Random Ramblings

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted.  Sorry about that.

While a lot of things have happened, not enough of any one thing has been done to do a post on.  So I’m just going to ramble on about all of them in one post.

The Dwarrow Shawl has come to a screeching halt.  The motif did not turn out right.  I only barely understand what went wrong and I’m really not sure how to fix it.  I’ve got the beginnings of an idea so I’m letting that rumble around in the back of my head for awhile

I’ve knit a bit of a few things, such as: Dracula’s Bride, Sing a Song of Sixpence, and Alla Moda.  But not enough on any of them to be worth showing.  Well, actually, quite a bit of Sixpence but one can only show so much circular stockinette.

I’m not having any luck finding test knitters for my Hap-style shawl.  I’m debating posting in one of the groups with strict requirements for posting test knitting requests or just releasing the pattern and maybe offering it for free to the first 10 people to use a code, asking (begging) that those people knit it soon and make project pages.

I strained my back and was stuck on the couch for the better part of a week.  I read a lot of fiction and spent way too much time on Pinterest.  Which is why the last few days has been filled with a trip to the dollar store and then painting and altering the things I bought.  And decorating for Halloween.  Yes it’s still September but I love Halloween and why shouldn’t I start decorating (inside) whenever I want to.  Besides, the day after Halloween, it all starts coming down and I start decorating for Christmas.  I really love Christmas.

I’m also starting to get the urge to spin again.  I started working on the Cormo fleece but the cut (butt) ends matted a bit in the washing process.  This makes flicking/combing a lot of work and combing is prone to a lot of neps if not flicked first.  It suddenly occurred to me that if I cut off 1/4 inch or so on the butt end, I’d be rid of the matting and it would be so much easier.  The locks are long enough that losing 1/4 inch doesn’t really matter.  I’ve got to try this on that Corriedale that has the same matting problem.  It’s so much faster and easier on my body to comb now.  I did a full dozen nests today.

Well, I think that about covers everything.  If there’s anything else I can’t remember it right now.  Hopefully I can make some showable progress on something soon.  (I wouldn’t count on it.  I can’t seem to settle into doing anything for long.)

 

Designing a Dwarrow Shawl Part 2

This pattern is going to drive me insane.

I got the written instructions done over the weekend and yesterday I cast on.  The beginning went well.  I can show you that without giving much away.

It’s pretty and interesting and I think I need to play with this as an all over design in the future.

After that I started the lace motif that I had designed.  I was right. Those purl side decreases just suck.  They’re overly complicated and I don’t like knitting them.  My number one rule of knitting is that it should be fun and/or interesting.  If certain stitches irritate me, I won’t knit it.

I’ve knitted enough lace to know I don’t like purl decreases beyond p2tog so I should have avoided them from the beginning.  So back to the chart to fix things.  I fiddled with adding plain purl rows but that stretched things out terribly.  I soon realized that I had to do a complete redesign, except for the beginning part I showed above.  I got the basic design re-done last night before my brain screamed no more.

This morning I came back to finish it.  All was going well until I removed 3 rows that somehow accidentally got added to the beginning.  That screwed up things so that all my pattern rows were suddenly on purl rows.   NOOOOOOOO!!!  That’s what I was trying to afford in the first place.  So I decided to add a row to shift things back to the knit rows.  But that messes up my shaping increases.  I stared at it awhile before deciding that one row without increases wouldn’t really mess anything up.

Now I have to do the written pattern from this redesign.  Doing it the first time was a headache in places and I don’t anticipate this being any easier.  Maybe I should pay Stitch Fiddle for the month so I can do it automatically.  I’ll think about it for awhile.  I need a break before my head explodes.

Designing a Dwarrow shawl

Before I get into this post I want to let you know that I’ve started a Ravelry group. Kyla Lade Designs 

I’ve finished knitting the Hap Style shawl and it’s blocking.  It’ll be ready for test knitters some time in the next week.

I’ve started work on my next design, the first in hopefully a series of shawls based on Tolkien’s dwarrow (dwarves).  I’ve had the beginnings of a lace design charted out for while.  I’m currently transcribing it into written instructions.  While I can read charts, I’m very slow at it and I knit better from written instructions.

I use Stitch Fiddle for my charts and while I could (and someday, probably will) pay for the premium service that would automatically generate written instructions, it’s turning out to be a good thing that I’m doing this by hand.  What looks good in a chart is turning out to be very weird and possibly difficult in reality.  It’s lace on every row, which makes for some weird stitches as written.  I’ll probably have to go back and figure out alternative purl decreases.  I’m not sure if slip 2, p1, pass slipped stitches over will look the same as it does in knit or even be that easy to do.  Same for ssp instead of ssk.  I might even go back and eliminate the purl row lace.  This is why I have to swatch (even if my swatch will essentially be knitting the shawl.)

I’ve only got part of the shawl charted.  I’m hoping that I’ll get to the point where it’s basically knitting the same set of rows until you get the length and then I’ll have to figure out the ending.  I know what I want.  It’s just a matter of how to knit it.

I have another 20 or so rows to write out and then I have to decide on yarn and needle size.

Oh and I’m crossing my fingers that this lace looks good once knit.  Again, looking good in a chart is one thing, reality can be a whole different thing.