Just call them "done"

Both the Dolman and the Raglan sweaters for Nihon Vogue Year 2 were on mandatory "time outs" for longer than they should have been. I had to find inspiration deep from within to finish both of them. For reasons I can't quite explain, I dreaded pulling them out of their respective project bags to work on. If they were not required projects for Nihon Vogue one or both of them would have officially ended up as an "Unfinished Object". I was pleased with the design of the raglan and was especially proud I had used remnants of yarn from my stash for it - meaning no new yarn was purchased for the making of the sweater! However, sewing of the 4 raglan seams was more daunting than I had imagined. I finally came to grips with the fact that the sweaters were not going to finish themselves. Every day I felt the huge burden of them not being completed whilst embarking on a new, more favored project - Aran with saddle shoulders. There is a specific process to sew the raglan seams together which involves going into a stitch that sits underneath the decrease stitch that is leaning along the edge. Now I know why I don't normally knit with black yarn - the stitches were so difficult to see! I worked each of the 4 seams during different evenings as it was almost too overwhelming to do more than one in a single period of time. Once I got each of the 4 seams attaching the front and back to each sleeve completed, the rest was smooth sailing. The raglan albatross was no longer hanging around my neck! I sewed the side seams, sleeve seams and then knit ribbing in the round on the neck. I had to adjust the number of stitches and size of needles to make sure the neck opening would accommodate going over my head. The last step was sewing on a little ornamentation of an abalone and silver polar bear button that I had purchased during the last Beppa button sale. Rob advised against it (he doesn't share my "more is more" philosophy) but I did it anyway - it just seemed right.

The Dolman. What a history this sweater already has! From a knitting architecture standpoint it was fascinating, but sadly, the end result does not rank as one of my favorites. I did a Whelk slipped stitch pattern to break up the opportunities for pooling by the variegated yarn. Because slipped stitches compress row wise, the gauge was difficult to calculate. Using size 9 (5.5 mm) needles, the resultant fabric is a bit thicker and has an insulating quality to it. The pattern stitch made it easy to match the seams on the shoulders. I liked working the placket and was happy to incorporate some new learnings. I wanted to do a collar as well but didn't have enough yarn for that on this sweater. Perhaps the next sweater will get a collar. For some strange reason the sleeves are a few centimeters longer than what I had planned. Not sure how that happened because all of the other pattern measurements are exact. Because of the way the short rows are done at the cuffs, this is not an easy sweater to adjust the length of the sleeves, after the fact. So I decided to just give it to my younger, much taller sister. She is a willing, receptive and grateful recipient of all things hand knitted. Isn't that what Elizabeth Zimmerman recommended? If the sweater doesn't fit, find someone who the sweater fits to give it to? Not wanting to make the sleeves even longer with ribbing, I crocheted a nice edge around each cuff using a single crochet and twisted stitch. Quite lovely. I made the bottom ribbing longer so that the sweater wouldn't be too short for my sister. In retrospect, I would have done some things differently for the design of this sweater. As much as I like slip stitch patterns, I wouldn't do that again on a Dolman. I would stick with stockinette stitch or a simple pattern. I liked the placket and would do that again. At least I now know what to do for the Henley sweater Rob wants me to knit him. Believe it or not, I would make the bat wings larger and a bit more prominent. I was intent on making them as small and unobtrusive but in turn that affects the fit of the sweater. I find I like the structure and fit of the Set In sleeve style better than the Dolman style of sleeve. This sweater feels different on while wearing since the seam is on the shoulder and not around the armhole. I keep wanting to pull my sleeves up at the shoulder because they feel as though they are "falling down" even though they aren't. All in all, a fabulous learning experience - that is what it's all about, isn't it?



Put a fork in them and just call them "done"!

Art treasure in Tacoma, Washington

The city of Tacoma, Washington long ago abandoned its heavy industrial roots and reinvented itself as the town that art built. Native son and world famous glass artist Dale Chihuly was a generous donor and instrumental in the city building the Museum of Glass, by architect Arthur Erickson, on the Thea Foss Waterway. A recent visit from Lino Tagliapietra, master glass blower from Italy drew admiring crowds in the hot shop. The Chihuly Bridge linking the museum to Pacific Avenue features dozens of vessels lit up by the outside sky and protected by bullet proof cases.
Scott Fife's towering sculpture "Puppy" welcomes visitors to the nearby Tacoma Art Museum. An extensive collection of Chihuly glass is on display. An exhibit through mid June 2009 by David Macaulay entitled "The Way He Works" based on his masterful series of books was informative as well as intriguing.
The Hotel Murano is an art lover's dream! A gigantic glass sculpture sits outside the front entrance, the lobby is filled with comfy seating surrounded by blown glass vessels, paintings, chandeliers and sculptures. Each of the 25 floors feature glass pieces by renown artists and are immediately viewable upon egress from the elevator. Adjacent photos in each hallway illustrate the artist's implementation of their concept. I unexpectedly woke extremely early on a Sunday morning while at Madrona Fiber Arts and decided to ride the elevator, uninterrupted, to every floor. I was mesmerized by the variety and talent of the featured glass artists. One of my favorites was a striking piece comprised of thousands of ruby glass filaments by Toots Zynsky and a rich archeological interpretation by Willliam Morris. His work is unique and extraordinary. I have seen some of his other work on display at SeaTac airport and the Pacific Place building in downtown Seattle. His creations never fail to absolutely and completely enthrall me.

Aran Sweater Design for Nihon Vogue

The Aran sweater design project for Year 2 of Nihon Vogue is one I have been eagerly looking forward to. Texture through the use of various cables, bobbles and and filler stitches is my very favorite knitting adventure. I decided to make this sweater for Rob's mom, Marilyn. She is slender and usually wears layers of clothing to fend off the cold and damp weather of the Pacific Northwest. She wanted something in green-blue so my choice is Lana D'Oro which is a 50-50 alpaca & wool blend from Cascade Yarns. I love this yarn! It comes in beautiful colors, is soft and will be comfortably warm but not heavy in weight. The wool blend adds memory to counterbalance the drapey-ness of the alpaca. More local yarn stores should carry this line - it was more difficult to locate this luscious yarn than I had expected.I broke out a plethora of books to help me in my quest for design fundamentals and desirable cable patterns. Janet Szabo's "Aran Sweater Design" from Big Sky Knitting Designs is one I have relied on again and again. This valuable book is indispensible for anyone interested in Aran design as there are design considerations explained that are quite helpful. In great detail, she explains types of cables such as: ropes, waves, plaits, braids, zig-zags, diamonds, triangles, lace cables, slip stitch cables, closed ring designs and ribbed cables. She also covers other design elements such as filler stitch, knots, bobbles, twisted rib and trims as well creating an Aran design, putting it all together and useful knitting tips. Various sweater construction methods for bottom up, top down and sleeve types for dropped-shoulder, set in sleeve, peasant sleeve, raglan sleeve and saddle Arans are described from start to finish. Janet also includes complete knitting directions and patterns for 4 Aran sweater projects. There are some beautiful cables illustrations in the books but alas, not all of those cables are identified nor are there any instructions for completing them. The only other slight point of contention I have with this book is that I am used to odd number rows being right side rows and her cable patterns all have even number rows as right side rows.
Annie Maloney has an astounding collection of How-To-Knit Books for the serious knitter. In addition to "Mastering Lacework", "Tips From a Knitters Notebook", "Personal Knitwear Design", I am especially fond of "The Cable Knitting Handbook" and "Knitter's Guide to Stitch Design". The cable book has 101 original cable stitch patterns that are intricate, unusual and simply stunning. All of her books have a tremendous amount of detail that is not found in other resources. I would not consider my knitting library complete without the set of Annie's books. If I was stranded on a deserted island, her books are the ones I would absolutely want to have with me.I drafted the pattern for Marilyn's size, added ease and got to work swatching. I used an entire 219 yard skein up in swatching. I ended up eliminating some favorite cables because they were too wide to be combined with an expanse of lattice like cable pattern that Marilyn wanted in the sweater. Each different cable section has the potential to have a different stitch gauge. Not wanting to do short rows within the body of the sweater, my intent was to have each cable and the filler stitch pattern to have the same row gauge. There are many things to keep in mind with regards to an Aran: cable compatibility, where the cable pattern starts and ends on the garment, how short rows within the body or at the shoulders will impact the pattern, what ribbing to use and how it will transition into the cables and texture pattern. The transition between rib to cable pattern is one that Naomi and I have had several lively discussions on. I decided to take the path of least resistance and do a 2 row reverse garter ridge between the ribbing and the beginning of the cable patterns. Since I am making a cardigan, I reworked the schematic of the lattice cable pattern to be wider so that I could use one half of that pattern on each cardigan front adjacent to the button bands.
I am making progress one slow row at a time. We are supposed to have the back, fronts and sleeves knit up to the saddle by the time the next class is scheduled which is the end of March. Yikes, pokey turtle knitter that I am..... I may have to speed things up a bit!Happy Birthday wishes to my son Aubrey who is 28 years old today. I love him with all my heart.