Wednesday, April 07, 2010

New WIP and Cherry Edwardians Update

Finally, I have a picture of my latest project: Maze Toque and Jumper by Celeste Culpepper (Ravelry project link). It was a pattern that used to be available exclusively through Knit Picks. I bought it back when Shine Sport used to be called Shine since there wasn't a worsted weight version of it then. The colorways I chose are Serenade and Green Apple. You can't see the colors at all in this cell phone pic, but they go together very well! The stitch pattern is a Barbara Walker mosaic stitch pattern. So far, I'm about two-thirds of the way done with the first of ten 16-rnd chart repeats on 224 sts. This is fun and interesting -- and totally new to me! It's my first time doing mosaic knitting, and I like how I only have to hold one color at a time.

Project Notes: For the cast on, I used JSSCO (Jeny's Stretchy Slipknot Cast-On) instead of longtail. Why? I couldn't fathom screwing up the length of my tail yarn with 226 sts! So, I did the single version of longtail using only the working yarn. It took longer, but I didn't waste any yarn and it looks nice with my garter stitch edge. Plus, I got practice using a new technique. For the garter stitch edge, I chose to knit this flat to avoid a jog. I know very well how to do jogless garter stitch ITR, but I decided to take the easy, mindless way out. To accommodate the seam, I cast on 2 extra stitches. To join ITR after finishing the garter stitch, I put my 2 live extra sts on locking stitch markers to be seamed up later.

Here are my Cherry Edwardians (aka Edwardian Boating Socks)! The Knit Picks Stroll Tonal Queen Anne colorway is so lovely and makes me smile, especially now with all the trees in bloom. This pattern isn't difficult, but you definitely can't be distracted while knitting it.

Project Notes: I modified the heel turn directions since the original directions left holes at the turns. Instead of turning immediately after each decrease, I worked one more regular knit or purl as I usually do. Problem solved :-)

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