A Knitting Storey

There's a marvelous knitting designer out there. Named Martin Storey (that's him wearing his design, Morris). Perhaps you've seen his fantabulous designs for Rowan yarns, perhaps you saw them for the now-defunct Jaeger yarn line. Wherever you saw them, did you swoon over their perfection for today?

I did. I bought his books for Rowan featuring Soft Lux (soft, soft, soft), and his summer book from a couple of years ago.


And one of his Jaeger Handknits books.


I made Milkshake from the Rowan summer book. Why? Because the shaping, the neckline, the proportions were perfect, darling. I made that sweater out of Filatura di Crosa yarn (itself wondrous to work with and wear), and wore it to several weddings to rave reviews. As in, "No, you did not make that yourself; it looks professionally done!" Exclaimed several times in loud voices. I was kvelling (Yiddish for swelling with pride), I tell you.

Now, this Jaeger book has 15 designs and all of them are winners. When was the last time that happened? The sizing runs from extra-petite to, shall we say, suitable for the quite well-endowed. The yarns are no longer available, BUT they are standard DK-weight yarns, running 22 stitches to 4 inches so finding suitable substitutes should not be a challenge. DD#2 took one look at the book and wanted every last one. Though I love her dearly, truly, 15 sweaters were just not happening. Plus DD#2 told me she needed a cardi more than a pullover, and she'll never wear a sleeveless shell even as an underlayer (she prefers thin camis). After long thought, this design won:

Peggy, it's called. Cables on every right side row. To be made in DD#2's favorite color, Burgundy (of Jaeger Shetland, a blend of soft wool and alpaca). It's worsted weight to be sure, but I'm making it in the smallest size so it'll be more like a jacket than a light cardi. DD#2 goes to college in Maryland; this will be her go-to outerwear for most of fall and all of spring.
Did I say cables on every right side row? Did I say that most patterns in this book feature either cables or lace motifs? Did I say that the patterns are not charted? This is 2010, you'd think that charts are now de rigueur. Guess who charted Peggy (the things we do for our kids)?



Note that not only are cables running throughout the garment, the cables are on a background of stockinette stitch, rather than purl stitch. You can't tell from the stock photo but trust me, that's the way it is. The cables at least in Shetland don't pop out quite as much from stockinette as they might from purl. Yet the subtle appearance is part of its charm. I suspect that the Jaeger yarns specified in the book, Trinity and Aqua, are crisper than Shetland, and the cables would have more definition worked in either yarn. Still, this will be one warm jacket when it's completed, and that's the important feature.

Mr. Storey, I'll keep knitting your patterns but I'll also keep wishing you'll start charting them. Morris is calling me to be knitted, but I must have charts for those cables.

Saturday is the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Have an easy fast to those who are fasting. May we be sealed in the Book of Good Life for the coming year.

A Bounty of Books

The New Year holiday was a welcome break from intense work activity. Synagogue services were inspiring, lunch with friends was delicious and fun. USPS worked through it as usual, bringing me some wonderful "presents" in the form of books, one of which I'd been awaiting since May.

First book I cracked open (post-holiday) was Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously by Adrienne Martini. In case you don't know, the 2 books are related by virtue of the fact that Martini wrote about how she spent a year knitting a design by the author of the second book. The design is Mary Tudor, and it was published in the out of print Tudor Roses, which I am lucky enough to own. I followed Martini's adventures along with Tudor Roses open at my side. I could appreciate the art and the craft of the design, the intricacy of the colors, the beauty of the finished product. Martini included no pictures, which several people on Amazon commented about in their reviews. The book entertained me for the most part until the end: the sweater did not fit Martini. How she didn't know this a priori boggles my mind: the schematics are right there, in black and white. Now, I've been known to resize a sweater (not drastically, mind). Often, going up a needle size or 2 can be enough (often, not always). In the case of designs by AS, who might specify a size 5 (3.75 mm) needle for bainin (Aran-weight wool from Ireland) to make a sweater waterproof, going up a needle size will not only make it larger but may give it better drape. If you don't need a waterproof sweater, why not make it to suit you? I was left, well, cold upon reading that Martini balled up Mary Tudor, stuck it in the closet, and declared that she's a process knitter. Well, so am I (that's my excuse for my kntter's ADD and I'm sticking to it), but I still make sweaters that fit folks (most of the time- I'm only human after all). And I look at schematics before picking out yarn and needles to see if size needs adjusting. The ending did not satisfy me as a reader or as a knitter.

A case in point about resizing a sweater is ongoing due to the second book I received, the long-awaited (since May) reprint of AS' Aran Knitting. We'll get to it in a moment. I have the first edition, and now the second. I do not regret owning both. The photography in the second is mostly updated, so you get more beautiful shots of sweaters (in new colorways) set against beautiful scenery. There's an retrospective introduction, with a couple of fantastic (in the sense of fantasy) claims made. And then there's the new design: Eala Bhan, which means fair or white swan.

To say it is gorgeous is to understate its elegance, its perfection (I couldn't get scans of the sides and back of the sweater to show you; trust me on this). BUT its largest size is like Mary Tudor, which is a tad too small for me. Oh it'll fit if I wanted it to be a blouse. But I need a dressy cardi for Sabbath winter eves. when I have the thermostat cranked down. I'm making the lovely White Lies Designs Collette for DD#2 in ivory wool (as soon as I'm caught up with other knitting); I don't think the Mom and Daughter thing will go over too well. Eala Bhan will suit quite nicely if I can get the size to work for me. My plan now as I mull it over is to make the largest size 10% larger by using a DK-weight yarn in place of the light sport-weight specified in the book. That'll give me the ease I need and I should be able to knit the pattern as written. A bit longer won't bother me, and I know I want the sleeves shorter than they are on the model. As befits a fair white swan, I'll look for a lovely ivory or winter white color.

Meanwhile, I finished the body to Twist and am currently blocking it.

No, your eyes do not deceive you. The pieces are wrong-side up, so I could flatten the edges. I love Magpie but its one drawback is that it's so tightly plied it curls like the very devil when knit in stockinette stitch. I now regret not having knitted the body in one piece, but what's done is done. Pattern says to block before adding the hood. DD#1 is now vacillating about whether she wants sleeves or not (please, not! there's so much other knitting I have to get to!).

And I have yet to take a photo of the new project for DD#2, but that's its own story (and therein lies a clue).

Updated Heart Cable Pattern

A reader asked me the other week to give written instructions for the heart cable pattern I published here some time ago. I've done so, with the caveat that I have not knitted from the written instructions, only from my chart. If anyone finds typos, please let me know so I can post corrections. I'm reposting the entire pattern here. Enjoy!




If you find errors in the chart, please let me know and I'll correct them.

HEART CABLE SET

MATERIALS
2 skeins Jamieson's Heather Aran for hat; 4 skeins for scarf
size US 4 and US 8 needles OR size to get gauge
tapestry needle

GAUGE
18 sts/4" in St st unblocked
Hat fits 20" around when worked to gauge on size 4 needles. For bigger hats, increase needle size to 5 or 6 to get 22" and 24" around.

HAT
1) CO 92 sts with size 4 (5, 6) needle. 2 sts will be selvedge sts. K1, p1 ribbing for 3", inc 23 sts last row in K only to 113 sts. Change to size 8 needles.
2) Set pattern as follows: selvedge st, P1, * 12 sts heart cable chart, rep from * across row, end P1 (selvedge st).
3) Repeat 18 row pattern twice.
4) Work chart a third time to row 16; DO NOT DO YO's (this will be 1st decrease for crown shaping, in other words). Next row: selvedge st, P1* P2 tog, P2, P2 tog, P1, repeat across, end P2, selvedge.
5) Next row: K across, end P1 (selvedge).
6) Next row: P1, *P1, P2 tog, repeat across, end P2, selvedge (3rd dec row).
7) Next row: K across.
8) Next row: Repeat 3rd dec row.
9) K across.
10) Selvedge, P2 tog across, end P1 (4th dec row).
11) K across
12) Repeat 4th dec row.
13) You should now have only 8 sts remaining on your needle. Break yarn, leaving 12" tail. Draw through sts using tapestry needle. Sew up seam, reversing at ribbing.

SCARF
1) Using invisible CO, CO 62 sts on size 8 needle. Do garter st for 6 row border.
2) Start pattern row 1: selvedge, P3, *11 st repeat of chart, repeat from *, end P3, selvedge.
3) Cont in pattern as set until piece measures approx 24", ending after a row 18; place on holder.
4) Make 2nd half same as 1st.
5) Graft 2 halves together invisibly. Block flat. Finished size will be approx 11" wide by 50" long.



NOTES
1) Chart begins on Row 1 but repeats of pattern begin on Row 3.
2) Pattern is a 12-st repeat.
3) Cabled sts are twisted (knit or purl tbl) for more relief.
4) Row 15 - knit the cables loosely to make P 3 tog or p 3 tog tbl on row 14 easier.
5) Row 17 - knit the yo's tbls to close up the holes.
6) 2/1 Right purl cross - Sl 1 to cn, hold at back, k2 tbl, p1 from cn.
7) 2/1 Left purl cross - Sl 2 to cn, hold at front, p1, k2 tbl from cn.
8) 1/1 Right purl cross - Sl 1 to cn, hold at back, k1 tbl, p1 from cn.
9) 1/1 Left purl cross - Sl 1 to cn, hold at front, p1, k1 tbl from cn.
10) 1/1 Right cross - Sl 1 to cn, hold at back, k1, k1 tbl from cn.
11) 1/1 Left cross - Sl 1 to cn, hold at front, k1, k1 tbl from cn.

Heart Cable written instructions
(Important: please read notes accompanying pattern).

Row 1: P across.
Row 2: K across.
Row 3: P1, *P4, K2, P5* (repeat between *'s), P1.
Row 4: K1, *K5, P2, K4* (repeat between *'s), K1. Always repeat between *'s in following rows.
Row 5: P1, *P3, 1/1 right cross, 1/1 left cross, P4*, P1.
Row 6: K1, *K4, P4, K3*, K1.
Row 7: P1, *P2, 2/1 right purl cross, 2/1 left purl cross, P3*, P1.
Row 8: K1, *K3, P2, K2, P2, K2*, K1.
Row 9: P1, *P1, 2/1 right purl cross, P3, 2/1 left purl cross, P1*, P1.
Row 10: K1, *K1, P2, K4, P2, K2*, K1.
Row 11: P1, *2/1 right purl cross, P4, 2/1 left purl cross, P1*, P1.
Row 12: K1, *K1, P2, K6, P2*, K1.
Row 13: P1, *K2, P6, K2, P1*, P1.
Row 14: K1, *K1, P2, K6, P2*, K1.
Row 15: P1, *2/1 left purl cross, 1/1 right purl cross, 1/1 left purl cross, 2/1 right purl cross*, P1.
Row 16: K1, *K2, P3tog tbl, K2, P3tog, K1*, K1.
Row 17: P1, *P2, YO, P1, YO, P2, YO, P1, YO, P1*, P1.
Row 18: K across.

Spring Will Spring and I'll Knit Socks, Part 2

In searching for a new sock pattern, I found out that Evelyn Clark, a designer whose socks I enjoy knitting so much, now has her own website. On which is this pattern called Twining Leaves Socks. This makes the third sock pattern with a leaf motif (of course I had to buy it) that will sit because I cannot find the right green sock yarn to use. Oh sure there's green sock yarn a-plenty out there. But my soul craves a yarn that won't bore me yet will stand up the the demands of a sock. Be variegated enough so I'll knit 2 of them but not too variegated that the pattern will be lost (Lilacs socks I made a while back come to mind). On a whim, I Googled for green handpainted sock yarn and found:



That's hand-painted Fyberspates Blue-Faced Leicester fingering/light sport weight, from Wales, UK no less. You can find it here. Just what I need, another sock yarn addiction.



Say hello to Belle in the foreground (yeah, say hello to Duke too, sulking there in the back). Belle is a baby cockatiel (to be accurate, she's a cinnamon pied pearl cockatiel and we are not entirely sure she's a she-but we're hopeful). We bought her just this Sunday, because DD#1's dear 14 year old cockatiel hen Scooter passed away last week. Fourteen is a respectable age and Scooter led a charmed life, having survived pneumonia twice and another respiratory infection. She'll be missed. Duke though stopped eating and was frantically looking for her. So as not to lose him (he's only about 8 1/2), we went and got Belle. When I say it's a zoo around here, I'm not joking.

Lost Treasure Reclaimed

I made this sweater in the winter of 1993-1994. I remember making this sweater that horrid winter when the snow fell so deep and so fast I couldn't let DD#2 out of the house, for it was over her head most times! I ran into this book, Lang Tricot Actuel #120 in a knitting store on the Upper East Side while walking to the NY Academy of Sciences for a meeting. The entire book is full of yummy sweaters like this one, mostly for DK-weight yarn. I took the book to my LYS, which was having an after-Christmas sale on Filature di Crosa 501 (among other things) and bought some in lilac, and had lots of time to knit during snowstorms as it turned out. Here's the result:

Does look better on her though. I must say she's a brave lady, wearing all ivory and holding a paint brush ever so casually. Why do I write this post? I lost the book! It is long OOP, even Velona doesn't have it (and Velona wanted $60 for it!). BUT I found it, along with Lang #131 on eBay for something like $5, plus postage. And the sweaters in Lang #120 are just as gorgeous as I recall. Here's the cover:
Don't you just love the harmony of textures with the little bit of colorwork? And doesn't the cable through the V-neck make it look more polished than just a ribbed V-neck? I love the aqua color. Don't know about the double scarves 'round her head though. What were they thinking? For the most part, the photography is very sharp, the models appealing, and there's a bit of a hunting theme with the props in a lot of the photos. Very Mittel-Europaische. No Tyrolean sweaters though, too bad; one in loden green with metal buttons would have fit right in with the rest. Now look at this twin set:

I'd make the cardi, in that mocha color, in a heartbeat (as if I need another cardi, but that's another story).
Men do not get short-shrift either, check this beauty out:

I'd make it for myself since DH only wears vests (it's his mishegass, that's Yiddish via Hebrew for brand of nuttiness). I'm not a yellow person but I do like that color. More like butternut squash or almond or evening primrose plus something else.

British-looking, no? Reminds me of Sasha Kagan or Susan Duckworth, though not nearly as intricate. Elegant. I'd probably making a different neck though. A cowl neck in merino or wool/angora might be too warm for wearing all day.

And then there's lace. Not full-blown lace, but still, it's a pretty set. Maybe forget the skirt if one is not shaped like a pencil (I speak of myself, truly). Would like to see the scarf extended. The French text calls it a chale, which means shawl. I do like it, think it's a candidate for a silk blend, something fine and drapey. See what I mean about the hunting thing? The pheasant feathers. Why else is she wearing them? Seriously, they detract from the look of the suit.
Do you know how to say swatch in French? It's echatillon. Now if we all say echatillon instead of swatch, maybe it'll sound more enchante (enchanting, as in "Enchante de faire votre connaissance," or "Pleased to meet you"). These are my favorite sweaters, there are lots more. Now how much do you want to bet my original copy will show up in the house? If it does, watch for it being offered.