beautiful things

Voyager Lace Stole

I'm on a bit of an FO kick... but of course there are loads of FOs I haven't written up yet so here is another one that I photographed a while ago.

Voyager Lace Stole

Date: 

May 12 - 31, 2008 (I didn't realize I finished this so quickly! I guess I had to as it was a friend who's birthday was in early June...)

Yarn: 

Peru Naturtex Partners Pakucho Organic Cotton in Cream Pima, which I bought for an awesome price from elann.com (but it doesn't seem to be available anymore)

Needles: 

US #9 Knitpicks Options circulars

Pattern:

Voyager Lace Stole by Shui Kuen Kozinski and Benne Ferrell, available as a pdf download from Vogue Knitting (the pattern is no longer available from Elann)

The story:

I don't remember how I came across this pattern - was it off my friend's activity page, a blog post or my search for lace stoles?  I'm not sure, but I queued the pattern back in March and snapped up the Pakucho on sale at Elann in early May (I ended up buying more in avocado before the sale ended for a blanket that I'm going to start soon).  I remember hearing about Pakucho on early Stash and Burn episodes so I was eager to try it, and it did not disappoint!  Soft!  Creamy!

I had some issues figuring out how many repeats to do to get the size I wanted, but it worked out in the end.  The blocking didn't seem to last long but I was happy with how it came out and my friend seemed to really like it.  I was a fun knit too - pretty, although I never managed to memorize the pattern as others on Ravelry said they did.... 

Also, it turned out that Casey of podcast Knitting at Night was having a Voyager KAL on Ravelry so I got to participate in that as well as discover a new podcast!

In progress shots: 

Finished shots: 

Flickr set is here. 

Ravelry link is here.

Blocking

Well, it's a good thing I didn't knit the wider version because the Voyager Lace Stole ended up blocking to 21" wide!! If I'd gone by my swatch calculations, the wider version (6 repeats) would have only been 18" wide.

Ok, I see that I have not written about this here, but I have posted on several Ravelry groups about it so it feels like I have!

Anyway, here's the deal.

I very diligently swatched the pattern before casting on for real, and based on the post-blocking width, it looked like I would need 6 repeats rather than the 4 called for in the pattern to get the 18" wide called for in the pattern.

So merrily I did cast on 86 stitches but after the first repeat, the piece was looking suspiciously wide... 24" wide unblocked, in fact!

After much humming and hahing, I decided that it was really going to be far too wide, and also that I might not have enough yarn to make it as long as I wanted, so, making sure I kept my first attempt incase I decided to go back to it, I cast on again with 5 repeats (73 stitches) thinking, based on my new calculations, that I would get 21" in width.

After the first repeat, that looked like it would be the case, but as I continued to knit, the piece got narrower and narrower!

In the right hand photo above, it was about 14" wide, and in the end, it was about 12" wide except for at the ends.

And, you know what, I was ok with it. Even a little narrower, it looked pretty good, and I knew it would block a little wider.

I wasn't expecting it to block back to 21" wide though! I mean, I guess I was when it was that wide after the first repeat... anyway, this only goes to show you that gauge swatches can LIE LIE LIE!!! It was still useful to swatch though, to get the hang of the pattern and to see how it blocked etc. I even ran it through the washing machine before putting the entire piece in.

Anyway, I finished today after 35 repeats. I stopped somewhat randomly - well, not really but it wasn't related to length except that it was a) long enough and b) my friend's birthday is in a few days and c) I decided to save enough yarn for a snowflake (which I first saw here in exactly the same yarn so yes this would be the second project I copy exactly from her!) I guess I should go upstairs and measure the length as well...ok, it's blocking at about 76" long, which is only slightly longer than I was expecting.

Here it is pre-blocking...

And post or rather during blocking...

Don't look too closely at the blocking photos as they are rather blurred. I'll have to take the tripod upstairs to get some better photos.

This is my first proper use of my Knitter's Blocks. I had to block the stole in half - hopefully this won't create too much of a crease. I may buy a second set to avoid this problem in the future. Also, I didn't exactly follow the directions to use a pressing cloth. Instead I machine washed the stole, and then "air dried it" in the dryer with the insert it came with the dry things flat, which is an awesome feature, especially for a knitter. I took it out when it was still damp and then laid it out. Can't wait to "try it on" when it's done!

Voyager continues

First bike ride of the season

After the grey and rain of the past week here in New York, today's gorgeous sunny day was too good to pass up. I wore my heart rate monitor and burned 150 calories just getting here. Perfect!

I'm about to cast on for the Voyager Lace Stole. Why yes I did bring my scale to the park!!! Hee!!

Happy American Mother's Day!

Pakucho!

I remember hearing about Pakucho from early Stash and Burn episodes so when I saw the Voyager Lace Stole in this yarn and for $2.98 per skein, it was a pretty quick decision.

Very creamy, no?

I have to say, these photos came out better than expected. The yarn practically looks creamier than in real life! The last set of photos I tried with a white background didn't come out as well as I hoped - I really need to make a lightbox.

Anyway, I swatched for the stole last night, and at first knit, the yarn seemed rather similar to the Dale of Norway Svale I used for the lacy hooded tunic. I think the resulting fabric is softer though, although it's hard to compare when the stitch pattern is so different. Either way - it's beautiful! And once again, behold the miracle of blocking...

I really like the way the sides of the stole are scalloped by virtue of the stitch pattern and I have to say, this is one of the best written patterns I've used. Not only is it charted as well as written out, but it explains how to do a YO before a purl stitch! I think I did know that at one point but it was good to have the reminder right there. It's also really clear about when you slip knit-wise and when you slip purl-wise, something that is usually a bit confusing to me.

My swatch is still drying, and then I'm going to try machine washing it. By my calculations off my measurements, I'm going to want to to add some pattern repeats though and perhaps go from 4 to 7 (cast on 99 sts). I bought 2 extra skeins but.... (calculate calculate calculate) that may not be enough. I think I'm going to try 6 repeats, weigh more carefully and recalculate to see if I will have enough yarn or not.

April recap

So the whole hunkering down with my knitting thing in April worked out pretty well and for the first time ever, my stash went down for the month!

Here are the stats! (running total with total for month in parentheses)

skeins purchased: 198 (1)
skeins knit: 91.7 (4.8)
yards purchased: 31,717 (128)
yards knit: 14,077 (1,394)
yards remaining: 16,741
$ spent on yarn (not including sales tax or shipping): ($15.50)
knitting since: 1/27/07

I was helped a great deal by the April Spring Cleaning Challenge over on the Stash and Burn Group on Ravelry - the challenge was to destash 1,000 yards in April (up to 250 of those yards could be via trade or sell).

Here's how I did:

Yards to start: 18,007

Yards knit:

clapotis: 321 - no recent picture

print o’ the wave stole: 541 - I'm actually halfway done with the border now, and still loving it!

one skein clutch: 118 - I did go to Purl Patchwork where I obsessed for an embarrassingly long time about which fabric to use, and ended up hedging my bets and picking out three! It was all I could do to resist buying bundles of "fat quarters" just because they were pretty!

lala scarf: 370 - uh, still haven't blocked it

mermaid gloves: 44

Total knit: 1394

Yards bought: 128

Final yardage: 16,741

Stash burned: 1266!

And yes, I almost managed to purchase no yarn at all but I did end up buying one skein of Alchemy Temple which is strangely not listed on the Alchemy website or on Ravelry (at least not until I just added it) but is a beautiful machine washable superfine merino. I've been looking for a superwash yarn in green for a gift for a friend and was hoping to try something new so when I saw this, I snapped it up and it has not disappointed!

My friend requested some wristwarmers like these but I decided to try a different pattern too - the mermaid gloves, except I did not make individual fingers or make them as long. It was a great knit and I'm really happy with how they came out! I'll post photos once the gift has been received so it is still somewhat of a surprise for her...

I also visited two new yarn stores over the past couple of months - String and Knit New York. Both stores were kind of a revelation as they have beautiful but entirely different collections to each other and to Purl. I've been to Purl so many times now that I'm not sure how it could ever NOT be my favorite, plus it's more convenient for me, but I can see myself branching out a little.

String definitely has an Upper East Side vibe to it. They have a lot of beautiful cashmere, including Koigu cashmere which I fondled furiously... and they had the CUTEST little ribbed baby sweater knit in it that was just gorgeous.... but takes 3 SKEINS!!! $150 for the yarn for a tiny baby sweater - ouch! I have to admit, I would consider it for a very special baby. Speaking of ouch, how about Qiviuk? (That's a good scrabble word.) Yes that's right, $138 for 1 little 2oz ball! It has to be said though, the sample scarf they had there in this was just beautiful.

I loved Knit New York too, and they have tons of colorways of, amongst other things, Malabrigo, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, Noro Silk Garden and Kureyon and oh my oh my, the Artyarns 5-ply cashmere! That is definitely going on my shopping list one day. They had a beautiful pair of fetchings knit up in a pink colorway and, well, need I say more? I will be back!

And no, I didn't buy anything at either store! (Oh wait, I did get some Lace Addis for Print O'The Wave at String but no yarn!)

My "hunkering down" knitting is going to continue into May I think, although I'm most likely not going to meet the 1,000 yard goal this time, seeing as I just bought 10 skeins of Pakucho at an amazing price for the Voyager Lace Stole shown on the same page. I seem to be all about the stole lately. This one is for another friend whose birthday is at the beginning of June. She asked for a stole, any stole, any color, winter or summer, and when I saw this I jumped on it, or rather, waited patiently until no-buying April was over and hoped they wouldn't sell out!

I could possibly still make the goal if much of my knitting is on bulkier yarn - here are my possible goals for May:

Starting yardage: 16,741

Definite goals:
Finish print o’ the waves stole: approx 400 yards
Finish mermaid gloves: approx 80 yards - DONE!
Make voyager lace stole: approx 880 yards

Possible other goals (need another 520 yards total)
Make progress on clapotis: approx 650 yards if I complete it
Make baby surprise jacket: approx 360 yards if I complete it
Make zinnia bag: approx 500 yards if I complete it

And oh yeah, I almost forgot, but I won not one but TWO contests! Much to my amazement, I won second prize in a blog contest at Kathryn Ivy and I am getting Alice's package. I believe there were something like 96 entrants and two winners so, wow! And then, on top of that, I won one of the Ravelraiser prizes - a $20 gift certificate to the Diva Knitting Store. Not sure what the odds were for that but given that they raised over $70K and you got one entry for every $10 donated, I am doubly amazed! Thank you Alice and Cheryl for the prizes!