Category: Lace

In the past, I knit several shawls using the alpaca and silk blend mentioned in my posts. The colors purchased in the latest shipment for some reason, however, have refused to knit without creating enough problems in dropping stitches that I gave up on each of the projects attempted using them.

My latest two shawls proved to be one of those instructive cases where the knit behaves just fine in smaller samples and is cranky and hard to manage when a larger number of needles is in use, resulting in switching fiber content to get the piece made

space-dyed that was unsuccessful

the finished shawl in wool/rayon blend

one disadvantage in deeply colored space-dyed is that some of the surface texture I lost, and patterns may become less evident

here is another version in wool crepe in what I am now calling my “firecracker” pattern

Below is my latest effort. The card that produces it is 90 rows in length and 22 knit rows are completed at the end of each of its rotations. The blue yarn is actually a multi-strand rayon, thicker than the alpaca/silk, was knitting pretty well until the individual thin strands began to break frequently and the partial shawl got added to the future “do something else with” stash of UFOs. There are many rows where 2 or 3 stitches are moved together onto the adjacent needle. I have some Tencel blends that are lovely colors, that when swatched consistently dropped stitches in areas of those transfers, probably because of lack of any “give” in the fiber. Going back to a wool rayon blend, I was able to actually complete a piece, which now awaits blocking.

the rayon multi-strand rayon swatch

the blocked, completed piece in wool crepe,  20X76 inches

With the huge supply of alpaca/silk and other yarns that will not transfer well, I am now considering taking a break from transfer lace and returning to tuck, tuck lace with NOOW, and similar fabrics for a “break” from the routine of this past year.

My latest shawls use a flower motif on mesh base, evocative in part of filet crochet. This is a detail shot of border and motifs in one

the finished shawl measures 20X80, is knit in a rayon/nylon blend with a metallic very fine filament twisted into the yarn

this is a space dyed version using Denis Brunton Magicolor

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The leaf shawl, finally completed and blocked, 16.5 X 76 inches

am contemplating its sibling in an alternate color

a mulberry version of the vine shawl, 17.5 X 64 inches

both shawls knit using 2/14, 80% alpaca, 20% silk from WEBS

I long ago learned the famous three hour KM sweater was not going to exist for me, I may now be on my way to my first 300 hour MK scarf. Dropped stitches continued in spite of my visually checking each row after transfers. At one point it took well over an hour to try to get back to a row where I could manage a “repair”. When I got a dropped mess in the same spot again I went the route of intentionally taking the knit off the machine, here is the baby (I have to admit I am beginning not to love these leaves so much anymore!).

I decided to go the route of steaming the piece to help set the stitches at the upper edge of the knit before attempting to rehang,

unraveled back to an all knit row, and got the masterpiece back on the machine after checking needles and gatepegs, changing a lone needle of questionable slight bent and here it is back on and “ready to go”

I chose to clip the yarn I unraveled because of the crimp. Back knitting again I noticed more dropped stitches where I could not identify any after lace carriage passes. This pattern at one point requires 16 transfer rows before any knitting takes place. I have used this yarn before, but the dye lot is new. It is alpaca and silk, a bit fuzzier than the previous dye lot and I am beginning to think that what is happening is what sometimes happens when machine knitting mohair. The multiple passes raise the fuzz even more than what is produced in the spinning process, and that is what “catches” at times on knit rows, is not easily visible, and by the time the stitch ‘runs’ the situation is a pretty mess.  May have to give waxing the yarn a try…

Follow up: decades ago for a while I decided to make children’s knits. The presumption in part was that they might take less time than adult sweaters but between scaling back motifs, and having a penchant for complicated, I soon found production was not practical in terms of financial returns. I remember at one point a green sweater I made that caused me so much grief I swore off using that color ever again. All knitters experience dropitis: the bliss of having the knitting magically falling off the machine = great fun at row 900+ of DBJ or double bed tuck long scarves and shawls! In the instance of this piece, I have found it actually takes less time to unravel back to knit rows off KM and rehang than to try to correct dropped stitches on the machine. The yarn continues to split and is being a nuisance. Then there are moments intended to keep one humble: after a huge hole cropped up, taking the knit off, rehanging it, knitting 5 more rows of repeats I noticed I had accidentally at some point close to the start of that adventure accidentally pushed into work one of the needles that had been out of work creating the ladder in that location, and off it all had to come again. Whether beginners or experienced, knitters absolutely get the opportunity to play Penelope in knits from time to time. This apple green may be the new color I will avoid for a very long time.

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Leaves are getting more attention from others as well yet again in hand knitting pubs and youtube videos.
As for my own leaf pattern: here is a wrap in progress on my knitting machine. Knitting is slow, with many transfer rows between knit ones. Though I am still using the now-familiar silk alpaca blend it took some fussing with weights and tension to avoid the “deconstructed” lace that was not part of my intended pattern. The added success comes from visually checking transfers each row, and increasing skill at sorting out where to put dropped stitches back onto the needle bed.

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Still leaf obsessed, I have punchcard repeats in the works for leaves similar to those in the previous posts. The leaves themselves are not as full as with the hand technique and are more pointed as well. Repeat is 52 rows long, with 10 rows of actual knitting completed per repeat. I was unable to sample in the yarn I had used in previous leaf samples due to stitches “dropping like flies”. Switching to a thinner yarn yielded better results:

this sample has 2 rows knit at the end of each complete repeat

this one has 6 rows knit at the end of the first repeat, then 4 at the end of the second  repeat, and varying width ladders

Below is my first try at a staggering leaf repeat, going back to the culprit that began all this. I estimate the punchcard repeat will have to be 120 rows to achieve this. My present supply is low. I found a source for a “brother” punchcard roll online, have it on order, will give the idea an attempt when the roll arrives. It is actually being shipped from Hong Kong. I will share the source here once I see how the “shopping experience” turns out.