Little Purl of the Orient

Slowly, I knit again

In order to start Clapotis, I need to free up my 5.1mm needles from the pink boucle, which reminded me, I still have Ji Yuan's pink cardigan to finish before it gets too warm. At least the fronts are done.

So I cast on for Clapotis. No fancy stitch holders here, just the good, old Clover workhorse. The lion and lamb is rather slippery even on my bamboos but it knits up into a oh-so-soft fabric. And I couldn't help but thought how very easy but clever the design is.

Next, some headachy, denim Delta data.

Official gauge:
Pre-wash: 10 cm = 20sts = 28 rows
Post-wash: 10 cm = 20sts = 32 rows

My gauge:
Pre-wash: 10 cm = 20sts (I did measure) = ? rows (I didn't measure, had assumed naively that if stitch gauge is right, row gauge should be okay. Anyway, I learnt my lesson)

Post-wash:
Old denim: 10 cm = 19sts (it grew!) = 29 rows
New denim (which I used for the lower front): 10 cm = 19sts = 31 rows

Both sleeves should measure 43 cm from cuff to just before sleeve shaping but my stocking stitch one measured 54 cm while the dropped stitch one 49 cm. I don't think any washing is going to shrink the sleeve by 11 cm! I threw the longer sleeve into the washer this morning. However, it didn't shrink any shorter.

What about the body?
Width: official = 49 cm, mine = 50cm
Length: official = 46 cm, mine = 53cm

Ther verdict: somehow, my denim just doesn't shrink like other denim. I can only deduce that the batch of 'black-label' denim I used is so old that it mal-functioned. How sad. Maybe, someday when I want to face it, I'll just rip out the whole thing and knit something else, like a Buckle Bag, where gauge doesn't really matter. Hey, maybe I could even knit my own mitred squares blanket! That sounds just like the right idea. I'm going to check and see if there are more sugar n cream to go with it.

I need a big dish

That's because I've got a big dishcloth. It measures 28 cm (11 inches) from tip of one petal to the next. And yes, I'm using the reverse bloom flower washcloth pattern from IK Fall 2003 and Sugar n Cream to make this dishcloth for the String Scrubbie Project that I first read about from Kay's blog. Like Kay mentioned, there are 'lots of strings to deal with' and I weave in the ends whenever I can. This is the site where I first come across and learn how to weave in ends as I knit. It's got great lessons on modular knitting too. I think I should have enough yarn to make another dishcloth to send together for the project.

Many thanks for your well wishes for Ji Yuan's interview this morning. We won't know until next week but before going to sleep just now, Ji Yuan whispered to me that she really enjoyed the new school. Looks like a good sign, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. After the interview, I brought Ji Yuan to her kindergarten and stayed there with her for the entire morning. She's a lovely member of the class, confident, spontaneous, plays well with her friends. I can perfectly understand why she doesn't respond well with unfamiliar people because I'm like that too. I get tongue-tied and don't know what to say. Compounded with the fact that there are really a lot of children in her year, the bar has gone higher than usual. Some old articles to give a bit more background on the dragon year phenomenon: Baby boom in Asia, Baby boom in China, and why is the Dragon year so popular? Well, if this morning's interview still doesn't work out, I'll continue to find another one.

And I've encountered some hiccups with Delta. Either my washing machine or the denim has decided to unilaterally signed an uncooperative agreement with me. The dropped stitch sleeve on the right has shrunk more than the stocking stitch one and both are just way too long for me. Maybe I should send them for more shrinking?

Yin and Yang Triangles

Delta is chugging along nicely. Did I mention that this pattern needs to be tediously re-written out row by row? The people at Rowan should learn from the Japanese knitting pattern publishers. A chart would have saved a lot of time, there are lots of shaping for this sweater. A schematic showing the pre-shrunk size would have helped a lot too, at least I can check if I'm on the right track or not. Here are the two oddly shaped, pre-shrunk triangles that'll be the back. What an odd couple - the solid one looks fat while the holey ones looks skinny. They are knitted in different directions so they have different 'grains' and are expected to shrink in a different manner. I hope they'll match up after washing. The back took 3 balls and I have only 2 left for the front and neckband which means I need to get more yarn. My denim is antique and the store I bought it from doesn't have it anymore. So I called the yarn store that sells some Rowan but they've already transferred the summer yarns to the warehouse and can only get back to me next week. If they come back with a negative answer, then I'll have to order from the UK for the two balls, argh.

Saw this quiz at Stephanie's blog and gave it a try. Hmm, I'm still the predictable, ole me.

What Color is Your Brain?
brought to you by Quizilla

Go visit Marian's blog. She's finished a beautiful and interestingly constructed Kureyon sweater for her daughter.

Delta sleeves finished… … almost

My little girl wanted milk at six this morning so I woke up sleepily to make her some. Then I couldn't go back to sleep as I'd have to wake up again in half an hour's time. So after she went back to sleep contentedly, I sat up and knitted on with the right sleeve of Delta. I was so happy to finish it and reached out for the camera, put out the two sleeves together and oops, realized that the right sleeve cap is way too long. Something is definitely wrong but I got to rush for the office. I read and re-read the pattern on the bus, only to find that I've decreased every following 6th row instead of on the following 6 rows. No wonder. I'll fix it later.

The two sleeves took me 5 balls of Rowan Denim and I've a feeling I may need more than the 10 balls specified in the pattern. So all my knitting time this week will be devoted to Delta Front and Back. At least I've got to get the Back done so as to determine if I have enough yarn. I hope I won't have to order more yarn as my denim is so 'vintage' that even the ball band is different from current ones and I'm sure the dye lot is going to differ.

The Lower Back is knitted from the diagonal across the body and decreased down to the hem. The decreases are so irregular, sometimes at the beginning of a row, sometimes at the end. The best part is that for Lower Front, the pattern simply says to reverse all shaping as for Lower Back. So I've decided to write out each row to save myself from any possible misery.

Delta Right Sleeve

My mind is occupied with socks, socks and socks. I feel encouraged by your kind remarks, thanks! Ji Yuan now wants me to knit her a pair of pink and blue ones. I'd wanted to use this pattern but thanks to a visit to Eileen's gallery where she pointed out that there's a mistake in the pattern, now I guess I'll choose another pattern as I don't think I'm able to fix a problem in a sock pattern yet. Anyway, I do not have pink and blue yarn in stash so I'll probably check out the Anne from Schaefer Yarns recommended by Mary Beth or some lovely Lorna's Lace. And look what I found at Knitting Zone, The Sole Solution, a collection of many sock patterns. I'm going to be very busy.

Meanwhile, I've gone back to knitting my Delta which is still not too photogenic at the moment. That's the little bit of progress for the right sleeve in drop stitch pattern. It has to be held up against the light for the pattern to show better. The drop stitch is adding length quickly so I hope this sleeve will take a shorter time to complete than the left one which is in stocking stitch.

One thing about the pattern. Some (not all) of the right sleeve increases are done on the drop stitch row, that is the row where you have to wind the yarn twice round the needle and is the elongated row. Hence I find it strange an increase should be placed there so I'm doing it my way and placing the increase one row earlier if it coincides with the drop stitch row. I don't think it'll make any big difference to the shaping.

I've got yarn and pattern book!

Eva, Marjorie and I just had a great evening together. Marjorie can't join us for dinner but still met up nevertheless to exchange knitting news and collect her magazines. I've got yarn! Eva and I are sharing two batches of some lovely Cherry Tree Hill Lace Merino in Spanish Moss and Martha's Vineyard. Each of us will have over 1,000 yards in each colour. Photos will follow, as the lighting in my flat during the night is very poor for this purpose. I've been thinking about it everyday since we ordered it online. I would love to make a rectangular stole or something. Then we went through the newly received Rowan books and we all fell in love with Karis. Fern is one of my favourites too. Ah, the temptations and to think that this is just the beginning of the new Fall/Winter season. I still have projects from last winter on the needles somewhere, oops.

Another pattern book is added to my very humble collection. Eva and I went to a nearby LYS and I bought Sirdar's The Denim Book of Aran Knits. Full of nice cable-y designs for the whole family and items for the home. Look at this poncho, isn't it nice? I don't think I'll knit it though.

Talking about denim, I put aside the crochet cardigan for the moment as it is a portable project which I can bring around with me everywhere on weekends. So I knitted a bit on my Delta. Due to the runniness of the denim dye, I can only knit it at home, in the quiet of the night. I began with the left sleeve, which is in plain stocking stitch with regular increases, non-thinking and very soothing knitting. It went on and on and now I have a rather long, pre-shrunk sleeve. I'll get it done this week and start on the right sleeve with those dropped stitches. Eva mentioned to me that the ball band of my Rowan Denim looks different from hers. Guess mine must be really old stock.

First go at denim

I've chosen to knit Delta for the Denim People knitalong organized by Polly and Eva. The fronts and back of Delta are made up of two triangles respectively, one 'solid' in reverse stocking stitch and the other in dropped stitch. The solid part is knitted on the bias and I was initially quite apprehensive on how it will turn out. Denim shrinks lengthwise, so how is it going to shrink when knitted in the bias? And having read that Rowan somethings messes up with their pattern, I'm thinking that if there's any mistakes in this one, I may not actually be able to juggle with the maths myself. Fortunately, through the links on Polly's blog, I found out that Stephanie at La Tricoteuse Bretonne has finished her beautiful Delta back in May. So that made me more comfortable to forge ahead.

This is my first time working with Rowan Denim and I was really excited when the tips of my bamboo needles started to turn blue after a few rows into my swatch. The next morning, I looked up the colour number and found that mine is colour #225, the potent 'Nashville' that denim veterans warned about turning everything it comes into contact blue. I chose to start with familiar territoritory, that is with the left sleeve first which is in reverse stocking stitch. The right one is in dropped stitch. Here the little bit of knitting so far.

I got gauge with 4.5 mm needles. The denim feels a bit waxy on my hands, kind of like candle wick. It's a bit stiff too and my wrist hurts a little after working with it for a while. Well, let's hope it'll soften like the experts say.

And this little skein here is what I chanced upon last Thursday during lunch. I hopped down to Cheer Wool to find some cheers from my crazy work load and was looking through the sales bin for the 'Kira Kira' yarn, which is the furry yarn that Terry had wanted and the 'Rowan' label just jumped out at me. This is Rowan Denim in black (#320), they have only this piece which was a sample from begone ages and selling at, guess what, HK$5 (US$0.65)! No hesitation this time, I just grabbed it. There's bound to be something to knit it into.

We were all so excited yesterday as Chung Yi took her first steps. So far, she has been an excellent crawler. She is going for her MMR vaccination tomorrow morning. Let's hope her reaction to this vaccine would be mild.