bluealvarez (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} bluealvarez) wrote,@ 2008-04-16 19:02:00 |
|
The Machine Age
I finally got some quality time in with the ribber on Monday. For those of you who haven't heard me opine on the merits of my knitting machine, please do not misconstrue that sentence. The ribber is the part of my machine that makes it knit like a real person. Or a highly sophisticated android.
Above, not part of Monday's swatches, but a combo I'm fond of nonetheless. The red is a rhubarb rayon Emily gifted me not long ago, and I balled it up with this impossibly beautiful (and nearly as fine) blue and beige tencel that Judy gave me over the winter. Pretty, no? It's a bit see-through even still, but I think a light shrug or a shawl or something ought to do the trick.
But Monday I was on a quest to find a pattern for Alice's b-day gift. I started with a basic sampler in black, which ended in a moment of high excitement. See if you can guess why from this picture:
Yes, it looks like a knit squid, which is exciting enough to be sure. But if you think the top of that thing looks like the opening of a tube, that's because it is. I can knit seamless tubes on the machine. And therefore it stands to reason that I can knit sweaters more-or-less in the round. This is extremely exciting! Knitting in the round, sans fingertips! I am 100% geeked out.
Not nearly as gratifying, but probably prettier, swatch madness follows.
This was called an "English Rib" in the book:
I was looking at this going "Okay, a funky, bagged-out rib. What of it?" And then I flipped it over:
TA-DA! It's brioche stitch! Warm and chunky pullovers, here I come.
This one kind of looks like a horseshoe pattern in person, a variation on tucked stitches:
Which led me to my final destination:
When I saw this, I felt confident that it was time to bust out the good stuff:
I bought 4 balls of this (approx 600 yds.) at Circles a few months ago, with Alice in mind. The combination of a non-scratchy (vegan!) fiber and the stone blue gray just screamed Ms. Stern. I just didn't know at the time that her birthday would sneak up on me so quickly. Birthdays, they're a crafty lot.
I set out to make a scarf for her, the kind I see her usually knitting for other people, thinking it would use up most of this yarn. This deduction was based on the fact that my Craftland scarves absolutely inhaled yarn, hundreds of feet at a time. Well, lace, I am told, uses slightly less. To wit:
This took about 1 and a quarter balls. Upon completion I smacked my forehead and realized with that 600 yards I could probably have made the Incredible Shrinking Alice a tank top. But alas, it is too late for that.
So here's a brain teaser to help you kill some time at work - what to do with the other ~400 yards?
I finally got some quality time in with the ribber on Monday. For those of you who haven't heard me opine on the merits of my knitting machine, please do not misconstrue that sentence. The ribber is the part of my machine that makes it knit like a real person. Or a highly sophisticated android.
Above, not part of Monday's swatches, but a combo I'm fond of nonetheless. The red is a rhubarb rayon Emily gifted me not long ago, and I balled it up with this impossibly beautiful (and nearly as fine) blue and beige tencel that Judy gave me over the winter. Pretty, no? It's a bit see-through even still, but I think a light shrug or a shawl or something ought to do the trick.
But Monday I was on a quest to find a pattern for Alice's b-day gift. I started with a basic sampler in black, which ended in a moment of high excitement. See if you can guess why from this picture:
Yes, it looks like a knit squid, which is exciting enough to be sure. But if you think the top of that thing looks like the opening of a tube, that's because it is. I can knit seamless tubes on the machine. And therefore it stands to reason that I can knit sweaters more-or-less in the round. This is extremely exciting! Knitting in the round, sans fingertips! I am 100% geeked out.
Not nearly as gratifying, but probably prettier, swatch madness follows.
This was called an "English Rib" in the book:
I was looking at this going "Okay, a funky, bagged-out rib. What of it?" And then I flipped it over:
TA-DA! It's brioche stitch! Warm and chunky pullovers, here I come.
This one kind of looks like a horseshoe pattern in person, a variation on tucked stitches:
Which led me to my final destination:
When I saw this, I felt confident that it was time to bust out the good stuff:
I bought 4 balls of this (approx 600 yds.) at Circles a few months ago, with Alice in mind. The combination of a non-scratchy (vegan!) fiber and the stone blue gray just screamed Ms. Stern. I just didn't know at the time that her birthday would sneak up on me so quickly. Birthdays, they're a crafty lot.
I set out to make a scarf for her, the kind I see her usually knitting for other people, thinking it would use up most of this yarn. This deduction was based on the fact that my Craftland scarves absolutely inhaled yarn, hundreds of feet at a time. Well, lace, I am told, uses slightly less. To wit:
This took about 1 and a quarter balls. Upon completion I smacked my forehead and realized with that 600 yards I could probably have made the Incredible Shrinking Alice a tank top. But alas, it is too late for that.
So here's a brain teaser to help you kill some time at work - what to do with the other ~400 yards?
