My First Fair Isle

I finally got my yarn for the Vogue Fair Isle U-neck sweater. I am a little disappointed with the shade of grey that I chose as the main color. I was expecting it to be a little lighter, and every time I look at the yarn I think of Legos. It is exactly the shade of grey Legos. It's my own fault for not having enough patience to order a color card to choose the yarn from. I am having a lot of fun with the fair isle knitting and am slowly learning how to moderate the tension properly. I started out too tight, then overcompensated by stranding too loosely.

Saffron Cable Update

I have finished the first of three(?) pattern repeats of Saffron Cables. While finishing up the last few rows, I noticed that the blanket pictured in the magazine actually has FOUR REPEATS of the pattern. This is a bit alarming. Is the blanket misrepresented in the photo, or are the instructions wrong?


See those big diamonds filled with seed stitch? I count four!


Evidence A: This first repeat consumed 5 of the 18 balls of Berkshire, including the seed stitch border, which used up about one ball. Based on this, a blanket made with three repeats will require 14 balls, and a blanket made with 4 repeats will require 18 balls! This leads me to believe that the pattern is incorrect, and that the photo is correct.





Evidence B: The seed stitch border measures 3.5". One unblocked pattern repeat is 14". An unblocked blanket with three repeats will measure 49", while a blanket with four will measure 63". My gauge is looser than the pattern gauge, so my width is already wider than specified, so I expect my finished blanket to be slightly longer than the 60" specified in the pattern. Thus, the 63" blanket with FOUR REPEATS seems to be what Kathy Zimmerman intended.

It's still the same amount of yarn, but it sure seems like a lot more work to repeat this thing FOUR TIMES! If I get to the third repeat and I still have a ton of yarn, I'll take that as a further hint that it's time to buck up and do one more. What if I run out of yarn during the fourth repeat? Does WEBS still have another skein of the correct dyelot? Uh oh.

P.S. I ordered yarn for the Vogue Fair Isle U-neck. Yippee!

***Update: I sent my concerns to Interweave Knits, and they responded that the design should have four repeats, not three.

Stalled and Stumped

Rusted Root is going into the frog pond. I decided that I'm just not that into her. I kept trying to make it work, but I've given up. I ripped backed the lace leaf panel and turned it into a diamond lace, but it wasn't right. Then, I ripped back the diamond lace and knit it as embossed diamonds. After dropping those stitches back 3 times to reknit, the panel looks much worse for wear, and I don't think blocking can repair the ravages of my indecision. I was never pleased with the yarn, either.

So I am in project limbo now. I just bought some Berroco Bling Bling yarn on closeout and I really want to use it, but I don't feel like working with cotton right now, and I have no idea what to do with it yet! I have to buy more yarn then, right?

Here is my top contender:




















I have never knit with multiple colors before, so this would be an opportunity to learn something new. I'm thinking shades of grey with red accents. Maybe I'll try Knitpick's new Telemark yarn.

A new issue of Vogue is coming out this week. Maybe I should wait for it to come out before I make any purchases. I really like these two designs that I saw on their preview page:







The first looks like a Twinke sweater, and might be a really quick knit on biggie needles. I also love the pockets! The second is really sweet, but the middle portion of stockinette is boring me just by looking at it. Should I wait? Maybe I should try to bust out a sock or two in the meantime just to keep me busy until the new issue comes out.