Autumn in New York, take five!

Here she is! This version is the original, using 2 balls of Noro Silk Garden Sock. If you follow the "Autumn in New York" label you will find full instructions, including finished dimensions. Here is the final chart.

In a nut shell, you make one ridge of garter stitch by knitting one row and knitting the return row too. The only trick is that I want you to include a yarn-over after the edge, before and after the center stitch, and before the final edge on the one right side row only. The chart is pretty meaningless, but I was trying to stick to the familiar format to keep things clear for everyone.

Above is just the wrap-up. This is how I cast-off, and it looks nice with the one ridge of garter. Your edge should not have any significant curling with this treatment, and any that you do have should block out easily. Speaking of which:

Following, I included an assortment of blocking shots with notes, so you can see what I did.

A very happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I am not cooking on Thursday, but I am having an after-party so I can cook, on Friday. I might be back with some food fun then.

Finally, I would love to see your pictures of this project in this and other yarns, so send them on over to me and be sure to include the yarn you used, any pattern modifications and your finished dimensions. I will put another post up for this project once I get your photos! Meow...

Autumn in New York, take four!

As we approach Thanksgiving in the United States, so we approach the final motif on this November project. New York City is surrounded by water. I work in Northern Manhattan, very near the Hudson River, and I live about ten miles north. I can see the Hudson from my bedroom. It seemed right to surround our shawl with water, if you will. Chart E is the first motif with "movement." The previous motifs had the decrease pair closely with the increase. This motif has the increases grouped together and the decreases grouped together, which causes the fabric to undulate. The stripes of color take on a gentle scallop, which gives nice movement to the border and allows for those scallops along the edges.

I knit through Chart E once for my shawl. If you have enough yarn and would like your shawl to be larger, I suggest you return to Chart D and make another repeat of the recommended rows.

Thanks to all who participated in my chart discussion, both here and at my Yahoo group. I continue to look for ways to upgrade the quality of my blog and its contents. I plan to experiment with different chart formats in the future.

I will return with one more post on this project by Monday evening. That post will include the cast-off directions, some blocking instructions and of course a cheesecake shot! Until then, knit on!

Autumn in New York, take three!

My friend Sandra, fellow New Yorker and someone knitting along with us, asked me if we were doing some leaves next. No, just chain-link fence... This got me to thinking about New York and the motifs I chose to incorporate into this design. There are plenty of trees in New York City, and they are all lovely colors right now, yet I selected what you see above. While I continue to ponder the significance of my choices and my complex relationship with New York City, you all can continue knitting...

I repeat the "row repeat" twice on Chart D before moving on. The Chart D row repeat is the place I suggest you enlarge your shawl, if you like. Go back and check my yarn usage and finished size before you decide on adding a repeat.

The rows are getting longer, so this could possibly keep you busy for a chunk of the next week. I'll be back with a huge post before Thanksgiving. Until then, knit on.

Autumn in New York, take two!

Happy Friday! This week finds me pleased to be here, and even more pleased to be an American. I was feeling less so not long ago...and for those of you who considered offering me asylum on your farms in Canada, thanks. I'm good. I trust this post finds many of you cast-on and ready for the next chart. The above picture shows you the transition section along with part of the next motif. Again, this shows the original yarn, Noro Silk Garden Sock, blocked. The Noro color I used here has a light stripe that glows in these pictures, which I really like.

Chart C, above, is only shown as the central panel. Be sure to refer back to the "notes" page from our earlier post if you are not clear how to follow, and recall this chart does not include the garter stitch border, which you should maintain.

I also have a second Chart C, which includes bead placements, for those of you going that way.

I marked off the pattern repeat, in blue, on both charts. You need to repeat the blue section three times across each chart row (and don't forget that you repeat the chart row twice per row, eh?) The reason I am giving you charts with a repeat, instead of giving you the larger chart without repeats, is that this allows me to make the chart as large as possible and still use a standard paper size. For me, this makes for much easier chart reading. I hope it does the same for you. Be sure that you set your printer to print in Landscape mode for all these charts!

This is a picture of my work, through the last row of Chart C, in Yarn Treehouse Melody, color Y21. It has a very different look, because it is a smooth yarn and the Noro has quite a bit of texture. The Melody has the nice, long color repeats which I am totally enjoying. I believe the Adagio and Melody are very similar style yarns.

I'll be back next weekend (and I am including Friday in that concept to celebrate November) with the third installment of our Autumn in New York Shawl. Until then, you know what to do...

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!

The witch takes flight!

Happy Halloween! Look what came out of The BadCat studio this week! Is this not the most glam witch you have seen in recent memory? BadKitten strikes again, and this year she actually did 99% of the sewing herself, with just a smidgen of coaching. She is off to collect our 2009 candy supply.

I'll be back later this weekend with the first installment of the November project. Until then, don't let the goblins bite...

A Turkish Style Cast-on...

I think the fussy part of a neck-down triangular shawl is the cast-on. Over the years, I have come up with a slightly different take on a provisional start for this type of design. I imagine many of you are familiar with a Turkish cast-on. It was first used for toe-up Turkish style socks. If you have never seen it done, cruise over to YouTube and see what Turkish Cast-on in the search field gets you. Take your pick of video clips to watch... My version is a variation that works particularly well when you want Garter Stitch. If you do this the standard way, your shawl edge will be missing a ridge of Garter when you pick-up the original stitches. Try my way to avoid missing that ridge. First collect your materials. You need yarn, one circular needle and two double point needles in the same size, and a patient cat. Are you joining me for my November Shawl project? Grab your project yarn and needles and give this cast-on a try. You will be one step ahead!

Take your circular needle end and the double pointed needle and hold them together. Make a slip knot loop and place it on both needles, snugging it down.

We want four stitches for our project, so make four loops on the two needles. Don't just wrap the yarn around (this is the special element.) You need to make four half-hitches. If you know how to sail, you know what this is. If you don't look at my picture, above.

Here you can see the four "stitches" made with half-hitches, plus the original loop made with a slip knot.

Slide the circular needle so the cable is through your new stitches. Remove the original loop/slip knot and leave the end hanging.

Begin knitting, using the double pointed needles. Knit a total of 8 rows (4 ridges of garter) with two double pointed needles. Leave the cable alone.

Pick-up and purl three stitches along the presenting long edge of your little piece.

Slide the circular needle tip down and knit those original four stitches off the cirular needle and onto your double pointed needle, right in line with the other stitches. Give the original end a gentle tug to line everything up and you are done with your cast-on. STOP until tomorrow!

You are now ready for row one of Chart A...say what!? Yup. Later this weekend. Until then, I leave you with...

Stuff on my cat....after I knit a few more rows.

And now for something completely different...

Or at least one or two standard deviations off the mean. Does anyone want to knit with me? I am making something pretty, fun and warm. It will be finished in very short order, leaving me plenty of time to prepare my Thanksgiving feast! Shall we start with materials?

-About 600 meters of fingering to sport-weight yarn. The piece was designed to use yarn with long color changes, such as Noro Kureyon Sock or Noro Silk Garden Sock or Yarn TreeHouse Melody or Yarn Place Adagio. A solid color in the same weight would also work well. I am using the Noro Silk Garden Sock at the front of the picture, and I have 2 balls. If you are using one of the other options, have 2 balls of the Kureyon Sock or 3-4 balls of the Melody or Adagio on hand. The pattern has a place to make the piece larger, so if you want a big shawl get more yarn!

-You will need knitting needles to obtain gauge. I am using US 4 needles. Anything from US 4-7 will work, but it you go for a bigger gauge, you will use more yarn. Have a 32 inch circular available.
-You will need a set of double point needles in the same size as your main needles if you try my modified Turkish cast-on.
-You will need at least 2 stitch markers, t-pins to block and a yarn needle to weave in ends.



Gauge? Five stitches to the inch in stockinette stitch, but not critical!



What? A neck down triangle with four different patterns. The patterns are simple enough to compliment the texture and color changes of the Noro yarn, but interesting enough to keep you awake. For anyone interested in design, the flow from chart to chart might be interesting. I will include ideas for modifying the design to use a solid color yarn and beads. Interesting techniques will include a discussion about double decreases and a nice way to cast-on for a neck down piece.



Time frame? The first chart and cast-on is going up right after Halloween and the final chart will be up for Thanksgiving.



What more can I say? Go check your stash!