April 16, 2004
[MEOW] [MEOW] [MEOW !!!]
Paul...
PAUL!
Could you PLEASE, kiss kiss, let the Truman out? And on your way back, will you bring me that ice bag...
Oh, the pleasure of comforting all those men without tax breaks last night is almost too much to think about! Between the martinis and the Powder Room, my little piggy bank is SMILING...
But oh my aching head!
Before the whirl so rudely interrupted, I got quite a bit done on my Audrey! The yarn from Colourway UK got to the US in about 5 days. Was it ever FABULOUS to break open the EUROPEAN box and find my Coral DELIGHT. I SO LOVE PACKAGES!
Actually, this color reminds me more of a soft Tomato color. OOOh la la! You do know the phrase "tomato" actually means, ahem, pardon me for being vulgar: HOTTIE!
AND this is so hot, I'm scorched!
I LOVE THIS YARN! After a pretty awkward courship during the first inch or so, it was smooth sailing. I am using Addi Turbo's; sizes 7 & 8. They grab the yarn just enough to make very even stitches. I followed Rowan's advice from a previous book about knitting with chenille (or any slippery, naughty yarn) as well: keep the stitches bunched up close to the points of both your needles while knitting. This helps control any uneveness in your tension. Then, after two or three inches of work collects on the right needle, spread them out with a flourish!
I have used this technique successfully on all the cotton - cotton/blend yarns I knit with and have had very little trouble controling naughty stitches. So far, so good with the ribbing as well. I think the needles and knitting style and YARN is all playing very nice together.
THE DECs: I went with Hint #2 from my last entry and am making the double decrease as follows.
One decrease is made on the second stitch from either end. The right side DEC is a SSK; the left side decrease is a K2TOG.
The interior DEC is made on the outside facing knit stitch on a knit column [I used Rowan's stitch count for their first DEC st - just make sure you use the stitch facing the side edge in that column]. The right side facing DEC is a K2TOG; the left side decrease is a SSK.
I am making the DECs every 6 rows, 4 times. I will be making the INCs every 8 rows, 4 times, after 7 rows of waistline ribbing with no shaping.
I really like the way this is turning out! I think it is smoother and less dramatic looking than the original - OH! The very first time in my life I've stepped away from some DRAMA...
TA ta, my kittens, I must get my beauty rest - the weekend awaits!
And don't be shy - ask away with your questions about knitting Audrey and Tiffany will gladly relate!
Posted by Tiffany at April 16, 2004 07:39 AMOh! Those decreases are looking fabulous. Now I can start my Audrey and decrease away using your ssk's and k2togs...
Posted by: Becky at April 16, 2004 08:58 AMThanks Tiffany for the info on how you did your increases, after 3 attempts at various methods I had abandoned Audrey.
Then on hearing the news of your knitalong I thought I would see if anyone came up with a plan.
I shall attempt it following your instructions... and let you know how I get on. Fingers crossed this time!
Thanks again.
Looking forward to see you wearing your Audrey, I find those decreases very interesting. Maybe one should knit a second Audrey in diffrent colour and with diffrent technique.
Posted by: Maud at April 17, 2004 02:26 AMTalking about Colourways, Uk, I have only very good experience of their super fast service.
Posted by: Maud at April 18, 2004 09:35 AMTiffany, I am taking your advice and getting over my shyness/fear of seeming dense! I tried the decreases from hint one where the decreases are centered around a knit2 column. But, when I do that with Knit2tog/SSK, I end up with first a panel of six knit stitches together and then four till it finally goes back down to two. Does this make sense. Anyhow, I'm not sure I like the look so I may go to the frog pond. Any input you have about something I am missing to maintain the 2x2 rib would be greatly appreciated. Hope I've not interupted much needed sleep! Thanks, Teri
Posted by: Teri at April 19, 2004 03:45 PMBon jour, Ter!
There is no workaround to the panels of knit stitches that result when you do the decreases.
You are taking away stitches; some of those are purl stitches. If you turn some of the existing knit stitches to purl stitches, you will then make visible ridges where there were none before.
I like the look of the way I'm doing it now, with one set of increases under the right hand arrows in the picture of THIS post and one set of decreases at the sides. Those were my Hint #2.
Posted by: Tiffany at April 19, 2004 05:25 PMTiffany,
Thanks for your response and it's off to the frog pond with me. No worries, I really enjoy the feel of this yarn and it is smooth going for me. Teri