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Friday, August 22, 2008

Ravelympics Finish Line

I made it across the Ravelympics Finish Line tonight at 5:23pm! Finished with a few days to spare this time around. At the 2006 Olympics, First Aid came in close with about 15 minutes to spare!

Team Give Em Hill Knitters
Pattern: Daytrip Cardigan by me
Yarn: Lanas Puras Clarissa in Granite
Needles: Sizes 7 and 5
Start Time: August 8th 9:22am
Finish Time: August 22nd 5:23pm

Mods: I’m really a size S, but I wanted a nice tight fit around the bust, so I went with the XS instead. I lengthened the armhole by 1/2” to match the S, but didn’t have to modify the sleeve cap at all.

I also changed the location of the buttonholes adding one to the neck trim instead of all 6 on the center front placket.

Ravelympics Daytrip Cardigan

Ravelympics Cardigan

Ravelympics Cardigan



Friday, August 15, 2008

Popknits Fall Preview is Up!

Take a look!

I also just happen to have a pattern in this issue, buttercup. [Ravelry link] Buttercup was a really fun sweater for me to design and knit up. It was also my first try at intarsia - which really isn't as scary as you might think. Promise!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

More Guinevere Lace Help

After writing the tutorial the other day for decreasing in lace, I still wasn't happy and felt I needed to add some more info to the pattern to help. Decreasing in lace isn't always the easiest thing to figure out (I've certainly had my days!) so if I could pour over some graph paper and help make it easier, I figured why not?

For the back I've added placement instructions when you reach lace pattern 2. For the front, I've added placement for lace pattern 1 and 2. This includes both left and right panels with the stitch pattern mirrored on the right panel (gotta love the symmetry).

I've emailed out new links for the updated pattern, but if for some reason you did not receive one please email me at neoknits AT yahoo DOT com and I'll send over the updated version right away.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Guinevere: FAQ decreasing in lace

Q: When I get to pattern 2, where do I start in the chart when decreasing? How does that work?

A: When decreasing in lace (or increasing for that matter) the most important thing to remember is to make sure every yo is paired with a decrease. Why? Well, a yo is an increase and if it is not paired with a decrease to keep the pattern balanced, things can get very ugly very quickly! Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but we aren't talking about those types of lace patterns here.

So, after doing the specified shaping, and a yo/decrease pair do need to be left out then what happens? Any extra stitches left over are then replaced with either knit or purl stitches (depending on the pattern you are working with - it's usually the ground stitch).

In the case of Guinevere (using size 33 for example) (click on any chart to enlarge):

Here is chart 2 with the first 2 decreases marked out in blue.

ex1

The directions say: Dec Row: (RS) K1, ssk, work in pattern to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1.

But what does this really mean in terms of where you start your pattern on the chart?

ex2

Looking at the chart, you have a k1, followed by a yo, ssk. That's not going to work because you need to add in a decrease. So this yo, ssk pair will need to be dropped.

ex3

And at the end, same thing. You need to slip in a k2tog decrease, but you have a yo, k2tog in your way. This yo, k2tog pair will need to be dropped.

Now let's replace the dropped yo/dec pairs with what is actually happening:

ex5

So our first row now looks like this: K1, ssk, k2, k2tog, yo, k1, *yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k1, rep from * to last 7 sts, yo, ssk, k2, k2tog, k1. The k2 stitches in bold are added to take the place of the replaced yo/decrease pair we had to take out to keep the stitch count correct. (These stitches are circled in blue on the chart)

For row 3 the only change is we have one less stitch at the beginning and end. So instead of beginning and ending with 2 stitches, we now only begin and end with 1 stitch.

Now let's take a look at our next decrease at row 5:

ex6

Again, the first and last yo/decrease pairs are going to be in the way so they need to go.

ex7

And here is our chart with the decreases added. So row 5 now looks like this: K1, ssk, k1, yo, ssk, k1, *k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k1; rep from * to last 6 stitches, k2tog, yo, k1, k2tog, k1.

Row 7 doesn't involved any decreases, but now because we've decreased 2 stitches on each edge, it still affects the pattern and the first and last yo pairs need to go:

ex8

So for row 7 we now have: K3, yo, k1, sl1-k2tog-psso, *k1, yo, k2, yo, sl1-k2tog-psso, rep from * to last 4 stitches, k1, yo, k3.

And so on.

A tip to help keep track of the changing pattern:
On a piece of graph paper and with a pencil, mark out a few pattern repeats + the beginning and end stitches. Then mark in every decrease (like my blue side seam line in the charts above). Erase any yo/dec pairs that interfere with your shaping and add in your decreases and changes in pattern as needed.

Shaping in lace does take a little bit of practice, but with a little bit of patience, it will all start to make sense!

Other helpful resources:

- Majoring in Lace by Eunny Jang (part 3 talks about shaping)

- Beyond the Basics: A Primer in Lace
by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer (Interweave Summer 2006) Part I of article

- Beyond the Basics: Lace - Shaping Your Garment by Eunny Jang (Interweave Fall 2006) Part II of article


Ravelympics: Day 2

Day 2:

Pretty boring, but here is progress for Day 2 - we have another sleeve:

ravelympics: day 2

Not doing too well for day 3, but I think I can make up for it during the week. I had a chance to get out of the house and meet up with Connie for some delicious brunch in the city this afternoon. I hear french toast helps keep up the knitting strength. (At least I heard that in my mind!)

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Ravelympics: Day 1

As of 8:00am yesterday, the Ravelympics are now officially underway!

Day 1:
I had intended to begin on my ride to work in the subway yesterday and just barely managed to grab a seat. I usually go for the front of the train, but I had to make a mad dash up the stairs as the train was arriving, so I got stuck in the middle. Luckily a guy had a huge bag on the bench and another woman asked him to politely remove it. Score! Just enough room for her and I to sit down. Yes, it was a REALLY big bag!

Things started off slowly, but by the time I got home, I managed to crank out an entire sleeve on day 1. Not too bad!

ravelympics: day 1 progress

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Long Awaited Tatami

For those of you who have been waiting, Tatami is now available (again!) And big thanks to Sundara for graciously allowing me to republish it!

Tatami
by Melissa Wehrle

Tatami

Tatami

Tatami Back

Materials
Louet Gems Sport (100% Merino Wool, 100g, 225yds/205m); 5 (5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8) skeins Caribbean Blue

Actual yardage: 986 (1021, 1127, 1171, 1261, 1404, 1521, 1651)yds

1 pair US 5 (3.75mm) 36" or longer circular needle, or size needed to obtain gauge
1 US size D (3.25mm) crochet hook
1 stitch marker
Tapestry needle

Size
Fits bust size: 33 (35, 37, 39, 41, 45, 49, 53)"/84 (89, 94, 99, 104, 114, 124.5, 134.5)cm, shown in size 33" with 0" ease.

Finished Measurements
Finished bust: 33 (35, 37, 39, 41, 45, 49, 53)"/84 (89, 94, 99, 104, 114, 124.5, 134.5)cm

Length: 23 (23, 24, 24.5, 25, 26, 26.5, 27)"/58.5 (58.5, 61, 62, 63.5, 66, 67.5, 68.5)cm

Gauges
24 sts and 31 rows = 4"/10cm in Stockinette stitch with US size 5 needles.
24 sts and 31 rows = 4"/10cm in drop stitch pattern with US size 5 needles, before dropping sts.
18 sts and 31 rows = 4"/10cm in drop stitch pattern, after dropping sts.

To save time, take time to check gauge.

$7.00
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