Garnet Cassie - Finished!

My Garnet Cassie came off the blocking mats yesterday afternoon.  I do love this pattern, this color, and this yarn.  It really is wonderful when all the factors come together so beautifully.  I did forget to switch to the US 6 needle when I got to the bottom ribbing, but I didn’t realize it until I had already worked several rounds and I wasn’t going to tink back, or change partway through, and I really don’t think it matters.

I wore my Foxglove Cassie this past Friday for a Fruity Knitting Knit and Chat.   The hosts didn’t show up (they are in the middle of retreats they are also hosting), but the Shetland patrons that did show up had a nice visit that went for 2 hours!  It was actually more fun just because it was more relaxed.  It is a warm top, even worn on its own, and very comfy.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm neck & armhole edging), US 7 (4.5 mm, body and bottom ribbing)

Garnet Cassie - Neck and Armhole Edging Done!

This weekend I reached the end of my second skein, so I grabbed another skein and worked the neck ribbing and the I-cord edging for the armholes.  That way, when I’m done with the body, I’m done.

At this point I have worked 24 of the 67 rows I need to work on the body before I work the bottom ribbing.  I’m already planning my next garment project, which will be made out of some of my handspun yarn.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm - ribbing and armhole edging), US 7 (4.5 mm - body)

Garnet Cassie - Bodice Done!

Last night I finished up the two charts that complete the bodice and get you to the underarm join.

As with my Foxglove Cassie, I extended the straight section before the increases to give me more armhole depth.  The knitting is easy, the yarn is wonderful, and the color is great.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino

Needle:  US 6 (4,0 mm) & US 7 (4.5 mm)

Garnet Cassie - Yoke Done!

I have not been completely neglecting my Garnet Cassie, and last night I finished up the yoke.  This part involves five charts - knitCompanion to the rescue on that score!  At this point I am ready to switch to the front bodice chart, joining the two front pieces and casting on stitches to bridge the gap between them.  The pattern actually has you start the front bodice chart immediately after binding off the shoulder stitches  with the right front piece.  I am not doing this.  I did not do this on my Foxglove Cassie, and I am not doing it here.  I suppose it is to avoid cutting your yarn and reattaching, but I don’t mind weaving in an extra end or two.  What I do mind is a missing row and a missing increase on the right front, especially when there is a cable design involved, or any stitch pattern other than straight stockinette.  Well, actually, I just object on principle.  It is the engineer in me.  So I completed 32 rows on both front pieces, and they have the same number of stitches, so when I work the first row of the front bodice chart I will only cast on 6 stitches instead of 7, as the pattern calls for.  One benefit of having that tail between the two front pieces is that I can use it along with my working yarn to work a long tail cast on, which has the happy side effect of securing that end.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 for the ribbing, when I get there), US 7 (4.5 mm)

Garnet Cassie - Cast On!

After finishing up my Tredegar Scarflette, I did cast on another Cassie Slipover.  This is the same yarn base as my Foxglove Cassie, but in the Garnet Amaryllis colorway.

The darker yarn does make this a little bit of a challenge, especially in the evening, so I’ve been using my Lumos neck light when I’m working on it.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Foxglove Cassie - Finished!

And it is finished!  This worked up quickly - one week from cast on to bind off, and it was a lot of fun to knit.  And the fit is perfect - it actually looks better on me than it does on my dressmaker dummy.  The yarn is super soft, so it feels great against the skin, and it looks great as a top without anything underneath it.  I think I will pair it with a nice shawl (I have oodles to choose from).  For the bottom I just continued the ribbing as established by the cable pattern, working the called for 4.5 cm before binding off in pattern.  I did not go down a needle size for the bottom ribbing.

When I’m knitting cables I’m always a little bit paranoid about screwing up a cable - crossing it the wrong way, but I didn’t have any problems with that until I got to the very end.  I had paused and was admiring the colors when I spotted the mistake.

I was already pretty far past it, so I marked it and figured I could fix it when I came around to that spot again.  It was an easy fix.

I just dropped the stitches down, crossed the cable the correct way and picked the stitches back up using a couple of small crochet hooks that are made for fixing mistakes.

Now that I know it fits I can cast on another using this gorgeous set of the same yarn base.  The colorway is The Garnet Amaryllis.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub 

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm)

Foxglove Cassie - Neck and Armhole Edging Done!

Once I had gotten to the end of my second skein, I caked up skeins three and four and worked the armhole edging and the neck edging with skein four.  The pattern calls for an I-cord edging on the armholes, and specifies the stitch pick-up ratio, so that was very easy and straight forward.  I did go down a needle size for the edgings to a US 6 (4.0 mm).  For the neck edging, the pattern called for a 1x1 rib, which I really don’t like, so I decided to maintain the established rib pattern from the body and picked up my stitches accordingly.  I worked about an inch and then bound off in pattern.  I now get to concentrate on the semi-mindless knitting of the body until I get to the body ribbing.  Once again the pattern calls for a 1x1 rib, and once again I will simply continue the established ribbing pattern of the body, and I will probably go down a needle size (US 6) there as well.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub 

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm)

Foxglove Cassie - Bodice Done!

After pondering the way the yoke is finished and joined, I decided to modify the pattern.  As I mentioned in the last blog post, the left front chart (P1 in the pattern) has an extra row and an extra stitch as compared to the right front chart (P5 in the pattern) and I just couldn’t go forward with that.  So, when I was working that final row (row 32) I worked an extra row on the right front, and did an increase, following the established pattern.  I then cut the yarn, slipped the right front stitches from the right needle to the left needle, reattached my yarn, and started working the front chart (V1 in the pattern), but I only cast on 6 stitches instead of 7 stitches as I had already done an increase on the right front to match the left front.  I worked the first 2 rows of the front chart, and then started working the back chart (R1 in the pattern) using the other end of the yarn cake.

I continued working through the two charts, working from both ends of the cake until I got to the first increase row.  At this point I looked at the length of the armhole and decided that it was too short and that I needed to extend the straight section between the decreases and increases that shape the armhole.  For the front (chart V1) I repeated rows 19-26 and for the back (chart R1) I repeated rows 18-25.  I worked those rows 2 times total and then continued on to the increase section and finished out the charts.  At this point I have joined the front and the back and now I get to work in the round until the body is long enough, or I run out of yarn, whichever comes first.  Once I finish using up the second skein, I’ll use the fourth skein to work the collar and the armhole edging, so I know exactly how much yarn I can use on the body.  I tried it on, and the fit is perfect.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Foxglove Cassie - Yoke Done!

I am ready to cast off the stitches for the saddles and start working the front and back separately, but first I have to do a little deciphering of the pattern.  At this point the pattern has me start to work across on the right side, binding off the saddle shoulder stitches as I get to them, but when I get to the other front piece (right front, which is on the left in this picture) I have to start working from the front chart instead of the yoke chart, but that means that I have an extra row, and an extra stitch on the left front (which is on the right in this picture) and I’m still coming to terms with that in my head.  I do want to draw attention to the beautiful and elegant construction.  There are lots of increases (almost every row) and the pattern uses the ones where you pull up the strand between the stitches and knit or purl in the front or back of the resulting loop.  If you do it correctly, using the proper increases in the proper places, you end up with a beautiful line of stitches.

Just look at how the stitches come off of the saddle in a neat line.  You can really see it on the wrong side.

Instead of translating the key from the pattern, which is in German, I created my own key using PatternGenius.  I just created a blank chart and put in the stitches that I wanted and spit out the PDF of the “pattern” and then just grabbed the key page with the symbols and the description of how to work the stitches.  I was not doing them correctly on my first attempt and so I frogged back and started over.  I get hung up on the usage of “front” and “back” because it can be relative or it can be absolute.  In this case it is relative.  Once I figured that out things went great, and if I did slip up (typically because I was tired) I was able to spot it right away and fix it.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Foxglove Cassie - Cast On!

I finished up my Ashen vest this past Wednesday and blocked it Thursday morning - it is still drying, but it looks great.  So yesterday I cast on the Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub.  I have been searching for the perfect pattern for this yarn set, and came across several strong contenders, but when I saw the Cassie Slipover I knew that I had a winner.  Here is the yarn set that I’m using:

It is Sundara Yarn’s extra fine Aran merino, and it is luscious.  I wanted a top down pattern, as that allows me to make the best use of my yarn.  The very cool thing about the Cassie Slipover is the construction.  It has saddle shoulders and when I saw the photo I thought they would be cool to knit in the darkest color, while the rest of the bodice was knit in the lightest color, but once I bought the pattern and understood the construction I realized that the only way to do that would be Intarsia, and I don’t do that.  The pattern is only available in German, but it has excellent charts, in fact it has multiple charts for the different sizes, and the instructions are pretty easy to decipher thanks to Google Translate.  The first set of charts enables you to work the front, the shoulders, and the back, all at the same time.  Once I finish that set of charts I’ll work the rest of the front and the back down through the armholes.  There are charts for that, with the armhole shaping already included.  I can work those at the same time from both ends of a cake of yarn so that I use my colors up evenly.  Once I join in the round it gets even easier.  The neck band, and armhole edging will be worked in the darkest color, my standard for working with these gradient sets.  The construction of this top makes it super easy to use a gradient set because you don’t need to weigh anything or worry about matching the color changes for the front and back.

Pattern:  Cassie Slipover by Sarah Kaub

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn’s extra fine Aran merino

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Swatching and Watching

I haven’t had a whole lot of knitting mojo since I finished up the two colorwork bolsters.  I cast on Last Word with the wonderful Wensleydale from The Ross Farm, but just wasn’t feeling it, I wasn’t enjoying the knit, so this morning I decided to block what I have knitted so far and just see how it looked and felt.  I put some Barber cord on my tips and soaked away.  We’ll see how it comes out, and then I will decide what I want to do next.

In the meantime I did a couple of swatches while watching PLY Spinners Guild videos.  I have had this luscious set of Sundara Yarn Extra Fine Aran Merino in my stash for a little while.  And it has been quietly insisting that I do something with it.  I mean, just look at those colors!  That is what I love about Sundara Yarn - her  colors.  Seriously, she dyes beautiful yarn, and I love her Daily Dreams emails.  She is pretty much my only impulse yarn buy these days because if you see something you like in the Daily Dream you have to get it, as all of those are essentially limited runs.

Before I started swatching I spent some time sipping my first cup of tea and cruising the pattern library on Ravelry looking for some potential patterns for this set, as well as something that might suite the Wensleydale better.  I found a few prospects, noted the called for fiber and the stitch gauge and swatched away, while I watched the aforementioned PLY Spinners Guild videos.  The swatches are blocking, but I think I know what I want to make with the Sundara Yarn.  Even still damp the swatch is wonderfully soft and has nice drape and the gauge looks pretty good for the pattern I have in mind.

Regarding the PLY Spinners Guild, if you’re a spinner, or want to be a spinner, it is a really great resource.  They have a whole series of videos that are really quite excellent.  I am also reading PLY Magazine, which is also an excellent resource.  The Sheepspot Society is another great resource.  I took the Fall 2024 Spin School on line course, which is actually how I learned to spin, and now I’m in Breed School.  And I don’t know what happened to that first paragraph.  When I put in the link for The Ross Farm it centered everything, and I can’t get it to go away.  Oh Well.