#berocco

[cottonkhaleesi]

Mini rant that will polarise people

I Do Not like Circular Needles, mostly in the round:

If your cable is too big, it is difficult to knit with (don’t @ me about the magic loop that is the Devil’s work and still stretches stitches and makes me frustrated because I can’t get it to work well); if your cable is too small, the whole thing is a hellscape of yarn and pulling and yelling.

Reason for rant: We’ve had quite a bit of yarn in the January sales coming from all the other stores that went into Tier 4 just after Christmas and thus couldn’t sell any of theirs, which meant we’ve had all of the weird and wacky stuff and also all of the high quality shit (silk, alpaca, cashmere cotton -who thought that was a good combination?!-) my boss had rejected come to us to be put at 50% off.

Naturally, working in a wool shop, my stash has grown. A whole lot. But I saw some really nice 54% alpaca in teal and more in grey and went “DIBS” because I’ve an aran berocco pattern in my Ravelry queue that was just waiting to be knit.

So I frantically stuff all 16 balls in my bag and go home to boot up the pattern and work out the details later.

Much to my dismay, said pattern wants: 1 pair of 16″ 3.75 circulars, 1 pair of 16″ 4.5 circulars, 1 pair of 29″ 3.75 circulars, and 2 pairs of 29″ 4.5 circulars (and 1 set of 3.75 DPNs) that is: A) a lot of needles, but this garment is a poncho/jumper so, I can forgive. B) none of the sizes of circulars I inherited.

So I reach out to colleges and friends, I get the 3.75s in regular circs, and the 4.5 in the knit pros with the detachable bits. Makes it exciting because I’ve never gotten to play with them before and that’s always fun.

So I try my tension swatch on the 16″ (or the 40cm equivalent) in the Knit Pros. Now circulars are measured from needle to needle, so 40cm of circular needle is only like 20cm of actual cable, which means the other 20 cm is split between the two needles, which means there is NO give when trying to knit stitches, one was constantly straining the cable and my hands in order to get the needles where one wanted them and that does not make for an accurate tension swatch, and that wasn’t even in the round! So I’ve politely given them back and picked up some DPNS for the 16″ instead.

[knotmagickstudios]

Non-Wool Yarn Recommendations, Part II

Non-Wool Yarn Recommendations, Part II

Last week we looked at some of the different fibers available to people like myself and Ash who can’t swathe ourselves in wool. This week, I’ll be looking at some of the specific non-wool yarns I’ve used in the past for various projects, and letting you know how they worked out.

Knitpicks Comfy:This is my go-to sock yarn for Ash, and I’ve made her several pairs, as well as hand warmers and hats.…

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[ariehenix]

Finally finished my Mega Pom Beanie by @tlyarncrafts ! I wanted to experiment with multiple colors in a Fair Isle-type pattern. Super happy with how it turned out! Yarn is Berocco Vintage and Ultrawool. #berocco #beroccoyarn #beroccovintage #beroccoultrawool (at Warren, Michigan) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxLWVNnpwki/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1xbqk0jyqeee5

[nebulaknitts]

Finally finished the sweater for @hobbitoftheshire (my very first sweater!) Front pattern is berroco's nesselrode, yarn is berocco vintage chunky in pumpkin. It looks good on both of us so major win.

[wipinsanity]

When you find the perfect buttons for your design prototype and there are exactly the right number that you need! #comingsoon #knitting #designing #earband #strandedknitting #berocco #knitpicks #knittersattic

[drizzitknits]

WIP: Still working on this sweater

But it's getting done faster than it really ought to be. I'm knitting too much, is what's happening. I figured out that I can knit this while reading journal articles (at least, ones where I don't have to take notes or highlight things). Not so much for school because I have to deeply interact with those, but while I'm doing less in-depth reading of articles for the lit review I'm completing for work, I totally knit this sweater. Plus I spent more time than I really should have knitting this weekend. Plus I'm giving myself at least one episode of my re-watch of new Doctor Who each night to knit.

The problem, really, is the knitting while working. I'm really starting to feel it in my right arm and I've got the tiniest bit of a nerve pinch making my fingers occasionally tingly. Will that make me stop? Sadly, no. I keep thinking...but I'm almost done and then I can wear this for class!!!!! So, as I sit here writing a blog post with tingly right fingertips, I have just wound what will (I think) be the final ball of yarn for this project. Really, I need an intervention, but I live alone, so one isn't coming. I'm going to the chiropractor tomorrow and then all will be set right.

Here's the progress I've made in a week. It's a bit shameful considering how little time I actually have. Most of it was done over the weekend or while reading for work.

Not the best photo, I realise, but the back and the sides had been on the towel blocking (I thought blocking as I went along would expedite seaming. Which it will. I could technically start now.) so I just left it all there. Plus there's next to no decent natural light in this apt. Which keeps the temperatures down, but is terrible for photographing anything.

As a reminder, the yarn is Berocco Fiora and the sweater is Louise by Amy Christoffers from the Fiora book that came with the yarn.

If you recall, last week I was here. This is basically knitting at my normal really fast sweater creation rate where I have a real job but not any extra work after it and can just knit post work every day. I suppose maybe now that I can knit while reading it ends up being an equivalent amount of time, but I feel like I'm spending too much time knitting for the amount of work I have to do. It's the multitasking thing. I'll get used to it. Or I won't.

So...back is done. Sides are done. I'm working on sleeve 1 (about halfway done). I have to attend a public meeting tonight for class and I'm debating whether or not to bring this sleeve with me to work on during it (and while I'm waiting an hour after class to head over there) or if I should bring the second bomb pop sock because it won't require any attention at all. At this point, I'm really comfortable with this pattern, but I fear I'll get to the part where I have to shape the cap. I wouldn't really care, but some of my classmates are coming to the meeting with me and I should probably make it look more like I'm paying attention than I would if I were there (nevermind that no matter what, my attention level will be the same). I can tell you one thing...there is no way I'm going to a public meeting on transportation for an hour plus without SOMETHING to knit.

[drizzitknits]

WIP Wednesday: I meant to have this sweater done a month ago

Granted, in order to have this sweater done a month ago I would have had to start it a month ago. Instead I was working through more (hopefully) lucrative ventures and knitting up samples in yarns I've dyed. So I suppose that's worth doing. Then there were those yarn swap things...

Though, TBH, even if I had started this in time, I'm still not sure it would be done. It's only recently that I've come into some knitting time.

Enough of that! On to the talking about knitting.

This week's (and last week's and probably next week's and maybe even the week after that's) WIP is a summer sweater, "Louise" by Amy Christoffers from the Berocco Fiora book. All of this came to me as a door prize from Minnesota Knitters' Guild Yarnover. I have nine skeins of this yarn and a book full of patterns and the fibre content is 40% cotton, 30% viscose, 15% alpaca, 10% nylon, and 5% wool in a DK weight, so I thought this would make a good sweater for air-conditioned classrooms. (It turns out, however, that these classrooms are not so much air-conditioned as set to "freezer" and "Siberia", so I'm pretty sure I could roll in in a full wool/alpaca worsted weight sweater and be perfectly comfortable even though it is July.) Regardless, I think I'll still get some wear out of this sweater in the early fall and, of course, next summer. And if I happen to get this done before August 7 (I'm on track for now, but you never know these days) then I'll have it for summer classes, too.

Here's where I am for now:

The back is done, the pocket lining is done, and the left front is started. I've had more time recently, but I'm also going weirdly polygamous in my knitting (thanks to podcast KALs) so...we'll see.

Thoughts on this yarn: It's nice. It's soft because of all the fibre contents, but sturdy. It's a tiny bit splitty, but not that bad. Although I've never found cotton to be particularly hard on my hands, this one definitely isn't. I didn't get gauge for the sweater on the needle size suggested (well, I got row gauge but not stitch gauge...which like...it's written for this yarn, so IDK what that's about), so I went down a size (so now my row gauge is wrong AND my stitch gauge is still wrong) and then I just did the math that allows me to knit the size XS wide to get the size S I need and I just have to keep track of my row gauge. It's working out.

About this pattern: I get that it's in a pattern book for the yarn and there's limited space, but holy wow is this hard to follow. There's one chart. It's 15 stitches by 42 rows. For the whole sweater. Which is fine, because as you see above the pattern repeats, but the chart makes you read R-L on RS rows and L-R on WS rows which I know some people find confusing. Worse than that, the sweater is shaped with increases and decreases which mean you have to re-think the chart and how it all lines up on your own. Then, now that I've moved to the front...you don't have the right number of stitches. The chart has 2 stitches border on the RS, then a repeat of 8, then 5 border stitches on WS. This works for the back, but on the front I had to cast on 44 stitches and turn 5 of them into a button band, which left me with 39 stitches...which isn't a multiple of 8 if you take off the 2 stitches on RS or the 5 stitches on the WS, so I guess it's now 44-5 button band stitches and then including the 7 border stitches to get 32, but the pattern is VERY NOT CLEAR about that and I wish it would be.

Also, I read the part about how to attach the pocket lining and I'm super confused. So, we'll see about that when I get there.

I'm smart and can logic this out, but it's somewhat annoying and means I *really* have to think about knitting this, which is not always what I want to do.

[drizzitknits]

(Mo)FO Friday: Jonas’ Giant Orange Stockinette Sweater

It's not DONE, done, but the giant orange stockinette sweater is blocking and awaiting seaming (and then re-knitting).

Sorry for the terrible photo. It's still blocking and it's too huge for me to take a proper photo of it yet.

To recap: The pattern is Joukahainen by Krystel Nyberg. The yarn is Berocco Ultra Alpaca in colourway 6268.

I started this sweater for Jonas on March 23 and wrapped it up on Tuesday (April 14), so it took me just over 3 weeks start to finish. It's an easy pattern, being predominantly stockinette, so even though Jonas is huge and has a giant long torso and huge arms, this still knit up really quickly. That said, the bit just after joining the sleeves and before you get a good way in to the raglan decreases is probably best described as a slog. I had 300+ stitches on the needles and was working to reduce (every other row) to 92 stitches. It took me 15 minutes to knit a rest row and 20 minutes to knit a decrease row. The good thing about working it in decreases is that it got better from there, but gosh was I ready to just throw the sweater down and walk away once I realised what I was in for while knitting the full chest measurement. But I got through it and it's over.

And it needs re-knitting.

Don't panic...it doesn't all need to be re-knit (I hope), I just need to re-shape the neckline. It came out way more like a mock turtleneck than the crew neck it looks to be in the photo (plus it's way too wide for Jonas to wear as a mock turtleneck even if he wanted to). It seems like this is a common problem with the pattern and I've looked up people's fixes and have pulled out my sweater design books, so I'll devise a solution for re-knitting just the very top and the collar as soon as it's dry (it's been blocking since Wednesday and is still pretty soggy). The bigger problem might come if Jonas thinks it's not long enough. When he first tried it on, he definitely didn't think it was, but based on how much the yarn stretched when I knit my Tauriel, I'm hoping it will block out long enough for him. If not... well, I told him to expect the sweater in a few years when I can muster up the Can to rip it back to the sleeve joins and knit more onto it before doing all those raglan decrease rows again. I'm not even sure I'm going to get to re-doing the collar for a while, since I've got other projects I need to commit to now.

Good news is, he had it on in the house on Tuesday night for less than five minutes and was already too hot in a wool/alpaca sweater, so I'm betting he won't be clamoring for it until September at the earliest. So I have some time. Which is good, because this sweater and I need a break.

It's not even that I mind that much stockinette, really. It's easy knitting and I can do it while doing pretty much everything else, so it was actually good... it was just A LOT of sweater and I'd like to knit something else now.

The yarn was lovely to knit with as always. It's got a great hand and it's not at all splitty or difficult to work with, even when I had to cable it to do the raglan decreases. Lovely all around. The only complaint I had is that a lot of dye leaked out into the water when I was soaking it. The basin was a delightful tangerine colour when I pulled the sweater out and it still wasn't rinsing clean. If I remember correctly, the green yarn for Tauriel did the same thing. So... a bit of caution if you're using this yarn and want to wash the item with other things. It looks like there will be a significant amount of excess dye for the first few washes.

Jonas is weirdly allergic to Eucalan, so I had to use regular laundry soap, but I don't think that will affect the blocking process too much. I just really hope it's long enough after blocking because as lovely as it was to knit, the only challenging part is at the top, and that's the bit I'd have to do again. No thank you, please.

It's a good, basic stockinette sweater. Nothing fancy, but certainly a blank canvas for colourwork or easy design changes and a good place to start if you need to just knit a sweater with no frills. I *might* knit it again. In a smaller size. In a few years. With a different neckline.