With my smock vest all done (and already worn repeatedly), my Summer of Basics trio is off to a speedy start! I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I had cast on my modified Grace pullover (in dreamy toffee-colored Our Yarn from the shop) and had made it to the body/sleeve separation within the space of a very short trip. I’ve been sick the past week and spent a few days stuck on my couch, one of which I spent knitting most of the first sleeve so I could block it so far and see how it’s fitting. Remember I’m doing my own measurements and math, since I’m knitting at a different gauge than the pattern, and so far I could not be happier with how it’s shaping up. Now that I’ve been able to try on the blocked WIP, it’ll be full steam ahead again! And at this pace, it’ll be done long before it’s wearable. (I’ll tell you about that bit between the pink lines when it’s done, but here’s the backstory on that.)
Stuck at home sick also turns out to be the perfect time to start a crochet project, i.e. my Joanne hat. The one thing that keeps me from doing more crochet is having to pay close attention and count all the time; I worry about getting interrupted (or my mind wandering) and losing my place. So what better use of staring-at-the-wall-in-a-congested-stupor time, right? Step one, watch a YouTube video and remember how to crochet; step two, commence counting.
I didn’t do a gauge swatch. Getting used to working with this raffia is a thing, and there’s no way I’d be able to catch it with a smaller hook (I do like this Lykke crochet hook), so I’m just doing what I can do. My gauge seems to be a bit looser than the pattern calls for — meaning a bigger hat — but I also have a big head. Ergo, I’m winging it. I worked on the top disc part until it seemed perilous to go any bigger, and then I started working downwards. I figure I’ll just try it on as I go and fudge my way through the shaping. I have low hopes for this entire project, so there’s a fair chance of being happily surprised!
So far I’m having fun, but if anyone has advice on how to manage that cone of raffia, I’m all ears! It basically exploded like one gigantic continuous party streamer, and I spent another chunk of a sick day making my confinement all the more miserable by winding the tangled mess into four big raffia nests, now nestled in that Field Bag. Never doing that again, thanks.
As for piece three, the dress, I am now in possession of the English edition of the Japanese pattern book. Just waiting for my fabric to arrive.
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PREVIOUSLY in Queue Check: May 2019
Raffia: round ball and a rubber band. Don’e even think about a ball winder!
It came on a reel or whatever you’d call it — like a cone but straight up and down. I was trying to just work off of that and not re-wind it at all, but alas, it gave me no choice. But you’ve got me curious — how would a rubber band around a ball work? Where are you pulling from?
hello! I made the Joanne hat and my gauge was spot-on, but the hat was also really rather large. (My head is not especially small, and I’ve got a lot of hair.) In the end it’s fine–snug hats give me migraines. Nevertheless–some size options (plus a few other directions, such as coaxing the shape of the hat) would have been helpful.
WATG patterns are always sort of frustratingly bare bones. I’m wishing there were more measurements given so I could how mine is sizing up.
For the raffia gleefully unwinding itself issue, I used a “thread net” that came with my serger. Look up thread net or thread sock and you’ll see what I mean.
RAFFIA EXPLOSION! As a variation on the elastic band advice, I’ve seen some sort of mesh for fruit/vegetable packing used on explosive yarn.
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