Autumn Song Modeled

This afternoon I wore Autumn Song to lunch with a friend in Kalamazoo. Before I left, DH Bob was kind enough to come out in the cold and take a few pictures.

I enjoyed wearing it and declare the fit to be almost perfect. My friend is not a knitter and never mentioned my sweater, but we had a good lunch anyway and I still love her.












Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Autumn Song Finished

No modeled shot yet. It's still a little damp in places.


How to block the shoulder saddles was a bit of a puzzle with the leaves and acorns puffing out across the tops of the sleeves. I may have to give blocking a second try if they don't behave themselves once I get the sweater on. What I really need is a mannequin so I can dry the sleeves in a round shape.

A few other Herbstlied knitters sewed shut the hole at the base of the leaves. None of the holes hit me in a critical place, so I don't plan on doing that.



On the left is the top half of a sleeve. On the right, the bottom half of a sleeve.

The pattern called for eight leaf/acorn sets up each sleeve, too long for my short arms. Seven sets would have been just right, but the design needed an even number of sets to use the pattern neck chart.

I recharted the sleeves for six sets of leaf/acorns and made up the difference with longer cuffs. I love the look of the lacy ribbing.


Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Autumn Song is Almost Done

I knit the neckline exactly as shown on the pattern neck chart and was surprised when it fit just about perfect.

The front neck opening and back neck opening are exactly the same, not like most sweaters that have a high neck back and a lower neck front.

As of this evening the entire sweater is sewn together. All that remains is half of one sleeve cuff and weaving in the ends.


Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

The She Said Aran Swatch in Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, Amethyst Heather, is on the needles.

When I looked at the yarn in the skeins, this was the color I liked best. Only after knitting a swatch could I see that it's too dark for this cabled pattern. Now I know. One of the many reasons I like to swatch.

I stopped at the biggest yarn store in Kalamazoo today to check out the Cascade 220. The only purple color they had in stock was as dark as the Amethyst Heather, so I left it there.

I'd Rather Be Knitting

What's even less fun than mattress stitch?

Mattress stitch where rows meet stitches!

When I picked it up to sew the saddles onto the front and back, I was temporarily mystified to realize I had live stitches on the front and back. This problem was solved by picking up stitches along the edge of the saddles, 3 stitches to every 4 rows, and doing a three needle bind-off. I was happily surprised to get good results with that technique and am pleased to have a strong seam there that won't be stretching out when I wear the sweater.

The sleeves are sewn to the front and back sides with mattress stitch, 4 front/back rows to every sleeve stitch.


The list of things needed to do to finish Autumn Song is getting shorter:

• Under side of sleeve seams - row to row mattress stitch.
  
• Side seams - row to row mattress stitch.
  
• Neck. I expect this to take two tries. I'll knit it according to the chart, frog it, and then knit it a second time so it fits and doesn't come up too high on me.
  
• Knit sleeve cuffs in the round.
  
• Weave in ends.
  
• Block.

Second Sleeve Done and Regrets on Missing Cable

The second sleeve is knit to the point it joins up with the front, back, and first sleeve. But first I need to get it blocked and dried.


Tuesday I received an email from Tenna about my Autumn Song sweater. It started out

Nice work, but apparently you missed the email that said how to do the oak leaves . . .

She went on to point out there's a cable at each oak leaf lobe absent from my interpretation of the pattern.

I didn't miss the email. In my instructions for making the oak leaf lobes written back in May I even wrote about the cabling. Then promptly forget to do it because the cross is not obvious on the chart.

I can see now that the cable would separate the leaf lobe more from the leaf body and make a more realistic oak leaf.

Today I'm a humble knitter.

It's taken me two days to get over wanting to frog the entire sweater and start over. Fortunately, I'm already swatching for my next project and looking forward to moving on to something in English.

I've never been unhappy with the way my leaves look and there is no point in being unhappy about it now. Give me a few more days and I'll be OK with my Autumn Song the way it's knit.

But if I ever knit this stitch pattern again, I'll cable.

Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Start of Acorn Second Sleeve

First goal for post-trip knitting is to get the sleeves knit for the Acorn Sweater.

I had to shorten the sleeves from the pattern's eight oak leaf length. In order to follow the chart for the neckline, I needed an even number of leaves, but wasn't sure six would make the sleeve long enough.

My FLAK fits perfectly, so I laid FLAK out on the table with the Acorn sweater on top. I was pleased and a little surprised to see my sleeve calculations are going to result in a sleeve that fits.

The cuffs will need to be about four inches long. Since they're an attractive, lacy ribbing, I'm not unhappy about that.


It was a cold, rainy day yesterday. I sat down to knit in the afternoon and actually thought I could produce a sleeve before bedtime.

How could I forget? Sleeves are the black hole of knitting. They possess the supernatural ability to stay the same size after hours of knitting.

The second sleeve is about one third done. I'll knit some more this afternoon, but no longer expect it to be done before the middle of the week.


Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Autumn Song Sleeve - First Attempt

Here's a close up of the Autumn Song sleeve filler pattern. It doesn't match anything in the body of the sweater.

The gorgeous stitch patterns are what make this sweater special. I couldn't wimp out by replacing it with seed stitch.


After last weeks whining about keeping track of a 26 stitch lace pattern while doing sleeve increases, I settled in with a couple pieces of graph paper and charted out both sides of the sleeve. Once it was done, the knitting was almost mindless, and this unblocked sleeve is the result.

Looks like it's going to be too short, doesn't it? I'm almost afraid to baste it in and check it out.

It is a drop saddle sleeve. I do have short arms. I am prepared to knit a long cuff. It could be OK. If not, I'm almost prepared to knit two more sleeves when this one doesn't work.


Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Autumn Song on October 11

First, hop on over to Flint Knits and admire the Autumn Aran Sock Pamela is knitting using the oak leaf pattern from Autumn Song.

My Autumn Song front and back are finished to the point where it's time to sew the sleeves in and knit circular style up the neck.

I washed, blocked, measured, re-measured, calculated, sketched, made a few decisions, and have a tentative plan for knitting the sleeves.

The sleeves require an even number of oak leaves. Eight, as the patterns calls for, will make the sleeves too long. Six may make the sleeves too short. I'm going to do a provisional cast on instead of a cuff and save the cuff until last to make sure the sleeves are a good length for me. The cuffs will be longer than the pattern shows, but the lacy ribbing is pretty, so I don't care.

One more decision to make before I can start knitting. The filler pattern is a 26 stitch lace pattern with single and double decreases. Are they crazy? Right away on the first row there are only nine stitches of the filler pattern on each side of the underarm seam. If I just follow the chart the stitch count is going to be off and the pattern is going to look wonky.

I'm capable of calculating yarn overs and decreases and using the given filler pattern. But is it worth the effort? I may decide to try it or I may use seed stitch until I have enough stitches to do the complete lace pattern.

I don't think seed stitch will make the sweater any less attractive and it will make the knitting less challenging but more enjoyable.

I need to do some more sketching and calculating before I decide.


Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Electric Slides Finished, Acorn Progress

I enjoyed everything about knitting these socks.

The 2.25 mm Harmony needles were a pleasure. The resulting socks fit and the fabric is nice and firm, but not too stiff.

Opal yarn is my all time favorite. The Neon colors are attractive and the color bursts are short enough so I didn't get unattractive pooling.

The pattern was interesting but not mind boggling. It's my very favorite type of sock stitch pattern - something pretty with a ribbing base. (Sorry to mention that since the pattern is not available right now.)

Pattern: Electric Slide by Megan Humphrey.

This pattern is not available for distribution yet. I'll be sure and blog about it when the pattern is ready for everyone.

Yarn: Opal

Color: Neon 1931

Needles: Knitpicks Harmony 2.25 mm


If this is the sweater back, then this picture is the sweater front.

The front and back are identical and six oak leaves in length. I'm at the beginning of oak leaf five on both pieces.

Now the pattern gets very confusing (at least to me). The neck decreases are graphed in chart pieces that are supposed to replace pieces of the main chart. It's desk, highlighter, scissors, and tape time before I continue knitting.


Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Tentative plans are to knit the front and back to the point where they start to funnel up the neckline with the saddles, knit the sleeves to the same point, join the sleeves and finish off the neckline in the round.

As written, the pattern has 8 oak leaves up one sleeve. I think eight will make the sleeves too long for me. I'll block the front and back, carefully measure row gauge, and recalculate the sleeves before casting on.

If anyone reads Japanese and knows how the pattern intends the neck to be knit, I'm curious to know. But I'd probably do it my way even if I could read the pattern notes.

Autumn Song and Early Frost

Frost was waiting out in the field for today's early morning dog walk.

This has been a weird weather year - a late spring with hardly any rain, a summer long drought, a tree flattening wind storm, and now frost in September.

October is the month when we in SW Michigan expect our first frost. October! Hear that, Mr. Frost Fairy?

Now go away for a few more weeks. I still have hostas to transplant and I can't see where they are if they've been frosted to the ground.


Mystery Stole 3 is done but not blocked.

I'm down to one project, Autumn Song.

There are six oak leaves up the front and six oak leaves up the back. The back (shown) is on the fifth leaf. The front, identical to the back, is on the third leaf.

I'm setting the back aside until the front catches up. Then, before I can go on, I need to figure out how the front and back narrow to the neck.


Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Autumn Song Update for August 14

If this was the start of the front, then this is the start of the back.

If all is knit according to pattern, they are exactly the same.

The graph for the next two leaves has been constructed in low tech - scissors and tape - and I'm ready to knit on with this piece. When I reach the top of the second graph, I'll switch back to the front and knit on that until I reach the top of the second graph.

Then, I have to figure out the neckline. I think I've got the gist of it, but I need to make sure before constructing the graph for the last two leaves.


Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Other knitting projects on the needles:

Mystery Stole 3 - Clue 6, the next to the last clue is done. It looks like it did after Clue 5 only now it has more feathers.

We're still not done picking up live stitches for the wing. Looking forward to Clue 7, the last clue, on Friday.

Gansey Socks - I was a charter member of the Six Sock Knitalong, but it's been over a year since I've knit one of their socks. The Gansey Sock, the current pattern, caught my attention and I cast on yesterday.

I'm knitting it in red Opal UNI-Solid because I'm on a red kick and because it has hearts as part of the pattern.

There's not enough done to post a picture yet.

Knitting Log for August 3

Yes, there has been some knitting going on in the heat. I'm happily down to three projects and enjoying each one in its turn. Three seems to be my project number of comfort.

A new Mystery Stole 3 clue (a clue is the next part of the pattern) comes out every Friday. Knitting this stole is most fun if I'm ready for the new clue when it appears, so I've been making this my number one knit each Friday until I catch up.

The clues are small enough so I can get them finished in a few days at most.

Today we learned the theme: Swan Lake. The final three clues are going to create a swan wing on the final end of the stole. What fun. There's still some mystery. We don't know how the wing is going to look when finished. I can hardly wait to start Clue 5 this evening.

Project details and picture of my finished Clue 4 are here.

For the August Sock A Month KAL 4 I'm knitting myself a plain, wide ribbing pair of socks out of Opal Rainforest Raupe.

I tried several stitch patterns, but none of them were pretty with this colorway. It just begs to be by itself and show its caterpillar colors.


Raupe is German for caterpillar. I found this picture showing the caterpillar that almost perfectly matches the color patterns I'm getting on 56 stitches with #1 needles.

Identification of the corresponding butterfly has not been accomplished yet due to painfully slow dial-up connection and a desire to go knit instead of searching.

Anybody know what kind of raupe this is?


Last, but not least, is Herbstlied/Autumn Song.

One piece is the front, the other the back. At this point it doesn't matter which is which.

The first section of my chart is done on the big piece. It's time to work on the second piece until it gets to the same row. Then, it's time to cut and paste together a new chart for the next section up.

The stitch patterns all have different row repeats - 8,24,14,6, and 52 rows for the oak leaves. It's easier to knit if I can follow the same chart all the way across.


Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Thinking it would be fun to knit the Sock A Month KAL 4 completely in the month of required completion, I whipped up a pair of CIC socks the last week of July while postponing the start of my August socks.

I like to have something simple around to pick up when I'm tired and/or want to pay attention to something other than my knitting.

They're knit from worsted weight Knitpicks Swish, obviously red, on 40 stitches and #3 needles. Made the pattern up as I knit.

Oak Leaf Knitting has Begun

Click on pictures to embiggen.

This is the front or maybe the back. The front and back are the same, so I'm knitting them at the same time, although not on the same needle. Whichever this is, the other side of the sweater only has the ribbing completed.

All the swatching paid off. I'm totally happy with the yarn, the color, and the gauge.

Altogether there are 28 oak leaf/acorn motifs - 8 on each sleeve, 6 on the front and 6 on the back. This is not going to be a fast project. I'm wondering how often to post a progress picture. Any thoughts on that?


Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting. I call it the Acorn Sweater.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Pat asked for more detail on the ribbing. Here's a close up shot.


It's a fairly common lace ribbing that I've seen in other places.

Multiple of 4 stitches, 4 rows
Row 1: (WS) k2, p2
Row 2: (RS) k2tog, yo, p2
Row 3: (WS) K2, p2
Row 4: (RS) yo, slip 1, knit 1, psso, p2

Destruction Picture of the Day

This is the second largest oak tree almost ready to topple into the street and be dragged away.

I'm hanging out the front window taking this. Those are Tulip Tree leaves hanging down between me and the chain saw guy. The Tulip Tree isn't coming down.

Good Week for Knitting, Bad Week for Trees

Click on any picture to embiggen.

Monday I finished the third clue of Mystery Stole 3.

Here it is in all its unblocked frumpyness.

I think it looks like a bee theme. There's a bee in the pointed end followed by honeycomb to the left. The clue we just finished starts a field of flowers.

Once the stole clues were current, I started stalking the mail lady for my Knitpicks order needed to start Autumn Song.


Then the unthinkable happened. The advance crew for the tree removal/road widening/road paving arrived and removed the mailbox.

What's a knitter to do?

Stand out at the end of the driveway and wave the mail lady down, of course.


And, I was lucky! She pulled up with a box of yarn.

Last night while trying to relax after a day of heavy machinery, chainsaws, choppers, and falling trees and branches, I sat in the back room and knit the ribbing for the sweater front and back.


Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting. I call it the Acorn Sweater.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5 (#4 for the ribbing).

Gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch in pattern

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Soon the road was officially CLOSED.

This is the view out my driveway this morning. Hundreds of trees coming down. They haven't started on our large pine trees and oaks yet. More pictures as the carnage continues.

The baby bluebirds are safe on the back side of the property.

Swatches for Autumn Song

Click on picture for larger view.

Pattern: Herbstlied (Autumn Song) from New Style of Heirloom Knitting.

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes, a light worsted weight 100% wool.

Color: Firecracker heather

Needles: Options #5.



The pattern in the book is written in one size, 39.2 inches around. The gauge is 5.9 stitches/inch and 8.5 rows/inch.

I need a little larger size, some where between 40 and 42 inches around. Before starting to swatch, I calculated my ideal gauge to be 5.5 stitches/inch and 8.5 rows/inch. But, I'm not afraid to do math and am ready to work with whatever gauge pleases me most in the swatches.


#4 (3.5 mm) needle, bottom swatch.

Resulting gauge: 5.8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch.

Notes: Too tight. The stitch patterns didn't come out even in length and the oak leaf is warped from being knit too tight. Since this is close to the gauge of the actual pattern, I'm guessing the sweater in the book is knit using DK or sport weight yarn.

#6 (4.25mm) needle, top swatch.

This swatch is missing the 4 garter stitches on each side found on the other two swatches.

Resulting gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8 rows/inch.

Notes: Resulting fabric is a little too floppy.

#5 (3.75mm) needle, center swatch.

Resulting gauge: 5.5 stitches/inch, 8.4 rows/inch.

Notes: Nice. Good stitch definition but not too firm to hang attractively. I'll be using #5 needles for my Autumn Song. Ready to cast on as soon as my yarn order arrives.

Click on the label Herbstlied at the end of this post to see all posts on this blog mentioning Herbstlied.

Yarn for Autumn Song

Remember Autumn Song, the Acorn Sweater from the Japanese pattern book New Style of Heirloom Knitting?

It was going to be my summer knitting project, but I couldn't decide on a yarn to use and ended up knitting the Red White Gansey as an interim project.

Before the Idaho trip, I ordered some sample yarn from Knitpicks and vowed to make a decision and order yarn when I got home.

Done!


These three colors are Swish, a superwash, worsted weight 100% wool.

Swish is a lovely yarn, but none of the three colors is perfect for my Autumn Song.

From left to right:

• Fired Brick - too dark and too blue toned. Will use yarn for CIC socks.
  
  
• Copper - A beautiful warm brown. Made the final cut before elimination. Will use for CIC socks.
  
  
• Light Coral - Loved it, but it really isn't an "oak" color. Plus I have two similar colored sweaters in my closet as it's one of my favorites. I may stash it a while for possible future swatching on a yet unknown project.

Here are three Wool of the Andes Worsted weight, 100% wool colors.

• Firecracker Heather (top) - Winner! I ordered 22 skeins of it today. This shade of warm red with the subtle heathering just screams Autumn Song to me. Yes, I just finished a red sweater. Firecracker Heather is different enough so I won't feel like I'm knitting the same color.
  
  
• Forest Heather (bottom left) - This gorgeous dark heathered green yarn is the color of mature oak leaves. If I wasn't in love with the Firecracker Heather, I'd swatch it for stitch definition. My guess is that it's a little dark for a cabled sweater. I'm going to keep it in mind for future projects.
  
  
• Amber Heather (bottom right) - Another lovely color and it does look "oaky". This type of color was high on my list when I was younger and red headed. It's not so great with white hair. Red is better. These skeins will be CIC socks.

Start of Red White Gansey

Pattern: White Gansey from Beth Brown-Reinsel's Knitting Ganseys

Yarn: Knitpicks Swish, a worsted weight superwash wool

Color: Pepper Red

Needles: Knitpicks Options #3

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch, 9 rows/inch in stockinette. A very firm gauge for this yarn but great for showing stitch definition.

I want a practical red sweater for myself and I have a hard time resisting sweater patterns where the stitch pattern changes every few rows.

There's no sewing in this pattern. Starting at the bottom hem, I'm knitting 252 stitches in the round.

With a little over four inches completed, I have two inches of ribbing and am now working on 4.5 inches of stockinette, except for my initials.

In traditional gansey form and construction, "The initials of the intended wearer were often worked in a garter stitch or purl pattern into the lower part of the plain area near one of the seam stitches."

The book provides two alphabets. I chose the smaller alphabet, ten rows high, for my initials because it seems to fit the proportion of the sweater best. The letters are about an inch high and located on the right front of the sweater.

Here is a shot of the picture in the book.

I'm hoping to have this done by the end of June at which time I plan to start Autumn Song, the Acorn Sweater.

In all my years of knitting, I don't remember dithering as much about yarn selection as I am doing with Autumn Song.

I haven't decided not to splurge for the Louet. After all, this is going to be a long term knitting project. But I haven't convinced myself the Louet is nicer than the Swish. In fact, I haven't even convinced myself I want to knit Autumn Song in a superwash yarn. Maybe what I really want is some Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool.

Over the weekend, I knit a second Autumn Song swatch in Dublin Swish with size 3 needles. I like the color, but the swatch is too small, the stitches too tight.

At the moment I can't remember why I thought #3s were the right size to try and I'm trying to resist thinking of it as a dumb waste of time. That's why we swatch. Right? So it was smart that I got it out of my system.

Socks, Swish, and Sky

Pattern: Royal Rainbow by Megan Humprey. A seven stitch gansey type zigzag. To my knowledge this sock pattern is not available for distribution.

Yarn: Opal sock yarn, 75% wool, 25% nylon

Color: Feeling 1705.

Needles: Addi Turbo #1

Gauge: 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch

I'd call this color Feeling Springy and Happy. Notice that once again the socks don't match - on purpose.

The plan was to wind off half the skein and then knit the second sock colors in the opposite order as well as not matching. The skein had a knot in the middle where, unbeknownst to me, the colors started going in reverse. So, when I thought the colors were going to go in reverse, they went the same way.

Variations from pattern: The pattern calls for 64 stitches. I'm knitting 56 stitches because I have narrow ankles and feet. A purl dip every eighth stitch replaces a knit stitch to make for a snugger sock that won't sag on my leg.

Knitpicks Swish, a worsted weight superwash wool, arrived in the mail yesterday.

Regular, careful readers may remember I knit a pair of Swish socks to audition the yarn and give it the wear and wash test for durability, softness, stitch definition, and ability to hold its shape. (You can read about it here.)

Knit at 6 stitches/inch Swish passed with flying colors, so I ordered 22 skeins for the White Gansey from Knitting Ganseys by Beth Brown-Reinsel. Obviously, my White Gansey is going to be Pepper Red.

While I was ordering, I threw in a skein of each of the green Swish. I'll be swatching with these to see if they're usable for the Acorn Sweater.

I like the Gems Louet I used for swatching the Acorn Sweater, but the price is making me shudder.

The cheapest I can get the Gems Louet, on a cone, is 7.25 cents a yard, or $166 for the sweater. On the other hand, a Swish Acorn sweater would cost 3 cents a yard or $72 for the sweater. Worth doing a little swatching.

If you have experience with Swish, I'd love to hear it. Please mention the approximate gauge or needle size used. They make a big difference in yarn attributes.

The weather has been beautiful this week. Today is no exception.

The leaves are about half size now on the tall deciduous trees like the oak in the picture. Everything is looking very green.

Herbstlied - Swatching the Acorn Sweater

This is Herbstlied (translated from German means Autumn Song), the cover sweater from New Style of Heirloom Knitting, the wonderful Japanese knitting pattern book with only a few non-essential words written in English.

It's going to be my summer knitting challenge.

For the past several evenings, I've been working on a swatch.

It's been slow going. I'm guessing this 14 X 6 swatch took about 8 hours. Now I know what I need to do to get gauge so the sweater will fit. Even more important, I have figured out all the Japanese symbols in the stitch pattern charts plus the mystery of the how to knit the eight stitches at the end of the oak leaf lobes. (See end of post for detailed oak lobe instructions.)

The swatch yarn is Louet Topaz worsted weight Merino yarn knit with a #4 Knitpicks Options needle. Final yarn choice is still undecided. I do know it will not be this color (ginger) which makes me look three days dead.

The unwashed, unblocked swatch measures 10.25 inches from the stem (the center of the sweater) to the side seam. That will make 41 inch sweater, a good size for me. I'm hoping there are no surprises when I wash the swatch.

If you are thinking of knitting this sweater and want the fun of figuring out the eight stitches of the oak leaf lobe yourself, stop reading now.

Even knowing how it's done, I can't look at the stitch chart and see how it indicates a cable. Being able to read Japanese probably would have been helpful.

Instead I studied the stitches in the picture at the top of page 69 and figured out one way to do it. It may or may not exactly match the Japanese instructions in the pattern book.

This isn't going to make any sense unless you have the book, page 69.

The Eight Stitches of A

• Put the 3 shaded stitches on a cable needle and hold in back.
  
• Turn the next five stitches into one stitch as follows:
  
  • slip-knit-psso, knit, k2tog
    
  • turn work and purl three stitches you just made
    
  • turn work
    
  • slip, slip, knit, pass two slipped stitches over knit stitch
• Purl three stitches from cable needle.

The Eight Stitches of B

• Put five stitches on a cable needle and hold in front.
  
• Purl three stitches from left needle (the shaded stitches in the chart).
  
• Turn the five stitches on the cable needle into one stitch as follows:
  
  • slip-knit-psso, knit, k2tog
    
  • turn work and purl three stitches you just made
    
  • turn work
    
  • slip, slip, knit, pass two slipped stitches over knit stitch

Book Review - New Style of Heirloom Knitting

How do I begin raving about this book? I don't own a nicer book of knitting patterns, and I have many. There isn't a single project in this book I don't love.

Ready for a challenge? Not only are the designs complex and challenging, they are in Japanese.

The designs are beautiful. The photography is artistic, but done to show off the knitting with multiple pictures of each garment on glossy paper.


There are six sections:

• Ganseys (2 sweaters)
  
• Fair isles (3 sweaters)
  
• Tams (3 fair isle, 2 cabled)
  
• Cables (2 sweaters)
  
• Lace shawls (3)
  
• Entrelac (2 sweaters).

I've picked out my favorite sweater from each section to show you.

Gansey
This beauty even has stitch patterning on the underarm gussets.

Each pattern in the book is only charted out for one size. The Japanese assume if you need a different size, you can chart it out yourself. This sweater is charted at 36 inches/92 cm around.

Gauge is about 8 stitches/inch, 10 rows/inch. I figured this out "reading" Japanese and converting from centimeters. I haven't figured out yet how many months it might take to knit, but I'd like to give it a try.

Fair isle
The book has three fair isle sweater designs, a pullover, cardigan (in picture), and a vest.

Each sweater has a coordinating tam style hat.

Cables
It was when I saw a swatch from this sweater on the Crossed in Translation blog, I knew I had to have this book.

Fortunately the one size provided, 38.6 inches/98 cm, should fit. Only the challenge of figuring out the pattern remains.

The gauge is worsted weight (I think). 5.5 stitches/inch and 8.5 rows/inch.

The second cabled sweater is Am Kamin, the intricate Aran knit featured on the Crossed in Translation blog.

Lace Shawls
Here's a peek at all three lace shawls.

The white shawl, Mountainash, has its own Yahoo Group Mountainash.

There are helpful documents in their Files folder on reading Japanese patterns in general and this one in particular. And, there is one breathtaking picture of a finished shawl in the group's photo section.

Entrelac
Think of the color possibilities for this sweater.

Anybody brave enough to give it a try?


Book Title : nitsuto ni koishite shimada toshiyuki no se ta butsuku dentou nitsuto no atarashii densetsu
Author Name(s) : shimada toshiyuki
Language : Japanese
Publisher / ISBN : 4529039927
Release Date : October 19, 2004
YesAsia Catalog No. : 1003858802
Price : $18.49
Link to buy book : here