Na kni swe mo and Na blo po mo

Thanks for all your notes and comments on my last post. I am still not able to carry baskets of laundry up and down stairs (and believe me, I'm not in a hurry to regain that ability) but I am walking to the store (with Arthur to carry the heavy stuff) and to the school to meet Elaine. Progress is being made.

I plan to do NaBloPoMo, posting every day in November. I did it once or twice and it is fun, and especially fun to have so many other blogs to read every day! There's a Ravelry group, of course.

I also might do NaKniSweMo, and knit a sweater in the 30 days of November. (There's a Ravelry group for this, too!) The only problem is, I am enjoying making my Noro sock yarn cardigan, and don't want to stop that and start something new just to meet some silly old rules.

So, I must figure out how to just keep going with the present project, but still imagine that I am participating... The novel writers who started this whole "accomplish something in November" deal have to write 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo. Sweater knitters are expected to complete 50,000 stitches, according to the 2006 rules... and why would the rules change?

My present sweater needs 155 stitches across the back, and though it is a cardigan, we'll just say 155 stitches across the front as well. The gauge should be 38 rows = 4 inches, and I want at least the 22.5 inches stated in the pattern, probably more. Let's say 24 for easy arithmetic: 38 x 6 = 228 rows for 24 inches. Times 155 stitches = 35, 340. That's how many stitches are needed for the back (minus a few for armscyes!). And a slightly smaller number for the front, since I will make not make the front the same shape as the back! Whatever, I will easily have 50,000 stitches in the main body of the sweater, and I am not quite halfway through the second sleeve now. So I shall finish my sleeve, and then not start the body till November first, and finish the whole thing up by November 30th. Deal?

Oh, no! A picture-less post!

One front completed

You know, if I plug away, I might just get this done cardigan in November! Wouldn't that be nice!

You can have the picture with flash...


or without...


We have a bunch of patterns here, and a two-tone sort-of stripe situation. I hope the lumps in the centre line don't look too strange on an actual body. The whole thing will get washed in hot water and shrunk a bit, so all gauge issues will be sorted out in that process, won't they!? This way of designing is called, "winging it."

Because of my desire to avoid seaming, I am keeping the stitches live at the shoulder and will knit the back down from the two shoulders, so the body will be all in one piece. At least, that is the current plan. It just occurred to me that I could graft the shoulders or do a 3-needle bind off. This will have to wait till I'm closer to making the back!

The second front will be a bit more unified (since I'm drowning in the darkest blue with mere tidbits of the others). I'll have a cable up the inside edge, and this house from yet another pattern as the main attraction. This is from VK Fall 1994. I've always kind of liked it, but perhaps not for a whole giant-sized sweater. When I get to the top of this chart, then I guess it will be decision time again, but for now I can just knit and not have to think too much!

Ooh, so exciting...

Ack, I just looked at the date, November 25th! The 25th, folks... just one more month till ..., you know!

The denim continues

I find work on this sweater goes rather slowly, but have figured out I do a few funny things.

1. I take a long time to decide, "Should I keep on with this pattern or put a new one in?
2. When I finally do decide what to do, I stop to admire my work rather often.
   
3. I wonder about gauge, and stretch things sideways a lot.
4. Then I look through every pattern book I have to find new ideas.
5. I stop and count my remaining yarn and wonder if I will have enough.
6. I wonder what I will do on the back and other front piece.
7. I hold this up to various sweaters I own to see how I am doing.
8. I debate the neckline shape.
9. I take the odd picture in bad light conditions.

With flash,


and without.

And of course, I wonder if I will get it done in the next 9 days, since it is supposed to be a NaKniSweMo project!

Saved!

I dashed down to Romni's basement sale room this morning, described the yarn I wanted to the woman who runs the joint, and she found exactly what I needed. Phew.

Now the denim cardi will be much darker overall than previously thought, but at least it will have two sleeves, a back and two fronts of the appropriate size.

Now if I could just sit still to knit, that'd be fine, but I'm dashing off all over the place today. Maybe tonight!

More denim; not enough denim?

First question: Why didn't I move that strand of yarn before taking this picture?

Answer: No idea.

Oh well, one photo shoot on the back porch in my jammies is enough for one day, and you get the idea.

This is one part of the front of my denim cardigan. On your left, a snazzy knit-and-purl combo (I now think I prefer the reverse side of this, so you might see it inside-out on another part of the sweater). On your right, the Lacing Cable from the Learn to Knit Afghan Book, my latest go-to book for stitch ideas.

The only problem here: Ack, not enough yarn, I'm going to be showing my navel in this thing! I have enough yarn to use about 3.5 balls per front. This is 7 inches long, unwashed, and I have finished a ball of the darker blue. The pale will run out in a few rows, maybe another inch or two. That leaves... not enough.

If I hadn't knit the sleeves first, I'd be seriously thinking of a vest. I may end up thinking of a vest anyways!

Back to the denim sweater

I now have two sleeves done of my denim sweater, each a different blue, but with the same stitch pattern.


I started off thinking about this sweater along the lines of Narvik (Ravelry) but that really wasn't doing it for me for a variety of reasons. So I flipped through a few old magazines and came up with this from VK Fall 1994.


The charts take up eight pages, along with the two pages of written instruction. I'd like to see that in Vogue Knitting these days!

Of course, it's the wrong gauge, I've already knit the sleeves differently, the size large in 1994 was something like 54 inches... But, I shall use bits of the charts, that's the main thing! I'll likely stick my leafy panel in somewhere, as well.

I think I will make the colour changes in vertical stripes, but I am now trying to arrange my finite selection of yarn to optimally use the colours. I wish I knew for a fact that I had enough yarn to make it as long as I want... I know there are a few small balls of the very dark blue left in the sale pile, but I took all there was of the two lighter blues.

I will wash the sleeves and see what sort of shrinkage I get, and then just jump in, I suppose!

Starting sleeve two

I'm simply jumping in with this denim sweater and doing it as it occurs to my brain.

And so, I'm now making the second sleeve. I had the idea to use another panel pattern, but thought that just using another colour would be odd enough. And there's gauge issues -- one would like one's sleeves about the same width.

Still pondering the body. I originally meant to knit the whole thing wrist to wrist, because then one gets vertical stripes by just changing colours horizontally, and there would be less shaping and figuring and seaming. But most of the textural patterns I want to use look better up and down so I am stymied.

Who knows what will happen after this sleeve is done?

How much yarn do I really need? Can I make the body long enough?

What about the mysterious shrinking of the denim -- Rowan denim shrinks quite a bit, but this stuff says 5% shrinkage.

Tune in tomorrow!

Two small whines and a big one

Has anyone noticed that the Friends' Blogs feature on Ravelry hasn't picked up anything new in a day or so? I'm reduced to finding new posts on my own!

I do wish that NaBloPoMo didn't start on a weekend. I really have other things to do, but more important, perhaps, there are three other people in the house wanting the computer.

So, I will quickly show you a picture of my denim sweater, my big project. Except that I haven't knit a stitch on it in months.

I made the sleeve, very fine. Then, I had ideas and notions that I can't quite retrace, and I started in the middle of the front. I have spent sleepless nights trying to figure out how to slip around the sleeve -- it would involve huge bits of grafting, or 3-needle bind-offs or something more terrible. One of my guiding principles here was supposed to be seam avoidance!

Also, as you can plainly see, this front is way too short!

I was thinking this project might call for a swatch or two, since I plan to mix my textural patterns all up. Maybe that should be my knitting-while-watching-swimming-lessons chore for the day. And then a bit of frogging?