I knit a dress. I did not plan on knitting a dress, but at TNNA in January, Sarah and I stopped at the Vogue Knitting booth and were immediately thrown into a "shopping" session of garments from the Winter 09/10 issue.

I just fell in love with this dress and the fit. I loved the design when I saw it in the magazine, but I was skeptical of how it would look on my body type. I was so pleased to realize that it actually was a good silhouette for me. Of course I had to put my own touch on it and knit it in blues.


Pattern:     Vogue Knitting, Winter 2009/10, #04 Fair Isle Tunic by Jean Moss
Yarn:          Cascade 220 Superwash, 5 sks #856 Aporto, 1sk each of #811 Como Blue, #817 Aran,
                  #1910 Sky Blue
Needles:    US 6 (4.0 mm), US 7 (4.5 mm)

Thank you Jean Moss for this beautiful design!





Author: bluegirl -  Visits: 177Comments: 3

To get to the question, we must first explore the reason for it's asking. The reason- A Cardigan for Arwen, by Kate Gilbert, which I started knitting in December of 2008. I had many roadblocks with this most beautiful design, which included:       

1. 6 sks of Malabrigo in one dye lot and 1 sk of Malabrigo in another very different looking dye lot. Good Job Yarn Shopper!

2. Pooling of the above mentioned Malabrigo, which resulted in using 2 or 3 sks at one time in order to keep the colors from pooling.

3. Tendonitis in the wrists, which got really bad while working the reversible cables, which are basically worked everywhere except the back.

4. Tons and tons of seaming, which I absolutely do not love. I have come to accept it as part of knitting, but I do dread it.

1, 2, 3, and 4 resulted in my cardigan being stuffed back into the project bag repeatedly and shoved in a corner to be forgotten. Well, not forgotten as it was sitting up there in my WIPs on Ravelry. Every time I logged on, I would see it up there and cringe and then quickly move on to something else.

For some reason in November of 2009 I decided that I was not going to let myself start any more sweaters until Arwen was complete. I have had to use this motivational tool several times over the years and find it very effective, as I am relatively compulsive. I dealt with the dye lot issue by blending the very light skein with a darker one and knitting 2 rows of one and 2 rows of the other on the back. I continued this technique, sometimes adding a 3rd skein to deal with the pooling issue. I got mancake to give me massages for my wrists and arms in order to work through the cables and then bam, I was done with all my pieces and the seaming was upon me. I started looking at how this whole sweater was going to go together and realized that the seaming was just not going to be fun. I am a knitter, who still thinks knitting is supposed to be fun!

Kate Gilbert designed Arwen so that the cables running up the front and the cables on the sleeve could be worked on the same rows by having the knitter cast on sts for the sleeve and work short rows for shaping the shoulder. The knitter then binds off the sts for the sleeve and works up the hood. Seaming sts end to end, one side from a cast on edge and one side from a bind off edge takes a lot of patience and can end up looking just awful if you are not diligent about it.

So, back to the question of why? Why is it that after I finished knitting this most beautiful sweater did I decide to go onto Ravelry and read all the fantastic notes that knitters before me had posted up about their experiences and ideas for knitting this sweater with less seaming? As a knitwear designer, I have come to appreciate how the knitters of the world can take what you have put out there and come up with some fantastic ideas for different ways to knit a design or enhance something about your design. I am not offended by this at all. I think it is flattering to see that someone has been inspired enough by your design to try something different and perhaps enhance it or modify it in a way that works for them. I also know that sometimes with magazine deadlines, you just do not have time to think through all the different combinations of how to create something, so I really appreciate the constructive comments and ideas that are shared.

So back to the why? I think it has something to do with my desire to just get it done! I am a finished goods knitter. I am not a process knitter- a knitter who knits for the process of it. I am a project knitter. A knitter who knits for the end result. This is not just true of my knitting by the way. I often think to myself, "hey I should go on Ravelry or do some research on knit-alongs before I knit this to see what others have to say", but when it comes down to it, I just want to knit whatever it is, so I cast on and go to it. I also spend a lot of time doing research for my designs, so when I decide to recreationally knit, I just want to zone out and knit.

I am happy to report that on Christmas Eve I finished my Cardigan for Arwen and blocked it Christmas day, which is a year and a couple of weeks later from the original start date. I am also happy to report that I was very careful with how I did the seaming and it looks very nice.   

I have also decided that I am going to be better about using these amazing internet tools we have as knitters before I embark on big projects and I am going to try to be better about posting up the modifications that I make to items I am knitting. I am not saying this is a resolution, as I do not really like resolutions. I am just saying that perhaps, I have learned a lesson in the process of knitting Arwen and that makes it worth the wait and worth the many hours of seaming.

        


Author: bluegirl -  Visits: 191Comments: 2

I decided about a month ago to knit this fantastic design from Debbie O'Neil in Knitscene, Fall 2009 called the Heather Hoodie Vest after a customer brought it to my attention (thank you Marie). I also decided to use a yarn that I had stashed a while ago with my friend Julia. Lady Julia (as I like to call her) and I had an online yarn accident together and saved on shipping by each ordering a bag of Cascade Yarns 109 LE Bulky. Julia used hers up a while ago and mine has been looking at me longingly from the yarn bookshelf.

I finished the back. I finished the fronts. I did the ole 3 needle bind-off at the shoulders, sewed up the side seams and read the instructions for picking up sts at the sleeve and that's when it hit me. The ribbing at the bottom of the back piece was absolutely wrong...*&(@)?!

The ribbing is supposed to be a 3 x 2 (as in knit 3, purl 2), but mine was a 2 x 3 (as in knit 2, purl 3). I looked at the vest, then I looked at the pattern and then it dawned on me that I had not followed the instructions to work the setup row on the wrong side on the back, but did pay attention on the fronts. So, I had 3 x 2 on the fronts and 2 x 3 on the back. I still had to finish the sleeves which would be 3 x 2 and the ribbing for the button bands and around the hood would also be 3 x 2. Are you catching the theme here? One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn't belong...

The wheels started turning immediately in a panic and the options started running through my brain.

1. Undo the 3 needle bind-off and the sewing and rip the entire back out. NOT AN OPTION.

2. Take scissors to the back and put the sts back on the needle and work the ribbing back down the vest in the correct sequence. ICK.

3. Adapt a cool technique from one of my very favorite books. WE HAVE A WINNER.

The book is "The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques" by Margaret Radcliffe and it is truly one of the most magnificent books that I own. It really is essential.  I love picking it up and looking at all the pictures and I love learning about new techniques while dreaming up new knits to make.


The technique that I thought I could use to fix my problem is for working vertical stripes of color to make a knit piece look like plaid. Basically, Ms. Radcliffe shows how to ladder knit stitches up a purl column of stitches with a crochet hook in order to introduce a new color stripe. This technique was the perfect solution to my problem. I had a whole extra purl column that I did not need and lots of extra yarn to ladder up and create "knit" stitches out of unwanted purls.

Here is how it works:

Here is my plain swatch of 3 x 2 ribbing.


You will need a crochet hook that is the same mm size as the knitting needle used on your project. With the right side facing you and at the bottom of the purl column that will become knits, put your crochet hook through the front of the fabric to the back of the fabric. Hold your yarn (I am using a contrasting color to make it easier to see) in a loop and use your crochet hook to pull that loop up to the top of the fabric.



Thank you, thank you, thank you, Margaret Radcliffe!


Author: bluegirl -  Visits: 320Comments: 2

Well, here it is. My first ever blahg (story about "blahg" to follow at another time) post. Some, who will remain anonymous, will give me grief about this and most will not even know this is here, but if you are here, then welcome.

bluegirl knits is my knitwear design company and this blahg will feature a lot of what is up with bluegirl and me as a designer, but it will also share the other stuff I knit and some snippets here and there. And with that said,

on to the afghan...























Pattern: The Great American Aran Afghan from Knitters
Yarn: 16 skeins of Cascade 220 Heathers (100% Peruvian Wool) (220 yds/100g) #2446 Bronzed Green Heather
Needles: US 5 (3.75mm), 6 (4.0mm), 7 (4.5mm), 8 (5.0mm)

This afghan marks the birth of a friendship. My friendship with Sarah, owner of my now LYS and employer, Knot Another Hat. My mancake (husband) and I moved to the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon sometime in 2006. I was on a career break, so I had lots of time on my hands to sit and knit at the shop and get to know Sarah. We hit it off right away and I knew that we were going to be great friends.

I decided in January of 2007 to take an 18-month Afghan class from Sarah, which turned out to be more like a 30-month class with all the breaks we took. For example, Sarah decided to have a baby, so we had to take a few months off for that. And then we had to take the holiday season off and then of course there is the summer.....and.....and....and....



















The class began with 9 people and by the last class, we had lost many. Three of us (including Sarah) actually got our squares put together and blocked and ready for the border. Every time we would see each other, we would say, "hey, let's get together to motivate on that 18' of border". We did not meet, but last week I got a big ole bee in my bonnet!

I started knitting the most monotonous 18' of cabled border in my life! I finished the border in 4 nights and attached it to the blanket on the 5th and was blocking it the next day. I was possessed, actually driven by the thought of finishing my afghan before the rest and not even mentioning it. Sneaky- yes. Devious-yes. Done with a big afghan-yes. Still friends with Sarah-yes.

And that is the story of my afghan.

Author: bluegirl -  Visits: 553Comments: 5