A lot of knitting & sewing bloggers have written some thoughtful posts lately about both the joys of this virtual community and the ugly behaviors that seem to inevitably pollute human endeavors (refer to any Utopian community every attempted). I've thought about adding my voice to both subjects, but have decided simply to say thanks to you for your kindness and utmost civility. I've never had a sour comment and those I do receive quite honestly make my day.
Handcrafting as a form of meditation has also been widely discussed and I completely agree. Working with your hands allows you to turn off the voices and be in the moment. I prefer to be alone when I knit, sew, scrap or garden, so I've never been much for in-store knitting, classes, scrapbooking crops, etc. What I do love is to occasionally lift my head and find like-minded, creative people so we can share our energy. Blogging is is perfect for this.
There's no room for voices when knitting this.
Since becoming a knitter I've been determined to make a Starmore pattern. Alice and Jade have carved out their own niche in the knitting world and kept their patterns and yarns under their control. The yarn is exquisite and the patterns endlessly intriguing. I've occasionally visited Virtual Yarns to dream, but never made the leap to ordering. Clara Parkes rhapsodizing about their yarn in Knitter's Review put me in the mind to order. What put me over the edge was this Rheingold Wrap in the Dunkeld colorway.
I've never done Fair Isle knitting and I don't know how to knit continental. I bought a Philosopher's Wool kit a while back, but couldn't get even near the gauge for the single-colored edge, so I put it away. I didn't want to try to rework the pattern sizing while mastering stranded knitting. I didn't want to fail miserably. I needed a project that let me learn the technique without worries about fit and garment construction. And there it was ... the Rheingold Wrap. The colors are exquisite. The pattern is pure art. I ordered.
Like lacework, colorwork patterns can be very intimidating when you start. I knew I needed to pull a Ted Turner on this one or I'd never get the nerve to cast on.
Word of warning here. Scanning and colorizing is an amazing time-suck. One of those things that takes three seconds to come up with and three hours to complete. A scan renders the drawing, but it doesn't create discrete units and layers like a design program. I won't bore you with details; let's just say about halfway through I questioned my sanity. I was working at night, so it turns out a couple of colors are way off, but my husband looked at me like I was (more) insane when I said I wanted to change it, so I refrained. That took great self-control and it still bugs me, but I'm trying to be strong.
It worked though. With the enlarged and colorized chart I can see the way the colorwork flows and make out the pattern clearly. It has not escaped my notice that this is probably not a beginner's design. While there are only two colors per line, the patterning is not always symmetrical nor highly repetitive. The flowing lines give it great beauty, but play havoc with efforts to memorize the pattern. I am a knitting masochist.
Like any good masochist, I enjoyed the pain. This was fun!
Following the instructions for making a swatch, I used double point needles (3.23 mm) and broke the yarn at the end of each row. Found a half knot secured the beginnings just fine, but the ends needed a square knot to keep the final stitches of the active row in place. That's why the edges are so lumpy.
I used the instructions from the Philosopher's Wool book to learn two-handed knitting. There is also a free streaming video on the Philosopher's Wool site demonstrating the technique. These two pages in the book make it worth the price for me. The drawings are clear and the instructions very detailed.
They're right. About fifteen minutes to learn and a swatch to master. This is a version of what Brandon was teaching in that workshop I took back in January, but I had trouble getting it then. I guess it's percolated enough, because it really took this time. The bottom line is that when you're working with two colors of yarn it's worth using both hands. The biggest hurdle is getting whichever hand you don't usually use to learn the other method. Still don't think I'll become a continental knitter, but I can do it now. Irony is that I'm left handed - you'd think it would feel great, but not yet.
Seems I'm a bit tight with stranded knitting as my gauge swatch was one stitch too many, but that may be a factor of the DP's and losing the flow at the end of every row. Still, I think I may knit on the inside when I do the actual piece in the round so that the strands have the outside track and gain some built-in looseness. I'm still deciding how long I want to let my floats get. I experimented on this swatch and let them go as long as four stitches on some rows. I think three will be my sweet spot. Guess I just need to jump in now and CO.
Dogs don't need hobbies. They are zen masters.
The old bumper sticker Dog is my Co-pilot makes so much more sense when you've got one riding shotgun. She is my Ambassadress of Happiness in traffic. People break into the biggest grins when they look over an see her face. Tried to get a nice face shot for you, but every time I said her name she'd bounce over and try to lick me and the camera lens. Gotta love that labbish enthusiasm.
Well, it's just gorgeous, the yarn is stunning, but dear lord, aren't there people we can pay to do this stuff for us? I will scrub floors with a toothbrush before I will do colorwork, it gives me a stress headache just commenting about it. I love the color and design. I am terrified of the backside of the knitting. Masochist is right. But I'll peak in to see how your doing. Pleas don't make it look easy - that would be torture.
I love the shot of the doggie with the nose out the car window. You should frame it.
Posted by: Julia | July 02, 2007 at 02:07 PM
I never put my finger on it, but reading your post made me realize I'm the same way about blogs being my group that I can turn to at my leisure while mostly knitting at home.
And way to go ordering the kit! I didn't know there were throw patterns. As long as there aren't more than 2 colors per row - it's no problem. Just do one row at a time!
Posted by: jillian | July 02, 2007 at 03:21 PM
It looks gorgeous. I always stretch my stitches out to a "comfortable" distance to get the floats the right length . . . if your stitches are still scrunched on the needle, the float will be too short.
Love that co-pilot!
Posted by: --Deb | July 02, 2007 at 03:42 PM
Very pretty! And I agree that the kit is the way to go. I learned to do the two handed two color knitting from the Philosopher's Wool book and I think it's just great! And your swatch looks fabulous--so I can't wait to see the bigger version :).
Posted by: Jeanne | July 02, 2007 at 05:32 PM
I agree! very pretty! I will look forward to your progress. I've been thinking about diving into fair isle lately, too.
Posted by: Moni | July 02, 2007 at 06:41 PM
Oooh very pretty - can't wait to see how that knits up! I'm off to go re-check out the site right now!
Posted by: keri | July 02, 2007 at 06:47 PM
Your swatch is amazing! It looks great! Are you sure you're only starting out? I could never do that!
Can I ask about the kit you got? You sent me to that site and it's my birthday tomorow so I maybe want to treat myself and I NEED NEED NEED the St. Ciaran wrap so I wanted to ask...is the yarn soft or scratchy?
Thanks for the link to the site (I've been wanting that wrap for ages, had no idea they did a kit! And I couldn't find the pattern separately!)
Posted by: Arianne | July 03, 2007 at 03:04 AM
Yay! Welcome to the deep end of the pool :) Fun just jumping in isn't it? You really hit the nail on the head with the obstacle in learning two handed knitting, getting the off hand comfortable with the activity. I had to teach myself English in order to do two handed and boy was that tough. I actually worked a couple of projects that way, single color/single handed, before attempting the two color in order to really get comfortable. There was a struggle to keep the good hand from ripping the yarn out of the bad hand and just blasting through, but I'm ever so glad i pushed on. That wrap is going to be stunning!
Posted by: Risa | July 03, 2007 at 07:23 AM
You have done it again, o Queen of Inspiration! I love the pattern and the dear little swatch, and your willingness to admit to being intimidated by it all. My only experience with stranded colorwork is a "skull cap" (see my blog March 2006). Tension was an issue, and I started it twice to get it right. Several years ago, in an earlier knitting life, I made a cardigan in Kaffe Fassett's Tumbling Blocks pattern. I think it cured me of any desire to ever again do intarsia, but I still wear the sweater.
Posted by: ellen | July 03, 2007 at 08:04 AM
Ah! You're up for a nice, challenging project I see! I'd say your choice is one of their most gorgeous pieces that I'd wear. I think you will do fine - after all you had the will to see the garden project through. And from what I read on blogs, Starmore kits are wonderfully thorough. Let us know how it comes along.
Posted by: Terry | July 03, 2007 at 10:24 AM
Oooooooooooh I love fair isle stuff - once you get into the rhythm of it just flows along and the progress feels really quick as you feel the need to finish a band of pattern and the starmore designs are sublime. I love the colourway and the swatch is like a little piece of art (it would look good in a frame wouldn't it). Though the concept of doing two handed fair isle is way beyond me, I am just a boring old one hander.
I love the navigator, she really looks as though she is guiding you safely on your way (does she know the route to all the good yarn and fabric shops - now that would be a useful obediance skill)?
Posted by: Juliet | July 03, 2007 at 02:46 PM
That is absolutely gorgeous. Well done!
Posted by: Tusa | July 05, 2007 at 04:15 PM
Wow...what an incredible endeavor! Your swatch is perfect..as all of your work is : ) I'm sure it will turn out beautifully.
Posted by: Donna | July 05, 2007 at 07:04 PM
This is going to be smashing -- and it will be perfect, as everything you do you give so much love and attention to. I can hardly wait to see your progress!
Are you on Ravelry yet?
Posted by: Beanmama | July 07, 2007 at 08:28 AM
wow, gorgeous work!
such a cute doggie too!
Posted by: Em | July 19, 2007 at 06:24 AM
Lovely fair isle wrap. Nothing like just jumping in with both feet is there?
I'm just finishing my first mittens - actually two pair, one Selbu and one Latvian. I did take a class at Stitches Midwest this past August from Beth Brown Reinsel on stranded knitting, and learned some interesting things.
First is the concept of color dominance. It's really important (who knew?) to be very consistent with which yarn is carried across the top and which is carried across the bottom.
Also, I've been reading a lot of the folk knitting texts, and they ALL recommend carrying floats up to something like 7 stitches without weaving. The weaving really tightens the work. For a stole or wrap it isn't as important as it in in something like a mitten that needs to stretch over the hand, but it's a thought. The Shetland wool you'll be using for that stole, since it is from Virtual Yarns, will also wear really well with the floats. It is a true wool, no super-wash or other treatments, and with even a moderate amount of use, those floats will all start to felt into the whole of the piece.
Have you checked out Marina's work? Stranded in Fair Isle? She's unbelievable, and I've picked up so much from her.
Happy to see you're blogging.
Posted by: Marji | September 16, 2007 at 09:24 PM
Hi, I love your Rheingold wrap kit too. The colours are beautiful. Can I just ask, when you bought the kit was the pattern just for the wrap or was it for the sweater too.
many thanks and happy crafting
Posted by: Julie | September 17, 2007 at 06:40 AM