COMPLETE: Vest for Mom's mom.

My last remaining grandparent came down to visit for a time last year.  In the midst of the hottest part of the summer, Gran requested that I knit a vest for her to help keep warm.  Off to the shop to start the gears turning...

Gran wanted something that would work well with black & brown & khaki & white & cream & all of the other fairly neutral colors that make up her winter wardrobe.  But she also wanted to make sure that it had enough punch to "bring some color up to my face.  Not too much, but just a little."

I pointed her toward the Noro yarn for their color options.  Lots of variety with long color repeats & occasional flashes of bolder color.  We decided on a Kureyon with brown, black, red, yellow, & a pink/purple.  With the advent of changing colors, it was impressed upon me that vertical stripes would be necessary, as they'd be more slimming.  She selected the pink buttons for closure, allowed me to take some measurements & whirled back to Tennessee.

Given that I was to make a vertically striped vest for an A-framed body, I was generally left to my own devices for a pattern.  I took the general form of the Navajo vest from Folk Vests by Interweave Press, modified it to fit my gauge, tinkered with the slope of the V-neck, & sallied forth.

Left half of the vest just before first dart graft

Working from the center front around the sides to the back allowed me to match up color repeats at the center front.  It being Noro, running out of one skein meant hunting through the remaining skeins to find a similar point in the color repeat.

While I was fairly sure of my measurements, I'd rather a fitting to ensure things were going well before finishing up everything.  I didn't see Gran again until just after Christmas, but the fitting went well.  Since the gap between the two pieces was in the back, I could take the time needed to sort out proper proportions for the darts without worrying about Gran obsessing over the large wedge of non-fit pointing up to her waist line.

Once I knew exactly how many inches of fabric I needed to add to the lower half: calculations, a deep breath, & "sweater surgery."

First, sort out exactly how much fabric needed to be added, divide it across two smaller front darts and a single large dart in the back.  Snip a single point in a single row of knitting, then unravel that single row & place both sides on separate needles.  With yarn the approximate color of the hole you opened, use short rows to make the appropriate wedge, then graft together the new wedge & the old edge.

A bit of a gap remained at the top edge of the wedge & the original knit that surrounded it.  A minor amount of sewing sealed this gap shut.

Next came the larger short row sections at the back waist, and finally the longest Kitchener graft I have ever done on a single project.  Mattress stitch the shoulders together for good measure.  Finally, the main body of the vest was complete.

Pick up stitches proportionately around the bottom edge, a multiple of 4 + 2.  Work in 2x2 rib for an inch, then bind off all stitches with a Chain Gang to make sure the bind off is loose enough.

Next comes the button band. Pick up stitches along the bottom rib edge, undo the provisional cast on & knit across it, pick up stitches around the V-neck to the other provisional cast on, knit across those newly released stitches, & pick up the few stitches of the other bottom edge rib.

Count your stitches, making sure your numbers are fairly balanced on each half.  Set up a 2x2 rib on the way back across, manipulating as necessary to get a multiple of 4 + 2 stitches.  Bounce back & forth from end to end, building up the band to hold the vest together.

Toss in a single short row the length of the button hole side to give it a bit more breadth.  Work your buttonholes in one row, bounce back from the button side again, add another short row.  Chain Gang bind off, then get going on the ribbing for the armholes.

Organize your remaining lengths & scraps & chunks of yarn into the most reasonable approximation of color flow, then commence, spit-splicing as you go.  Chain Gang bind off, steam to block, affix buttons, MAIL THAT SUCKER.

 Smile when Gran calls to say she got the package in the mail.  Smile bigger when Gran calls back three days later to say that the ladies at bridge club really liked it & had some questions about how you made it.

Realignment

I've been using individual Ravelry projects like my blog.
While that's kind of the same thing?  It's really not.
Trying to get my head space properly aligned...

Further Down the Rabbit Hole

Upon completion of the Danish Sea Shawl, I started seeing how small variables affected the outcome.  Changing up at the 1/3 point can do that for you, yanno?  On speaking with a customer at the shop that's larger than I am, we discussed how she sought a shawl that had more front-coverage than the typical flat-edged shawl.  All I could do was to (1) tell her I may have a solution, (2) offer her the Danish Sea Shawl, (3) doodle for her the full-Danish option, (5) ask her to come back after the 2nd shawl had been completed.

Almost side-by-side shots of both shawls being worn (by me) to follow. (At the smallest iteration of photo blogspot will allow me, they're still too wide to fit next to each other.  And I'm really not feeling a bout with PhotoShop at this time of night.  Maybe later... Problem fixed by tinkering with blog dimensions jan2011.)

For some reason, both shawls sit lower in the photo than they normally do.  Generally the blue shawl sits so that the edges are a 1/2 inch below the black band of my tank top.  With wear, the green shawl tries to climb up my shoulders so that there's a bit of a roll of fabric near the neckline.  It took a good tug outside both shoulders & then at the tip of the bottom to get it to sit perfectly like that.

Anyway, right off the bat, you can see that the neckline of the blue is more open than that of the green.  That comes from the accidental batch of slower increases at the center/beginning of the blue shawl.  The next shawl won't be quite as wide as that, but you get the idea of what I'm going for.  The stripes on the green shawl come from the alternation between yarns.  The single skein of CashSilk created the top triangle on the blue shawl.

In the last post, I referred to the green shawl as the "RealTree Camo Wind Armor".  If you've known a southern hunter within the last decade or so, you know what I'm referring to.  If you don't, "RealTree" is the brand name of a specific kind of camoflauge that uses a print that looks like, well, real trees.

It's not the awkward blotches of old school military forest camoflauge, but a more highly patterned print that ostensibly breaks up the visual field allowing blahblahblaBLAHblahblaaarg.  You get the point.  It's a name brand camoflauge that markets to humans, not to deer.  But it seems to be fairly effective against a background of Eleagnus bushes...

The "Wind Armor" part comes from the fact that the whole thing was knit with DK to worsted weight yarns held double on (mostly) a size 9 needle.  It's practically thick enough to stand up on it's own, and works well as a shield against the autumn wind generated by riding around the Lowcountry in a convertible.

Being a single, my spare bed isn't large enough for me to get a good single shot of the shawl spread out over a neutral background, so I offer you a slightly curled photo...

Here you can see how it curls up into a more heart-like outline.  The tie-cords were again crocheted chains braided together then knotted at the end.

Next up on the shawl docket will most likely be a brown shawl made of my mother's frogged Moebius.  She initially wanted something that looked like a fur, and the buttonholes *totally* wrecked the effect.  After trying on both the blue & the green, she OK'd a re-work of my first shawl for her.

Until then, I work on projects to send to Kitty.

In Shawl Insanity

So last winter, I went to visit Kitty & Arne in Eckernfoerde.  In the process, I birthed the Twin Monstrosities of Awesome that are my red leggings.  Because I needed something to wear for the cold, right?  I also took over a suitcase literally half-filled with an explosion of color in the form of warmth-giving expressions of Love.  (Which makes more sense if you know how awkward I am about showing affection.)

A few years ago, I came to the realization that my brain doesn't generate "Art" as most people perceive it.  In my head, Beauty has true value only if it has at least some form of Utility.  Sometimes the utility may lie simply in the mathematical acrobatics necessary to make it happen.  But if you can start with aiming at creation of a tool, start running up the hill of mental ninja skillz, and end with several examples of Woolen Math Gone Awesome?  It's deserving of a ::happydance::, to say the least.

So asking Kitty what sort of things would work well for her, she mentioned coming across some examples of traditional Danish tie shawls.  Lust auf Farben has some fantastic photos of them.  (Check out "STR 11" specifically.)  Those feature what looks like an I-cord edging & braided ties.

Now, I could have just bought the pattern & sorted it out from there, right? ::ahem::  Yeah.  Right.  Instead, I had to sit down with a similar garter-stitch shawl at the shop, pore over the photos & links to every pattern that Ravelry offered up in return for "danish shawl", & then try to determine the best-fit method of getting what I wanted.  One month & over 2000 yards of project-specific yarn later, I have some Good Sh*t to show for it.

First came the Danish Sea Shawl (say *that* three times fast) in blues.  I had found 660 yards of run-of-the-mill blue variegated worsted wool for deal so obnoxiously good that I momentarily ignored the fact that I work for a yarn shop.  I mean, it's a test-drive, right?  That's going to be sent overseas, right?  I already knew I'd be keeping it out of the shop, since the yarn came from elsewhere, but on top of that, it was going to be almost half a mile of garter stitch.  Optimal set of circumstances for drunken/TV knitting.

Hand-winding said worsted wool, I realized that being cheap wool, it felt like... well, cheap wool.  But it's blue...  Rooting around in the wooden blue bin, I found not only a single skein of periwinkle Laines du Nord CashSilk (69 yeards), but later what appeared to be a skein & a half of sky-blue Rowan KidSilk Haze.  Looking back, these made up part of my original Ravatar, so they've been living in my house rent-free for at least 2 years now.  ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Beginning to Bust the Stash. 

As I powered through the end of the CashSilk, I found the KidSilk & started carrying it along.  When the good stuff ran out, I picked up the worsted wool in its place & kept going with the mohair.  At the point of that first picture, I began to realize that I wasn't increasing fast enough.  As it was, I'd end up with a flat-top shawl, & I needed a curly-tipped shawl.  Time to up the ante, and there's no point in turning back now: just start increasing more.

Spread out over 4+ circs to see the shape-in-progress

I had been increasing 4 times every 2nd row (1x on the edge, 2x in the center, 1x on the other edge, knit back even).  Kicking it into overdrive meant 6 times every 2nd row: (2x on the edge, 2x in the center, 2x on the far edge, knit back even).  Here in the 2nd picture, you can kind of see the kink where the super-increases start.

The back of my head encouraged me to put other markers in my work, so when I realized that I was about to run out of the first 220 yard skein of variegated blue yarn, I held along a strand of pale blue Ruca from Aracaunia.  That didn't use all of the scrap that I had, so I did it again at the end of my second skein of 220 yards.  Which is nice, because I have a good visual on where what will end where for later.  Notice the near-halving of the vertical length generated per skein.

As I was trucking along, I got BORED.  Wanting it to go faster, I started using larger & larger needles.  8 to 9 to 10 to 11.  Mostly one per skein.  And as I started to get toward the end, I got to worrying about the bind-off.  As it is, I'm a tight knitter, and my bind-offs are worse.  I've already had problems with a piece being unwearable because of the bind-off alone, so I needed a plan.

Picot edge bind off gave me the stretchiness I needed while giving a nice finished edge.  It sucked up all kinds of yarn, since it involved casting on 2 stitches, then binding off 4 stitches.

With the bitty bit of yarn leftover, I crocheted chains that were later braided together to make the ties.  The end results measure about 10" long, with the trailing tails braided as well on one side for additional length.

Getting a picture of me in my shawl without putting myself in the position of needing to do an hour or two of thorough cleaning is a fair task.  I've got to post on the RealTree Camo Wind Armor shawl, so I'll see what I can get together when that comes around.

September Shoulders in...

Suddenly, Dragon*Con looms again on the near horizon.  Knitting projects smile at the frenzied bouts of costume tinkering, churning into completion.

The shop founder (Gay) made it back from the mountains, so expect chaos at the shop over the next few days.  She's making decisions now as to what's going to be on sale over Labor Day weekend, so come in early to see what we've got to offer.  Brianna & Dana did a *fantastic* job of color coordinating the yarn.  The Koigu wall is particularly striking (though won't be included in the sale).

The Kollage Yarn KAL is coming along well, with progress steadily being made.  September's model has also been completed & is hanging over the register if you want a closer look!

Triumph came in completing the Featherweight Cardigan by knitbot.  Because I cannot seem to work a pattern as written, I chose to work it in Malabrigo Sock yarn, using 3 skeins of Lettuce (#37).

Only one catch in the process, and that was when I didn't pay attention as I was picking the sleeves back up.  The first tour through, the sleeves were *huge*, at least 13 stitches too big.  So after a bit of letting the project think about what it had done, I frogged back & reworked the sleeves.  Huge improvement & lots of happiness abounding...

The Not-So-Featherweight sweater hangs at the shop near the buttons if you'd like to see how it turned out..

August also saw me starting the Vest vest for Mother's mother.  Using a handful of measurements taken earlier in the summer, I'm using Noro Kureyon to work a modified version of the Dineh Blanket Vest from "Folk Vests" put out by Interweave Press.

The fair-isle has been ditched, as it would only detract from the color play of the Noro.  And I've decided to work the pattern in reverse from the front to the back to make it assuredly symmetrical on the fronts.  If the back gets a bit off, it's not as big of a deal...

Here's a look at the first photo taken:

Kollage Knit Kit KAL with the shop

Part of the funding for my projects previously posted comes from working with Knit on Wentworth Street downtown.  Apart from teaching classes & working the occasional shift, I spend a good amount of time at the shop with Gay & her new partner Fay.

Recently, I was elected in absentia to be the lead on the shop's newest project.  On Wednesdays, we will be doing a Knit-A-Long with Kollage Yarns.

The store has ordered several kits in a variety of colors and will be giving them out on a first-come-first-served basis.  The related classes will be held on Wednesday mornings from 10-12noon and Wednesday evenings from 5-7pm.

August's project is a Cable Hat & Cowl done in a new yarn called Glisten... 70% alpaca, 20% silk, and 5% bling (a.k.a. Estillina).

Get in touch with the shop to join in.  It's a great way to get a head-start on Christmas projects, as well as a way to test-drive some new techniques!

A Plethora of Projects

Still sorting out posting of patterns.  One or two free ones will go up here, but I haven't yet sorted out how to post a pdf for proper presentation for Ravelry.  But that can wait.

In the mean time, I've been sorting out a number of projects.

A bit more progress on the Viney Vine, though no where near what I want it to be. More leaves need to happen, but in the interim, I've found a few other small projects to keep me occupied.  So the vine slumbers in waiting...

Our regular Wednes- day night Stitch 'N' Bitch did Market Bags through the month of May as a group project.  I did one for the shop, then one for a cousin getting married this weekend...  Good stuff.



The shop's Summer Chevrons got finished!  A single skein of Araucania's Ruca turned into 4 strips of the scarf.  And my final photo got selected for the project's main Ravelry picture!!

Then came the short row circles.  I found a single sheet pattern by Sarah James that gave instructions for a circular potholder.  After the first strict following of the pattern, I turned to a few modifications.  The original double-layered blue interpretation was done of Katia Tobago.


Subsequent iterations were done in Cascade's Pima Silk: a single layer with a single crochet border topped by the picot edging from the top "Intolerable Cruelty" from Romantic Handknits.

 With the completion of the Marriage Market Bag (the brown & coral seen above), as well as another potholder and two washcloths, I found myself staring down the barrel of a pant-load of coral colored pima cotton.  With a size D crochet hook at hand and lingering echoes of the Crochet Coral Reef dancing in my head.  

After a bit of searching for the original paper behind the mathe- matics and an intriguing post on a foundation single crochet method by futuregirl's craft blog, I started out on an exploratory adventure.  And ended up with:

 Finally, the awakened project that has been filling in the cracks of consciousness of late.  More fishies.  MOAR FISHIES.

Over a year ago, I began making tessel- ating fishes created by Knitting Arrow.  A few bouts of hibernation later & I find myself compelled to use up various bits of ends & tails.  The count is now up to 59 of the approximate 200 needed to make a reasonably sized afghan...