Don't overthink the pattern!

We continue with this week's installment of "Angela's Adventures in Lace"....

Ahhh, the joy of the Flit + Float Scarf! The beauty, the elegance, the simple lace pattern, the..... ack! The dreaded Provisional Cast-On!!! Yes, we have discussed this in the past. And yes, I got through it with flying colors. Or at least I thought I did. I got to the end of the ruffle, I picked up the provisional cast on and I started away on the lace portion of the scarf. But wait, something was wrong! I somehow managed to do it backwards. Yes indeed, there was a nice seam where I picked up my cast on edge. Well, we couldn't have that now, could we? So I laboriously picked out every stitch, twisted them around the proper direction and put them back on the needle. I restarted the lace pattern. Ahhh, much better. So much better, I took pictures to share with you. See how pretty they are? See the pretty sparklies in the yarn? See that nice pretty edge where I picked up the provisional cast on? Let me toddle off to Ravelry to upload the photos to my projects page so everyone can see how lovely this is going. Wait! What is this!!! My ruffle doesn't look like the other ruffles. My ruffle is... gasp... BACKWARDS! Yes, dear friends, I have taken a perfectly good provisional cast on, convinced myself it was wrong, undone it, and managed to put it on backwards. Sigh. Beth & Tasha have assured me that no one will know, well, except for everyone reading this, of course. And no, I am now almost finished Chart B, so I am not going back and frogging it at this point. It's still beautiful. It still flits & floats. It just does it to it's own tune now. So, what have we learned? You would think after years of knitting Elizabeth Zimmermann and Cat Bordhi patterns I would know by now to not overthink the pattern! Trust the designer; trust your knitting, trust that maybe, just maybe, you finally have that cursed provisional cast-on nailed and don't overthink the pattern!

Beginning the Flit + Float

Ahhh, it's time for The Masters. To me The Masters is always the unofficial kick-off of spring. Even though it may still be cold and blustery here, the azaleas are blooming in Augusta and I can vicariously celebrate the spring via my tv and some good knitting. Golf is the perfect sport for knitting. Lots of long stretches of nothing happening and you can always tell when you should look up at the tv to see a spectacular shot or horrible miss.



With that in mind, I am getting ready to settle in for four days of blissful golf & knitting. Yesterday I cast on for my Flit + Float scarf. I read the directions a few times and it occured to me that it might be easier to knit the scarf differently then written. My thought was to knit the body of the scarf first and then knit both ruffles at the end. But then after looking at the photos of the other projects on ravelry, I realized that the money shot is the ruffle and I am excited to she how it flutters in the new Mint Kiss Glimmer. So I sucked it up and did the provisional cast on called for. Provisional Cast-on. Ugh. I got through it, although it did take me a time or two. I'm not sure where my mental block is with that one, but it's been the bane of my exsistance for my entire knitting life, so why should this week be any different.


At any rate, the cast on has been conquered, and the first eleven rows have been knitted. I'm using a size 5 Addi Lace Turbo circular needle for the knitting. The pattern calls for a 4, but I'm a rebel and I'm doing it on the 5. It's interesting to me that this is the same needle that I used for the Pioneer and even with the vast difference in the weights of the yarn both are making a pleasing fabric.





Here is a first wip photo. No, it's not much and I think I photographed the wrong side -- it's hard to tell at this point which is which -- but it's a start. More in progress photos to come as I get my golf on and do my on version of hitting the sticks. Oh, and in case you wondered, "Go Phil Mickelson!!!"

Westward Ho! Pioneer Completion!

So I didn't get the Knitty's Pioneer finished in a week, like I thought I might (bragged I might?), but I did get it finished in practically no time at all. What struck me the most by this knit was how little yardage I used compared to what the pattern led me to believe I would. I had set aside four balls of Swizzle, but only used 2.5 balls. Just about 550 yards, not the 800 predicted for a size small. What a great bonus! I drug Tasha away from the dyepots long enough to get a quick photo of it being modeled, then it was off to be blocked. I'll get some real photos of the completed, blocked, amazing sweater up later this week, but I was just so thrilled by the finished product I just had to share!



We have an gorgeous new color of Glimmer to share as well. It's called "Mint Kiss" and it is the perfect color for your springtime knitting and crocheting projects. Glimmer is a super soft baby alpaca enhanced with a hint of golden iridescent holographic fiber. It is a fingering weight and perfectly suited for shawls and scarves with it's beautiful drape and sparkle.


I was so excited by this newest color, I couldn't wait to cast on something with it as soon as I got the Pioneer off the needles. I decided that the Flit + Float scarf from the Spring '09 Knitty would be the perfect project. Stay tuned for WIP photos soon! And remember, if you want to stay up to date with lots of photos and chat, follow us on Plurk or Twitter!

Phat Knits

Wow, and I thought Snuggle was bulky!

Netherlands based artist Bauke Knottnerus approaches design on a macro level using large threads to create large scale woven objects. “PHAT KNITS” is a series of giant threads used to create, knitted or not, interior products.

Can you imagine how great a rug or bath matt would be made out of this stuff?

Pioneer Update

What a great weekend we had here in SouthCentral PA. Absolutely beautiful, spring weather, perfect wear a cute little sweater and take your knitting along with you type of days. In fact, I did just that over the past two days as I continued to work on the Pioneer sweater in Swizzle as I was out and about.

The pattern is easy to memorize. Terribly easy, which makes it perfect take-along knitting. I got lots of ooohs and aaahs from my family and friends as my Pioneer made the rounds. Since Swizzle is a relatively new yarn for us, this is the first time I've spent any serious quality time working with it on an actual garment. Let me tell you, it's a lovely yarn. Lots of good drape and a serious amount of squishy touch me factor. I'm knitting on size 5 needles and I'm one of those annoying knitters who doesn't knit tight or loose. Pioneer is primarily stockinette with some columns of a two stitch cable worked along the sides and down the back. Several others have made the modification of adding a column of cables down the front middle. I did not do this, but seriously considered adding one as well.



I am making the 'small' size and right now I am over halfway done and I'm only about half through my second ball of yarn. The pattern called for four balls of Swizzle, about 800 yards needed, but I'm not sure I'm believing that. I'll keep you updated!

New Knitty thoughts

We always get little-kid excited when a new issue of Knitty is published. Everyone has their favorites, of course. Beth is especially fond of Hanne, Tasha likes Pioneer and Angela is drooling over Decimal. And of course, we are all swooning over the two lace projects, Shipwreck and Aeolian.

We've decided that we want to take some of our favorites and show you how they will look worked up in our yarns. This should be a fun task each issue pairing up Knitty genius with alpaca yumminess. We are going to start with Pioneer, done in Academy Blue Swizzle. We think it will be a delightful pairing and we will be sure to keep you updated with regular progress photos.

Here's a sneak peek to get your creativity flowing. You can check out more photos on the Ravelry project page. Be sure to comment us if you have any suggestions which AYC yarns might work well with the newest Knitty. We always love to hear your thoughts!

Pumpkin Patch Cozy Stole

I've had a long standing love affair with the Cozy Stole from the fall 2004 issue of Knitty. With it's elegant simplicity, I've always thought it would be a perfect toss over your shoulders wrap. Simple enough in it's stitch pattern, an eight row repeat with all the wrong side rows purled (I'm a sucker for the purl stitch; I purl faster then I knit). I never quite understood why the masses weren't falling all over themselves in love with this stole as I was. Then after a bit more consideration, I realized that this same issue of Knitty, Fall 2004, was the unveiling of that other wrap pattern, the most famous Knitty pattern ever, the Clapotis. How can a humble acoustic guitar player compete when there is a full blown orchestra bringing down the house right next door?
Just look at the numbers; Clapotis has 10,132 different project entries on ravelry, the humble Cozy only 572 and yet, I think it is just as lovely, if not moreso then the Clapotis. Ravely user, badknitter agrees. Don't let her username fool you, she's actually a sweetheart who used our Paca-Peds yarn in the colorway Harvest to make her Pumpkin Patch Stole.

So, I make a case for the Cozy. Step out from behind those dropped stitches and give it a whirl. It's obviously beautiful in Paca-Peds but would also look lovely in Classic or Paca-Paints.

Okay, and for some serious cute overdose, you have to check out this sign. If you are traveling along Route 30 in western York County, PA you will be greeted by this adorable face. Who could possibly resist some of that? If you are in the area, be sure to make plans to visit Beth's farm, Painted Spring. Beth, Neal & the fur babies would love to have you!