Circle's are better than Squares?

Oh the delight of a new shape! I found a darling pattern for a Circle Coat on Knitty.com in a child's size so immediately ordered some worsted (Swish Worsted from Knitpicks) to start the project for my granddaughter. I followed the pattern for shape and size, placement of armholes etc and added a simple lace pattern to accentuate the back and some 2 color decorative bands.

It was quick to knit up, adorable and didn't fit her AT ALL!

She's a size 4 toddler and yes everything looks good in a size 4 but, it wouldn't stay on her shoulders and didn't come close to closing in the front and the collar just flopped around. The photo on the pattern hung really nicely..great drape and nice shape and the model was obviously a child... so...back to the drawing board. I put the ill fitting garment on her and tried to analyze what was wrong. She is a bit wiggly so this took a bit of coercion on my part but a little box of raisens and the promise of a story later, I had a plan.

It needed some structure at the neck and shoulders to keep it on her. It had to have a place to hang FROM. And, it needed some sort of front band addition to equal out the "back" and "front" areas of the circle. Now mind you, this was knit exactly to the pattern. Anyway, I didn't want to added 2 inches to the entire front band as it would create too large of a collar and she'd be tripping over the hem. So where to stop and start? I ended up taking out one row of single crochet which I had added to give a finish to the garter stitch border and knit 2 more rows in garter stitch but stopped at the "side seams". Had to find and mark them first, of course. On the third row, I stopped at the place on the edge where the collar began to turn, placed those stitches on a holder, continued around the neckline , casting those stitches off and proceeded down the other side front. The side front was then worked separately. 5 stitches were cast off at the lower edge 7 times, leaving the rows even at the top neck edge. After 7 rows this gave a nice shaped front band of 1 inch in width. The process was repeated on the other side. I added 2 YO, K 2 tog. buttonholes on the next to the last row spaced 1/2 inch from the top and again 1 1/2 " lower.
We'll hope it fits!

Arrowhead Sweater a la Knitting out of Africa

Surprises when working with Color
- I was expecting the turquoise to "read" as the dominant color in the border pattern, it is a bit brighter than it appears in the photo but was surprised that the bark brown is the one which "pops"..The idea was to have the triangles pointing up to the body of the sweater so after the third row of brown triangles was complete I reversed the pattern creating a center row of brown diamonds followed by 2 rows of brown triangles pointing up! Now for a couple of rows of color to make a transition and then begin the arrowhead design for the main body of the sweater.

September 13- I returned from a lovely trip to Seattle, Washington and our son's beautiful wedding to a large box of yarn on my doorstep! My Palette yarn from Knitpicks had arrived! I began my "African Quilt Sweater" right away. Here is a photo of the yarn and the books that inspired this idea. I'm using 2 colors of turquoise (Cyan and Whirlpool) and a dark warm brown( Bark) to complement. after the lower border which is about half done, I plan to continue the body of the sweater in the arrowhead pattern to the yoke. The joining row will be another band of the small triangles and then continue the yoke to the neckline in the zigzag pattern. As I swatched for this sweater I decided to add the darker, brighter turquoise to the color scheme to accent the different sections of the sweater.
Holiday Knitting is upon me, Oct. 25, 2009

I'm up to the shoulders on my Arrowhead sweater and quite pleased with the effect. Here's a shot. I decided to repeat the small triangles for the top 5 inches as a shoulder accent. We'll see how the sleeves develop.
I suddenly realized that it's the middle of October and if I'm going to do some knitting for the holidays I better get on it! So this little project will rest for a bit while change gears. I found a beautiful natural Alpaca in a small but lovely shop in Lafayette, CA called the Yarn Boutique. It said
"cardigan for Jack" all over it! It's 100% superfine Alpaca called Peruvian Tweed imported by Joseph Galler inc. It is t shades of brown, both warm and is the natual color of the animals from which it came. Not dyed at all. It's plyed together and bound with a lighter shade of brown. Gorgeous and very, very soft. I've designed a cardigan with a 1 stitch k2, p2 front border and flanking that a small 6 stitch cable , twisted very 5 rows. It gives a bit of an accent to the front and also some additional stability. I'm working buttonholes every 3 inches. I also have some smaller projects planned as gifts so.......

Gull Wing Pulli, August 2009

Yes, I had to back up a bit to get up to date with this blog.
August 4 -Just started another lace project. this time in a DK weight yarn, elegance from Knitpicks. The sweater will be below hip length with a low v-neck starting about 7" from the bottom of the sweater with a decorative twisted edge added after the sweater is complete. I decided to design in a stockinette inset panel on either side of the v-neck. It gives a nice contract to the lace pattern and will narrow at the top as the neckline decreases are made. 2 advantages: nice contrast and it's much easier to decrease in stockinette stitch than in lace! . The lace pattern is the "gull stitch". A pretty 4 row, 7 stitch pattern that will give a nice vertical stripe effect. 11 pattern repeats across the front and back will give a nice centered stripe on center front and back.
Be sure and do a pretty good sized swatch of any lace pattern. This yarn, for instance, knits up at 51/2 stitiches per inch in plain knit and 4 stitches per inch in the lace pattern! This could have ended up fitting my husband instead of me!

August 14- Finished the front and back up to the armholes....now on to the sleeves. I'm planning on working on double pointed needles until the circumference is enough to change to my 16" round. A bit tedious ; we'll see how much patience I have! It is such a nice look without a seam. I plan to cast on 42 stitches or 6 pattern repeats; two for each needle. Then adjust the stitches so my "seam" is centered on one of the needles. The increases will be worked in stockinette and form a lovely inverted "v" underarm. It will echo the insert on either side of the v-neck and also be much simpler to keep to my lace pattern. I won't have to wonder about all the yarn overs!

August 19- The sleeves worked out beautifully! Yeah.. It's always nice when a design idea works out the way you envisioned it. I made the sleeve increases in stockinette stitch at the underarm "seam". This grew to 20 stitiches of a lovely inverted v which when the sleeve is viewed from the side, as you usually see a sleeve, it has a pretty triangle shape defined by the change in the stitches. This also accents and sets off the lace stitch to great effect. I did end up increasing 2o stitches instead of the 14 -16 that I though I'd need. I puzzled over this for a bit and then realized I had arrived at the 14 stitch number while using the lace gauge and the increased stitches were in stockinette....duh....
puzzle solved! I'll just refigure my neckline decreases and make sure they line up at the neckline! On to join sleeves to the body...woo-hoo!


August 25- I finished up the yoke last night and added a pretty twisted edging to the front opening. It is tricky to decrease in lace, I found the best approach is to lay out a grid on paper so I know how many stitches should be in each sleeve and front section and also the back for each decrease. I had to k3 together a couple of times to make it work. Those yarn overs are not always in convenient places! I loved the edge on one of Kristeen Griffin-Grimes' French Girl knits designs and reduced the scale to use as the front edge on this sweater. It accents the gull lace pattern nicely and adds a touch of femininity to the design. Photos soon. I'll enjoy wearing this one. All during the knitting of this sweater I've been contemplating my next project which will be a stranded color design, probably a pullover. I'm inspired by Marianne Isager's African collection designs and also the color combinations of the Amish quilts...somehow these two are going to come together! All the new colors of Palette yarn from Knitpicks are calling me!

A new beginning

As I said, I wear many hats...but this blog which started out as one for our entertainment business has morphed. What I really want to write about is knitting! I've been designing knit wear for years but have never written anything down. Too lazy, I guess. I've been asked for patterns and decided that maybe I just better get on with it! I have been knitting since I was around 5 years old and have always enjoyed working with fiber, texture and color. I stood by my Mother's and Grandmother's side until they gave in and gave me my own needles and ball of yarn. I've done a lot of sewing in my life as well , have never quite liked the patterns available and so out of necessity or just plain stubbonness have done quite a bit of designing in various media. I had my own hand woven clothing business for 10 years and often used knitting techniques for finishing. Now, I'm back to hand knitting; what a delight!
I was introduced several years ago to Elizabeth Zimmerman and also her protegee Jacqueline Fee. What a freeing experience. I've been experimenting with this technique ever since.
My first project using the "percentage" method was an Aran Style sweater for my husband. The fishtrap pattern is from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitters Almanac. What a wonderful little book. If you don't have a copy, hurry and get one! Here's a photo

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I "cardiganized" it by adding steek stitches to the center front and knitting in the round. He wanted a zipper instead of buttons so voila! The collar is a mock turtle and zips to the top.
I found that to get started on the fishtrap pattern it was very helpful to copy the chart in the book and put a large "post it" under the row that I was working, when the row was finished the post it was moved up. On complicated patterns , it's easy to lose your place.

Just Curious

What are your favorite blogs that talk about entertainment and performance? We perform a lot but then we like to go out too!
We are always looking for the little hidden gems especially in San Francisco.
If you're looking for a fun and urban chic type experience with a little camp thrown in try Harlot on Minna.....right down the street from 111 Minna. Where do you like to go?

SF Business Times Listing

We've been included in the San Francisco Business Times Book of Lists for 2009!
We're excited to attend a special reception later in the month at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco.