Oh yeah, like I surf

I was very taken with Connie Chang Chinchio's Après Surf Hoodie, printed in this summer's Interweave Knits. The only piece of lace I'd done previously was a scarf called Branching Out, from Spring 2005's Knitty and, despite not really being a big fan of lace as a product, making it turned out to be really fun.

The pattern for the Après Surf Hoodie called for Rowan RYC Cashcotton, a gorgeous blend of cotton, nylon, angora, rayon and cashmere and I found it at a bearable price in a striking blue on e-Bay. Bought ten balls of it and started swatching/gauging as soon as it arrived. My tension seemed to be a long way off and I ended up making it using teeny tiny needles - 2.25 mm for the body and arms and 2 mm needles for the hood, which is borderline psychotic.

I had got a long way through it before a Stitch 'n Bitch mate, who was making the same thing, suggested perhaps I was using DK instead of the 4-ply the pattern called for. Naturally, she was right (I think she knew but was being kind enough to pose it as a possibility, instead of telling me I'm an idiot.) I'd been so taken with the yarn's colour I'd ignored its weight. As it turned out, I preferred the result of the slightly thicker yarn. I may even make it again, in DK instead of 4-ply, but since it took two months it's not high on my list at the moment.


It has turned out very well and I've worn it for at least part of every day since I finished it a little over a week ago. The laughter from friends and family about the title has not subsided, since I have never even stood on a surf board in a shop, let alone risked life and limb (mine and others') by trying one out on the ocean. My athleticism, such as it ever was, is long gone, as you probably guess from this picture.

My First Real Socks

Having recently finished the Big Bloke Sweater and also the wonderful Après Surf Hoodie I needed something fun to do. The little striped bag to be felted isn't challenging enough, so I have decided to have a go at socks. I've only made one pair before, some time in my late teens, and they turned out OK but not great. Stitch 'n Bitch friends churn out interesting-looking ones and they've got me interested in trying them.

In a panic about running out of yarn for the Après Surf Hoodie I had bought more of the right colour on line and naturally added in more yarns to the order to get free shipping. (There's a knitter's rationalisation for you.)

The stash addition included some self-striping sock wool which I am using to knit socks from the toe to the cuff instead of the more usual cuff-to-toe route. After swatching until I could get the gauge marked on the yarn's wrapper I have settled on 2.25mm needles. This is an awkward size to find here in America, since both it and a nearby size (2.5mm, I think) are listed as equivalent to US size 1. Luckily I bought a huge set of bamboo double point needles on e-Bay, and it included 2.25 mms (the smallest size in the set, and slightly bendy).

The pattern I found online has a little texture, provided by a P2, K3 purl over the top of the foot and up the leg, and so far is working out well. I'm not sure I'll really wear them, but they're fun to make. Perhaps they'll be more offerings for the Finished Works Stash (AKA Possible Presents).

Big Bloke Sweater Part II

Finally finished it last weekend. One sleeve had been too long - more frogging. The second sleeve's decreases didn't look right - frogging. The ribbing at the neck - you guessed it.

However, it is done. Perhaps it needs a few canny stitches to fill in gaps and to make parts hang right, but it fits 'Im Indoors pretty well. I may or may not block it. Since it was knitted in the round blocking may not be too simple. Now I just have to persuade him to be photographed in it.

New techniques tried out during this project:

Top-down knitting
Magic loop (on lower part of sleeves)

A-Type Knitting

Since my local Stitch 'n Bitch group will stage an intervention if I make one more Koolhaas hat I decided to try Dizzy, which looked reasonably cool and did not require a cable needle. I had made real headway when I noticed an error some way back. Unpicking the section proved impossible so I frogged it to the relevant row and started again.

On the next attempt I got to within a few rows of the shaping for the crown of the head when I realised there was an error again and frogged back more than halfway.

This time I got a few rows in to the shaping when I realised that there was a fundamental error and had to frog right back to the band. I had made a mistake on the first or second row, which had resulted in a very nice pattern, but it wasn't the one I was supposed to be doing and the shaping would never work.

Finally I got it right and it was pretty easy. Sadly, I don't like it as much as my mistake and I have no idea how to replicate the error. Ah well.

As for the Big Bloke Sweater for 'Im Indoors, that's another tale of woe but I'm too weakened by disappointment to blog it yet.

Hat

The first Koolhaas hat is finished and I'm pleased with it. The second one is not going so well, due to a mixture of arrogance, inattention and over-optimism.

There was some yarn left over from the ball I was using for the first hat, which I made in the woman's size, so I decided to make a man's size one. By the end of the ball it was clear that there would not be enough to finish at that size. Around the same time I realised I'd skipped a row about half way through the piece. I'm not quite A type enough to frog it back to the error and re-knit, but close.

I'm also trying to work out how to start the shaping for the crown at an in-between size, which means doing it half way through an eight row repeat. I'll cobble something reasonable together eventually, but at the moment there's a lot of frogging going on.