All's well that ends well

"Zaire" sweater finished
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Last night I was in despair, beginning to suspect the yarn was superwash in secret. After spending all day finishing the sleeves and weaving in ends, I handwashed the sweater to felt it gently by hand.

As expected, the water made it grow even bigger at first. Not expected and far worse: no matter how increasingly violently I kneaded and rubbed the sweater it wouldn't shrink. Not even a session in the tumble dryer had any effect! (But I've almost got biceps muscles now. Almost.)

I imagined the only possible way to use this sweater would be to pitch it on the main square and sell beer inside.

This morning I wrestled with it again: washed it in the machine, tried a longer session in the dryer, rinsed it alternating between hot and cold water... Nothing happened. Finally I put it in the machine again and washed it in warmer water, so fed up with it I didn't mind risking it would shrink too much.

Would you believe it, it shrank to the right size and it's like thick fabric, just what I hoped, and surprisingly soft. Who's a lucky guy?

Here's a picture of what the back of the neck looked like before felting. The definition of the garter stitch is far less prominent now, which is something I prefer.

Instead of sleeve seams (not a fan of sewing) I picked up stitches, knitted a row, and then did a three-needle bind-off. Here's what the right and wrong sides of it look like.

Edited to add: I received an award from Annika. Thank you!

I'm supposed to forward it to 12 other bloggers, but it seems most of the blogs I read already have received it. So, instead I'd like to dedicate it to everyone who reads my blog.

"Zaire" sweater: sleeve

"Zaire" sweater: sleeve
Originally uploaded by Asplund

First sleeve nearly done! I haven't made up my mind how to finish the cuff, so I've started knitting the second sleeve.

I will probably fill in the gaps with green triangles to make the cuffs similar to the body. Another colour could be used for variation, of course, or the edge could even be scalloped. (I really don't think the last idea would work very well with the overall design, which practically consists of straight lines going in different directions. Thinking about different ideas is fun, though! )

For a while I toyed with the idea of having more stripes, but suddenly remembered the drummer accompanying Sarah Vaughan in this clip and changed my mind instantly. But how I would have loved to be there hearing her live!

"Zaire" sweater: progress and modifications

"Zaire" sweater
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Well, "Zaire" tent would be a more appropriate name. I'm optimistic about this project anyway, certain that some felting will make a big difference.

Apart from the unintentional but considerable resizing, there are some conscious modifications:

1. Addition of mitered stripes at the bottom.
2. Addition of the same stripes at the beginning of the top-down knitted sleeve. (My intention is to have them near the wrist too.)
3. Shoulder squares knitted in one colour instead of broken up into four triangles.
4. Similarly, the collar is knitted in one colour, although I added a beige and blue triangle at the back of the neck for fun.

Here's a picture of the original design for comparison.

Giant surprise jacket

"Zaire" sweater: shoulder joins
Originally uploaded by Asplund

I expected this sweater to become somewhat big, but not enormous. The width of the bottom part is fine, but the squares seem to stretch in all directions.

After joining the shoulders I could try it on; unfortunately, wearing it is like camping.

Here are my options:
1. Make friends with a giant to give it to. (Asplund and the beanstalk?)
2. Gain a lot of weight. (Which I did after I quit smoking, some 12 kilos/26 pounds. About half of that is gone now - and even though I don't think I need to lose more I definitely don't feel like gaining another 50 pounds.)
3. Felt it gently on purpose to make it shrink. (Possibly having to make friends with one of the seven dwarfs instead.)

I have tried two similar ways to join the shoulders using the three-needle bind-off method. (Both of them different from Isager's instructions.) To the left in the photo above you can see where I added a knit row to the stitches I had picked up, and to the right there is a purl row before the join. I much prefer the purl version and will remake the other one.

The indigo blue shawl I knitted recently has found a new home. Fair trade: I had a shawl I didn't need, and my aunt had a chair (dog not included) she didn't need.

If you haven't seen them already,

check out these mittens at Dances with Wool.
Mitten Heaven!

Adding some colour: part 2

WIP: Zaire by Isager
Originally uploaded by Asplund

One more row of squares and a section of mitred striped before the shoulder join.

I'm happy with my addition of yellow and the way those stripes frame three squares.

Next there will be four squares: two light beige (looks white here) in the middle and two medium beige at the ends.

Adding some colour

WIP: Zaire by Isager
Originally uploaded by Asplund

A ball of yellow wool was practically calling me from a corner of my stash, and I couldn't resist adding it to the other colours. There will be two more mitred stripes; my plan is to make the next one yellow too to achieve a kind of frame for the next set of squares.

In addition to this modification of the stripes, I've decided to knit them garter-stitch to make them blend with the squares. The original design has stripes that consist of a combination of stocking stitch and garter stitch; I tried this first but thought enough was going on already, especially with my additions of stripes and colours, and changed it to have the same texture all over.

Zaire: wrong side

Zaire sweater wip: wrong side
Originally uploaded by Asplund

The intarsia joins look all right, but I hope (and expect) they will look even better after blocking. Long way to go before I'm there, though.

Variation makes this a nice sweater to knit: three different colours make the squares interesting to make, and after making six big squares it's time for mitred horizontal stripes.

In the original design there are three white stripes against a dark background, but I've decided to make two with a rusty cold carrot stripe betwen them instead. Next time I'll post a picture of the right side.

I'm telling myself to see all the ends to weave in as a form of variation too.

Surprise

WIP: Zaire by Isager
Originally uploaded by Asplund

To my surprise I've started a project that features - heavily! - no less than three knitting techniques I'm usually not attracted to:

1. Garter stitch: too monotonous to knit in my opinion.
2. Intarsia: difficult to make neat joins.
3. Entrelac: also difficult to make neat joins, and I seldom like the way the results look.

What happened? Well, in short I was looking for inspiration how to use some beautiful colours in my stash, opened Marianne Isager's Knitting out of Africa and saw her design Zaire. A perfect pattern to display colours and to see how they interact.

My choice of colours is far less dramatic than Isager's, but I've kept her arrangement of dark and light areas. I've added a horizontal zigzag line at the bottom, partly because I was getting tired of green garter-stitch knitting and wanted a change, partly simply to see how it would turn out. I rather like the way it reaches the very edge.

Now that I'm into this project I find myself more positive about the three techniques, very much thanks to how they improve each other: the colour changes make garter stitch less monotonous, and garter stitch makes the intarsia and entrelac joins neater. What's more, it keeps the entrelac from "billowing", which is what I personally don't find attractive about the technique even though I admire the skill it takes to knit it.

My first entrelac join was clumsy (between beige and green areas). It was a really good exercise for me to analyse why it turned out that way and how I could improve it, so it was worth the time it took. I rather like having to solve problems, since it makes me feel I learn new things.

The problem here seemed to be knitting not only two colours together, but also a knit and a purl stitch. Therefore, I added a beige row to the green part. Lo and behold, knitting two identical stitches (beige purls) together made quite a difference!

"Leaves dancing" shawl finished

"Leaves dancing" shawl: before blocking
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Comparing the difference before and after blocking is always fascinating, especially when it comes to lace knitting. In this picture you can see the main pattern fairly clearly, but the bottom border looks all crumbled.

Nothing like the points in this picture:

Modifications
1. Three sections instead of one to get a crescent(-ish) rather than a triangular shape.
2. Rows 29-56 knitted three times instead of twice, since I used thinner yarn and needles than the instructions call for. It was easy adding rows and repeats to the design. (But I ended up with almost 700 stitches!)
3. At the very end I added six rows, continuing the pattern in the last section to close the points.
4. I skipped the crocheted edge, partly because I preferred the idea of knitted points at the very edge, partly because I was simply too lazy to try to understand the instructions. Charts with explanations in German was ok, but written instructions with abbreviations proved too much when I was eager to finish the shawl. Here's a picture of the original edge.
4. Stitches picked up along the hypotenuse (or what would have been the hypotenuse if I had knitted the original triangular shape) to add a border. I think it helps making a shawl look finished.

Measurements
Width top: 155 cm/61 in.
Width bottom: 390 (3x130) cm/154 in.
Lenght back: 70 cm (27½in)
Length diagonal between each section: 95 cm (37½ in)

The yarn, Viva (a wool-silk blend) from Finnish Wetterhoff, is wonderful: beautiful and a delight to work with. There's a lot of surplus dye in it, though, and it bled a lot when I washed the shawl. I rinsed the shawl at least fifteen times.

I like it that winter doesn't keep people from using their bikes!

Edited to add: here's a link to the shawl pattern.

"Leaves dancing" shawl: progress

WIP "Leaves dancing" shawl
Originally uploaded by Asplund

I'm very fond of this design: it's both beautiful and fun to knit. At first I wasn't sure about the rib effect of the knit and purl lines, but now I think it enhances the shape of the leaves.

It makes the wrong-side rows less monotonous to knit too, since they don't consist of purl stitches only. (Which is what I often prefer since it requires less concentration, I should add.) I also think new leaves are incorporated into the design in an elegant way.

Birthday party

Maria
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Yarn shop Marias garn in Stockholm is four years old, and Maria and her family celebrated yesterday by inviting knitters for coffee and cake.

Of course, it was a great afternoon: I met new knitters (new to me, that is) like Eldstickan and Lisa and got a chance to see fellow Ravelers balconyknit and TanjaL again.

Maria loves purple, and she is a great knitter of sweaters and shawls (among other things) so I had made her a mini sweater knitting a mini shawl. Would you believe it, Maria herself was also working on a purple triangular shawl!

I started knitting a new shawl at the party, using a pattern from Junghans-Wolle that Fadenstille was kind enough to send me. Danke schön! My main challenge this time is using a pattern in German, but since it's a lace pattern it isn't too difficult, charts and symbols being international.

Any modifications? Yes! Today I actually ripped out what I'd made yesterday and started a new version; it will be three repeats wide instead of two for a crescent rather than triangular shape.

It's still winter (in case you didn't know!) but the sky was clear today. The cathedral is like Garbo, beautiful from all angles.

De-frocked Monk

"De-frocked Monk"
Originally uploaded by Asplund

A collar instead of a hood makes "de-frocked" a perfect addition to the name. Thanks for your suggestion, Lars!

Perhaps I'll add a couple of buttons and crochet hooks for them; it depends on how the sweater looks and feels when I wear it.

The white cast-off is my addition to the sleeves; I also knitted the vertical stripes in moss stitch and garter stitch (instead of knit-purl ribbing).

I'm afraid I haven't found many pictures of the original design for comparison. Interweave has one here (preview page 7) and via Ravelry I found a version of the design on Flickr.

"Monk" jacket: sleeve shaping

"Monk" jacket: sleeve
Originally uploaded by Asplund

This is what the first sleeve looks like so far. As I couldn't make up my mind whether to make diagonal or vertical stripes, I simply went for both.

First I knitted a few rows where the lines slanted in the opposite way from the centre; thus, they formed a point downwards, which I intended to turn into a vertical line.

However, that just looked messy, so I tried this way instead and like it a lot better. I should have taken a photo before ripping out those rows for comparison – well, you'll just have to believe me this is the better version!

A method I first tried a few years ago is shaping the top of knitted-on sleeves by using short rows. It results in a more fitted and comfortable sweater than a regular drop-shoulder sweater – and you don't have to sew the sleeve in place. First time I tried it I wasn't bold enough to shape it very much, but at least I could see it was possible to knit a sleeve that way. Second time it turned out a lot better.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure where I got the idea from. Others must have thought of it too, but I can't remember ever reading about this method. I think it simply came from a desire to shape sleeves better but not having to sew them in place. Necessity is the mother of invention.

This project devours yarn, so I'm going to knit the sleeves before deciding about the hood. Perhaps there won't be enough yarn for it, but then I actually might skip it anyway and make some kind of collar instead. I think hooded jackets look nice, but I never really liked wearing them.

But can a hoodless version be called "Monk"? Perhaps "De-hooded Monk" or "De-monked jacket"? Other suggestions?

"Monk" modifications

"Monk" jacket: shoulder join
Originally uploaded by Asplund

I'm thinking about letting the diagonal stripes continue when I knit the sleeves; in the original design the sleeve pattern consists of vertical stripes.

Another modification is in the centre section. In the book it consists of knit-only and purl-only stripes. Mine is knits only and garter stitch the first twenty rows, then moss stitch instead of garter stitch. (Simply because I like variation – and I like the way moss stitch looks too.) It's easier to see in this photo. I haven't made up my mind about the hood yet.

The yarn is very nice to work with: so nice I'm happy I bought it even though it's mainly alpaca (see previous post) but fortunately not so addictive it breaks my heart it will be discontinued – which is why it was so cheap!

It makes quite a difference it isn't pure alpaca, but 20% silk: not so slippery and fuzzy, but easy to knit. I just hope the silk also will help the garment stay in shape.

Come to think of it, it's already fairly heavy, so I believe simply wearing the jacket will help me stay in shape!