eBay is sort of scary for a novice. The end of the auction is next Saturday, when we’ll be back here after our sojourn in London. I gather one sits at one’s keyboard with one’s finger poised as the seconds tick down. Or something. I have entered a bid which is about half of a reasonable price (judging from Abebooks) and perhaps one-third of what I would be willing to pay.
Ketki’s Gansey

Brown-Reinsel recommends charting every single stitch before you start. Bugger that, thought I, but I’m now far enough along that I see what she means. I put a lot of effort into getting the spine-stitch of one of those trees dead-centre on the front. What I didn’t do, was think hard enough about where I would be in the pattern when I hit the neckline. I am now afraid that I might have to cut off a tree in the middle, if the sweater is not to be too short or too long. I am thinking again about having a shoulder section perhaps of moss stitch which could begin after the last complete tree.
I have a pattern which I think I bought in the Kirkcaldy Art Museum, of something called the Buckhaven Gansey, pretty plain but with a shoulder treatment as I describe.
I’m not all that far off the point where I’ll have to start the underarm gusset – and from there, I have pretty well committed myself to the overall length.

Meanwhile the knitting of the shrug proceeds here in the metropolis. Granddaughter Hellie, for whom it is ultimately destined, is coming to see us today, from Newcastle where she is at university.
I ask myself how I got into this. By buying the yarn and pattern over-hastily is the answer. I will soon come to an instruction which reads, “Increase and work into pattern one stitch at beginning of next row and 23 following alternate rows and at the same time increase one stitch at end of next row and 7 following 8th rows.” I haven’t done that sort of thing for years. I thought it went out with the VKB of late ’48.
Ted, you’re not far wrong about the eggbox. It was for chitting potatoes in.
the trees are lovely in the gansey - gorgeous yarn too.
ReplyDeleteperhaps you could artistically arrange seed stitch clouds or something slightly soft to lead into the neck? or even a row of wee trees 1/4 the size...
blessings, Laura