Porom.....

So, it's been a while since I have managed to co-ordinate me, a camera, someone to take a photo and some half decent weather into the same place at the same time!

But anyway, my new favourite hat is definatly porom!

Now, you'll notice that I didn't manage to co-ordinate a good hair day as well, but I'm trying not to be too picky!

Some finished object statistics:

Pattern - Porom from Brooklyntweed

Yarn - Fyberspates Scrumptious DK

Needles - 3.75 and 4.5mm Knitpicks Options

Alterations - First, because I had enough yarn, I knit 6" of pattern before starting the decreases. The hat looked ridiculous (but quite amusing if worn in the Henry VIII fashion). So I frogged and made it 5.5", but that still was a bit large, and eventually found that 5" produced an acceptable amount of slouch. I must have a very small volumed head, not that I have ever noticed before.

I love the hat though, I can wear it and it doesn't squash my hair. In a not so flattering look, it covers my ears when it is really cold. It lives in my handbag and is always available should the weather take a turn for the colder - by the time these photos had been taken I had been wearing it/ carrying it round for a good couple of years and the yarn is holding up well.

Not so instant

Ok - so knitting my Porom only took me 2 days.

Getting round to blocking it took another, and then because it went all cold and wet it took 3 days to dry.

And then I found out that even though the gauge was right, I obviously have a very small head. Wearing it slouchy was just silly, though my husband put it on and then spent a very amusing evening doing Henry VIII impressions.

So I frogged it and made is shorter (by about and inch) than indicated by the pattern, and it was still a bit big. Still too big, but definatly an improvement. So I frogged it again, and made it another half an inch shorter and this time the pre-blocking tryout indicates that I might just get the right amount of slouch. At least it might look something like the picures tell me!

On the plus side, the yarn is standing up very well to frogging, considering it is a very loosely spun singe, and the pattern is dead easy to remember by the time you have already knit it twice.

Coraline is also progressing - I have added waist shaping (to give me something to measure progress as much as for aesthetic reasons) and have stopped knitting to do the sleeves. I decreased 4 stitches in a row, every 8 rows 5 times, and then increased back up to the origional stitch count.

I am about 4" down the first one, and it is going slowly. At this point I need to pause and consider if I really want to have puffy sleeves, or something a bit more shaped, and that all ties in with how I am going to finish off the bottom of the body and it is all too much of a decision.

Options are:

1 - Continue sleeves puffy, knit the bottom as in the pattern (i.e. knit some extra length and fold over, whip stitching onto the inside). Like in this great example made out of gorgeous posh yarn.

2 - Add some decreases to the sleeves, so they have a bit of ease but not that much at the bottom, so a garterstitch border to both the sleeves and body. Like the border on this...

3 - As per option 2 but doing the foldy over hem at the bottom of the sleeves and the body. Like this....

4 - Something really clever that I haven't managed to think of yet (but definatly not having 3/4 length sleeves).

All the above links are to Ravelry - if you don't have an account then get one, it's great.

I am currently leaning towards option 2, it's nice and easy, gives a good edge and will I think look better on me than having puffy sleeves.

Distractions

So - Coraline is progressing well, the yoke is nearly done, but it's seeming to take a very long time to knit and I need somthing a little bit more instant as well.

Last weekend I was down in Edinburgh staying with a friend, and managed to fit in a trip to K1. This shop is small, but we a lovely selection of stuff and so of course I was tempted. They also serve tea, which is delicious (Apple loves Ginger was a total winner). A lot of what I bought is desitned to be christmas presents, but I did sneak in a skein of Scrumptious DK from Fyberspates in a lovely shade called electric blue, thinking along the lines of a hat or maybe neckwarmer for me at some point. The yarn is a very loosely spun silk/merino mix, so strokeably soft and shiny that I wound it into a ball just for the excuse of being able to fondle it a bit more.

Then when a few days later Brooklyntweed published his pattern Porom, I was totally inspired and cast on and wound the yarn.

A couple of hours later and I have already made visible progress.

I cast on using an old pair of addi turbo lace needles that I haven't used for a while, and compared to my Knitpicks the cables are so stiff. I was glad to be able to change after the first 1.5" of ribbing. I am now seriously considering a set of harmonies just to keep all my metal tips company!

Anyway, off to knit some more.....

On Making Life HARD

OK, if you want to add some complications to your life take one perfectly clear, well written pattern and instead of just getting on and knitting it, decide to do it upside down. I am proceeding thus with my Coraline.

The main reason for knitting top down, is that I am really unsure if I have enough yarn. I am also a bit off on the row gauge, so want to be able to block and try on as I am going along.

In between time, I have realised that there is a fairly significant colour difference between some of my skeins. Of course I realised this when I had done the first swap, so that meant ripping out back to the start again. It was worth it in the end though....

I think I have cracked the yoke now though - and if anyone else is thinking about doing this here are some notes on what I have done.....

Cast on - I used the cast on described for the sleeves for the top of the neck. The pattern tells you how many stitches are left before the cast off, and I picked up 6 fewer than this along the I-cord, with the 3 stitches of the I-cord at each end making up the rest. The result is nice and neat and clean!

Smock 2 together - for the upside down of smock2tog, (I guess you could call it smock increase) I have been doing the following: purl up to the knit stitch, make on by knitting into purl loop at the back of the stitch below, slip the knit stitch onto the left hand needle, wrap the yarn round both stitches, slip both stitches back onto the right hand needle and then knit them. All other increases were worked in the same manner (either purling or knitting into the stitch below to the left or right depending on the location of the increase)

Short row shaping round the neck - the pattern has row by row stitch counts, so it is easy to work out how many repeats of the first set of smock increases you need. I needed 10 (worked out by looking at how stitches are decreased on the last row) and marked these out with stitch markers. I worked the first set of short rows to just beyond the stitch markers, the second 1 repeat beyond this and the third 2 repeat beyond this, with the wrap and turns placed in the reverse stockinette stretches.

The rest of the pattern is fairly easy to knit by just following the instructions backwards!

Re-discovered Enthusiasm!

It is amazing how much knitting I suddenly got done when there was a dealine. Entering the Ravelympics was a stroke of genius that gave a new sense of purpose to everything. Up until that point, I had been picking up my Tangled Yoke every couple of days and half heartedly knitting a few rows, but there was no exitement to the process. It was just something I did every so often, there was no exitment, no urge to finish and find out if the final product matched expectations. It was lovely that, for once, the final product exceeded all reasonable hope andturned out to be lovely.

My Tangled Yoke cardigan is still wonderful; the most wearable thing I have made ever. I have been wearing it a lot of the time since it was finished, and it is holding up fantastically. It hasn't stretched, it hasn't gone saggy, it still fits. I might reinforce the button and neckband with a bit of ribbon to give it a little bit more stability, thoughthat is a long way down on the list of things I might do one day given infinite time and resources.

The Flutter scarf for my Mum is also lovely, and I have bravely resisted wearing it so far. The colours are so bright and clear and lovely - the photos in the last post were a little bleached by the sun (but hey, when the sun shines I'm not going to complain). I have bought some lovely tissue paper and tonight I am going to parcel it up ready for taking it to her next weekend so that the temptation is removed; though I'm not sure how to fold those lovely flutters.

So after those frantic 2 weeks of focus, I floudered to a complete halt. What was I going to knit next? I thought about picking up my holiday cardigan again, but I need to design the sleeves and the thought of sleeve cap maths makes my brain hurt. I have got it out again though and next time I have a quiet couple of hours I will do said maths and start the knitting again.

So I spent a bit of time surfing things to make that are going to be nice and versatile with a growing bump, but still be wearable thereafter. The two options that I favoured were Coraline and the ever so popular February Lady Sweater. As I am uninspired by yarn shopping at the moment, I cast through the stash and found a big pile of this:

That's Shilasdair Luxury Dk, and it appears that I have 520g of it. It's lovely, a sort of slatey french blue that is so nearly grey and the blend of cashmere, angora and lambswool is soft and quite drapey but still feels remarkably durable. Given that the website claims 300m/100g,there should be just enough to make a Coraline, though it is going to be a very close run thing. I am seriously going to look into the possiblity of knitting this top down because I'm not sure that sort of exitement is good for my nerves.

Swatches have been knit, both on 3.5mm (felt quite stiff and sturdy) and4mm (more drape) and have been blocked. The gauge is just about right in the 4mm swatch, and so I am going to start soon!

Finished Photos!

So there was a brief window where the sun came out this afternoon, and we grabbed a few photos of my flutter scarf.

Vital details:

Pattern - Flutter Scarf from Mimknits

Yarn - Posh Yarn Eva 4ply, about 160g. This yarn is divine - it is soft and at this gauge drapes fantastically. It also smells of really lovely woodsmoke! My mum chose the colours when we were at Wonderwool Wales earlier this year.

Needles - 3.25mm Knitpicks circulars

Modifications - I did some extra repeats of the main pattern, a total of 130 instead of the 100 directed in the pattern. I had enough yarn so thought I might as well.

This photo is the most accurate of the colours. A glorious blend of reds, apricot, greens, sunshine yellow, brick, purple.

I love this combination of yarn and pattern. The wide blocks of stockinette (9 stitches) show the variation of the colours beautifully. The simple lace panels and the elegant flutters at the bottom of the scarf lift it from a plain knit to something that is graceful and elegant and interesting. It is the perfect sort of pattern for this sort of yarn, as I think all that fantastic colour blending would be lost in a more complicated lace affair.

And it's a nice quick (took me 2 weeks of not that dedicated knitting) to finish and I think my mum is going to love it! For once I am finished a whole 3 weeks ahead of time rather than frantically trying to dry the thing in time to send it off.

Mmmmm - blueberries

Well - it's the end of the olympics, and I have managed to finish both my intended projects. My Flutter scarf is now blocking, and I still need to darn in the ends, but is dark and all the photos were dismal failures.

Today I was distracted from knitting. In fact, at the moment I am in a sort of between projects quandry. Inspired by the success of my Tangled Yoke (which I wore the whole time I was on holiday and it was much admired - I love it) I want to make more cardigans. The two I am having a dilemma about are either Coraline by Ysolda, or the very famous February Lady Sweater. Both in a style I wouldn't normally choose, neither of which I have the right yarn for. I have enough yarn for a couple of things but I need to design them first. Sigh. Not feeling that mathematical at the moment.

But anyway, the distraction for today was:

We went to our favourite blueberry picking spot, and managed to collect 1.65 kg, before the midges got the better of us and we were driven away. There were LOADS of blueberries, they were big and juicy for scottish hill ones as well. All the rain we have been having recently must have had a good effect on them. It astounds me that no-one else seems to have picked them. We didn't wander more than about 5m from the path up a fairly popluar hill, and we didn't get more than 15 minutes walk from the car part. One woman even stopped to ask us what we were picking (urr, hello, have you not been to the fruit and veg section of your supermarket recently??) and was astounded to hear our plans.

A bit of boiling later, with the help of lots of added sugar, and we had jam!

I can now hear the sound of all the lids popping as the vacuum forms, and it is very satisfying. We need to find a source of more jam jars, because our reccy of the best blackberry spot shows that there are going to be lots and lots in a week or two, and I haven't had bramble jelly for years!