Monday, May 22, 2006

Tangy, Little Cardigan

I got the second Japanese Feather sock done to the heel flap.  I started that and got a few rows in before remembering I had used a different number of stitches on the fist sock.  Er....  It’s not bad, just matter of frogging a few rows, adjusting the stitch count and presto!

The shawl is still the shawl - except that I have something unexpected to try for edging.  It’s a cabled, I-cord bind-off and I found it at See Eunny Knit.  Would that not be an awesome looking edge?  I haven’t tried it yet because I don’t want to practice this on the shawl so I need to work up a swatch to practice on!  And I haven’t done that yet because when I sit down, several projects cry out for finishing - like the socks and the hood :) But I’ll get there eventually - it’s too neat a possibility not to try :)

I did also get started on the baby cardigan I mentioned last Friday.  In fact I got the back done yesterday.

I just love Flash - it works up so nicely and glows like a bowl full of jewels.  However, I hadn’t thought about how different the yarn the pattern was written for (fuzzy, cotton chenille) and the yarn I’m using (smooth, mercerized cotton) were.  The pattern calls for a size 6 needle and a gauge of 4 stitches/inch.  That might be perfectly do-able with the chenille but the Flash wasn’t having any.  Adjustments were made.  I went up to a size 7 needle and made a conscious effort to keep my work relaxed (a good idea when you’re knitting with cotton anyways!) and that did the trick.  In addition, it made working the decorative rows less of an ordeal that it might otherwise have been.





This was, I thought, very clever and not tricky at all.  Using the contrast color, increases are made in every other stitch of the row.  The alternate stitches are slipped.  On the return row, the increase stitches are knit together through the back and the alternate stitches are slipped again.  Then, using the main color, 2 rows of stockinette are done.  The next pass is offset, and the third pass repeats the first.  I really like the way it looks - neat and attractive but not bulky!





The main color yarn is a marl; there are three strands to its composition.  In this case, two strands are a slightly orangey gold and one is a bright lemon yellow.  I debated for a while about whether to use green or orange for the contrast color.  I decided to go with the green solid and I think it works well with the green tones in the lemon yellow.  I think orange would have been a suitable trim color also.  In any case, the little one wearing this is going to look like they were picked from a citrus tree :)

Now to work up a swatch for the I-cord, cable bind-off.  I wonder how elaborate you could make the cables, so long as they didn’t get too wide?  Hmmmm…

Hope you all had marvelous weekends and that your Mondays don’t go too badly!

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1. Those swatches look great. I’ve just learnt how to do an i cord bind off (absolute genius!) so I’m very tempted by Eunny’s cable version as well.

   Posted by Abi  on  05/22  at  10:16 AM
   Location : London, UK



2. Abi - I can’t wait to see what it looks like!  What a brilliant idea :) That Eunny’s a clever girl.

   Posted by Robbyn  on  05/22  at  10:33 AM
   Location : ...recovering from the exercize bike!



3. I can see the wheels going in your mind, Robbyn, faced with that cable.  :)

   My designing has been put to the side in favor of sewing and Christmas gifts.  (And a lack of solid weight sock yarn.  A trip to LYS is in order...)

   Posted by Colleen  on  05/22  at  11:05 AM
   Location : boss is on vacation!



4. Colleen - Yup!  Wheels turning and smoke pouring out my ears :)

   Posted by Robbyn  on  05/22  at  11:36 AM
   Location : ...recovering from the exercize bike!

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