Sunday, November 2, 2008

Autumn in New York, take one!

Our project for November is called Autumn in New York. I am using Noro Silk Garden Sock, in color S245. I am using most of two balls (600 meters.) I am working with a US 4 32 inch circular needle, but I am a loose woman (I mean knitter...) I said in my previous post that the gauge was 5 stitches to the inch (whihc was not blocked), but the actual gauge will be 4 stitches to the inch, blocked, in stockinette stitch. It is not critical, but will impact your yardage and finished size.


There are several good ways to start this piece. I posted a tutorial earlier, and that is a very fine way to start. You can also review the provisional cast-on post from The Summer Sampler, which discussed various options, including some excellent links. Finally, you can take a look at the suggested resources on page five, coming up, for another take on a Turkish cast-on.

Please review the following notes carefully, because they won't get repeated and they apply to the entire project!

Feel free to check these excellent link out. You actually have to type them into you browser! Horrors...

This is the chart key for the entire project. This, along with the notes, should allow you to work each chart without confusion. Feel free to join my Yahoogroup (link on the left side of blog) if you want to discuss your progress with other knitters on a focused list.

Chart A might look familiar! I thought it would be fun to pick up where we left off, so I took a chart from The Summer Sampler as a starting point. Fireflies! It looks very different in this yarn. I modified it to expand with the triangle, but otherwise it is the same motif. I did not offer bead placements on this chart, because I didn't think I would want them up by my neck. I am offering a second chart for each up-coming motif, that includes suggested bead placements. If you use a textured yarn like Noro, and you use multi-colors, I am not suggesting you use beads. It is just too much for my aesthetic. On the other hand, if you are using a solid color without texture, beads will be a really nice addition to this piece, though totally optional.

Chart A has a repeat for the rows, and if you want to keep things really simple, you can just repeat those rows until the shawl is a size you like. I am not suggesting you do, but I am just saying you can...I only knit through chart A once, without any row repeats. Chart B is a transition chart, to move us smoothly from the motif in Chart A, to the motif in Chart C. As we work, I hope you will appreciate the flow of the design. My concept was a trip into New York Harbor and up the Hudson River, ending past the George Washington Bridge and along the Palisades. If you know the landscape, try to imagine with me and see if you get a feeling for my New York in Autumn.
I will be back next week with Chart C and more chat. Until then, knit on!

10 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Could you clarify your double decrease instructions? I usually do slip 2 as if to knit, knit 1, pass slipped stitches over.

    Thank you for this. I'm looking at the Hudson and the Palisades right now and basking in the beauty of autumn in New York. I can't wait to see how this develops.

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  3. Sara,
    You didn't leave an email address, so I hope you see this reply. There are several ways to make a really vertical double decrease. My favorite is the one illustrated at the link I left on page five (see above.) Why don't you take a look and see if you like it? It is hard for me to tell if what you describe is the same, because it is all about how you slip those stitches (in both directions.) The result should be the center stitch of the three sitting on top of the double decrease.
    Meow,
    BadCat

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  4. Thank you. How embarrassing that I didn't see the link - I was too anxious to get started. It's a great resource, though.

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  5. Ok, maybe I'm just being missing something but don't we actually start with row 3, since we K4, P3, K4 in the pick up? I can't figure out how we sould do row 1 unless we only picked up 2 stitches. Maybe I am just misreading the chart. hmmm

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  6. ~S,
    Can you belive you have a no-reply?? I can't find your email address and you are no-reply on Blogger...even though I know who you are! Drat! So here is my reply: I suspect you missed the 'repeat the center chart twice per row' note. Could that be right? Email me at my BadCatDesigne@verizon.net address and we can chat...

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  7. Hi there I was wondering if you had an approximate estimate of how many beads one would need to do this lovely project thanks for posting this chris

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  8. Chris,
    A quick count gets me under 500, so think in those terms. You can place fewer beads if you choose, or none at all. I will just be making suggested bead placements. I haven't done the full piece with beads yet. That will be my next knit through.

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  9. Lovely. Sally at Knitting Nation was working on this today, and I just loved it.

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