Knitting Increases

You want details, eh?

Here are the particulars on the WIPs in my last post:

The scarf for my aunt began life as 4 hanks of Classic Elite Sunlight color #5577, a gorgeous cotton rayon blend that I picked up at the previously mentioned LYS in, oh, about 1999. I bought 4 hanks and the store owner asked me what I was going to make with it. I told her I thought I would make a scarf for my cousin. The look she gave me told me that this yarn (which I was paying real money for) was meant for so much more. I took it home and fondled it and put it away and took it out and fondled it and put it away. When an aunt told me in January that she wanted a scarf for her dress coat, I just knew which yarn I wanted to use. It's a rather natural cotton with a nice shiny rayon ply, so I think it can go from more casual to dressy. Then I found the pattern in a booklet of...well...dishcloths. I just trimmed the width from 3 repeats to 2 and I really like the results.

But alas, I have run into a slight issue. I wound one ball and started knitting. One night I needed a little diversion, so I wound a second ball. When I joined the second ball days later, I noticed that the yarn felt lighter. I figured it was probably just a couple inches worth, but 3 inches into the scarf, it's still the same weight. So, I'll have to (hand) wind another of the hanks and switch, because I am not frogging over this. I'm not. Stop trying to tell me I'll like it better if I just do it right. I'm not ripping those rows out. I know all about the integrity of the garment if I just have the one join. Stop trying to convince me. I'm not going back! (Well, maybe...I mean it is a gift, after all.)

Before I bought the Sunlight, I purchased about 7 balls of Shepherd Aran by Cynthia Helene in Terracotta Kemp from the bargain bin at the same LYS. When quizzed about what these would turn into by the owner, I answered with "I'm not sure." (For those who are keeping score, this was apparently an acceptable answer.) And it has sat in the stash for nearly 7 years. As it turns out, the aunt for whom I am making the scarf has a daughter who is getting married later this month. In a weird moment of stream of conciousness while considering what I was going to wear to the wedding, I realized that the dress I was considering was of a similar color to Clementine in 25 Bags to Knit by Emma King. That led me to realize that I already owned un-spoken-for yarn of a similar color (albeit a completely different weight/fiber.) The kicker is that both the dress and the purse pattern have little flowers on them. Since I had so much of the stuff (a little foreshadowing here), I cared little about gauge and just went to it. I figured it would work up a little bigger than the bag in the book. But it's a purse and I'm a mom. More room's generally better anyway. Here's the purse so far (unblocked and no embroidery):



Anyway, I had about 5 balls left over and where the wedding is is likely to still be a little chilly at the end of the month, so I started thinking of a shrug. I came across a very simple pattern for one in the Spring/Summer '99 Family Circle Easy Knitting (p. 40.) The pattern calls for 2 strands of Lion Imagine plus 1 strand of Lion Chenille Sensations. So I actually (prepare yourself!) knit a gauge swatch and started on the math. And in a move that almost always spells disaster, I started to knit the shrug knowing that I was within 10 yards of enough. I cast on and frogged it 4 times because I was just that obsessed with getting to the end with enough yarn. Then I couldn't take the suspense and knit the thing by the end of the week. With just enough yarn to spare to sew it together. The collar piece doesn't look like it's going to block to the right measurements, so I'm putting off finishing it.

In the meantime, there's the garter stich of Mom's Muppet scarf.

posted by Kirsten @ 10:46 AM