Summer Lace

Not bad for three hours' work last night, eh? I was knitting while watching the very gothic season 2 of the BBC's mid-90s supernatural fantasy Hex. Ok, I did make some mistakes that way ("...k1, yo, k3, sl1, psso, k3... wait wait wait. Where did this @#$%^&*!!! 2-stitch HOLE come from?"). I actually ripped out 3 rows in episode 3 while Roxanne puts on a cross necklace to draw attention to her tempting cleavage and goes out to seduce her teacher, a young priest. By the time I had corrected myself and got the hang of the pattern, the deed was done and the priest was pondering his foray into sin.

Materials:
Addi Turbo circular needles, 4.5mm
1 cone Monaco beige glace "Raylon" (it's softer than you think, and has a nice sheen)

Horseshoe Stitch Pattern
["One of many beautiful stitches that originated in the Shetland Islands in the nineteenth century, when gossamer laces were a favorite form of knitting."]
(page 305, Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework, 1979 edition):

Multiple of 10 stitches plus 1

Row 1: K1, *yo, K3, sl1, K2tog, psso, K3, yo, K1*
Row 2 and alt rows: Purl
Row 3: K1, *K1, yo, K2, sl1, K2tog, psso, K2, yo, K2*
Row 5: K1, *K2, yo, K1, sl1, K2tog, psso, K1, yo, K3*
Row 7: K1, *K3, yo, sl1, K2tog, psso, K4*

To make the narrow wrap, knit 10 rows of garter stitch, then add 5 garter stitches at the beginning and end of each row as a selvedge. My wrap has a cast on of 61 sts, although to make it wider, you can make it 71 sts.

I figure the blocked and ironed finished item should measure something like 9" wide and 60" long. Perfect for when you want to go to the movies and still have to brave the heat of our summer sun after.

Cable, and I Don't Mean Internet

This is my first attempt at cable stitches, using Familia M yarn and 3.0mm Milward circulars 40cm long. What did I use for a cable needle? A Susan Bates Quicksilver dpn, US size 2 (2.75mm), with rubber point protectors to prevent the stitches from slipping off.

I got the classic stitch pattern "Coiled Rope", a 3x3 cable design, from the Reader's Digest Step-by-Step Guide to Sewing and Knitting (Sydney, 1993), p. 468.

Multiple of 9 sts plus 3
Rows 1 & 3: *P3, K6*, P3 [or add Row 5]
Rows 2, 4, 6: *K3, P6*, K3 [or add Row 8]
Row 5 [becomes Row 7]: *P3, sl 3 sts on cable needle and leave at back of work, K3, K3 sts from cable needle* P3

What I learned:

1. If you use a dpn as a cable needle, it ought to be slightly smaller than the working needles. This is so you won't be tugging too much at the 3 stitches on the cable needle in order to knit them. Knitting those 3 stitches will be a tad tight and uncomfortable for the knitter if the cable needle is the same size. Also, there will be no gaping holes on either side where the cable "coil" occurs (Row 5).

2. I prefer to modify the stitch pattern to be an 8-row rather than a 6-row pattern. It results in a more comfortable looking coil. This is recommended especially when you are knitting with worsted weight.

3. I made a mistake in the rightmost cable in the above photo. You can see that I missed a knit stitch and it wasn't coiled in. After that I started using point protectors on either side of the dpn, counting very carefully. Also, make sure that in Row 5, after slipping your 3 sts to the cable needle, when you knit the 3 sts on the working needle, keep your yarn source between the cable needle and the working needle. This is so that the long yarn spanning the 3 sts doesn't show in the back. It's hard to explain but you have to see it to understand what I mean.

4. To put this in the center of a scarf, for instance, a pair of coiled ropes would be a 21-st vertical motif. Three coiled ropes would be a 30-st motif. I'd have to make sure the number of stitches I cast on allows for this.

5. It's fun! There are so many cable stitches to learn! What a lovely way to create texture! But this "coiled rope" is a personal favorite. There is a "simple cable rib" that is a 2x2 cable, flatter, less bulky. Of course I am not really ready to knit an Aran sweater yet, but you never know.

Crafty Ladies: Lilli and Ines

Last Saturday after lunch I proceeded to Glorietta 2 for my date with Ines. I had no idea who else would be there, but I called first to make sure they were around. Had the good luck to finally meet Lilli!

Lilli noted that like most of the knitters in her group, I knitted Continental, while Ines knitted American style. Apparently Continental knitting is in again. I brought Ines the free diaper cover pattern, plus a free Bernat baby kimono pattern. Ines brought 2 projects, some baby socks and the start of a chocolate brown Lion Brand 100% cotton yarn afghan. I brought along Lilo's coral blouse as an example of what I'd finished, the current yellow dress front, and some practice cabling from a couple of days before.

I told Ines that the joins of my magic loop weren't that tight during my first attempt at home, but she said it had happened to her too on her first try. It really takes a lot of practice. I should have freed up my 2.5mm circulars so that I could start learning magic loop properly, but they were on the yellow dress project. So I didn't actually start on my socks lesson. Maybe on Tuesday afternoon. We ended up talking about how we got into knitting, and about the things we were still excited to learn.

Ines wanted to learn how to work with two colors. I told her about learning it from my Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlecraft (Sydney,1987 - now out of print), but like most people I guess she learns faster from demonstration. I'll probably bring 2 colors of Monaco thread and some needles for that tutorial, apart from the materials for my learning to knit the socks. She was so pleased.

Lilli was doing hardanger, a sort of white-on-white embroidery on linen canvasthat involved some cutwork. The finished product looks much like lace, only geometric. It's for a wedding-ring pillow for her son's upcoming marriage ceremony. In the course of our conversation it turns out that she is the niece of my favorite English teacher in UPIS! And as part of the De Leon clan, she used to go to our church (UP Church of the Risen Lord)! Small world!

As for Ines, I asked if she was a fellow Ilongga, because she would inject the word "dason" ("and then") in her sentences. Turns out that she is from Iloilo (my mom is from near Bacolod). She is a great believer in cotton for most projects. The chocolate brown afghan she is making she wanted to trim with olive green, but there was no olive green available, so she asked the Dreams staff to wind for her a 3-strand ball of Cannon. Which gave me an idea... when the Royal Yarn Winder Joy ordered for me in the US arrives, I'll be able to do the same thing at home!

Lilli will be traveling to Hong Kong soon to get her new orders. Hopefully there will be cable needles in that box. And size 3.5mm and 5.5mm Addi Turbos... And my wish list goes on, hahaha.

I'll be seeing the other crafty ladies Tuesday afternoon.