bye bye winter

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It’s done; before Holi which signifies the end of winter in the lunar Hindu calendar. Took a bit longer because there were days my mind was cliffhanging ;-P 

On reaching the arms, I realised there was sufficient yarn left to continue in yellow. But to keep the chest warmer, I picked a denser pattern (#44 in The New Knitting Stitch Library by Leslie Stanfield). I was going for flames, but made an error and the pattern turned into diamonds. Still it looked good.

It is also a 16 row pattern that needs with multiples of 6 (+1) stitches. 8 rows have been offset from the original, to change into discreet diamonds.

Finally running out of yarn for the arms & neck strips, I picked up the white and added a trim in yellow. Barely 10 gms yellow left now, phew.

I’m going to embroider a small sprig in white, but have burned the fingers on my right hand. Embroidery (and tatting) will have to wait till the blisters subside.

While the photos may not show it, the blouse/top does look very pretty and hubby approved ;-D

This is fresh off the needles, with no ironing/blocking. Will only be worn next season. I didn't shape the body coz I like breathing space ;-P 

Reposting this collage card I made in 2015 for Holi …

Happy Holi, everybody !!! Colour the town with tatted threads J

changing tack

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According to the Hindu calendar, the festival of Holi will fall on 21st March this year, meaning we can expect the cold to last till then. Taking this into cognizance, I spurred myself into knitting a blouse/tunic. It's been 5 years since my last one! Tatting has really taken over my life.

I was given this yarn and the items knit from it looked fine and were said to be warm. There was a shine which I could live with. But when I started knitting, I just couldn’t get a feel for it. It was too nylon-ish, too artificial. It is a mix of 25% polyamide & 75% acrylic. Has anybody tried something similar? What is your opinion?

I tried earnestly for a few days, but finally gave up before it was too late.  

Frogged it and pulled out yarn from my own stash.

Vardhman Little Angel.  Shade LAL011. I only have 200gms and will again have to resort to a white yoke as in this 2014 top. This is 100% acrylic (at least the current ones on their site – mine are from 2012!), but at least it feels more like wool when knitting.

This is the true yellow shade, not the lighter/pale one in other pics.

I hope to finish it in a week, but there are tatting commitments, which may result in a race against rising temperatures. Thus, I chose a relatively repetitive pattern with just enough lace and change to keep my focus and retain interest.  

I used UK #12 needles for the border (p2,k1) and UK #10 for pattern. This is where it reached after 2 days. 

 

Pattern is again from my favourite book. I just naturally gravitate towards it - one of my Best and most used buys! All patterns are visual charts which I find very easy to follow and navigate. 

The one I chose, #196, is an 8+2 repeat over 16 rows. 

Muskaan's Knit Top 2014

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My Knit Top 2014

Bored of the same old Rib Borders ?!

Wish to try some Patterned border for neck & arms ?

Read on …

Finally !!! My lone knit project for 2013-14 winter season is finally over ! This was a truly lean season as far as knitting went. And tatting is to blame ;-)) Anyways, with this project out of the way, & winters just on the verge of ending, I can take up tatting full-time, without any guilt !

I created this design as a combination of 2 different patterns that kept alternating in strips :

Broad strip : Pattern Chart #192 from The New Knitting Stitch Library by Lesley Stanfield

( 23 stitch & 6 row repeat )

Narrow strip : Pucker Cable stitch  ( 5+3 stitch & 4 row repeat )

Yarn : Vardhman Little Angel (baby wool)

White : Shade # LAL065

Blue : Shade # LAB026

Needles :

UK #12 for waist border (rib stitch) 

UK #10 for main body And neck & arm borders.

I tried out some new techniques which I’m listing for all my future projects since one cannot rely fully on one’s memory ;-))

1. Slip Stitch at beginning of Each Row.

I’d always had trouble imagining How one could keep slipping a stitch Without knitting it. But, this time, I gave it a go & boy was I amazed & hooked at the result !

Loved the smooth, even, neat edge that this created !

And so very easy to sew the panels together because each stitch is distinct.

Invaluable for knit blankets, etc. even if one does not want a separate edging… If only I’d known then !

2. Hiding the yarn ends.

This time I tried out a new method for hiding the tails. I can’t find the exact source (will add link when I come across it again). Instead of going in a U formation through stitches from the back, I sewed the tail, in sinusoidal fashion, along each half of a knit stitch – for a distance of 1-2 inches.

This technique is especially useful for Lacy patterns such as this where there are spaces in between.

3. Pattern Borders for Neck & Arms.

As the main knitting came to an end, I couldn’t bring myself to add the usual Rib stitch borders to neck & arms. Instead I tried something new by using the Pucker Cable stitch pattern as border.

I added 1 more stitch, thus casting on 9 stitches instead of 8. This extra stitch served as a smooth straight & even outer edging (selvedge?). Again, 1^st stitch of each row was slipped.

After trying out the patterned border with both #12 & #10 needles, I decided to go along with the latter & adjust the tension while sewing.

TIP : The extra stitch for selvedge needs to be on Opposite sides for respective arms : On the right/starting end for right arm border & on the left/last end for the left arm border.

4. Separate Strips for Neck & Arms.

I have always picked up stitches (or included the ones left on holders) along the neck & arm line. This time, since I went in for the patterned border, I had to knit each strip separately to required length & then sew them on to the sweater edge.

I used just the slightest bit of tension while sewing the strips since these were also knit with #10 needles as the rest of the sweater.

Since I wasn’t very sure of the exact length ( I’m Always bungling there ), I began sewing Before the strip reached it’s final length, so that I had enough play to add the rows required before casting off.

5. Color Coordinated Border for Arms.

I doubt an all white strip would’ve looked good with the blue part at lower ends of each arm. Using an all-blue strip would’ve been nice for a younger person. But at my age, I wanted a bit more staidness ;-). Hence I had to make the arm strips using Both colors along the respective lengths.

One thing I did Not do, which I should have :

Mitered Corners for the Square Neck !

I was in too much of a hurry to just complete this project – it has been a WIP almost the entire season. So, not having done a mitered corner ever before, And having to deal with a pattern to boot, I developed cold feet at the prospect of learning & applying mitering to the neckline border strip.

I settled for ‘mitering’ while sewing on the strip ! It obviously added a triangular bulk inside, but who’s gonna see ;-)))

Task for next season : Learn to miter the corners, especially as my next project is going to be Quilt/Afghan #4 !!!

Just one last point. The use of 2 colors brought out the natural waviness of the pattern, creating a sinusoidal yoke naturally , instead of a boring old straight yoke.  Here is another picture of the full blouse (yes, I wear it with a sari !) - the back view.

My Knit top/blouse 2014

The New Knitting Stitch Library by Lesley Stanfield 

My favorite go-to book for knitting patterns !

There are over 250 Charted patterns, categorized into knit & purl, Cables, Laces, etc. etc. 

Adieu to knitting till next winter :-)