Using my pretty basket as a pattern

This spring I started a new shawl that uses  my basket as a pattern.  I have owned the basket for several years.  At some point I bought linen yarn in like colors to knit a shawl that matches the basket.  And I began to knit.

My best guess is that I cast on 127 stitches and then did garter stitches n the straw color for about seven rows.Then I began to copy the pattern from the basket.  However as I am counting stitches after knitting for a while it seems that my count is about 10 stitches more.  I am not sure if I have picked up a few stitches as I have gone or if I have miscounted my cast on stitches.  However, my advice if someone (including me) is trying to make a copy of this shawl, is to write down cast on stitches and try to stay close to this number,

Today I picked the shawl up again after having laid it down before Mary's wedding.  I am ready to start the next section and it is a lace section and I can not remember what the pattern was that I was using.  So I decided it was time to document my pattern here on the blog site.  Below is the photo of the basket that I am using as the pattern:

My notes say that I used the pattern in the Wendy's Fern Shawl for the lace panels.  And that I copied the shape from several wraps that I have done lately that have a knit one, knit front and back on the front side beginning and a knit two together knit one on the end of the right side rows,  I have picked this up in July 2024 again.  I have decided to use the method to make the bias:  P1, kfb, k to last 2 sts, k2tog .  Then the ws knit or purl across with not increase or decrease.  Hope this works.  This causes the shawl to have stripes on the bias.  You will see what this means when I take a photo of the finished shawl.

This morning I am working on the lace pattern part.  My pattern is not as airy as the basket.  But I think that I like it well enough to proceed.  The lace pattern is k2tog, yo, knit three after the initial beginning on the right side of k1, knit front and back.  The row ends with knit tog, k1,  You have to kind of make it work at the end and front to keep right pattern.  But here is where the k2tog goes:

The two stitches knit together are the stitch over the yo in the row below with the next stitch that would have been the first of the knit three stitches.  

The wrong side rows are just knit across with the k1 knit front and back at beginning of row and k2tog, knit 1 at end of row.

Repeat these two rows six times or as many rows as you want the lace pattern to be,

 

Knitting in the Waiting room

 Harps and Thistles sent a link to a post that spoke to me this morning:

https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/2022/06/15/knitters-notebook-waiting-room-knitting/?utm_source=Customers&utm_campaign=e7bdae489d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_05_02_38_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e25910db8b-e7bdae489d-508883713&mc_cid=e7bdae489d&mc_eid=178c0f918a

I sent the link to my knitting group with the comment below:

I think this speaks to many of us…..Certainly I would never have made it through my husband’s year of treatment without my knitting and my computer.  And what a crazy thing  it is that I can almost not knit any time except when passing hours in some waiting room or event?  

Sally sent me the following comment that made me want to blog these thoughts:

Thank you Marsha.  This is so true both as the waiter and the patient. Socks are my waiting room project.  Sometimes just one row.  Sometimes knit so tightly that you can notice the gauge change.  Sometimes many weird stitches that are repaired at a calmer moment or left as a sort of a scar and a reminder.  Socks never seem to just be socks.

And I added to her:

Your words call me to put a blog post together…..It is almost like a life line to know that your knitting is with you if you end up all night at the hospital instead of just an hour or two in the waiting room.  A comfort to have it with you even if you don’t actually knit or even knit poorly.

I am preparing to spend many hours on a plane in the next week...and one of the most important things I will have with me is my knitting.  A project not so hard that I will have trouble....and not so large as to have to lug it...and not so easy as to not be of interest.  It needs to fit easily into my back pack.

Substituting Yarn in a project

The Yarn store, Harps and Thistles sent the link below this morning for a really great article explaining how to choose an alternate yarn than the one suggested in a pattern:

 https://making-stories.com/blogs/blog/how-to-substitute-yarn?utm_source=Customers&utm_campaign=8bfa0c4fb9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_04_05_02_38_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e25910db8b-8bfa0c4fb9-508883713&mc_cid=8bfa0c4fb9&mc_eid=178c0f918a

Easter sale at Webs

Sally and I finished winding the balls of Cascade Ultra Pima.  The colors are amazing.  We split all of the skeins to make the cost of the sweater Sea Glass more affordable.  

And here is a photo of the Sea Glass sweater:

When we finished winding the balls we began to decide on a color for the ribbing.  Sally has chosen a really pretty dark blue called Armada.  I decided on black. Webs had Cascade's Ultra Pima on sale.  It looks like a softer black than the one in the above photo....but you never know until the mail man comes.....Here is what I texted to Sally:

Thanks.  I’ll finish winding them and add them to the basket.  I am very happy with our picks for the ribbing.  I think that mine is going to be a soft black not a ink color.  Of course, you never know until the mail man delivers them.  I bought some incan spice yarn that was on sale.  Made in Peru and sold by Plymouth yarns….bet it has been discontinued.  I had bought 5 balls when Mitzi and I went to Lexington when the yarn shop in the strip mall was going out of business.  I bought it for a Steven Be project that was on display.  And my notes to myself on my slide show were that I loved the drape of the project on display.  But now I don’t love the size of the project and would like to make something bigger ….so I bought some more of the yarn to make a larger project.  I had lots of fun looking for a project yesterday….didn’t settle on one but found LOTS of gorgeous project with several colors ….backed into the projects with a search for cheshire cat by Wonderland yarns that was also on sale…but I managed to refrain….but it took me to projects that used mini skeins and lots of colors.  The Incan Spice is fingering.

Knights who say Knit

 

Sunny Sail wrap

 I finished my Concatenation shawl yesterday.  I had a major problem at the end in that I must have put an ink pen into the basket to take with me one day and there was a huge ink blob in the middle of the shawl that I did not feel as if I could live with.  So after the bind off, I cut out the section and reknit a few rows.  Then I used the link below to help me knit a graft between the two sets of live stitches.  This process is a way to knit the kitchener stitch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S9v-pEiu-M

the join that I made is not perfect, but I am much happier with the join than I would have been with the ink blob!  So today I will block and take photos.  I do love this shawl!

But then I had a serious problem in that I had to have a mindless project to use during the 24 hour History of Ukraine  program!  And often starting a new project is not mindless!  However I found the perfect project.  

When I downloaded the English version, the shawl had a new name:

I am doing my version in yellow Mohair/Silk yarn from Debbie Bliss called Angel

And a sock yarn by Noro:

 This is truly a great mindless project.  Today my plan is to look for a wedding shawl to work on as well ...or perhaps two.  

My new favorite way to wind balls!

I can not believe it has taken me this many years to discover that I can read a digital book while I wind yarn balls!  It works absolutely great!  I spent the entire evening last night winding yarn for the upcoming MKAL (As You Wish) and reading a book about the history of Bucks County, PA and working on my marshamoses blog site!  I am back at it the morning while I drink my coffee.  YEA!  I think I am going to be very ready by Tuesday when the first clue drops!

 

Knitting a sock for the sock workshop

In preparation for the up coming sock workshop this month I had a crazy idea to try.  Sally and I are thinking about making a sweater that is meant to use up one's stash.  It calls for about 16 different colors and is knit with a stitch that looks a bit woven.  So I was thinking perhaps I might try a sock in the stitch to use as a swatch for my sweater.  But we are knitting in cotton and cotton is less than perfect for socks.  Then I remembered that when i used to knit socks and the Ewe and Eye was was the place to go for yarn, Mrs Newman introduced me to elastic to add to cuffs and whatever.  So I googled ....and here is one thing that I found with my google search:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9R_Ki4SeW4

It is a video about a cast on to use for a top down sock that makes for a very stretchy  top of the sock.

E-how says this about adding elastic: