on the needles: Recent Work

I've been promising everyone on the Knitter's Review Board that I would post photos of the Clapotis I have been working on as a gift for my sister- so here it is (if you are my sister avert your eyes now):

I used Mango from Handpainted Yarns. Several people on the board were wondering about using this yarn because of the potential variation in the dye between skeins. I ordered three colorways of yarn at the same time and the Mango was by far the one with the most variation between the skeins. I wish I had taken a photo of the Mango before I used it up but here are a few photos of other yarn I have purchased from Handpainted Yarns.

This is the Oriental Night which I am going to use to make the Clapotis for myself:

The color consistency was very good with this batch although one skein did have a knot in it. (The only one I have found so far in the 12 or so skeins I have wound).

This is Cypress which I was planning on using for a jacket:

I ordered 20 skeins of Cypress and found the consistency of color between the skeins to be very high - however the color itself was darker than I expected. Still really pretty though!

This is Lavanda which I was thinking of for Klaralund:

It is quite a bit lighter than I expected and the colors are a bit less consistency. I'm not sure I will use it for Klaralund. What do you think?

Anyhow - it is a bit of a gamble when you use this yarn.

You can clearly see where I switched skeins in the photo - although I assure you that it looks much more drastic in a photo using flash then it does in regular light. I'm not really bothered by the variation - especially since once the dropped stitches are unpicked (they don't want to unravel by themselves with this yarn - it would be great for felting!) the ripple effect of the ladders and the division between the positive and negative spaces make the color variations much less noticeable.

The flash exaggerates the effect. Plus - I really like the randomness of the yarn. It is more organic looking and not flat. I really dislike flat expanses of a solid color. It's too overwhemling to my eye. There is nowhere for the eyes to rest. The handpainted yarns are much more soothing and interesting to me. So if anyone is thinking of using this yarn - I say go for it! I did use four skeins on the Clapotis & actually ran out with about an inch left to go! Perhaps if I had been a bit less liberal with the tails......but really the Clapotis pattern calls for 750 yards and the Handpainted Yarns claim to be 218 yards per skein. So (given that I followed the pattern) how did I use up 872 yards? Clearly something wrong here somewhere. I would plan on getting some "extra" for whatever project you have in mind.

Look what I got for my birthday! My husband (with the advice of my artistic son) got me this custom made knitting bag. I love it! Great print, great colors! Good job guys!!

Other stuff I have been working on:

The Dixie scarf from Rowan. I liked making the icords but the pattern has you changing needle sizes every few rows which got old fast. I much prefer the Gedifra scarf which has the same pattern effect without changing needles.

Instead you yarnover after every stitch and then drop the yarnovers on the next row and pull the stitch up creating a long stitch. Much more efficient and fluid. Plus the Byzanz yarn is super yummy! So soft!

Here's the back of the Myrtle coat - chugging along through 169 rows of stocking stitch.

Last night I actually got to the part where the pattern finally switches to Moss stitch and starts the shaping. Hooray! Not a moment too soon either! As you can see I am making no effort to keep the striping consistent. Why drive myself crazy & waste yarn? Knitting is supposed to help me relax, not become something else I need to stress over!

Lastly - here is the spiral patterned hat in Kureyon #88.