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Knitting Friday

 

First, the diet. I'm sure you've had sleepless nights thinking about my success or failure.....Well, it's working. For me, the elimination of flour products from my diet seems to be the fix I need. Even sweets can be tolerated in moderation (and I'm talking about flour-less sweets and strict moderation) as long as I rein in those bagels and pies. Funny, I don't really miss them. A trick that works for me is a big bowl of healthy popcorn. OK, I cheat most of the time and use the microwave type and not the homemade (only popcorn, no fats) brown bag microwave type but it takes me about an hour to finish a bowl.

 

And on to knitting: Do you remember me mentioning that the hospice social worker came in a few months ago with a gorgeous Aran-style cream colored long sleeved tunic over tights?

#1 Over tights

It was so attractive and, hey, I had the yarn so I started to look for patterns to knit it. Then I discovered it would be way cheaper and faster to buy the damn thing! At left, is the compromise I finally knitted which looks nothing like where I was headed. What you have here is one of my generic top-down sweater patterns done in a straight knit with every 10th row done in the twisted stitch. (I posted about this about a month ago.) I just kept knitting until it was about knee length. Then I worked a rib as K1 back loop, P1 for the hem. (Which I should have made longer but I was soooo tired of knitting this thing.) My only tip: mark your front and back (I had 60 front, 18 armholes, 60 back, 18 armhole) once you finish your yoke and increase 2 stitches at the side front and 2 stitches at the side back every 10 rows. I did left leaning and right leaning increases so that they all leaned into the armhole area. These increase give a gradual flair as you work to the dreaded hip area. Of course, since I never knit to gauge (yes, I know it's a big mistake), I had no idea if these increases were too little or too much, but it worked. I wear this will a long sleeved tee and black Calvin Klein slacks/tights.

As you know, I'm wild about this pattern:

http://www.antiquecrochetpatterns.com/circular-shawl.html

It's a shawl, it's crochet (and it's definitely worth learning to crochet for it), it's in UK terms and it's from 1915! Remember these shawls from a few weeks back:

#2 1 skein in wool

#3 acrylic unwashed

Pictures #2 and #3 show two shawls, the gold is in wool and the white is acrylic. At the time of crocheting them, the white was the most wearable since the gold only came to my elbows. But look what a found skein of gold wool and a good washing to white acrylic will do. You can't see the dramatic difference in the white shawl (#4) but it's so much fuller, softer and even longer after a turn in the washer and dryer.

#5 2 skeins in wool

#4 acrylic washed

And the difference in the gold shawl is obvious in #5 since that extra skein lengthened the shawl to my wrists. Love, love, love them both and don't forget these shawls are folded circles so them make a great small afghan.

#6 My own scarf deign, RS

#7 WS of #6

 I posted the pattern for #6 a few weeks ago and #6 (that's not a mistake in the ribbing at the bottom) & #7 show my progress. It a very easy knit which I'm working in US 11 and I think it might make a nice sweater pattern with smaller needles.

So you don't have to scroll back for the pattern, here's a quickie version:

CO 4x stitches in a picot cast on (google for good directions) plus edging stitches (I used 5 K each side.)

R1: edge sts *K2 tog, 2xs; YO, 2x* edge sts.

R 2 & 4: edge sts *P* but on the double YOs - P the 1st YO and K the 2nd YO; edge sts

R 3: edge sts *YO, 2x; K2tog, 2xs* edge sts

Do a picot bind off. (Again, just google it.)

Very easy and reversible.

And finally, a tip: wrapping and turning for short rows. I really don't like making short rows because wrapping and turning seems so fussy to me but here's a tip I found I had written down (sorry, I can't give credit but I think it was a comment on some pattern):

Wrap & Turn on stockinette (works on garter also, but didn't try it):

1. K to your wrap and turn stitch. (directions usually say: K x number of stitches, wrap and turn

2. Pick up the stitch just below the 1st stitch (your wrap & turn stitch) on your LN. Knit it and place this stitch on your RN.

4. Pass the 1st stitch on your LN (your original wrap & turn stitch where instead of knitting it you knitted into the stitch below it) to your RN. These two stitches will look joined.

5. Turn your work and slip the "joined" stitches to your LN. Do not knit them now.

6. Work to the end of your row. (with stockinette, you should be purling). Turn

7. K back to your joined stitches and knit them together.

Here's a picture:

#6 wrap & turn, bad picture

It's not the best picture but I did about 3 wrap and turns on this small sample (the yarn was lousy) and they were the easiest I've never done. One tip because I get spooked easy: Cut a long strand of yarn and mark the joined stitches so they will be super simple to find on your return visit to them.

That's it for today. I'm making a Bowtie Pi shawl in white crochet thread of the summer. I'm using a D hook which is very, very small for me. For some reason I feel like Bette Davis in The Letter where she crocheted that beautiful shawl during her trial for murder. (She got off.) Must be the small hook. Here's the pattern link:

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bowtie-pi

See you next week. Happy knitting.