Friday, March 30, 2012


The vest passed muster. It’s finished. The picture is slightly fuzzy, I'm afraid.


I noticed to my horror, however, that in certain lights and from certain angles, the re-knit part looks different from what precedes. Because it is unblocked? Or because – horror of horrors! – my husband was right (he usually is) and I should have de-crinkled the yarn before re-knitting? It looks sort of un-ironed.  He hasn’t commented on it, it may disappear with wear, and I prefer not to think about it.

Thanks for your comments yesterday, Helen, on the subject of de-crinkling.

So yesterday’s knitting was devoted to the Zauberball sock. I finished the ribbing and am speeding down the leg. Pic soon. I should reach the heel today. The current plan is to do something slightly more demanding than the Afterthought Heel, since I’m here with my books. A Dutch heel, perhaps? Neatby’s garter stitch heel? I couldn’t attempt an Andersson if I wanted to, because it’s toe-up.

The yarn for the snood will presumably be heralded by a card telling me what I’ve got to pay. I’m very unlikely, therefore, to have the actual yarn before Monday at the earliest. By then, I should have done so much sock that I might as well go ahead and finish the pair.

By the way...

Jared has an interesting blog entry about the Inversion Cardigan in his new collection – one of those babies you can wear upside down. I was rather struck by it my first time through, when I bought the infinity scarf pattern which may wind up as my snood, at least stitch-wise. And I’m tempted again.

Sky Scarf

I was interested in your comment Tuesday, JennyS, saying that your Kent-based scarf is bluer than mine. I suspect the inferiority of Edinburgh weather is the reason, but there are other possibilities, starting with the time of day of the observation. I often find that the day starts with a light cloud-cover even when it’s going to be sunny. And much depends on the yarns available for selection. But the whole thing is really very subjective – the sky is often partly blue and partly grey. That’s the fun of it.  

I hope the Little Boys at Loch Fyne will be interested in the project when we are there next week. If they are, I will knit their choices for those three mornings, however much I disagree.

I, too, had considered a Sunset Scarf for next year. There were some marvellous late afternoon skies around here in January. But the logistics might be tricky – I mean, getting oneself in position to observe the sunset, and doing it every day.

Beverly, I am taken with your idea of knitting the scarf as a tube, ends inside. There could be purl stitches at either side to encourage flatness. I like the opportunity to knit with two yarns held together, making it a little easier to express what I see. But I could still do that.

That leaves garlic mustard still to be dicussed.

6 comments:

  1. I'm sure a good wet block will sort the vest out. We just planted mustard (for the greens) for the first time. It has been so weirdly warm here in the upper midwest that cool weather crops might not get enough cool weather.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Don't fret about the differences in the knitting. I have just finished a small person's jumper and was horrified by the lumpiness of some parts - I used various different types of needles for perfectly good reasons. Now washed, it all looks the same.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous5:29 PM

    The vest looks great and the fit is perfect.

    Garlic mustard is a scourge in New Jersey these days. And it is tricky, because the early growth looks like violets - no one wants to root out violets, our state flower! I've never seen any sign that it is eaten by any critters. It may be edible but if even the groundhogs won't eat it, I doubt it is palatable.

    Can't wait to see the Zauberball socks.

    Beverly in NJ

    ReplyDelete
  4. You may want to try this method to take out the difference of texture.
    -- Take a fluffy hand towel, wet it thoroughly, then wring it out.
    -- Lay the vest on a heat-safe surface. Spread the towel across the vest and lightly lay a hot iron to create steam. Do this over the entire vest.
    -- Allow the vest to cool completely.

    Otherwise, its first washing will take out the texture.

    I hope you can get a better pic of it. I love the color. I'm glad it passed muster the second time. The fit looks great.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous1:32 AM

    I'm currently knitting a sock on 'crinkley' rewound yarn; it is crinkley in the ball but flat when it's knit.

    This is the second time around on the same sock! Wrong sized needles were the culprits.

    Enjoy your week-end. Snow is forecast for Toronto tonight--and I thought Spring was here.

    China Doll 003

    ReplyDelete
  6. I just finished a sweater (Owls) and in some parts I used frogged yarn, and other parts fresh from the skein. It looked horrible upon finishing, but after blocking, I couldn't tell which was frogged versus fresh. So I wouldn't fret.

    ReplyDelete