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3/12/2004 12:53:15 PM
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Pink Turtleneck: Suggestions Wanted!
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First I will tell you what I did, and then maybe you all can add some suggestions…
The yarn was Bernat Cotton Tots, a worsted wt. 100% cotton with a bit of wavy texture, which was unearthly soft at first, but after the first washing (by hand), it got stiff and pilling became a bit of a problem, too. So my first mistake was not picking the right yarn for the project. I`m going to redo it in Sonata (which keeps coming out of the wash looking and feeling like new), but I want some help before I dive back in, because yarn was not my only mistake here.
This was knit from the bottom up… I used a circ, CO chest size plus 1" multiplied by gauge, knit a ribbing for a couple of inches, then plain stockinette, in rounds, straight to the armpits. Divided in half (a front and a back). Moved the back half to a second circ, and bound off the first 3 stitches, knit across, turned, bound off the first 3 stitches then knit back and forth in rows, binding off at the beginning of each row for shaping, then straight knitting (with no selvedge stitches at the ends of the rows) until the shoulder. Stop. Repeated with the front half, then joined the two halves together by just knitting around. After one row of this, because I was working from a request for a wide turtleneck, I just went right into the K2 P2 ribbing, and continued straight up for about 18 rows, then bound off, knitwise in the knit stitches and purlwise in the purl stitches.
It`s a tight fit going over the head, even though the neck is very wide. And, as you can see (picture coming soon), the neck tends to fold inwards, creating a roll instead of the "slouch" look that usually goes with turtlenecks. Perhaps because the yarn was too heavy and too textured?
So the next experiment will be knitting this top-down, and perhaps doing the neck, armholes, and lower hem with the Esprit yarn and the body in a matching color of Sonata. (She wants a lacey pattern somewhere in the body this time.)
Suggestions on the evolution of this pattern are urgently welcomed!
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3/12/2004 1:40:43 PM
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Corinna, I want to see your casual cables
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Yes, I want to see how your casual cables turned out, too. I started this one in Bisque for my sister, then decided I wanted the cables spaced differently and ripped it out, then decided to make it top-down and with a yoke instead of defined shoulders, so I ripped it all out again and started it over from the other end... it`s going to be a long time before it`s finished now!
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3/12/2004 1:49:54 PM
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finished sweaters
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Yea, those sweaters are something else again! And generations from now, you`ll be a legend because of them, too!
Now have you picked out the buttons yet? If not, show us your choices, and we`ll al vote on it for you!
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3/12/2004 1:58:59 PM
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I`m in Love!
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First off, you probably need to put that picture in bio section!
Secondly, are you a fan of his poetry, too? I`ve loved the poems and paintings of Rossetti for decades... he communicates from some universal river of the soul that few have dipped into but everyone can recognize!
Now you know you will just HAVE to post a picture of you wearing the final product!
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3/12/2004 1:58:59 PM
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I`m in love!
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First off, you probably need to put that picture in bio section!
Secondly, are you a fan of his poetry, too? I`ve loved the poems and paintings of Rossetti for decades... he communicates from some universal river of the soul that few have dipped into but everyone can recognize!
Now you know you will just HAVE to post a picture of you wearing the final product!
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3/12/2004 2:07:20 PM
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Marion`s Pattern
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Just got the pattern in the mail, and wow, is it beautiful!!! Thanks so very much!
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3/12/2004 2:32:04 PM
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cotton/wool yarn
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I`m with KnitNut on this.. even in loose lacey patterns out of cotton yarn, a long tail for weaving in and a square not where needed are good enough to withstand some pretty tough wear!
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3/13/2004 12:49:48 AM
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Pink Turtleneck: Suggestions Wanted!
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Oh, you have all made my day!!! I NEVER thought of the "U" shaping!!! That`s what I get for not usng patterns (LOL), but seriously, you`d think that would`ve occurred to me, but it didn`t. And now I lnow what a "funnel" neck is, too! (Something to avoid!) This will fix everything! I`m going to knit it top-down, because a cast-on edge (for me, anyway) is always stretchier than a bound-off one), but it is almost a moot point if I make the U shape... that is EXACTLY what I needed!
THIS PLACE IS SO GREAT!!!
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3/13/2004 12:56:03 AM
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Marion`s Pattern
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So... do you have a book in print? And if not, is there one in the works? Please advise me if & when there is... I`m definitely buying a copy! And if there isn`t, maybe you should put one together... seriously.
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3/13/2004 1:19:33 AM
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Some Fiber Questions...
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My appologies in advance for the persistent attraction to yarns for ballet stuff, but here goes... I see that now there is a compnay selling the ballet sweaters in a cotton-silk-Lycra blend, and the yarn appears to be like sock yarn and very smooth.
This makes me wonder how they get Lycra into a yarn without that bumpy texture I usually see when either Lycra or elastic are added to knitting yarn. Does anone know?
Now I also wonder how it compares to fabric... I seem to remember that, at first, the only fabrics you could get with Lycra in them were knits, then wovens, like denim, and now even in very smooth wovens like cotton broadcloth. Is it just that knitting yarn is more difficult to make with Lycra in it than fabric is?
Elastic strikes me as risky, because some elastics lose there stretchiness after not too long, and others seem to hold up for years, but Lycra seems to be able to hold up to anything... desert sun, bleach, you name it, but is Lycra more expensive?
Is there any such thing as a knitting yarn that is a silk-cotton blend but has some Lycra in it, but not textured-looking in its relaxed state (like Star is)... or do these textured-looking stretchy yarns look smooth after they are knitted? Or is it because they are way stretchy, whereas smooth fabrics with about 2% lycra are just barely stretchy? Are these yarns both extra stretchy and bumpy looking because of the way the Lycra or elastic has been incorporated into the yarn? Is there a way to get some Lycra or elastic into a yarn without making it quite so stratchy or bumpy? Will we ever see this, or is it yarn-impossible? Or is it already out there, and I just don`t know about it yet?
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3/15/2004 9:50:29 AM
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Marion`s Pattern
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But save the pictures of the Penguin Romper for your Knitting books anyway, and here`s why... remember the old hardcover version of Elizabeth Zimmermann`s Knitting Without Tears? Well, the dust jacket was a collage of full-color pictures of other things she had knit...just as a decorative cover... they weren`t patterns that were in the book, just decoration. And I`m pretty sure zillions of knitters valued those as inspiration... I know that I refused to buy the new copy of the book precisely because I wanted that dust jacket, perhaps more than the book, for its inspiring ideas... I searched eBay until I found an old copy with that dust jacket... and I have pulled it out dozens of times just this past winter for ideas... filler designs and whatever else.
Your book could have some of your best specific patterns in it, your fantastic hints & tips, and zillions of pictures of finished works all over the "inpsiration areas"... dust jacket, end pages, color insert sections, wherever.
Interweave`s book on Tams has several sections of color pages that are just full of finished Tams for ideas... there is no specific "how to make this Tam" pattern for each one... just a general how to design Tams, and a few charted designs, and plenty of inspiring pictures.
These kinds of books are more appealing to some people than are books that spell out a specific pattern. My daughter and I cut out magazine pictures and make up books of sewing and knitting ideas out of them... I don`t collect patterns at all, but I obssessively collect:
1. pictures for ideas and
2. hints/tips on construction and design
And I know I am not the only one who likes these kinds of books, because they sure manage to sell a lot of copies!
So... you don`t have to re-create the penguin... or spell out a pattern for everything... just do some of your favs and then offer the readers some of the hints you`ve learned over the miles of yarn you`ve knitted, then tons of eye-candy!
BTW... tell us when your novel comes out and what it`s called... I, for one, would love to check it out!
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3/15/2004 11:24:40 AM
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Some Fiber Questions...
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Thanks for the replies and the info... I`ll bet you are right that they are machine-made that way, because I have seen fabric on the bolt that looks like a knitted sweater... so apparently sometimes the easiest thing is to machine knit some yarns as yardgoods then cut-and-sew (and don`t sweat the waste?) to assemble garments out of it. Still... I WANT THAT YARN!!!
SO... if anyone ever sees a not-very-stretchy yarn that is cotton-silk-Lycra and smooth, not bumpy... do please let me know about it!!!
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3/15/2004 11:28:52 AM
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cotton tencel
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Well, that sounds too perfect... I`m gonna have to pose a question for Ann about Endless Summer ;)
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3/15/2004 11:32:37 AM
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Endless Summer Question for Ann
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I understand that the only appropriate answer is probably "You`ll just have to wait and see"... but here I go with the question anyway... are there going to be any cotton-Tencel or cotton-rayon or cotton-silk blends in the Endless Summer Collection?
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3/15/2004 11:32:37 AM
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Endless Summer Question for Ann
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I understand that the only appropriate answer is probably "You`ll just have to wait and see"... but here I go with the question anyway... are there going to be any cotton-Tencel or cotton-rayon or cotton-silk blends in the Endless Summer Collection?
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3/15/2004 11:55:58 AM
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Knitting on Airplanes?
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I use one of those Clover thread-cutters when travelling... trains, planes, nobody minds them... just put it on a ribbon or whatever around your neck.
As for the needles... I went to the FAA website where they list the guidelines and rules, and brought a copy of the list with me which specifically states that knitting needles ARE allowed... but even this did not work... if a checker wants to say "No," you have no recourse whatsoever.
Here is what I have learned to do:
1. Make sure the knitting I am bringing is not something with an intricate or a lacey pattern and also is not something with many hundreds of stitches. (When they take your needles, you can guess what becomes of your knitting!)
2. Bring cheap needles... Susan Bates or something like that which you can get for just a few dollars, then if you get them taken away, you will not mind the loss of the needles.
3. Bring a bunch of very narrow (1/4 or 1/8 inch) ribbon and a plastic paper clip... then you can at least spend your time (what would`ve been knitting time, alas) threading the ribbon through all the loops of your knitting that were left hanging in mid-air when the checkers made you rip out the needles... because that is how it happens.
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3/15/2004 12:19:01 PM
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Flying with Needles
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And some of the laws they have added... that they can search your checked luggage without you being present is very, very scary. I`m with Ben Franklin on it all... "those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither."
The so-called racial profiling is another scary issue. My husband is very Italian, but he`s got the biker look going on... bald on top and a long, thick beard. Unfortunately... people are constantly mistaking that for some kind of an "Osama Bin Laden" look... it`s scary... he`s even gotten death-threats over it... it`s infuriating... he is so much the polar opposite of what some people think he looks like... and we know others with that "biker look" who have gotten the same reactions... the most flag-waving people you could imagine... and guess who is going to get singled out for the so-called "random" strip searches at the airport every time? The only time I fly now is alone with my daughter. If the whole family is going, we take a train.
And I`ll be the first to say... "but if even one life is saved by it all"... except these measures have not increased air security at all. People still keep "testing the system" by bringing weapons and explosives on and getting away with it. And in the meantime, the rest of us are subjected to the possibility of anyone planting anything they might want into our luggage as they "check" it without our being present or even notified. What strip search security checks have been done on the checkers? Wasn`t it airport personnel (baggage handlers and plane cleaning crews) who planted the boxcutters and other misc tampering in the 9-11 hijackings? No passengers brought anything like that on board. But I need to stop yapping about it, as that isn`t solving anything, either:)
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3/15/2004 12:47:35 PM
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For Bets - Easy Peasy Shawl
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I have found that if you keep your increases at or near the ends of the rows, you may find the shawl looking wider at a faster rate than you want, and you get a more asthetic look if the increases are placed one at or near each end and one in the middle. Garter stitch will accommodate this easily. Some lace patterns won`t, so you just pay attention to the angle that your triangle is forming and adjust as you go.
And a word on lace patterns... some are so pathetically easy, but so lovely... and a shawl is a great place to try them out... at its most basic, it is just a matter of putting in a YO (hole) for every SSK or K2TOG (gathers), and deciding how far apart to space these holes-and-gathers for the look you like.
For tip-to-top triangle shawls, I have found lace patterns that make vertical ridges are very flattering on any body type... my favorite is the B Walker`s Vine Lace, because it is so easy... all the odd rows are just plain knitting and the 2 alternating even rows are exactly the same as each other, they just start one stitch off from each other.
And one last thing that I think makes shawls even easier and faster... as soon as the trinagle has enough stitches to fit around a circular needle, I place a marker, cast on 3 steek stitches and join the circle... knit the whole rest of the shawl by just going around and around ad infinitum. It goes very fast.
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3/16/2004 12:16:56 AM
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Thank you!!!!
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Yes, I love this, too! I love how it is casual, but elegant... could go as easily with a silk skirt as a pair of jeans. Very nice!
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3/16/2004 12:34:39 AM
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Marion, congrats on that romper!
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I think this penguin is so cute! I am instantly picturing a lap-size afghan made of blocks of different animals like this one... or all penguins... I`ve gotta believe that would be a popular item at a Pittsburg Penguins Hockey game! Even a hat with one of these would be way cool for those fans!
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