I'm blushing

Something Blushy has made me blush. Well, actually it was all of your wonderful comments on it and Lynne's truly kind post in which she named me a Rockin' Girl Blogger:

I don't know what to say! Thank you. For a little history on the Rockin' Girl Blogger award, you can read here. I think now that I've been named one, I have to select someone else. So stay tuned!

Some of you asked about how I actually incorporated the cables into Something Blushy. Here are details:

I pretty much followed Wendy's instructions except for the cabling. The cable pattern I used was this 4 row repeat:

1: p2, k3, p1, k3
2: k2, p2, slip 1 purlwise, k1, slip 1 purlwise, p2
3: p2, slip 2 sts to cn and hold to back, k1, k2 from cn, p1, slip 1 st to cn and hold to front, k2, k1 from cn
4: k2, p3, k1, p3

This pattern occurs over 9 sts, so when you reach the point for cabling to start (about 3-4" past the armhole), count the total # of sts on your needle. So it fits, I would advise using your gauge (mine was 5 sts/1") and figure out how big around the garment is at this point. I wanted something close to a 35" bust with the button band, and knowing that cables pull in a bit, I ended up with 188 sts on the needle, which comes out to 188/5 = 37.6 inches around. I don't know the details of negative ease, so maybe my method is too much like guesswork, but I would say just try it on!

Now, count up how many 9 st repeats you could do over your total # of sts. I had 188 sts on the needle, so I could do 20 of the 9 st repeats (180 sts) and then have 8 leftover. Because the 9 st repeat ends with the cabled stitches, I wanted to have 2 purl stitches follow the very last cable on the RS row so it looked symmetric. So, add 2 extra purls, which brings you up to 182 sts. Now there are 6 leftover. I decided to just keep these in st st, with a k3 at the beginning of all RS rows and ending with a k3 on all RS rows. This made picking up sts for the button band easier. I guess the "ideal" situation would be to have exactly a multiple of 9 + 2 extra purl stitches + 2 extra st st so you can pick up the button band easily, but don't have these extra st st stitches showing (though I don't think they are a big deal). If you zoom in on one of my posted photos, you should be able to see the sts I am referring to.

So I did:

k3, [9 st repeat here 20 times], p2, k3 on the right side rows
p3, [9 st repeat here 20 times], k2, p3 on the wrong side rows

When you do the increases for the flares (I followed Wendy's guidelines), all the p2's in the pattern and extra p2 you added become p3 and then p4 (and p5 if you need more room, I did). The p1 between the cables do not get any increases.

The math can get a little tricky. For example, if you had 180 sts, this is exactly 20 repeats. But, you need the extra purl stitches at the end. So to get 182 sts I would do another increase at the neck on each end to get the extra 2 sts before starting the cabling, because if you do only 19 repeats of the pattern, this leaves 9 sts: 2 purls at the end and 7 leftover. This 7 doesn't split in half evenly.

I followed the same plan for the sleeves, except I didn't do extra sts in stockinette. I just kept them in reverse st st. I believe I had 59 sts for the sleeves. This gives me 6 repeats of the 9 sts (54 sts) with 5 leftover. I added the extra 2 purl stitches at the end of the last pattern repeat, so I still had 3 leftover. I just tacked on 2 purls at the beginning and 1 purl at the end. Since this was going to be where my seam was (I don't knit sleeves in the round....), the extra purls were OK. When I did the increases on the sleeves, I only increased the p2's that were sandwiched between cables and not the ones at the ends. I did 2 increase rows on the sleeves.

This was tricky to try and explain, so I hope it's clear! Try and have a plan of attack as you're increasing the v-neck past the armhole. If you need help or want a second opinion on your stitch count and how it converts into cabling, please feel free to email or comment!

Something Blushy Finished

Not only another FO this week, but a pink one! Ha ha, I think I've satiated my need for pink knits for now. Here is "Something Blushy":

Pattern: Wendy Knit and Tonic's Something Red

Yarn: Valley Yarns Southwick (cotton/bamboo) in color Blush, 8 balls

Modifications: I changed the 2x2 ribbing to a cable pattern, inspired by Ivy from the fall '06 Knitty. Because of the cabling and the disaster of my last cabled cardigan, I did 2 more increase rows to create the flare in the body. I also did 2 increases across the sleeve so it flared. For the buttons, I debated between doing buttons all the way down or just one. I had this pair of buttons and decided the two together would give it a unique look.

This sweater was really challenging to photograph. This is a pretty spot-on representation of the color.

Verdict: I went back and forth on my love for this while knitting it. I started thinking it was going to be too girly, especially with the cables. But as I was finishing the button band, I felt like it had a vintage-y look to it, particularly with the buttons. So, in the end I am really happy with it. The Southwick yarn was a little splitty, but this is a lightweight yarn considering its DK gauge. It's really soft and much lighter than other cottons (or cotton blends) I've worked with, like Touche, Elann Sonata, Tahki Cotton Classic, Cotton Fleece, etc. It held its shape through blocking and hasn't stretched out. I'm not familiar with the characteristics of bamboo, so we will see how it holds up, but I think the bamboo is what gives it the lovely drape.

I chose to knit it in this color because I needed a replacement for a longtime loved pink cardi with 3/4 sleeves that I'd had for many years. It was my favorite summer cardi and one day, it met its end when it got washed with a new pair of jeans that bled all over it (and nothing else in the wash!). I think Something Blushy will be a good replacement.

Blogiversary and WIP update

Here is a look at the knitting pile occupying me lately:

Something "Blushy", aka knit and tonic's Something Red. This is attempt #2 at making a pink cardigan with cables to give it a fitted look. It needs to be blocked, but I think it gets at what I was going for. Unfortunately, I ran out of yarn here - with about 1/3 of the sleeve to go. Order for 1 more ball has been made. This should be done next week.

Trellis, from Knitty. I'm not sure yet who this is for. I have 2 pregnant friends and depending on who has what (sex-wise), this may get done speedy or slowly.

My poor mother's lingering sweater. I know she won't wear this 'til fall, but I really need to get my act together and finish it! I've got the back and one sleeve done and just started the front.

Ms. Marigold. Ah, Ms. Marigold. Those who read last week's post might notice that she looks a little shorter. Hmm. Well, I was just about finished the bottom last night and decided to try it on. It was way too big! I ripped back to the armhole and am inserting decreases instead. I tried it on again and am glad to report it fits. Maybe this one will get done next week too.

Last, and yes, least, is the Cable Down Raglan. Why did I cast this on? I don't know. I've wanted to get it going for a while and think it will get good wear on cool nights and early fall. Isn't there enough in my WIP pile as it is, though? What was I thinking? Seriously.

And, this week is my approximate 1 year blogiversary. Thanks to those who read and/or comment. I think the feedback, advice and help we share in this community is just amazing. So, thanks!

Rrrrrrrrrip

I've been spending a lot of my knitting time in the past 2 or so months on this:

It's a top down v-neck with lotsa cables. Well, it's headed for the frog pond.

I had an idea in my head of what I wanted, and this is basically it, except the fit is way too small past the underarms. I must say, I got it to fit perfectly through the yoke - I just used Fitted Knits as a guide to how many stitches to cast on and how many increases to do.

But, I did a stupid thing. I put in these shaping darts along the bustline (you can see them in the photo), and I didn't know, from my lack of cabling experience, that these things together made for a very small body. And, it made this weird "boob cup" so that the sweater looks silly if it's unbuttoned.

I even hoped that putting on the buttonband would help, which I made extra big.

Then I thought maybe sewing on the buttons would help. The fit is OK, but I am just not loving it. And I want to love it.

I had been doubting the color all along, too. It's Debbie Bliss Cathay in color 09 and it's too fleshy of a pink. I have pretty fair skin, so I do better in brighter colors.

See how it pulls up in the back from being too tight? Yuck.

I am going to try again, this time doing something more along the lines of Something Red, but still with some cables. I am going to use this:

Valley Yarns Southwick - a 50/50 cotton/bamboo. This stuff is lusciously soft and shiny, and I LOVE this pink. I know it doesn't look different from the Cathay, but trust me, it is!

I have no idea what I'm going to do with the Cathay; I've got 9 balls of it (1 not used at all). I will probably wind it into neat balls and put it on Destash. If you're interested or want it, shoot me a line.

This is not all bad, though. I learned a lot about cables and fit and negative ease and all that, so it's all mostly good.