What a difference a gauge makes

It's 'just a shawl' -- right -- so no need to swatch?   Gauge -- who checks gauge on a shawl?

It takes "only" one ball of yarn and lots of knitting for me to realize I'm using a too-small needle and the fabric is too dense.  It's the Diamond Lace Wrap from One+One, by Iris Schreier.  Fabulous designer, really incredible works by Ms. Schreier and others in this volume.  I'm linking to Knitpicks, because that's where I got the book.  One+One.  You will wanna add it to your library and add all the items to your project to-do list.

One + One showcases Artyarns products, all elegant and wonderful.
But -- they're pricey, I won't lie to you.  So I found a substitute
Classic Silk, from Classic Elite Yarns.  Beautiful heathery
colors with a touch of lavender.

Diamond Lace Wrap from One + One

My gauge problem?  I started with a US#8, as pattern quoted, with a 4-weight yarn. (CYC designations.) I knit thru an entire ball of yarn, all 135yds, only to realize by looking and feeling that the fabric was too dense and too tight and not drapey enuf for a shawl.  Back to the book.

Oooops!  Gauge not even close.  I think I'd have to up-size to a US#10 but I'm working on a US#9 now and the resulting fabric is much much nicer.  I haven't frogged the first work.  Hoping the pictures below with the ruler will show a bit of the difference.

With US#9, nice and open

With US#8, too dense.

So I'm happy now and knitting along with joy and satisfaction.

Pattern was an initial challenge.  If you can see the individual leaves in the shawl, each one is knit completely before proceeding to the next -- and on across the 'row.'  This means lots and lots of turning the work.  As more of the shawl develops, of course there's more fabric to turn.  I've managed by now to accomplish two things that make this project more fun --

• Memorized the pattern for each leaf -- it's lace on the rs and reminds me of sock heel short rows on both right and wrong side.
• Discovered how to keep the yarn in my hands so I'm not dropping it and re-setting at each turn.  The first turn uses only 3 stitches with subsequent turns advancing to 11 stitches.  Five turns for each leaf, so this 'holding onto the yarn' is a big advantage to gain a modicum of speed.

Truly, even the purchase of this book was a  happy mistake.  I was in book-buying mode and do not remember why I chose this one.  But -- oooooh -- am I ecstatic to be the owner of this volume of gorgeous designs for scarves, shawls, & shrugs.

So I made a big big gauge swatch -- that's the way I'm looking at it.  And I learned a new pattern.  Both of these 'mistakes' will mean that the real deal shawl will move along easily and be more delightful as a finished silk shawl with lovely hand.

Make a mistake today!

Hat revisited

Surely not as wonderful a title -- or story -- as Evelyn Waugh's great classic.

I've been revisiting the hat for re-submission to TKGA.  Lots of items to consider from their critique.

• Smaller needles for ribbing (I absolutely spaced on this when reading their pattern!)
• Brighter and lighter colors, so they can see the stitches.
• Better transitions when changing colors.

It's bright, you can't argue with that!

The ribbing is knit using US5 dpn's and the hat is knit with US7 dpn's.  To minimize the possibility of a ladder between needles, I'm knitting an extra 2-3 stitches from the next full needle before I consider the right needle full.  In this way, I'm 'knitting around' (my term) and the transition stitches between each of the 4 needles changes every row.

Challenges with the color transition?  Yup, I've read it at least 6 times.  "When you get to the end of the first row of the new color, pick up the right side of the stitch in the row below (in the old color) and k2tog with the old color and the new."  Seems to work, when it's done correctly.

The tip of the white/gray needle points to the first
color change.  Without this new-to-me method, the
color change would look like a stair step when the
orange is joined.  This only happens when knitting in the round
as in with dpn's or circulars.

So I'm carefully and studiously knitting the hat.  Still have a pile of paperwork to resubmit so will have to set aside an afternoon or evening to plow thru that, including the pattern for the cable swatch.

And like life -- which I am wont to remind readers -- knitting often demands closer inspection, more careful navigation, and a revisit of mistakes big and small.  I think we enter such re-examinations, such re-visits, with the hope that we won't repeat the silliness, the foolishness, or the mis-reading of a knitting pattern.

Makes for better knitting, no matter the outcome from TKGA.

The Train

I think I have discovered the mythical tunnel with the light at the end.  Yes, it's a train.

Yet another mistake on the white shawl.  Just about finished with the final pattern and ready to bind off.  I wanted to show myself that I could do just one more row.  And wouldn't you know, about half way into this final row (not counting the purl row to get back to the beginning), I discover a mistake.

Yikes.  The light IS a train and it's heading straight for me.  Several choices at this point -- too boring to describe and too traumatic to re-live -- so I decide to repeat the solution from the earlier mistake.  I decide to rip back by removing the stitches from the needle.

It's encouraging to realize I have actually learned
from my mistakes.  This time I use, not a needle and fine
crochet thread, but Hark, Batman, another needle.
It's a tiny one, a US2, and you can see it peeking out
just to the left of the (seemingly) large teal tip of the
circular needle.

So now all the stitches I want to rip back are sitting securely on the tiny US2 and all I have to do is

1. Gently pull the yarn out and then
2. Replace the stitches onto the larger needle.

Here's what it looks like when all the stitches are on the tiny needle and I'm ready to replace them to the larger needle.

Left to right:  Tip of larger needle US9 which I have removed
from the cord.  Next is the cord with a purple cap to prevent
the stitches from escaping.  The skinny gray needle is lying
across the other end of the circular needle.

I am ready to crochet now.  Instead of closing off the knitting by a usual method which makes a firm and finished edge, capturing all stitches one within the next, I will be crocheting some fringe as I seal off the stitches of the shawl.

Left to right again:  Knitting stitches on teal US9.  Then the
size H crochet hook inserted into a stitch, ready to chain
the fringe.  Above and to the right is the beginning
of the fringe.

The next time you hear from me this shawl will be completed and on the floor for blocking.  It's huge and I will need every bit of empty floor space available.  I'm thinking of folding into its respective thirds (remember it's 3 0f 6 sections, or half, of a hexagon) and blocking them one on top of the other.  Unorthodox, for sure.

Lacey fringe to match the delicacy of the shawl.

If I'm not able to make a go of it to the end, you'll find me riding on a train.  A kind soul will have wrapped my shoulders and head with a partially completed white shawl.  And you'll notice -- fashion folks that you are -- that the white shawl matches the long armed jacket I'm wearing.  Another kind soul will have tied the longs arms of my jacket around to the back.  There will be a light at the end but I might not see it thru the mesh of the shawl.

Detour -- another set of mitts

Addey left a comment that pointed out how fun it is to take a detour into a small, quick project -- while working on a larger one.  I call this a detour and remember, not all detours are a waste of time and fuel.

I'm forever searching for new patterns.  Often they come to me in emails from the various sites I follow.  This pattern came from Red Heart, though the original site for the pattern is not Red Heart.  I'll leave lots of breadcrumbs so you can find it if you like.

Strolling Mitts are from Stitch Nation but I got them via an email from Red Heart.  Check out Stitch Nation cuz they have knitting and crochet patterns; many are free.

Does that hot pink yarn look familiar?  It's the same yarn
as the Hat for TKGA submission.  In the upper left of the pic
you can see the thumb section.  I'v added stitches and then
put the loose stitches onto a piece of darker yarn, so I can
finish the body of the mitt.

Mistake -- again I tried to do both mitts at the same time, using Magic Loop technique.  The mistake this time was that I was trying to use just one ball of yarn.  So for one mitt I was pulling the yarn from the middle of the ball and for the other mitt I was unwrapping yarn from the outside of the ball.  Major tangles, twists, annoyance, etc.  Tooooo much time spent on untangling and untwisting. 

So after a few rows one of the mitts was side-lined to a couple of DPN's.  The second mitt stayed on the long cord US 6 circular needle, which I am using for the Magic Loop method.  I do like the method, just that it seems to work with less chaos if I knit only one thing at a time.

The Mitts are knit around, so there's no seam.  My choices are a) DPN with about 13 stitches on each of 3 needles OR b) the Magic Loop method with 20 stitches as the front 'side' and 20 as the back 'side'.  For me, at least, 20 stitches allows for a bit of 'regular knitting rhythm.'

Here's the one mitt on the long cord and the other mitt being held by the two DPNs.

That's about as far as I got before I had to choose to reduce
the chaos.  On the left you can see the lovely wooden tips
of the long circular needle.   I'm ready to begin the pattern
'side' of the mitt.  The palm side is just plain stockinette.

Addey's right.  I've taken a break from the white shawl.  While lovely and with promise of great beauty, the white shawl work can be both tedious and boring.  Each row is so time-consuming.  Sometimes I just cannot face another row of that and then a row back to begin again.  So I decided to do these mitts.

Hoping your detour choices offer both relaxation and inspiration.  At the very least, a detour gives you a break from whatever routine your knitting -- or your life -- may have created to mire you down.  Lighten the journey with a trip to a new project.

Lace is finally 'lacing'

Back on track with the white shawl, after a few hours of grief, more than a bit of anxiety, and even a silent scream or two out of frustration.

After putting all the stitches back onto the (wrong!) needle and doing what I thought was the right thing to center the new design within each section, I relaxed into the pattern.  It's important to 'relax' (read lecture to self) so that the pattern begins to sculpt itself into some cells of the brain.  Then "wrong needle."  Oh well, I'm relaxed, right?!

Began the 'rest row' (as in all purls back across the 300+ stitches) using the correct (and larger needle.)  After a few rows of sorting out the pattern repeats and locations, I think I'm on track.

Finally -- a partial view of the chevrons at the bottom
of the picture.  Moving up you can see a row of
eyelets.  Then the flowers and another row of eyelets.
The last few rows are that pesky pattern that just
wouldn't fall into place.

There's an important 'secret' (read 'tip') to lace knitting, to all knitting for that matter.  You must learn how to read your knitting.  This means you must be able to locate each type of stitch, in its respective row, and determine if a) you've knit the correct technique and b) you've knit this stitch in the correct location relative to previous stitches and rows.

In this picture I've marked with a smaller (US 6) needle the column of stitches that, at last, I was able to read from both the pattern chart and my knitting.

Hoping you can see that the needle is aligned with a
column of stitches to its left.  Above the eyelet (which
is the first hole at the bottom of the picture) you should
be able to see that each stitch is just a simple, plain, and
wonderfully welcome KNIT stitch.

The plain knit stitches line up from row to row and if I can keep this fact in my head and connect my fingers and hands to that fact I will be able to knit the rest of the shawl.  

Within a few rows I'll be up-sizing the needle, yet again, from a US 8 to a US 9.  This is why we have interchangeable needle tips and long cords to connect them -- so we can always have the size and length needle we need.  Extremely flexible concept.

Here's the four needles I will have used for this shawl.
Reading from left to right they are all US sizes,
6, 7, 8, and 9.  (US 8 in use on the shawl at the
time of this picture.)

In anticipation of the joyous and celebratory moment when I will graduate to the final needle size, I have prepared the US 9 needle tip and cord.  Actually I 'borrowed' the US 9 from a UFO (vest in progress) and left behind the knitting accessories which serve as bread crumbs to get me back to where I need to be when I return to the vest.

The blue tip on the blue vest yarn is the US 9 I need.
I've removed the other tip (lying across the top) and attached
a disk that shows me the size US 9.  Then I've applied a cap
so that the stitches of the vest do not escape.
I will repeat for the needle tip now holding vest stitches;
and when I am done the vest stitches will be on the cord, with
no needles.

Oh, but there are just too too many lessons in this project.  But one lesson stands out as supremely valuable.

I once had the following question from a non-knitter:  "Have you ever tried a pattern that you could not do?"

My answer -- and this shawl is an example of the answer and the attitude:  "Only when I assumed I knew how to do it and resisted actually paying attention to the directions."

If you can suspend for a moment all the things you think you already know, then and only then, will your mind and heart be ready to receive a new lesson.

And that's the lesson for today, folks.

Yikes -- major Yikes!

Lace knitting is definitely not for the feint of heart.  I finished the transition row, a pattern of eyelets and small flowers.  It's looking good . . . and I'm feeling smug.

Looking quite nice, I think.  This series of rows will
divide the upper portion of the shawl -- with the chevrons --
from the lower portion which is design to be quite
open and very lacey.

The instructions quite clearly state how many stitches I should have on my needle, but did I count them?  No, no, and what part of "no" do you not understand.  I can't be bothered with counting.

Thus, I launch myself into Chart C, the lacey part of the shawl.  I knit about 10 rows of this 12 row chart (yikes!) and when I look at my knitting it's not at all what the pattern says it should be.  I've already had to adjust for 'not enuf stitches cuz I didn't take time to count.'

Now I'm faced with a major decision.  Here are my options --

a.  I can continue to knit using the stitch pattern I've been using, knowing it is wrong and doesn't look like I want it to look OR

b.  I can 'un-knit' back to the last set of eyelets in the transition pattern and begin anew.

Yikes!  Naturally I choose option b above.  Well, perhaps 'naturally' is too strong a word.  I'm fairly sure there's only a few thousand other crazy obsessed knitters who would insist that the shawl be knitted using the pattern stitches given.

Now what?  It's too many rows to un-knit stitch by stitch so -- Horrors! -- I remove the needle and unravel carefully, very carefully.  

Here's the shawl with loose, sloppy and scary stitches
pretending to be orderly.  Now I have to get them unraveled
and back to the row of eyelets.  Look at the set of ruffly
stitches across the top and then come down to the first row of
holes, the eyelets.

After the unraveling I now have to put each and every stitch back onto a needle.  I use a combination of methods.  I thread a small tapestry needle with a length of crochet thread and use this to anchor some of the stitches.  Then I insert the knitting needle into each stitch anchored by the crochet thread.  

But I'm impatient (surprise?) and so I decide to unravel and put stitches back onto the needle, one stitch at a time.  There are supposed to be over 100 stitches in each of the three sections, so I'm facing a tedious job.

The green knitting needle is carefully re-inserted into each
stitch held by the bit of green crochet thread.
(We're not knitting, have you noticed?)

When all the stitches have been carefully returned to a knitting needle, I decide I just might have to count the stitches.  I re-read the pattern at least 5 times; I count my stitches; I review my work. 

Yikes!  I have only 104 of the required 118 stitches.  Clearly I have not repeated a chart 'one more time.'  But I'm not going back again.  

The new (and final) chart calls for a 6 stitch repeat.  104 / 6 is 17 with 2 stitches remaining.  I distribute them evenly, with one at each end of the section and return to knitting.

I've reached the end of section 1, with the correct number of
leftover stitches (1), after having completed 17 of the
6-stitch repeats.

Yikes!  I'm using the wrong size needle.  But I am not going back, underline not.  I'll pick up the larger needle on the purl side and it won't matter one bit.

Still have not discovered where I went wrong, to have only 104 stitches where I was supposed to have 118.  Relish the mystery!

Wrong combination

Sometimes I look at the large stash of yarn and see a sweater or scarf or vest.  So I pull out a skein or too, do a swatch (maybe), and proceed.  If it's a scarf, I do a lot of guessing -- which needles, how many stitches (after I figure the repeats as in yesterday's post.)

And sometimes it just doesn't work.  My local library had a copy of Knitted Lace from Interweave.  Put it on order and after picking it up from the branch near my home, I discovered -- no surprises here! -- at least 5 things I really like.  One of those is a scarf, in two sizes.

Lovely Andean Silk yarn (worsted weight) and a size US7 needle and I'm knitting.  This pattern follows a different approach:  first you knit the border sideways, starting on one edge you knit a few repeats that make points.  Then you pickup stitches along the edge of the border and knit the length of the scarf.

Words don't work.

The empty needle shows the direction of the knitting
for the points that make the border.
The needle with stitches shows the first bit of
stitches picked up from along the edge

But it's awful -- not the pattern -- but the yarn just isn't right for the pattern.  I considered changing to a larger needle but that would just make things sloppy, even after blocking.  Lace knitting should result in an item that's has nice drape but isn't sloppy like a handful of wet noodles.

Here's the book.  I still love the scarf and may check the stash for some lace weight yarn or even a DK weight, just not this worsted.  Really is a fairly easy pattern.  Would be fun, I think.

Bookmarks and yellow sticks mark the other patterns
I wanna try.  I may have to check Abe Books to see
about buying a used copy.

Still cannot find the small ruler with the needle sizer holes in it.  Tore out all the cushions from couch and favorite chair.  Cleaned out the basket of knitting notions thinking i'd tossed it in there.  Next will have to rummage thru the pattern books I've been reading -- probably used it as a bookmark.

Thought I lost my Brittany US7 needles and that would have really hurt.  They are my needle of choice for the TKGA work.  Plus they are just getting broken in nicely.  Found em in the small brown shopping bag with the three balls of yarn for all TKGA swatches.  Whew!

Still looking for that ruler.  And still looking for the right combination of pattern and needles for the Andean Silk from Knitpicks.  Maybe the fingerless gloves I wanna knit for myself?

Coffee is getting cold

This Level I project, this hat, is making me crazy, while my coffee gets cold.

I added the cream yarn when I began the body of the hat, after the ribbing (yesterday's pictures and post.)

As soon as I got to the end of round 1, back to the cream (remember, I'm knitting around and around, not back and forth), I had to refer to the instructions to discover a new technique.  I applied the new technique and went happily on with round after round of cream yarn.

But each time I encountered the section that included the color transition technique I just knew it was wrong.  Then I tortured myself knitting round after round, each time meeting up with that new technique and just knowing deep down in my knitting bones that it was still wrong.  But maybe one more round of knitting and it will magically come right the next time I encounter it.

Nope.  So the morning was spent taking out rows of cream, adding back a row or two, re-reading the new technique and applying it, and finally! getting to add another color.

Here's the hat after this morning's adventure.

New color, right side and wrong side.

You should see two rows of cream after the pink ribbing.  Then a few rows of a darker mulberry or something.  There's the right side, and just because you might be curious, a bit of the back side showing how the colors interact on the wrong side.











There's always a story in the journey and this trip included several time-consuming detours.

First I realized the transition technique from pink to cream was wrong.  You can see it, I know.

Yucky, there's no other word.  The pink stitch is twisted
and the loose ends are on the right side instead
of cluttering the back.

Also a ruffle of stitches with no needle.  Can't leave this too long.
Danger!

Here's the hat when I took it off the needle to pull out the cream stitches back to the mistake so I could start over from that point.  Scary to have untethered stitches just lying there.  They tend to get lost, tangled, and rearranged.

Stitches with no needles, little loose loops all around the edge.
Can't leave this sit or even think about stuffing it into a
UFO box.  All those loose stitches will come undone.
You've surely had a scarf or glove or sweater unravel?

That was also the time to acknowledge I was running out of cream yarn.  The striping I originally designed would not become a reality.  Knowing I had a new, unused ball of a darker pink/wine, I redesigned the striping.  I pulled out all the cream, back to the first row of this color, put the stitches back on the needle and tried it again.  Just two rows, which means I must use that new color transition technique.

I doubt you'll be able to see it.  It's correct this time and the point is that the transition between one color and the next is 'invisible.'  Here's the close-up -- 

The long white stitch in the center actually takes up
two rows of stitching.  I'll fuss with the nearby stitches
when I steam and block the hat, so they will nestle
into the row the way they need to.

This is just a hat, after all.  It's also a project that Master Knitters will examine closely to evaluate the quality of my knitting, the use of the color transition technique, and my choice of colors for contrast and style.  

Meanwhile, the coffee has gone cold.

The silver lining in this morning's knitting cloud was knowing that I knew how to fix it, to make it right.  We don't get a chance to make it right very often in life.  And seldom, if ever, do we get to pick out the bad parts from before and re-do them.  We just gotta live with our own wonderful, silly, human self.

Row 16 -- count the stitches

There are only 48 stitches on my needle.  It's a wonderful pattern, another one of Whit's Knits, the Checkerboard Lace Shawl.  This designer does a wonderful job showing and writing the pattern.  The stitches in this one are simple; it's a 20 row pattern repeat (with 10 'rest rows'); the result is delicately lacy.

Here's the work-in-progress.  Using the second ball of that magnificent yarn spun by friend, Darliss, a variegated wool/silk blend.

Darliss' spun wool/silk with size 6US needles.
Pattern by Whit's Knits.

Row 16 -- I spent at least 30 minutes knitting and un-knitting that row, counting the stitches to discover I had 46, or 47, but No!  Not the required 48.  Can you see the little safety-pin things near the needle?  These are markers to tell me that, after re-examining the results of Row 16 I have omitted two yarn-overs.  The YO (yarn-over) is the way to add stitches.  Next to the YO's are the get-rid-of-stitches-on-purpose technique.  In this pattern all the add-stitches are cancelled out by the get-rid-of-stitches, so at the end of every row -- yes, every row -- you should expect to have the same 48 you started with.

The big red "X" means I was sloppy in the translation
from words to code.  And the mistake was in Row 14, not Row 16

These lessons can be wearying, though valuable:  It's seldom this moment that's the difficulty; it's more likely the choice made earlier whose consequences are now appearing.  I think I'm on track now.  I'm counting more often and paying much closer attention to each right side row, hoping to minimize future consequences (knitting back, throwing the entire thing into the garbage, screaming uncontrollably, you get the idea.)

I'm afraid I may have discouraged you from trying this pattern.  Don't let my own sloppy approach keep you from a delightful and easy lace experience.  Here's the link again:   Checkerboard Lace Shawl.

One last picture to show the scope of the project.  There's the pattern (my coded version, Whit's Knits uses words), the trusty red pencil, the fixer thing with the two crochet hooks, markers to indicate missed stitches.  And the most essential of all -- a fine yarn and some comfortable needles.

Here's hoping you find your way back when you need to.  If you take up knitting you'll get lots of practice.

Do-over

I just added the location to this post, as I do to all the posts, even though they all indicate I'm writing from Lakewood, WA, USA.  Too bad there's not a similar spot to put one of those little weather icons.  It's November in Washington State.  It's pouring and it's blowing.  And it's been doing that for the entire day.

It's now almost 10 pm and I've just finished reading ahead in the Master Knitter instructions.  I got to the section that asks questions about each swatch.  Eventually I'll have to sit at my Mac and type out some sensible answers to each one, citing resources and references.

Not right now because, well, I've knit one of the swatches wrong.  I didn't pay close attention to the instructions.  And this 'event' is a very real and tangible representation of at least one of the lessons I'm supposed to be learning:  to follow instructions.

Feeling quite silly, actually.  If it were a sweater, about now I'd be wondering why the sleeve turned out to be only 5 inches long when the pattern told me to expect a 10 inch sleeve.  Or worse, why the waist-length sweater I expected to create ended up as a bolero vest, one of those short things that bullfighters wear.

Here's a brief bit about what I did:  increase a stitch each side every other row.  So I increased one stitch each side on every right side row of the knitting.

Here's a brief bit about what the pattern said to do:  increase a stitch each side every OTHER right side row.

Do you see the difference?  A couple of rows to knit between each row of increases.  Groan.

I have this tiny little swatch.  Meanwhile I knit the next one and it's quite a bit longer, almost twice as long, in fact.

Here's what the pattern actually said:  increase a stitch every FOURTH (4th) row.  I got that, but read the other instruction with too much haste, and frankly, with too much presumption that I already knew what the professor was looking for.

I'll take a do-over on swatch 4.  Will show you the old and the new one in the next post.  Meanwhile here's a picture of the wrong Swatch 4 and the correct Swatch 5 (which is a lot longer, huh!)

Swatch 5 on the left -- increase each side every 4th row
Swatch 4 Error -- increase each side every Right Side row

If this were golf I'd take a mulligan, but I don't think the TKGA works that way.

I'm adding the label "mistake" to the list.  At the very least, when I do make a mistake I can also record what I did to rectify the error.

Thought for the day:  If only life were as simple as becoming a Master Knitter.