Free Pattern (Equinox)

My first ever free pattern! Yay! I feel odd calling it a pattern. It's a slightly modified lace pattern from the third Barbara Walker stuck in a box. I had to wet block this, steam blocking just wasn't working out. Since I don't cherish the thought of posing with wet mohair around my neck, it'll probably be a few days before there are pics of it being worn or draped over something. However, I wanted to put the pattern up for the equinox (not that anyone is likely to find it by then) so the picture is of it being blocked. In harsh light.

Equinox

Yarn: Alchemy Lone Star, 45% merino wool, 55% mohair, 145 yds/100g, Color: Equinox, 1 skein

note: I don't think that alchemy are making this yarn in their colorways anymore. Any yarn that's scarf-width when knit in this pattern should do just fine.

Needles: US 11 (8.0 mm)

Gauge: Not important.

Size: 7 inches x 60 inches when blocked



Pattern: CO 19 sts. Work 6 rows in garter stitch. Maintain 3 sts in garter stitch along each edge and work 7 repeats of Sunspot Chart. Work 6 rows in garter stitch. BO loosely. Weave in ends and block.

Stitch notes: k1, p1, k1: work 3 sts into the same stitch, double increase
Central dbl decrease: Slip 2 as if to k2tog, k1, pass slipped stitches over
inc 1: K1 into front of st, k1 into back of stitch

Too tired to edit aka How do people blog everyday?

I can't be bothered rearranging everything to flow. Here are my paragraphs (which I hope make sense individually) in the order I thought them up with no other connections. Except they're knitting/yarn related, of course. Anyways.)

Here's my striped version of the Everlasting Bagstopper. I've had about 5 single skeins of all hemp for about 2 years now. I started making a bag with one but it was filthy. I can't stand powdery textures (I won't touch newspaper if I can prevent it) so I stopped maybe an inch in. I actually threw out the one skein I had started, but kept the others, which I washed earlier this spring. A couple of them are now fantastically tangled, but I'm going to see if the wound blue one plus the leftover brown and tiny bit of yellow are enough to make another. I <3 my kitchen scale (that I bought for knitting...)


Yes that is a Barbara Walker book in there.


Now that I've knit something in hemp, I'm hooked. It feels so rough in your hands, but the finished fabric is smooth and stretchy.

Also the powdery thing has got me thinking.

1) I won't touch newspaper if I can avoid it. I also hate having my hands dirty or dry.
2) I have never gotten what the big deal about cashmere is. It feels dusty to me. I find silk and alpaca to be much nicer.
3) I have some Rowan calmer that I swear is dirty. I'm not sure how to wash those balls it comes in without turning all of it into skeins first. Sounds like a lot of work.

Here's a picture of what I've been calling my hybrid tomato.


I'll try to put something together about my size hybridization methods when it's all done so I'll have an example. For this, I CO for the largest size (I'm not playing around with the 23" cross back width. I has it), worked less increases so that I ended up working the bust and waist areas in the 3rd largest size. Now I'm working more increases so that it'll be the largest size again for my huge ass and hips.

I also have started working on my corset pullover again. I stopped a couple years back with only one sleeve to go after I worked about half of the second sleeve according to the pattern. Unfortunately, I hadn't worked the first one that way. I got frustrated and put it away. Using the finished sleeve as a reference, I managed to get nearly back to the point where I ripped it out.

I had been in the knitting doldrums, but finishing the bag lifted me right out. I'm going to go knit some more right now!