Sable Stasher

Duxbury Finished Object ~ at last!

Or, the most generous people I know are knitters!                     

This a long story of frogging, re knitting and running out of yarn. It wasn't a difficult pattern. However, it was a nightmare knit for me. 

I purchased the green merino years ago. It had aged in stash for years. I had Jannette, (4 to 4 on eBay), in the UK send me two bags - 20 balls of Jaguar Extra Fine Merino DK. First time I had seen this particular yarn. Lovely stuff. A shame that Coats and Clark discontinued the Jaeger line. (I heard C&C bought Rowan out a few years ago. Feel free to correct that if it is wrong). 

I realized I might run out of yarn when the front and back were done. I decided to take out two chart C cables on each sleeve and knit the textured stitch and one 15 stitch cable pattern. By the time 1 sleeve was 1/2 done, I knew I needed at least 2 balls of yarn or, Duxbury would probably get thrown in a corner or be torn apart and be a vest. 

 I sent a note to KBTH and asked for help without much hope of anyone having this yarn. I didn't care much about dye lot. One of our KBTH members wrote and steered me to a Ravelry member that lives in the UK. I wrote to her and she said she would be glad to send that yarn to me if she hadn't thrown it away!  I held my breath for several days and didn't hear from her. However, the mailman arrived that week with the yarn and a lovely card. Two and 1/2 balls of the SAME dye lot.  Hard to believe my good fortune.

If I had done the cable sets the pattern called for on the sleeves, I would have needed at least 25 balls of yarn. Below are the 'left-overs' from my friend in the UK.  Hopefully, she will see this post and be glad she took all that time to dig that yarn out and send it to a woman she never heard of. 

A huge collection (stash to me) of yarn that is discontinued by the time we knit it up, ( 20 + years worth of yarns), is both good and bad. Good for these hard times, or retirement. I have found I just can't count on the given yardage in any pattern being correct for my particular style of knitting, and substituting yarns can be tricky.  

I just got lucky!                                                                               

I was so thrilled to have this done, I threw it on the floor and took the picture to prove it was actually done. I see I don't have it really laid out right but I will do another picture with a clean, blocked Aran.  Knitting onward...   

Terrible picture but stay tuned for my next adventure

Thanks again to the knitter in the UK that was willing to go through her huge stash to find those balls of yarn for a knitter in need. I hope no one runs out of yarn, but if you do, check with me. If it's old enough perhaps I can return the favor to someone else.

junieann

PS:  11 people left comments on this post - and mysteriously, they all disappeared.  However, I want you all to know, that I really appreciated the comments.  I have no idea what happened to my post. The unfathomable Internet!!!

Duxbury Finished Object ~ at last!

Or, the most generous people I know are knitters!

This a long story of frogging, re knitting and running out of yarn. It wasn't a difficult pattern. However, it was a nightmare knit for me. 

I purchased the green merino years ago. It had aged in stash for years. I had Jannette, (4 to 4 on eBay), in the UK send me two bags - 20 balls of Jaguar Extra Fine Merino DK. First time I had seen this particular yarn. Lovely stuff. A shame that Coats and Clark discontinued the Jaeger line. (I heard C&C bought Rowan out a few years ago. Feel free to correct that if it is wrong). 

I realized I might run out of yarn when the front and back were done. I decided to take out two chart C cables on each sleeve and knit the textured stitch and one 15 stitch cable pattern. By the time 1 sleeve was 1/2 done, I knew I needed at least 2 balls of yarn or, Duxbury would probably get thrown in a corner or be torn apart and be a vest. 

 I sent a note to KBTH and asked for help without much hope of anyone having this yarn. I didn't care much about dye lot. One of our KBTH members wrote and steered me to a Ravelry member that lives in the UK. I wrote to her and she said she would be glad to send that yarn to me if she hadn't thrown it away!  I held my breath for several days and didn't hear from her. However, the mailman arrived that week with the yarn and a lovely card. Two and 1/2 balls of the SAME dye lot.  Hard to believe my good fortune.

If I had done the cable sets the pattern called for on the sleeves, I would have needed at least 25 balls of yarn. Below are the 'left-overs' from my friend in the UK.  Hopefully, she will see this post and be glad she took all that time to dig that yarn out and send it to a woman she never heard of. 

A huge collection (stash to me) of yarn that is discontinued by the time we knit it up, ( 20 + years worth of yarns), is both good and bad. Good for these hard times, or retirement. I have found I just can't count on the given yardage in any pattern being correct for my particular style of knitting, and substituting yarns can be tricky.  

I just got lucky!                                                                               

I was so thrilled to have this done, I threw it on the floor and took the picture to prove it was actually done. I see I don't have it really laid out right but I will do another picture with a clean, blocked Aran.  Knitting onward...   

Terrible picture but stay tuned for my next adventure

Thanks again to the knitter in the UK that was willing to go through her huge stash to find those balls of yarn for a knitter in need. I hope no one runs out of yarn, but if you do, check with me. If it's old enough perhaps I can return the favor to someone else.

junieann

PS:  11 people left comments on this post - and mysteriously, they all disappeared.  However, I want you all to know, that I really appreciated the comments.  I have no idea what happened to my post. The unfathomable Internet!!!

Dux Duty & miscellaneous Dreams

  Or, I really have been knitting!

Slow as molasses, the Duxbury back is finished and the front of the sweater is underway (barely).

The color is way off - it is actually an emerald green but I can't seem to achieve that at night with a flash.  Imagination is a great thing.  At last, I seem to be coming out of my 3 month slump.  I have IDEAS again.

One Picture reminds me of me, the other reminds me of a jungle cat.  Hum, I wonder which is which?                                  

 

Bought Cascade Venusia in Blue Velvet

                                                                                                                            

                                                                              Fair Isle                              

             

          HAZERDOUS WORK                 

             

                     

            Stay Tuned!

            

Duxbury Point Chart "C", a Beginning

Or, Chart  C  Clarification for  Duxbury Point.

In my honest opinion,  The stitch count varies in Chart C' s even/odd number rows in the Duxbury Point pattern. The variance isn't charted. From #5  through row #21, you are going to find that than the actual number of purl stitches in the knitting, VS the charted number are different.

I won't say these are errors in Chart writing but  the correct number of purl stitches indicated in the chart is short through row 21. If the following information had been provided, I would have had an easier time getting started on this project.  I think that other knitters may have had or will have a problem. This post is for those knitters. I hope they find this post helpful. Chart C is on the left of this picture. Chart D is in the center of the piece.

I have gone back to the chart and written out the stitch count changes that I used, and the purl sequences between the cables on the right side of the knitting. Eventually, the chart gets back to 21 stitches per row - at least as far as I have knitted. As I  finish Chart C. I will watch for other problem areas if there are any.

The instructions warned that stitch count would change from 21 stitches.  From lace knitting, we expect/hope the designer will let us know how many stitches to expect at the end of each row or two.  Delayed decreases are common but they usually don't take 15 rows+ to complete.

I don't think this chart shows the correct number of stitches to count or to expect on Chart C. Looks like they ran out of room to print the Chart and the editors someone took out some purl symbols or the designer thought we were all experienced Aran knitters and could figure it out. Since I have reading difficulties, this was a big frustration to me.

 The majority of stitch additions occur on the WS rows and in the purl stitch count is between the cables.  The Chart does not reflect the change in those purl stitches.  They tell you to 'assume' there is 21 stitches in each row of Chart C. I have included a close up of my knitted version of Chart C up to row 21.  If anyone disagrees that I am counting correctly, please send me an email to my home address, and I will correct any error I made in typing or counting. 

If you look at the count, you see that purl increases show up every 4th row. Accounting for the  KBK increases in single stitches on those rows. The decreases don't catch up for 15 rows. As promised, the stitch count winds up at 21 again.  I am looking forward to seeing how the rest of the Chart works out. Since there is no stitch key included, the - - - are Knit stitches on WS rows and Purl stitches on right side rows, as usual. 

Row 5: 21 stitch count                                                
Row 6: 23 stitches
Row 7: 23 stitches with 7 purls
Row 8: 25 stitches
Row 9: 25 stitches with 11 purls
Row 10: 27 stitches
Row 11: 27 stitches, 15 purl stitches
Row 12: 29 stitches
Row 13: 29 stitches, 19 purl stitches
Row 14: 27 stitches
Row 15: 27 stitches, 15 purl stitches
Row 16: 25 stitches
Row 17: 25 stitches, 11 purl stitches
Row 18: 23 stitches
Row 19: 23 stitches, 7 purl stitches
Row 20: 21 stitches
Row 21: 21, stitches, 3 purl stitches                  

   

The ribbing and 21 rows of Charts, A,B,C, D

The Trinity Jacket FO

Or,  Gladys Gets Lost in Phone Booths And it Ain't Any Fun.                                                        

This is a jacket I rediscovered after 4 years. It has never been worn or seen by before. 

It all began with a train trip to Seattle to watch my eldest Granddaughter graduate from High School and I never got there!  It was like that John Candy Movie, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, only I played all the parts  

I have shortened the story since my first post.

Things went south  before I left home for Eugene and the Amtrak ride. Burning bridges trapped the Amtrak south of San Francisco.  A 10 PM call the night before told me I had to catch the commuter and be in Eugene by 6 AM. Translated, I had to be on the road 4:00 AM.  

Daylight was just breaking when I boarded the train. It reminded me of am old bar in the early morning, (don't ask me how I know that.  I think I read it in a book). 

The train let out a few groans and we slowly chugged away from the station in Eugene. This sure wasn't the sleek Amtrak I traveled on before. This was a vintage puddle jumper disguised as a train. 

To make a long story short, many whistle stops later,  an man stopped and said, "You will be getting off at Portland."  Shocking news to me.  I was told that the train went straight through to Seattle.  That is why I took it.  NO CHANCE of getting lost! 

I guess everyone that knows me, also knows I have a learning disability.  I may be the only person in Oregon that can get lost in a phone booth. 

We had plenty of stops on the way to Portland.  Like every 14 minutes.

I don't travel much because my family worries - I have no, absolutely no sense of direction and with the Portland news, I felt an anxiety attack coming on, so I began to doodle on a pad of paper.

It was a crude sketch of a sweater/jacket.  I had been thinking about.  I am a terrible artist and with the jolts and bumps, the design ended up with a square body some lumpy I-cord around all the edges. Then I did another I cord around every edge.  No one is nutty enough to two rows of I Cord around the entire sweater, cuffs, quasi- Mandarin collar.   

ABOUT 3 MONTHS LATER I finally knitted the jacket.  It took that long to recover from the 16 hour car, train, and bus trip to Seattle - that never reached its destination.  I ended up back in Coos Bay after traveling for 16 very long hours and I only got as far as Portland. That is a 4 hour car ride from Coos Bay.

The yarn is Rowan All Seasons Cotton in a darker teal/blue.  The I-cord is a row of 5 stitch lavender I-cord all the way around, and a 2nd row of of I-cord attached to the bottom  of the lavender in the main color.  The I-cord frog fasteners were made by me.  My first frogs of the knitted variety.  Took me days to figure out how to do that.  Instructions were from one of my ancient Vogue magazines.  The jacket was a bit large at the time but fits better now.  I have grown or the jacket shrunk.

                                                                                   

These pictures were taken 7/20/08.  Vader is still glad to see me even if I do get lost,  I always manage to find my way back home! The good new was, that Amtrak reimbursed me for all but the agents commission. 

Remember, my previous post?  I actually flew to Seattle!  I did make it to my younger Granddaughter's graduation.

Most people are good, decent and more than willing to help. I have finally learned to ASK and rely on the kindness of strangers - at least when traveling!

                                                                   

 

 

 

Calvin Klein's Baby Cables ~ FO

YEAH! All that is left is bath and blocking!          

                                        

Of course, this is what it was supposed to look like.

                     

 

And here is how it ended

After many weeks of struggle Lydia's lace weight bunny yarn,from her eBay store. I held it doubled, and size 2 needles - I finally got the baby cables done.  Wow, what a grind. I did a 'V' neck vs the 'T' neck as in the picture.  I still have to wash and block.  Thought I would save that until tomorrow.

 

I am not impressed with my ribbing and I am going to re do the ribbing on smaller needles with more decreases.

I tried to match the ribs up, and I didn't succeed very well. In my experience if a garment doesn't pat out right before blocking, you probably can't block flaws out.

IMHO, I can widen or lengthen a wool sweater, but that is about it. Can't cover up mistakes. 

This is not the right color.  The yarn is exactly the taupe color above. 

Now, the big question is ,"WHAT is next?"  I think this will be my next project

  DUXBURY POINT

                                                         

                                             

Here are my stashed yarn choices.  I was looking for a color card for a friend and I discovered ALL this Rowan 4 ply or Lavold I happened to have on hand.

The red/orange, the green, the Rowan 4ply tweed (Luster), with a strand of dk aqua silk for firmer fabric, or the RYC Cash Soft (Spring Green)?

I have to confess, I did buy the Luster from Jannette.  It was such a great deal and I had 3 or 4 balls of it.  However, it is too thin without that strand of silk. The other Lavold is old. Most of it is Dye Lot #1.   

  http://stores.ebay.com/Jannettes-Rare-Yarns                                                     The Cashsoft, is a brighter green...this pic is sort of faded out.   

Which yarn shall I choose?  I know I am late to the Duxbury knitting, but I am the world's slowest knitter.  At least, I hold 1/2 of that title.

Or....there is this one, sitting in stash, and waiting for me.

Strathglass has been in stash since Alice opened up VY. I can't remember how long ago that was but look how young Jade looks.                                         

Kauni Test Drive ~ FO

Or, Kauni Continued!               

It seems like months ago that I took the EF Kauni yarn for a test drive in order to see just what this yarn was like. I tried to take a picture of Test Drive via the mirror and camera model, but my hand shook and the picture is blurred. (that picture is at the very bottom of this post). The picture shows that the vest does fit.

Update 2 of the Kauni Test Drive told the story of my frog fish motif. I grabbed an old Dale motif, fooled around with it, changed it to fit my needs and proceeded onward. I didn't do any test swatching. I just took a chance it would work.

I knitted this straight from the cakes of EF I had done with my new swift.  I had some Navy Palette on hand and used that for a contrasting color. I also used it for I-cord and facings.

I didn't change the sequence of the Kauni colors except where I switched balls of yarn for the motifs on the shoulders. Thus, the color scheme of the skirt and bodice are the straight Kauni color runs. This baby doll vest is knitted completely in the round from the bottom up, including the shoulders straps. I had 4 steeks of 10 stitches each, (2 on the neck and 1 on each armhole).

Since I knit very tightly, I made a size 42 bust pattern with my Sweater Wizard to compensate.  I would normally knit a 40 inch bust. I didn't really use the pattern except for the cast on. SW that I have is a bit limited for anything other than the most basic patterns. When you knit a vest or shell in the round, the SW splits into 2 sections when the armhole decreases begin, (when you really need it). Fortunately, I have done this before and know as long as your stitch count and decrease count is kept correctly, almost anything will turn out okay.  With steeks involved, there is no way to try anything on, so knitting like this is an act of faith in one's ability to know what fits you and how to use a tape measure and take notes. I made the motifs fit the bust line and shoulder width.  I also shaped the neck back to suit myself and to fit the width of the fronts.

After cross stitching the armholes and neck, I cut the steeks. Proceeding to picking up stitches all the way around the armholes and neckline with a crochet hook and the navy Palette, slipping the stitches onto a Addi as I went. (I am ashamed to admit I didn't count the stitches I picked up). I knitted a purl row and then did 9 rows of stocking stitches around the armholes neck. This was the facing.  I went back and did a 4 stitch applied I-Cord around the neckline, arm holes and around the bottom of the body, using the bumps on that purl row. Knitting facings and doing I-Cord is time consuming.  Fortunately, I enjoy both techniques.

Included in the picture sequence are front and back of the vest, and inside facings. 

I put the unwashed, unblocked Test Drive on the floor and took pictures. This is a shot of the front of the vest. The back of the neck and the facings are visible in this picture. This is the way I judge if my sweater is in sync. If my sweater looks symmetrical unblocked and unpinned, it is good to go.  I figure wet blocking is for stretching out rough spots and cleaning the garment.  If not, you can figure you lost your stitch count or forgot to measure something.

When you are knitting in the round, getting of uneven lengths is virtually impossible.  That is why I love knitting in the round.

This is the front of the vest, with the motifs showing very nicely. The odd looking spots in the back of the neck, is the neck back with facing.  I weave my floats. This is not stranded in the typical Fair Isle tradition.

                              

The picture on the right is a full picture of the back.

 

    Shoulder treatment close up.

   

Inside Test Drive, showing shoulder and neck facings along with the woven floats.

Very blurry, dark picture of me with Test Drive on and a camera.  The only reason I include it is to show it does fit!

         

This vest is too young for me. I knitted it for my DIL. We are nearly the same size. She is slimmer than I am with a very cute figure. She is the beautiful mother of my 2 Granddaughters, Rochelle and Bethany.

I owe her a birthday gift and I thought this would be a nice cover up for work. 

Now, the part I hate the most.  Wash and block is coming up next.

Stay tuned for my next knitting adventure.  I am going to finish my friend Rosemary's Muir...and then??  Only the Shadow knows.

                                       

Kauni Test Drive, Update 2

Or, I think this is looking a bit better!

The pattern is starting to emerge showing the changing Kauni colors. The armhole decreases have started. This is going to be a vest, to wear over T necks, blouses, jeans, or skirts.

The 2 balls of yarn that I am working with are from the same skein. They color doesn't photograph as dark as it actually is.  I believe the flash lightens the yarn. These balls/buns or cakes of yarn are from the hanks.                                

                                                 

KAUNI TEST DRIVE UPDATE 1

Or, a lot of FROGGING went on, and on...

The ribbing is finished, the Koi fish motifs did not work. This is start #2. I'll save all those Koi charts for another project. I decided that rather than cut the Kauni up for use in a more traditional Fair Isle style, I would start over with another motif that I could work with the EF Kauni and 1 solid color. I am using navy Palette for the background of the scroll.

The wavy looking turquoise below the scroll is left from the aborted fishing expedition.  I'll tie that portion in with a little navy duplicate stitch.

The ribbing will fit under the bust. This little pullover is being knit for my younger Granddaughter.  She is headed for France for 2 weeks in February. Might be cold over there!

Right now, the project is not impressive at all.  Looks like a Chicken Feathers entry.  Only time, and more knitting will tell.

The HAPPY THANKSGIVING FICHU, Unblocked

                

Or, what goes better with a Thanksgiving Holiday than a an orange, unblocked fichu?

                                     I was so tickled when I knitted that last picot, I had to share my Turkey with my friends.  For the life of me, I have no idea why my YO's are small on the right side of each ruffled bell and huge on the other side.  In the pictures, you can only see the large one.  I followed instructions too. 

I need a YO before a purl row lesson.  Well, no matter what I tried, I failed. Hopefully, some of this block out!                                                      

I knitted this in Treehouse yarn called Bloom, or Changing Colors. It is exactly the same as the JoJoland's Harmony including the number 08 color. I also purchased 2 lots of Harmony from JoJoland. After this fichu appeared in Knitters, JoJoland had a massive run on shade, 08 and was out of it. 

One of my KBTH buddies suggested eBay's Treehouse yarns. The only difference is this was a center pull ball with a different band VS a bun. Each had the same yardage and were made in China.

Anyone that knows me knows I love lace with all my heart but it is the bane of my knitting life. A one-week knit took me more than a month.  The ruffle is a killer.  Especially the picot edging, which is beautiful, but insists on curling up and becoming invisible for its debut. It takes absolutely forever to bind off in picot.  Or so it seemed. 

Naturally, I had to tinker with the pattern and made the ruffle run completely around the entire body of the triangle.  I wouldn't recommend putting the ruffle on the longest edge unless you masochistic, or are a very fast and patient knitter.

                                                             

It is fairly large fichu, taking about 1700 yards of yarn.  I can't imagine how big it will be when laundered and blocked.  I am posting this 'triumph' of knitting skill, (laughingly said), so that I can really admire the miracle when blocking allows it to bloom and all the mistakes magically disappear. That will be a week or so, after the Thanksgiving Holiday.  I am expecting company and I am sure, a wet, pinned fichu would be an unwelcome bedfellow. 

For my friends that stop by this blog regularly, you know I share my successes as well as my Chicken Feather's adventures. I am afraid this one will end up in the Chicken Feathers category.  I am praying for a miracle.  Until then the jury is out and the chicks are hatching!