Progress Update

Sahara - I'm about 3/4 of the way through the 2nd sleeve. I've finished the 2 stitch increases, and one of the 4 stitch increases. Three more sets of 4 stitch increases at 7 rows a set, plus 2 repeats of the diamond rib for the cuff, and I can finish it off! :D Last night, despite a dull headache and lack of sleep, I pushed my way through a quarter of the sleeve. If I concentrate on it tonight, I can probably get it done today. I don't know if that will be possible though, as Lawrence and I have to go to his parents' place for dinner...meaning no knitting for however long we're there.

Rona Lace Shawl - This is coming along slowly...mostly when I don't feel like working on the sweater. It's difficult doing the KB, so it goes very slowly even when I do work on it. I can't wait to see how it turns out but it may very well take until Christmas to finish the thing.

Leyburn Socks - I started these socks over the weekend. Given all the sock yarn I bought through other peoples' destashes on Ravelry, I wanted to actually start working on socks again. I decided to try out the Hill Country Alpaca (in Purple Mountain) because all the socks I've made so far have been with Cherry Tree Hill yarns. I really wanted to try the Leyburn socks to see how the lattice quilt stitch works up. I think it would work very well for a more brightly contrasting variegated yarn. It still looks nice in the Purple Mountain colorway (purple, blue, brown), and actually looks more formal than any pair of hand knitted socks I've ever seen. They're like business socks....for when it's business time. Hah, Flight of the Conchords reference there. They're songs are hilarious. :D

Entrelac Wristwarmers - The entrelac wristwarmers in the Japanese book I bought, "Nordic Knitting. Ten fabulous techniques," caught my eye the first time I saw them. It's a perfect project for a skein of Noro. I can try out both knitting entrelac and knitting with Noro while producing a useful and cool looking product, all at the same time. It works up really quickly, but I think I perhaps should have used size 7 needles or made the wristwarmers only 4 repeats wide instead of 5. They seem like they may be a little loose on my wrists when I expected them to be more snug. However, I do still have to wash/block them and seam them up. The entrelac is surprisingly fun and interesting to knit up. I think it's because the knitting is being modularized into small blocks at a time. You feel like you're flying through the knitting every time you finish a connecting row, and then every time you finish a block. The changing colors help too because you're not staring at the same uniform color the entire way.

Technique Note:
I ran into a problem with the diamond rib lace in Sahara. I've seen the same problem mentioned by other knitters. Lace patterns often have sections that call for knitting or purling several stitches together, creating a little bump of gathered stitches. This technique is used in creating "nupps" like those found on the Swallowtail Shawl. This troublesome stitch is compounded when the stitch calls for knitting or purling the stitches together through the back loop. So, after using a crochet hook and wondering at how anyone would have the patience to put up with the trouble, I tried to work out a better solution.

The idea basically follow the same strategy as a skp stitch, or s1, k1, psso. You slip 1 stitch, you knit the next, then you pass the slipped stitch over the stitch you just knit. It was like an epiphany when I realized that passing slipped stitches over accomplishes the same decrease as if you just knit the 2 stitches together, except you only ever need to stick your needle into 1 stitch at a time. The only thing you have to work out is the orientation of your stitches.

For the p3togtbl stitch, I basically looked at the orientation of my needles in relation to the yarn, and how the orientation of the yarn changes after the stitch. If you try to make a p3togtbl, you start off by trying to put your right needle into the back of the 3rd stitch on your left needle while both needles are pointing in the same direction. Assuming you were able to successfully make the stitch, what you would be doing is pulling up a loop of working yarn through 3 stitches, from the stitch closest to the tip of your left needle, left through 3 stitches. You would get the same result if you ptbl of the first stitch, then pulled the resulting stitch straight on through the next 2 stitches on your left needle. So, you ptbl - 2 stitches remain on the left needle while you have 1 worked stitch on the right needle. Slip the worked stitch back to the left needle without changing its orientation. Use your right needle to slip the 2 following stitches over the worked stitch. Slip that stitch back to your right needle without changing orientation.

This would also work if you slip the first 2 stitches to the right needle, then ptbl on the 3rd stitch of the left needle. This leaves all 3 of your stitches on the right needle. You then only need to pass each of those first 2 slipped stitches over your 3rd worked stitch. Instant, easy p3togtbl! :)

p3togtbl

P3tog tbl, p3tbl, p3 sts tog tbl, purl 3 together through back loop...however you say it, this can be one nasty stitch to make. Lucky me, the Diamond Rib pattern in Sahara uses this stitch. K3togtbl, which was used in the diamond rib at the bottom hem was at least doable by slipping, knitting, then passing the slipped stitch(es) over. It took me a while to figure out how to easily do the p3togtbl, which is the same stitch from the other side. It was difficult to find information, but I did see a post mention a crochet hook being used.

1) Crochet Hook - The method I used was to stick the crochet hook through the stitches so the hook ends up where the point of my knitting needle would have been had I tried to purl through the back loops. This is the same direction the left hand needle is pointing, which is pointing to the right. After many awkward tries at it, I came up with a fairly quick system. Slip the 3 stitches off the left needle since it'll be nearly impossible to get the hook through the loops while they're on the needle. Take your crochet hook, and stick the butt end left through the loops. You don't have to bring your hook hook-first from left to right, if you stick the non-hook end from right to left, your hook still ends up in the correct orientation. Now, as if you were crocheting, wrap the yarn around the hook and pull through the 3 loops. Now you've got your final stitch coming out of the left and your working yarn coming out of the right. Flip the hook with the stitch around, clockwise as seen from above and put the stitch on the right needle. Similarly, move your working yarn clockwise, bringing it to the back for the following knit stitches.

2) Passing Over - I just realized there is probably a way to do this by passing stitches over. I haven't tried it yet, but my attempt at visualizing this would suggest the following: purl 1 stitch through the back loop. Slip this stitch back onto the left needle without twisting. Slip the next 2 stitches over the purled stitch. Slip back to the right needle. That might do it.

Tightening purls

While working on the lace party scarf, I noticed after I switched to continental that my purled rows were looser than the knit rows. I didn't bother looking up and experimenting with various techniques so it's a good thing that today I saw a thread on Ravelry where someone else was having the same problem. Suggestions include using interchangeable circulars and using a smaller needle on the purl row; tightening the tension for the purl row; knitting backwards instead of purling; use combination knitting by wrapping the yarn the wrong way on purls and knitting into the back loop on knits.

Combination knitting sounds like it might get confusing in a complicated pattern...but then again...it probably wouldn't be that much more difficult. All you would have to do is look at the legs and make sure you always knit/purl into the front leg.

Knitting backwards is something I still want to learn to do proficiently.

Attempts at Argyle

So, the argyle golf club cozies I'm making...yeah...um, they may take a little longer than I thought. I thought the 6.5 inches of 1x1 ribbing on size 5 needles would be the tough part! The colorwork is harder than I originally thought it would be, and I think that's particularly because it's argyle. There are places with several color switches, there are big blocks of color. Plus, it's in the round. The instructions specified to knit it flat and then seam up the side. I don't like seeming, I have all these nice shiny new circulars, so I thought I'd be clever and knit it in the round.

Fast forward to the argyle. I didn't realize color working technique would be an issue, and I certainly didn't think it would be that much more difficult in the round. I figured...well ok I'll just carry the yarn in the back and use it when I come to a color I need it for. I think that's called stranding, and is usually used with fair isle where you are constantly alternating between 2 colors. Problem is I was working with 3 colors, and some places I use one color every 15 spaces or so. That leaves a long loose strand hanging in the back. You have to leave enough slack to not distort the fabric. Even if you do that, your fabric can't stretch beyond the length of that strand, and you can't make it too loose or else the stitches will be loose on the front side, and the loops on the back may get caught on things. I did this for 2 rounds before I realized this was a problem. Maybe it's not so bad flat, but doing this using Magic Loop for a round item, I wasn't leaving enough slack at the turn, and my cozy was going to be permanently nipped in on 2 sides.

Okay, so that doesn't work and I tink back. I look up information and they say you usually use intarsia for argyle color work. No problem, I'll cut up my yarn and make bobbins even though I was trying to avoid doing that. I go for another 2 rounds and I'm all proud of myself for understanding the yarn twist at the color changes before I realize I'm running into a problem similar to the fair isle where the yarn is being stranded in the back. I finish series of stitches in a color, and since I'm working in the round, the next time I get to that section the yarn is on the far end and I need to pull it across the back so I can use the color on the beginning. That didn't seem right. I research some more and apparently intarsia is not meant for things worked in the round! When you knit flat, the yarn is in the correct place when you go backwards on the flip side.

Luckily there are a lot of websites and blogs that have dealt with this issue. They usually involve wrapping the yarn when you reach the beginning of the round, and then reversing your knitting and knitting along the back side. Apparently learning to knit backwards is awesome for this purpose (Knitty has an article on this).

I got it!

I was just sitting here thinking about the ladies I was knitting with last night and I put the yarn in my left hand and picked at it with the needle. Before I knew it I was knitting continental, just like that! I even finished the rest of my lace row (with yo's, ssk's, and k2tog's aplenty). I tried doing continental once before, but for some reason the hand motion just didn't click. This is awesome! One thing I'm having a little trouble with is holding the yarn in my left hand but I'm sure I'll figure that out with some more practice.

On another note, last night was the first meeting for the Tues night Pasadena Ravelry knitters group. We met at Zephyr, a very cute little coffee house with yummy pastries. I loved meeting other knitters & crocheters and one of the ladies runs an online yarn shop where she sells cashmere yarn! At $24 a skein, I can't run out and buy a bunch, but I think I will get some to make something for my aunt Jennifer. She loves cashmere, but I'm having a hard time thinking of something I can make for her. She doesn't actually wear any knit accessories...but then perhaps she will if I make some for her! lol, she'll love anything I make for her just because I made it.

Edit: Ok, so maybe purling isn't as intuitive. I need to figure out how to hold onto my left needle without my index & middle fingers.