Tatami by Melissa Wehrle (Sundara Yarns)

My Ravelry Post: here
Yarn: 21st Century Yarns 4ply in Moss
Needles: 3.75mm
Notes: The only changes I made were to leave off the ties, and to add a garter edging to the front, since it turned out a little bit smaller than I was expecting. It fits great though. In fact I’m wearing it right now.

The only other thing is that the 4ply is naturally really sticky and didn’t want to drop at all, which meant I had to drop all the stitches myself by hand, which took quite a long time. It was totally worth it though, since the colours are superb.

Conclusion: I really love this cardigan. I really do think that 21st Century Yarns produce some of the best varigated yarns in the country, and now it’s proved it’s stickiness I’m tempted to use it for a pattern that needs steeking. At some point.

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In other news I finished the barbara shawl for my grandmother’s birthday (late next month) and have started a DK version of the Henry scarf for my grandfather. So as soon as I can sort out a camera with more than a slither of battery I’ll post photos of them.

I also cast on a Elizabeth Zimmerman Hybrid Jumper in Garthenor Jacob aran yarn in black (it’s actually more of a very dark brown.) I only cast on for it yesterday afternoon, and in my usual amount of knitting time, I’ve already knitted 7″. Having rarely knit with anything heavier than dk I’m shocking and a little thrilled!

Thus I’m planning to keep a close knitting diary to see how long it takes to knit up:

Day 1: Body 7″. I’m already on my third ball (of 14), and the body is only 136 st in the round.

Sure thing…

DK Yarn:

• 100% Blue faced Leicester
• 50g skeins
• 110m per skein (approx.)
• £5.50 a skein (plus p&p)

Oxford Kitchen Yarns DK Yarn in Sugar £5.50

Oxford Kitchen Yarns DK Yarn in Slate £5.50

Oxford Kitchen Yarns DK Yarn in Butter £5.50

Oxford Kitchen Yarns DK Yarn in Sherbet £5.50

Oxford Kitchen Yarns DK Yarn in Clotted Cream £5.50

Lace Weight Yarn:

• 90% Blue faced Leicester 10% Nylon
• Single Ply in structure (the tiny amount of nylon gives it strength)
• 100g skeins
• 1200m per skein (approx.)
• £16 a skein (plus p&p)

Oxford Kitchen Yarns Lace Weight Yarn in Biscuit £16

Oxford Kitchen Yarns Lace Weight Yarn in Pink £16

  Oxford Kitchen Yarns Lace Weight Yarn in Raspberry £16

Something else that I should have said last time that I’ll say here instead – obviously, because of the nature of dyes in general (and natural dyes in particular) each batch is slight different, even when the recipe is the same. I have controls set up, for comparison, but if a particular colour is significantly different from a previous batch, I give it a new name make it a limited edition. That way people know what they’re getting.

To that end, I’m also going to take pictures of all new stocking coming in, rather than re-using photos of previous batches of the same colour.

I’m planning to build a light box next week, take photos of the stock still waiting to go into the shop, and retake some photos of the current stock (in particular ‘DK Butter’). All new photos will be date marked, so that you can be sure what you’re looking at is what you’re going to receive through the post.

A HUGE THANK YOU for all the people who wish me well. I really appreciate it. :)

(In knitting news Tatami galloped along and I’m going to block it tonight, with the hope of getting it sewn up tomorrow, ready to wear to the do at my friend’s house on Saturday. I just have to chain stitch the ties tonight. Hopefully I’ll have photos next week to show you. :)

Shop News: I have fixed the things that needed fixing, and now I’m just finalising postage and packaging, so that it’s fair and not overcharging. (I hate falling for something that needs to be posted to me, and then seeing the p&p and going ‘how much!?’ Once that’s done I think I’m good to go. So very soon. :)

Last post I threatened to go off and make some Saartje’s Bootees (.pdf) for someone I know who I just found out is probably going to give birth in the next couple of weeks. As promised – obviously, since there is a big honking photo of them – that’s what I did.

They were an utter pleasure to knit too, and took no time at all – well they took about three hours from wool and needles to finished bootees. I made them with some of the Blue Sky Alpaca Silk I had left over from my beret – lovely stuff, and should suit either a boy or girl (since I have no idea what she’s having.)

(Ravelry link for them what can.)

Conclusion: I really love this pattern. I think they are adorable, and quick and they’re a great choice for a last minute extra present, which is everything you need really.

Tatami is coming along. I’m 6 1/2″ into the 8″ needed for the sleeves before the main piece splits in two for the neck and front sections. I’m supposed to knit the front pieces at the same time, but I think – for motivation sake – I’m going to knit the rest of each sleeve down to the sleeve cast off one at a time. 200 stitches really shouldn’t be a big deal but it’s a 20″ length of the stuff in total and I know I’m going to want to start working on something else, and I’m determined to knit this up as soon as I can rather than abandon it in favour of something else.

Firstly, because I could do with another cardigan for winter, secondly because I don’t need another wip staring back at me – two (deadline) ones are bad enough. And thirdly, because it’s actually a good knit, and I knew there would be lulls when I cast on, but I don’t want to walk away from it feeling a sense of ‘meh’ that isn’t particularly fair or true.

And so I knit on.

…but maybe a piece of cake.

I had one of those ideas last sunday which I knew from the start was never going to actually happen.

I thought “I have a number of projects on the go, and some of them need to be finished soon, and some of them should have been finished AGES ago, and therefore need to be finished as soon as possible so that they are late, but not OMG!LATE!.

I know! I will promise to only knit a certain project on a certain day, so that each project gets some knitting time each week, and thus will get finished quicker (than having no knitting time spend on them at all.)”

I even made a table with the days of the week in it, and next to that, the project I should knit each day, and then added the information into my diary.

Then I totally ignored my careful plan, cast on Tatami, and have knit only that so far this week.

Ooops.

Mind you, despite being on 3mm needles Tatami is coming along. The 21st Century 4ply that I originally (bought for a large but ultimately dull shawl that I abandoned) is as lovely as I remembered it being, and apart from my worry that I’m not compensating enough for my slight lack of row gauge, it’s all going pretty well. Even when I add in both sleeves the stitch count only goes up to just over 200st which is totally manageable.

That said, the barbara shawl and the dreaded looks-like-fairisle-kinda-but-is-really-evil-intasia waistcoat still need finishing well before Christmas.

(It’s a nice shawl, but it grows alot, and maybe I’m just not in a shawl mood? – though I hope that’s not the case since I like knitting shawls generally. Anyways I’m having a break…)

(PLEASE NOTE: This is the original – not the one I’m knitting. The one I’m knitting looks like this:

Or even worse – like this! [Turn you face away if you're fainthearted!].

(Luckily other Bluestockings have offered to maybe help darn some ends in. It has been suggested that it gets passed around the table, one darned in end at a time. As thanks, they all get invited over to my house to watch my hands shake as I cut the steeks for the armholes and neck.)

Yes, I’m slightly in denial about both of those projects at the moment. So tatami it is. Well tatami, and some Saartje’s Bootees (pdf), for our wedding photographer Sarah, who I’ve just found out is about to give birth. *raids sock yarn half balls*

I keep thinking it’s going to be more summer-y that it is. Half the time I’m right, and I’m boiling it jeans and a tee-shirt. However the other half of the time – like today – I get blasted with cold wind and I can’t shake it off. Thus I think I’m going to have to shut down the computer for the day, and have a hot bath while W is out digging up more of the allotment.

Then I plan to get in pajamas, and hand knit socks, and do some more work on the Tea and Biscuit socks,

 …and Tatami.