Wonder what happens...#1
I finished the first shawl border but still need to do the other side. I’ve been thinking about picking up stitches - there are 200+ and that’s what I did on the first side - picked up all 200+ on one looooooooog circular needle. But I’ve been wondering if there’s another way to go about this that might make working things a bit easier.
I’m thinking it would require the use of 2 strands of yarn: one to pick up the stitches with and one to work them with. You’d use an appropriately sized DPN and pick up, say, 24 stitches. Then place a point protector on the back end. Attach the second strand of yarn, the working yarn, and begin working at the other end. When you’ve worked through those 24 stitches, remove the point protector from the needle holding your picked up stitches and pick up another 24 - or whatever number is convenient for yo to work with. Re-cap the pick-up end of the needle and go back to the other end to continue with your border.
Does that sound like it would work? I’m probably going to give it a try this afternoon. That big, honking circular is a lifesaver if it’s your only option, but that sucker sure is unwieldy :) I’ll keep you posted…
Wonder what happens...#2
I’ve also, I admit, become a little obsessed (Who? Me?) with the shawl’s border lace pattern. An idea occurred to me night before last which I worked on off and on yesterday. It seemed like a good idea, having gotten my Dulaan 2007 stuff mailed out, to get a start on my Dulaan 2008 stuff.
What I was wondering about was taking the stitch pattern (in the modified form that I’m using on the shawl), mirroring it and using the result as a scarf. This is what I got:
The pattern is below. Please forgive me for not providing a chart :)
Cast on 30 stitches
1. P5, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, sssk, yo, k8, yo, k3tog, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, p5.
2. (and all even rows) Purl.
3. P5, k1, yo, k3, yo, k1, sssk, yo, k6, yo, k3tog, k1, yo, k3, yo, k1, p5.
5. P5, k1, yo, k5, yo, k1, sssk, yo, k4, yo, k3tog, k1, yo, k5, yo, k1, p5.
7. P5, k1, yo, k7, yo, k1, sssk, yo, k2, yo, k3tog, k1, yo, k7, yo, k1, p5.
9. P5, ssk, yo, k1, sssk, yo, k16, yo, k3tog, k1, yo, k2tog, p5.
11. P5, ssk, yo, k1, sssk, yo, k14, yo, k3tog, k1, yo, k2tog, p5.
13. P5, ssk, yo, k1, sssk, yo, k12, yo, k3tog, k1, yo, k2tog, p5.
15. P5, ssk, yo, k1, sssk, yo, k10, yo, k3tog, k1, yo, k2tog, p5.
16. Purl.
Repeat rowa 1-16 for pattern.
Wonder what happens...#3
Some of you may have seen these photos before but I am reposting them for commenter Opal over at The Akami Knitter, herself the companion of a black cat, who wondered about Jade :)
Hmmmm...
GOTCHA!!!
Mom? This tastes funny...
Happy Wednesday!
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too cute, that cat! :0)
Nat - She’s a riot and currently in my lap - wondering why I’m typing while she’s trying to sleep…
i’m running as fast as i can and i will NEVER catch up with your thinking!!! i have a vision of your brain filled with happy little elves in many compartments each one working busily on a project and saying ‘hmmmm?’
love that scarf idea-
love the cat too- cheddar and smog send hellos-
stay happy-
Very cute! LOL, LOVE THE PICTURE ON YOUR SIDEBAR!!!
For your border: you might have a look at some patterns for Shetland style shawls. They are frequently have a central square, sides sewn on, and the the border knitted on.
You will swatch it, won’t you?
Barb - It’s not bad enough I have bats in my belfry - you have to populate it with elves too?
Humph :)
My two deliquents send their catty regards to yours!
Adrienne - Thanks a bunch :) It’s an old picture, but one of my favorites - so serene!
Amaryllis - I’m not sure I understand - I have picked a border lace pattern and swatched it several times. If you mean the attempt at a new technique, rest assured I’ll be careful! I’ve put too much time into this project not to proceed with caution :)
LOL! I adore the pictures of Jade! Thanks so much for sharing. :-D
Robbyn: when you say you picked up 200 st. on a loong cable, I then think of you working long rows baack and foorth. So when you say “pick up say 24 st” I don’t quite get you.
In the Shetland style I referred to, if the border is 14 st. you knit 13 and then do the last st. to join to the main part. Sort of like 3 needle bind-off. And my concern is that, if that’s what you were thinking of, isn’t it going to change the grain of your work? Aren’t the second border st. going to be going the other way? I’m confused.
Opal - My pleasure - she’s a hot ticket, that Jade :)
Amaryllis - Aha! I see why we were both confused :)
I did indeed pick up the 200+ stitches for the border and then cast on the number of stitches I needed for the pattern. The border was then worked back and forth, perpendicularly to the shawl. One picked up stitch was eaten up by a p2tog on every return row.
This might have been a simpler procedure if I had been making the shawl top-down and from the center out. With that techinque, you have all the side stitches on the needle already and only have to cast on a few for your border pattern.
This shawl was made top-down, but not in an additive fashion - that is, by increasing a certain number of stitches on every right-side row. In this case, the total number of stitches needed for the top span were cast on and things were decreased down from there. SO the sides of the shawl had no live stitches to work from and stitches had to be picked up so the border could be worked on to them.
Does that help?
I think I see Robbyn. But my Shetland shawls don’t have live stitches on the sides for the border ... Doesn’t matter. As long as you are happy with the result.
Thank you for providing the pattern for the scarf. It is so pretty. I love your shawl, too. 
Lydia - I’m glad you like it and hope you find it useful :)
