Koi Rama - Chart 3 Done

I finished up chart 3 last night, staying up a bit late to get through it.  It was a bit of a problematic chart.  Early on I missed one of the wrapped stitches and didn't realize it until I was working the wrong side row.  I just did the wrap then and moved on.  And while we're on the topic of wrapped stitches, may I just say that I am not a fan.  I never know how tightly to wrap the stitches, and I find the whole affair fiddly.  I did try using a cable needle, but that was more awkward than passing the stitches back and forth between the needles.  I am glad that I am done with them.  Then two wayward beads inserted themselves into the knitting when I wasn't looking.  I remember feeling them under my fingers while I was knitting, and thinking I needed to slide them down the yarn, but then I got distracted (probably by a cat), and they disappeared.  I thought about them later, and discovered them lurking on the back of the work.  I thought about leaving them there as a silent witness to my inattention, but after I finished the chart I took an awl to them and broke them off the yarn.  To do this I carefully inserted the tip of the awl into the bead being careful not to poke into the yarn, then put the tip of the awl against a cork board and gave the handle of the awl a little wack with my hand.  The beads broke easily.  That is the safest way to get them off, although glass can go flying when you break them, so putting a cloth over the set up is recommended.  I do not recommend using a pair of pliers to break beads off of yarn as this can cause the broken glass to cut into your yarn.  The awl forces the bead apart and sends the sharp edges away from your yarn.

For those keeping track, the story so far.  I started with a 200 g set of yarn from The Unique Sheep.

I started with skein 4, the one on the left.  It was a little heavier than 50 g, 52 g to be exact.  I wasn't sure how far I would get on skein 4 so I threaded 100 beads onto it.  I used size 8 beads.  I am working the large size as I want to use as much of my yarn as possible.  I always hate having leftover yarn.  The bead counts for the large size are as follows:

9 x 8 = 72 beads needed for chart 1
8 x 8 = 64 beads needed for chart 2
7 x 8 + 12 = 68 beads needed for chart 3

I ended up making it to row 3 of chart 2 with skein 4, which included 1 row of beading on chart 2, so I needed the following bead counts on skeins 4 and 3.

Thread 72 + 16 = 88 beads on skein 4
Thread 64 - 16 + 68 = 116 beads on skein 3

Or I would have, if there hadn't been an error in chart 1 - the beads were missing on row 14 and I didn't realize it until I started looking at the beads needed for charts 2 and 3.  In the end I left off the corresponding beads on charts 2 and 3, just so everything would be consistent.

Here is a close up so you can see the butterflies and the fish and the beads I used.  They are an iridescent bead with colors very similar to the colors of the yarn - I went for blending rather than contrast.

Pattern:  Koi Rama by Kitman Figueroa
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Tinsel Toes in Pisces
Needles:  US 8 (5.0 mm), US 6 (4.0 mm), US 4 (3.5 mm)

Koi Rama - Chart 2 Done

Even though I wasn't up to knitting lace this past Thursday, I did want to get the next skein prepped for Koi Rama, so I started looking at the next charts to see how many beads I would need to string.  Making notes, and counting, and recounting, and checking my math again, and I kept coming up with a total that was less than what the patten called for.  Then I was looking at the charts again and I noticed a difference between the bead placement on chart 1 and the bead placement on charts 2 and 3.  Uh Oh, I said to myself, it looks like there is an error in the bead placement on chart 1.  I went to Ravelry and checked out some photos of finished shawls.  Sure enough, there should have been beads on row 14 of chart 1, but they were missing from the pattern.  I added the missing beads to my count, and voila!  The number tallied.  But now I was faced with a decision that I was not up to making on Thursday.  I went ahead and threaded enough beads to finish both charts, as written, just in case and then set everything aside.

When I came back to it this morning I had decided to leave out the corresponding beads on charts 2 and 3, just to make everything match.  I switched to skein 3 on row 27 ( row 3 of chart 2).  I used up all of skein 4, and didn't do any transition rows.  I don't do transition rows any more, and with this yarn it really wouldn't be necessary even if I did, the color change is wonderfully subtle.

Pattern:  Koi Rama by Kitman Figueroa
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Tinsel Toes in Pisces
Needles:  US 8 (5.0 mm), US 6 (4.0 mm), US 4 (3.5 mm)

Twisted Rib Pullover II - Collar Done

Last night I finished up the collar.  The stitch pick up was pretty easy, although I always have issues getting the right number when I have to pick up so many (216).  I usually end up with more stitches than I need so I did some decreases (k2tog and p2tog) while I was working the first row.  The pattern calls for continuing in a twisted rib for another 6 rows after completing the diamond motif, but I thought it looked better without those extra rows so I cast off after finishing row 19 (on row 20).  I did not cast off in pattern, I just did a knitted cast off.  I find that it gives a cleaner edge for necklines.  Now I will pick stitches around the armholes and work the sleeves from the top down.

Pattern:  Design 1835 from Moments No. 005
Yarn:  SMC Select Extra Soft Merino Fino in Malachite
Needles:  US 3 (3.25 mm)

Twisted Rib Pullover II - Body Done

I ended up staying home from work today with a migraine.  They are not as bad or as frequent as they used to be, but ironically that just means that when I do get them I don't feel like I have to tough it out.  Plus the position I have now is demanding enough that it really isn't a good idea to go in when my brain is fuzzy.  So I stayed home with Turner Classic Movies and the cats.  TCM is running John Wayne movies today, he being the star of the month.  As fuzzy as my brain is today, lace is out, so I pulled this project out of the project bag.  I had knit up to the split for the front and back when I got distracted by a couple of lace projects.  Usually I would block the body at this point to make it easier to pick up the stitches for the collar, but the straps are so thin (just 3 stitches) that blocking really didn't make much of a difference, so I am just going to start the collar.  I am going to knit the sleeves from the top down.

Pattern:  Design 1835 from Moments No. 005
Yarn:  SMC Select Extra Soft Merino Fino in Malachite
Needles:  US 3 (3.25 mm)

Koi Rama - Chart 1 Done

As soon as Scorpius was off the needles and on the blocking mats I cast on Koi Rama.  This shawl is knit from the bottom up so you have to cast on a lot of stitches, and I am doing the large size, so I had to cast on even more.  My usual cast on is the long-tail cast on, but when I have to cast on 330 stitches I go for the knitted cast on.  The advantage of working shawls from the bottom up is that the rows keep getting shorter.

The pattern calls for casting on with US size 9 (5.5 mm) needles, but I didn't have a US size 9 with a long enough cable so I used a US size 8 (5.0 mm).  You then knit one row with the larger needles before switching to US size 6 (4.0 mm) and beginning the lace chart.  As you can see, I am actually using stitch markers to separate the repeats of the pattern, an unusual course of action for me, but this pattern is complex enough that I needed them.

There are suggested bead placements in the pattern, so of course I had to add beads.  Fortunately I had a good match in my extensive bead stash.  The recommended placement method is to pre-string them.  I have used this method before, but it really isn't my preferred method.  First, you have to string enough beads to get through your current cake of yarn.  The stringing is easy.  I use a Japanese Bead Threaders.  They don't tear up your fiber or your fingers the way that the Big Eye needles do.  Second, they don't stay put.  This pattern has you place them on the yarn overs.  I've done this before as well, and I always forget what to do with them when I work the next row.  For this pattern the yarn overs form pairs, so on the first yarn over I pushed the bead to the right side of the yarn over strand and on the second yarn over I pushed the bead to the left side of the yarn over strand.  They do tend to wander a bit while you're knitting the next couple of rows, but they are pretty easy to push back into the spot you want them to be.  When I started this cake of yarn I strung 100 beads, and it looks like I'll have a few to spare.  I'll collect the exact numbers for each yarn cake as I go.

The yarn is Tinsel Toes, from The Unique Sheep, in the color Pisces.  This was the yarn for the most recent Zodiac Club shipment, but the pattern really didn't excite me and the yarn really wanted to be made into Koi Rama.

It is a lovely gradiance set and I am starting with the darkest skein (on the left).

Pattern:  Koi Rama by Kitman Figueroa
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Tinsel Toes in Pisces
Needles:  US 8 (5.0 mm), US 6 (4.0 mm), US 4 (3.5 mm)

Scorpius - Finished!

I finished this up yesterday.  I always have a hard time figuring out how to photograph lace shawls.  I see some folks take them outside and hang them in trees or on shrubs and all I can think about is the possibility of getting it dirty, or snagging it on vegetation.  I also like to use natural light, so my dress maker dummy stands near the window of the room that I use to store a lot of my knitting and also for blocking.  Of course, that means there are also random piles of knitting that can be seen around the edges of the bottom of the photos.

Figuring out how to style the shawls on the dummy can be a challenge sometimes.  I hit on the drape in the first picture a while ago, inspired by Grace Kelly in "To Catch a Thief", and I hit on the styling in the second picture this morning when I was trying to figure out how to take a picture that showed off the rest of the lace design.

And here is the blocking picture, just to give a sense of the overall look and how the colors pooled.  I must say, it reminds me a bit of argyle socks.

Project:  Scorpius by Trish vanKuyk
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Luxe in Scorpio
Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Scorpius - One side finished

I finished up the first side last night and have started working chart 2 on the second side.  This is where things start to get boring for me.  I've done all of these stitch patterns already and I just want to be done with the shawl.  The nice thing about this pattern is that it is a rectangular shawl, so the rows go pretty quickly, and they don't keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger.  I am already thinking about my next project - another Kitman Figueroa shawl, Koi Rama - with the yarn for the Pisces shipment of the Zodiac Club.  The club pattern is pretty, but not quite my style, and the yarn really wants to be made into Koi Rama - which is a fish themed shawl, so it is still appropriate - and one should always listen to the yarn.


Project:  Scorpius by Trish vanKuyk
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Luxe in Scorpio
Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Scorpius - Charts 2 and 3 Done on one side

Once I finished up the center section I concentrated on working on one side.  I have quickly worked through Charts 2 (Papyrus Lace) and 3 (Baghdad Border) and am almost ready to start the 4th and final chart on this side.

Project:  Scorpius by Trish vanKuyk
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Luxe in Scorpio
Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Scorpius - Baghdad Screen Chart (Chart 1) Done

I finished up this section of the shawl last night, but it was too dark to get a decent picture.  I started out in the center with Judy Becker's magic cast and have been working my way out from there.  On each side I worked rows 1-20 of the Baghdad Chart, then rows 9-20 three times, then rows 21-28.  I actually cropped the chart three times in my KnitCompanion App to correspond with the three steps, which made it so easy to remember what part I was working on.  I also finished each piece on both sides before continuing on to the next.  Given that I started in the middle of the skein and am working the same pattern in both directions, I find the difference in the color pooling between the two sides interesting.  The stitch count changes between this chart and the next, so it will be interesting to see how that affects the color pooling.

Project:  Scorpius by Trish vanKuyk
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Luxe in Scorpio
Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Scorpius

When I finished up the Mayan Garden Cape I thought about starting Peter Pan, but I really want to wait until the complete pattern comes out so I don't have to import all of the clues into KnitCompanion.  Then the latest shipment from the Zodiac Shawl Club came and I decided I really needed to work on those so I pulled out Scorpius.  This one presents a little bit of a challenge because of the construction (so does Peter Pan, but I have a plan for that one).  This is one of those shawls that is knit from the center out.  Well, not quite the center.  The first chart forms the center panel, and then you work charts 2, 3 and 4 before going back to the cast on edge (provisionally cast on) and work charts 2, 3 and 4 again.

My first issue with the construction is the fact that the yarn is variegated and if I just work the pattern as written the yarn colors may not look right - there might be an obvious break where I start the second part of the shawl.  The second issue with the construction is the provisional cast on.  I'm just not a fan of those, especially the ones where you use a crochet chain to pick up the stitches and then unravel the crochet chain to get the other side.  I learned on the Wavelettes shawl what a pain that can be.  Originally I thought I would just do a long tail cast on and pick up stitches from that for the other side.  I figured that with fingering weight yarn the ridge formed by the cast on wouldn't be too noticeable.  I even started the shawl out that way and worked a few rows of the pattern, and as I worked them a plan started to form.

I frogged that first start and took my scale and my cake of yarn downstairs to my studio and put the yarn cake on the scale and started winding another cake from it using my left hand to tension the yarn and my right hand to wind.  When I had wound off half of the cake I grabbed another US 4 needle out of my needle stash and headed back upstairs.  Then, starting in the middle of the skein and holding the two needles together I cast on 77 stitches using Judy Becker's magic cast on that was invented for toe up socks.  And then I started knitting.  I have knitted rows 1-20 of the first chart in both directions and now I'll knit rows 9-20 of the first chart 3 times on each side, instead of 6 times, finishing off with rows 21-28.  It will make the central motif a little bit bigger, but I have a very generous skein so I'm not worried about running out of yarn.  The picture is not the best - it has been a gray and rainy day.

Project:  Scorpius by Trish vanKuyk
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Luxe in Scorpio
Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Willow Cardigan - Finished!

I finished up the body almost a month ago, and then it sat until last weekend when I pulled it out and finished the neck band and sewed it to the body.  Once that was done I started on the sleeves.  I did top-down set in sleeves, and it always seems to take me a couple of tries before I get it right.  This is for throwing over a tank top when you just need a little extra warmth and don't feel like dealing with a shawl.

Pattern:  Tahki Stacy Charles Willow Cardigan
Yarn:  Tahki Stacy Charles Tandem in Ocean Deep
Needles:  US 7 (4.5 mm)