Another knitalong

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Joji Locatelli, KAL, Knitalong, knitting, lace, shawls, stripes, texture

I have mixed feelings about knitalongs. It is fun to see other people knitting either the same item as yourself or one based on a common theme but it’s easy to get carried away and assume you’ll  finish within the deadlines. (Not that it matters if you don’t, of course, but somehow that feels like failing). Last year I signed up for two shawls as part of Joji Locatelli’s great autumn knitalong, known as the Jojifallkal2015. I completed one-and-a-half. There were so many enthusiastic knitters taking part that the KAL ended up being split up into categories with several threads in the Ravelry group for both ongoing progress and finished objects. It all got a bit overwhelming.

This year things were scaled back a bit on Ravelry. You could cast on, chat or show your finished object. Nice and easy. I was also far more sensible and decided to just knit one item within the ten-week period: a Three Colour Cashmere Shawl. There were quite a few others either knitting this or the cowl from which the pattern originated and it was lovely to see posts filled with yarn selections. I actually knitted all the way down to the third colour because I just wasn’t sure what it should be. Everyone I asked gave me a different answer. Many suggested a bright pink to pick up some of the flecks in the variegated and give the bright contrast stripe the original has. I knew I might not wear it that much if I chose anything too bright so I went for a quieter contrast.

The Three Colour Cashmere Shawl doesn’t use three complete skeins of yarn but I just had to use all the variegated so I made the third and fourth stripes larger and worked the rest as in the pattern. Of course, knitting additional rows on a crescent-shaped shawl (six increases every two rows) expands the shawl immensely width-wise too. So my shawl is well over two-and-a-half metres wide. In fact I had to block it laid out double and then steam press the fold away afterwards.

I’m not sure such a large shawl is always so practical – I can’t just hang it round my neck as it touches the ground. I need to wrap it at least once right around my neck. Wrapped twice and pulled down over my shoulders, it replaces a cardigan. I think it will look lovely over a dark coat in winter, too. (Ravelry project here)

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Some things get better the longer they take

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Joji Locatelli, KAL, Knitalong, Lana Grossa, Ravelry, shawl, travel, yarn

Four months ago, back in the days of spring, I cast on Joji Locatelli’s Ley Lines shawl as part of her Fall Knit Along.

I’ve admitted before I was overly ambitious in aiming to knit two shawls as part of the knit along so won’t dwell on any of that here. Suffice to say, as we draw closer to autumn here, I finally have a springtime-coloured shawl ready!

Ley Lines is a large asymmetrical shawl and the pattern cover shows Joji enveloped by its ribbing loveliness.  I think this is what attracted me to the pattern in the first place. It’s almost like buying into a lifestyle. I also thought it would be the perfect accessory when travelling.

This was a straightforward knit. I did have a little trouble making the cast-on point look good so quickly followed helpful instructions from a fellow Raveler. After that it was plain sailing. Knit two, purl two, knit two, purl two, … (you get the picture) with increases or decreases to change the angle of the ribs in certain sections as well as to increase the size of the shawl. Ribbing is often used for its attribute of drawing knitted fabric in. My shawl grew longer and longer. It was far skinnier than I wanted. I was quite relieved to see that knitting friend S’s Ley Lines wasn’t any different to mine. We agreed we’d have to block them aggressively.

So 845 metres of ribbing later, am I happy?

Yes, extremely.

Blocking Ley Lines has worked the magic I hoped it would. My shawl is now a lovely size for wrapping around me.

It’s light and airy

But you can still see the texture of the ribbing.

 

I used yarn from Lana Grossa: Cool Wool Baby, 100% merino in 4-ply/fingering weight. Other details and links to helpful projects are on my Ravelry project page

You win some…

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Ann Budd, Joji Locatelli, KAL, Knitalong, knitting, mistake, shawl, socks

You lose some. Or so I thought, when I reflected that I had completed and surpassed the challenges I’d set myself for the sock KAL with the Aussie Sock Knitters group, but failed by half a shawl in Joji Locatelli’s Fall Knit Along.

Sometimes I talk (and write) utter rubbish! In my last post I commented that there was only a fortnight left for each of the knit alongs I was taking part in. Apart from waxing lyrical on the joys of the sock KAL, I was a bit too optimistic about finishing my Ley Lines shawl. To make matters worse, I bluntly stated that

It doesn’t require too much concentration (any mistakes stand out immediately) so it’s excellent social knitting, too.

Here’s where pride comes before a fall.

I had the feeling that there was something a bit off with one of my sections. But however closely I looked (and it obviously wasn’t close enough), I couldn’t figure out where I’d gone wrong, so I knitted on. But gone wrong I had. I had forgotten one increase. While that might not sound like much, it disturbed the aesthetics of those lines. And I knew it would always annoy me.

So I looked even more closely and jabbed in a needle to help me count down each row. Sure enough, I’d forgotten an increase in what felt like seventy million rows below. Despite the neat tricks I learnt from Ann Budd at KnitCamp on fixing errors, I decided to rip back. The mistake was in a section which had increases on one side and decreases on the other and I could see myself ending up with something wrong elsewhere.

Now I’m good to go again. And the best part? The knit along doesn’t finish until the end of November so Ley Lines might even be finished in time!

Imagine…

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Joji Locatelli, KAL, Knitalong, lace, Schoppel, shawls, Sydney Harbour Bridge

Late in August I signed up for the Fall Knitalong in Joji Locatelli’s Ravelry group. My plan? To knit two shawls suitable for springtime in the southern hemisphere.

Here’s the first one: my take on Imagine When.

True to form, I’ve made some changes. The pattern is written for fingering/4-ply yarn; I’ve used Schoppel lace weight. I also used thinner needles to suit the thinner yarn (3.5 mm instead of 4 mm). Since I didn’t want to end up with a small neckerchief, I used Bondik’s modifications and knitted more repeats in section two. Because the following sections are all shaped by a series of short rows, having additional stitches at the end of section two meant that all following sections naturally increased, too.

There were, however, a few moments of doubt. I was partway into section six and convinced I had too much yarn left. I shared my uncertainty at knit night and even dared to voice my thoughts of re-doing my shawl. Well-deserved snorts of derision followed. Back home, I laid out the shawl and measured it. I realised that with extreme stretching good blocking, I probably could reach the pattern dimensions. So I finished the section and hoped for the best.

Like always, blocking did its magic and my shawl is exactly the size of the original!

The knitalong runs for two months with plenty of fun and games along the way. The first fun thread was to take your knitting outdoors and post a photo of you and your project. My Wednesday Walking Friend, S, was a great sport and took loads of pictures down at Sydney Harbour and over the bridge to the other side.   

I think she was even more determined than me to find the picture.

This week we explored somewhere new together, so naturally my Imagine When came too!

Wearing Lipstick

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buttons, cardigan, Joji Locatelli, knitting, Lipstick, Morris and Sons, Ravelry, texture

Sydney isn’t all blue skies and sunshine. We’ve already had a few rather chilly days so I’m really pleased that I went ahead and knitted this cardigan. It’s Lipstick by Joji Locatelli and I’ve had my eye on it for a while but kept thinking that it was perhaps a little warm for this climate. Not so. Not so at all!

And I had seen some lovely yarn, so, well, how could I not knit it? After knitting 800 metres of laceweight yarn, this project in 10-ply/worsted/aran (depending on where you come from) grew at a most satisfying rate. Lipstick is an interesting mix of textures with twisted rib on the shoulders, mesh/lace blocks on the sleeves and smooth stocking stitch for the body. Even that isn’t tedious because the front panels are in reverse stocking stitch with a little twisted stitch in-between. The yarn is Morris and Sons Empire. It’s 100% merino and comes in lots of lovely colours, some of which like this red, are also available a ’twist’ variety of two different coloured plies.

I wanted to make changes to the original design and have long sleeves so for Yarn Management Purposes I knitted the button bands and neckband before doing the sleeves.  This was an excellent idea as ‘pick up and knit’ is always my least favourite bit about cardigans. This time I got them out the way and could look forward to more interesting knitting. This cardigan is seamless and I had joined for the underarms at a length that made the armholes two sizes larger so that I could be sure of wearing clothes underneath. So I then picked up the corresponding number of stitches for that size. I shortened the knitted the mesh/lace blocks by half-an-inch and then switched to stocking stitch. I decreased in that first round and then twice more after 8 rounds and then every six rounds until I almost reached wrist length. I finished with the rows of ribbing as in the pattern.

Since this only needs four buttons, I chose something special. These are printed coconut buttons and came from this lovely button shop, Buttons Buttons Buttons down at The Rocks. I was there for ages with my cardigan lying on a glass cabinet while I tried various options. The red colour is actually a bit tricky to match so I also considered various metal buttons – modern and traditional – before choosing these.

This cardigan is the second one of Joji’s designs that I’ve made and, once again, as with my Neon cardigan, the pattern was a pleasure to knit from. It was easy to follow. There are references with stitch counts so you can check you’re on track. Instructions are clear – for example “repeat rows 3 to 6 two more times”. That more certainly avoids any ambiguity. Abbreviations are clearly explained (e.g. m1l or m1r). I’m sure I’ll be knitting more of Joji’s designs in the future but for now I’m going to enjoy wearing lipstick!