surprises. Some finewool yarns relax a lot when one washes out the spinning oils and lets the hanks dry without tension. Yes, the other option is to knit a swatch, then wash the swatch, which is what I would do with a coned yarn. These hanks were in an easy format for washing and I was craving a predictable medium.

Annie asked about the lace pattern adjustments. DD chose BW's arrow lace and I knit a swatch and then started subtracting lines or columns of stitches to "walk" through the family of associated stitches. It was fun to reduce the arrow to a selection of other stitch patterns, most of which are in BW's books.

The stitch pattern I liked the most visually, though, had a k5tog. Looked great but I knew I'd grumble while knitting, and the row count fluctuated a lot -- okay for a round shawl but the selvage would have wiggled in a half-circle. I ended up starting with a wider Kiri style cast-on, working through a few openwork stitch patterns that had easy transitions, then removing the repeat row from the classic arrow lace to get a chevron-arrow cross.

The original arrow is long enough that I would have needed an additional pattern between to make a smooth transition from the smaller openwork stitches to the arrow lace. I had two balls of yarn and knew I was cutting it close (ended up two yards short and had to rip back and leave off one repeat of the edging), and that I'd be lucky to get to row 192 as is. The formulaic planning of shawls like the Pi does lend itself to sampler style knitting like this.

I did a few of the transitions over a couple of rows because it was subtle. My daughter doesn't wear ruffles or anything with strong lines, so a row of eyelet in the midst of the chevrons was not going to pass her scrutiny. I did stick pretty closely to the overall counts for a half-Pi, definitely within the accepted margin of error.

I think one of the reasons this shawl felt like a slog to knit was being hemmed in by the Pi rules. They make planning more fun, but the execution is then too predictable for my spoiled, whimsical inner knitter. I prefer a constant challenge. Knowing I was running out of yarn actually made the experience more interesting. Perhaps I should make myself sit down and re-engineer the neckline on the KOKAL vine shawl as penance, if only to remind my brain that it does have the capacity to think in a logical manner. [My brain just winced and is working on an escape clause.]

Finally!

I started an Anniversary half-pi in January with the EZasPi Yahoo Group, and am finally done. The actual time spent knitting this wasn't very much, though I did sample a lot, playing with the permutations of arrow lace and chevrons.


I really like the Knitpicks Merino laceweight. I used two balls and a size 7 US needle. I washed the hanks of yarn before winding balls. The yarn behaved beautifully, didn't mind being frogged and re-knit, and the finished shawl is soft and feels nice around my shoulders. It has a very gentle drape and minimal body, definitely the opposite of the Icelandic I used for the Hyrna Herborgar.

My daughter chose the color and the stitch patterns, and frankly I'm not fond of lace knit from variegated yarns, but DD says it's perfect and the shawl is for her. Now that it's blocked, the striation is much stronger and there is also almost a shadow effect in the way the colors flow from solid to marl. I blocked it out to a 30-inch radius, not quite as far as I could have, but far enough that it feels delicate and the lace patterns are well-defined. It is surprisingly warm for being light as a feather.

I presented socks to my brother (the brown Regia mini-ringel pair) and aunt (the Knitpicks Vineyard pair) for their birthdays and his only needed a little tweak at the tip of one toe. My aunt has been doing quite a lot of knitting and we spent most of our visit talking about heels and gussets and shank shaping. The socks she was knitting from Ellen's Half Pint Farm yarn felt wonderful.

I cannot tell you how good it feels to make some headway on the list of projects. My eyes were bigger than my needles back in January! DD's Trekking socks will be finished tomorrow. It's too hot to resume working on the FLAK or CIT so I'll probably cast on one of the many scarves I need for holiday presents. I have some chartreuse yarn that will look good in a leaf pattern, though the Koigu mitts just need a little more work...