Going green

I've got my projects sorted for my holiday.

I am taking some cotton for dishcloths, and a bit of lace knitting if I ever want a change.

The lace pattern is from a top in last summer's IK, but I am just using it for a scarf, with the yarn Helen gave me in New York.


I agonized over what to make with this, and finally decided simple is good. The colours are great and I think this will be just perfect.

The project I am not taking involves the interminable band of edging. I did manage to knit a long enough piece. (Hint: block it on the needles! I had thought I would need 22 repeats, but 19 ended up long enough! Know thy garter stitch.)

So, what will the main body be? Flipping through recent Vogue Knitting issues, I came upon a sleek knitted dress (Ravelry link) with a nice bobble-eyelet-cable thing up the middle.


Just what I needed! (This is my indoor flash picture. I'll get you a decent picture that shows the bobbles better when there is a bit more length!) I must say knitting round and round goes much faster than that dang band! The background pattern is staggered k2, p2, with a plain round in between, so I really only have to pay attention to

1. my beginning-of-round marker
2. those 30 stitches in the middle

Yeah, that's really it. Of course, the chart in the magazine shows rows 1-10, and neglects to say that the repeat is only of 3-10. So there was a bit of cursing trying to make the bobbles and the cables line up. I kept the bobbles at every 4th row, but crossed the cable at 10 rows.

Now that I realize that the cable is supposed to be crossed every 8 rows, I am faced with a problem: rip back a few rows and do the cable at 8; drop the cable stitches only and miraculously fix it without ripping the whole sweater back; ignore it and carry on, either continuing to be asynchronous, or having one cable different than the others. Or randomly cross at 8, 10, or 12 rows. It's supposed to be a bit over-the-top, so maybe I'll do the random bit!

But, I am not taking a big wool object to my island paradise! I've been instructed to get a picture of me and Stephen at the swim-up bar with drinks with little umbrellas. That's work enough, I think!