Further confession

I have been knitting lace.  I really like the Marianne Kinzel books.  I've made 2 primula table cloths.  There is very little chance of my returning to colour work before the lace (using up the remains of a skein on as much of a "Rose of England" table cloth as I can make) is complete.  And I'm going to be off on a work trip for ... well, to be honest, much of the next while.  

Back to the slacker blog model, I suspect.  I was so pleased with myself for keeping it going for all these days.  Too bad.  

Confession

I was in the neighbourhood of the yarn store today and I went in, but didn't get any yarn.  I don't know what's wrong, but I might be not quite ready to start this fair isle thing.  

Autumn Colours Mini-Sweater

After the innate unsatisfactoriness of my autumn colours swatch, I thought I'd try making a little tiny sweater and turn the experience into a skill-building exercise.  I could play with steeking if I did it right.  I'm afraid of steeking, so some playing is called for.   

I cast on a kprib in the two ends of the colour spectrum.  This was a terrible mistake.  It's not right at all.  Note to self: The cuff should be knit in the predominant colour of the pattern and purled in the background.  You'd think I'd know.  

After I started the patterned knitting, I hated the cuff so much I set it aside. Writing this has helped, though.  Maybe I'll pick it up again anyway.  It's terribly fiddly with the sock yarn.  That problem hasn't gone away, but who cares if it's hideous?  I certainly shouldn't.  I should remember that the whole point is to make something I cut up.  With scissors.  Surely ugly is better?

Autumn Colours Upside-Downers

Not surprisingly, I usually take pictures of my knitting with the bottom at the bottom and the top at the top.  

The light and my height and the height of the dresser on which the knitting sat, combined with the incredible fussiness of all of those T-pins meant that I turned the knitting upside-down.  It was like looking at a new thing.  

I think I would rather make a sweater that doesn't look dramatically different one way up versus the other way.  I mean, I would prefer the patterns not to have an inherent "gravity" which makes it obvious where the bottom should be.  I hadn't seriously contemplated it before, though .... here's my big chance to use subtleties in the patterns and colouring to create the impression that my (ample) hips are small or that I have a delicate waist.  What an idea.  I might need to apply more brains to that one.  

Autumn Colours Trial

Some time ago, I picked up some sock yarns in lovely close colour succession.  The colours were wonderful reds and oranges and I was absolutely delighted to find them.  I had in mind a (ridiculously) elaborate project which never made it off the ground.  

I thought I would use the yarn to try a few things.  

The first thing I tried was to change the background from green to the varying red/orange and that wasn't the greatest idea for this collection.  Also, the orange stands out if given half an opportunity.  If it's in the middle, it's tame and blends nicely with its neighbours.  If it's on the outside, it's a rogue.  

The next thing I thought I would try was to play with the dimensions of the pattern, but by the time I'd done three 2-stitch-thick patterns (contrast to the swatches of my previous collection, which are 1-stitch-thick) I was not happy with the yarn and the experience and I just wanted to stop.  

The tiny sock yarn is fiddly to work with.  It is very slippery and does what it can to wriggle out at the edges.  I didn't enjoy knitting colour work with it, and that's a good lesson, too.  I know that superwash yarn has different characteristics while I'm knitting it than regular yarn has.  I know that it's likely to be splitty and problematic, but for some purposes (say, baby clothes) I think it's ideal.  It's not ideal for playing around under these circumstances.

Swatch Experiment Summary

Despite the critical look I was forced to take at my extensive yarn collection, I am delighted by the experience of this swatching experiment.  I laid side-by-side all of the swatches I made with this set of colours.  

I like the way some of them glow.  I like the way they compliment each other.  I like the way the pattern works with the colours.

This is fun.  A little while ago, I started this blog to get myself to think harder and plan more intelligently towards a serious fair isle sweater.  I've been using the blog to create pressure to think a little about the sweater every day.  I know I have learned from this swatching experience and I look forward to learning more next time.  I also know that I have learned more because I use the blog to reflect on the experience.

Swatch Experiment Blue Period

If asked, I would say that my favourite colour is green.  I am therefore pleased and somewhat amazed that I can bring together such a group of blue swatches.  I am also pleased and somewhat amazed that they're all so different.  It's a great lesson in the way that small variations have a large visual impact.

Swatch Experiment VIII

After finding the colour combination that worked best for my favourite colour transition and pattern, I decided that I would test my own bias in favour of single-colour foreground against varying background.  

I do like the way that the varying foreground swatch turned out.  And, as before, I think that the stripes as shown above might make a nice sweater.  However, I believe that the steady background/varying foreground does the pattern an injustice.  Perhaps if the colours were light/dark reversed I would feel differently, but I think the upper swatch in the picture above is much better than the one below, even though they're both exactly the same colour and pattern.  

Swatch Experiment VII

After playing Goldilocks, I set up my three blue swatches side-by-side.  Even though I vastly prefer the middle, "just right" blue, I am enamoured of the effect of the three swatches in combination.  I think one might contemplate a sweater design in which there are stripes of pattern foreground colours and a constant background and a constant pattern.  I think that sufficient interest could be created simply by creating stripes in the foreground colour.  And it could be a sort of quiet effect overall for those people who shy away from riotous colour combinations in their fair isles.

I also like the way the three swatches compare to each other.  It's easy to see what the strengths of each version are.  

Swatch Experiment VI

Like Goldilocks trying ursine porridge, I tried a blue that was too soft and another that was too hard.  I finally found a blue that was just right.  This one was not too light, not too dark.  The pattern shows against the background, but the foreground colour is complementary to the mix.

The just-right blue performs the tasks required.  It brings out the background and the pattern.  It absolutely sings.  Out of the camera, the effect is striking.  It leaps out of the (ever-growing) swatch collection.  It's beautiful.

Swatch Experiment V

With my successful background swatch, I had discovered that I didn't like pale foreground colours, but I did like to pull out the blue from the background more than the pink.  So, naturally, I next chose to try a darker blue.  I picked a blue a couple of hue steps away from the blues in my background.  

The outcome is pretty good, I think.  It's a bit blurry at the edges, though.  The foreground colour is quite close to the background at its darkest.  It isn't identical to the background and if I look closely, I can still make out the pattern, but it's not easy to do.  

I like the effect.  I like the way that the pattern, as well as the glowing pink, gently rolls out in the middle of the swatch.  I can imagine a successful sweater built on these principles.  However, it's not what I have in mind right now.  I want my careful two-colour knitting to show!  I want the pattern to be as important as colour in the overall impression the sweater makes on the observer.  

Swatch Experiment IV

Even though I don't like the individual swatches, I do like the combination of the pale blue and pale pink swatches.  I think that combining the two makes them "make sense".  It brings some cohesion to the pale colour idea.  I also quite like the effect of blue-pink-blue next to pink-blue-pink in the background.  

Lesson learned:  I might be able to make something work by adding more varients with the same flaws.  Fascinating.  

Swatch Experiment III

I had learned that I liked the blue-to-pink-to-blue transition in the background for this particular pattern, but I was still looking for a foreground colour I really liked.  I thought maybe the pink was problematic because I have a thing against pink anyway.  I tried an equivalent blue.  

I do, indeed, prefer this version to the previous pink one.  I think that part of my preference does, indeed, stem from my inherent preference for blue over pink.  This swatch also has the advantage of running blue-pink-blue instead of pink-blue-pink like my first one.

It doesn't sing like the golden mix I had tried, though.  I wrote that the pink was not rich enough for its background and I believe that this blue is also too pallid.  

Swatch Experiment II

Well, I had background colours that I liked, but I didn't have a foreground that worked with them.  I originally thought that a colour related to the combo would be a good choice, but my first foray into that scheme didn't work out.  The pale pink was a bit washed-out and peaky compared to the rich background combo.  

The next thing I tried was a rich, variegated gold.  That rich foreground colour is a happy match with the background colours.  I'm not sold on the variegation, though.  I thought that would be very nice, adding a bit of interest, but in this instance, it's not what I want.  Maybe if the background were monochrome, instead of the flow between two colours. 

With this swatch, I tried the colours in two orders.  I tried blue to pink and back to blue and I tried pink to blue and back to pink again.  I much prefer the blue outside.  I really like the way the pink glows when its surrounded by the blue.  If I were playing with other patterns I might prefer the pink-on-the-outside recipe.  But with this combo and this pattern, I strongly prefer the pink-on-the-inside version.  

Swatch Experiment I

Having found a colour combination I liked, I tried a swatch with a pattern.  I thought a colour related to the combo would be a good choice for contrast.  I think that this pale pink doesn't really work.  The combo is quite rich and the pale pink is demure by comparison.  

The stimulus package

My lovely partner, who falls into the category of "understanding non-knitter" has been watching me pull out my single skeins and leftover balls with some interest.  Some of the colour combos get approval; some get dubious looks.  However, after a few days' activity, I got the question: "Is this just yarn you had lying about the house?" and then: "Do you have a knitting project in every room?"  These words, combined with a look of real concern, made me pull up and take stock.

I got spurred into having a good look at my yarn collection.  I have to call it a collection because it really is more than a stash.  There's something quick and casual about a "stash".  It's like something just recently dropped off that you'll be popping back for soon.  My collection has not recently been dropped off, nor will I be using it all up any time soon.  Let's be realistic.  I've amassed more than a few skeins of yarn over the years and some of the skeins I used, didn't get all used up.  

The (already considerable) extent of the collection is an inhibiting factor for the fair isle sweater.  If I'm honest, really, even on an extravagant day, it's hard to stand in a room with all the yarn I own and say "I need more".  I need more.  I have tried over and over to pull together the stuff I have and turn it into the fair isle of my dreams.  It isn't going to happen.  It's not right.  I can make other things out of the collection and indeed I have.  I have some blankets.  I have some baby/small child-sized articles.  I can also plan to make other things out of the collection: I have decided that I should put together a cotton cardigan and a cashmere cardigan and a plain blue pullover before the year is out.  A fair isle just isn't in the cards for the collection as it stands now.

Thinking about a large-scale new wool project, which is what this swatching exercise represents, at the same time as tidying up and trying to manage my yarn collection is not exactly what you'd call sensible.  Instead of being sensible, I think I'll be optimistic. I haven't knit up the old yarn because I am sort of in a knitting funk.  A big, elaborate project with lots of fun planning, dreaming, and possibility is just what I need to un-funk.  A fair isle sweater is not going to create a disastrous influx of bulk to an already bulky unused yarn collection.  No.  It is destined to stimulate me to knit up the extant yarn.  All yarn will be swept up in the frenzy of knitting activity.  The fair isle stimulus package will save us all. 

Off the shelf swatch success

I finally made one that I like without reservation.  I think it's slightly better in reality than in the photograph, but it's possible that the photograph is better at catching things and my lighting is forgiving.  I should take it out to bright sunlight.

It's only 5 colours, which probably helps, but that's a good lesson, too.  

Now that I've found them, I'm going to play around with this progression of colours a bit.   Bear with me.

More off-the-shelf swatching

I thought I would try a different progression, including some redder shades.  I don't have actual red to play with, but I have some purples and pinks and they'll do for interest now. 

I found that the bits past the pinks worked best, although I liked the pink mating with the purple mating with the blue.  

Off the shelf swatch pattern

I don't know if it's obvious or not, but the off-the-shelf swatch pattern is simply diagonal stripes two stitches thick.  I just shifted the two stitches over by one stitch every row.   After 4 rows I switched one of the colours (but not both) so that each colour stripe goes for 8 rows in total.  Half of the stripe is alongside one near-neighbour colour and the other half is alongside the other near-neighbour colour.  

Off the shelf swatch ps

I meant to include a picture of the yarn off the swatch in yesterday's post.  

First of all, I still think that the light blue (looks lilac above) and the very light blue (looks white above) look like they'd blend well.  They really don't.

Second of all, after I'd finished the swatch,  I thought I might try another without the three lightest bits.  I thought they were in standing out.  

But I can already see that the blue and the purple won't get along (top left).   They don't get along on the swatch, either, but I was so distracted by the light bit standing out that I failed to notice them failing to meld.  

Off the shelf swatch

I thought I'd try some swatching with colours I have in odd balls and ends at home.  

After admiring the grey/blue palette of the scottish hillsides, I thought I would try to put it into yarn.  I know I need to get a bit of practice in the gentle art of achieving that smooth flow from one colour to the next.  So for this swatch, I started with purples and blues and then worked them around into browns.  

Off the swatch, it looked like it would flow smoothly.  I was surprised where the discontinuities are.  

On the back of the swatch it looks quite different.  I think the flow is a bit more smooth-looking.  

However, the most smooth-flowing part (grey to brown to black at the top) looks best on the back....

... and the front.

Attempt at a swatch (a thought)

Well, all I can say is "Thanks, blog! You gave me an idea".  The inside-out swatch looks a little more obviously 3-colour than the right-side-out swatch.  So, perhaps I should knit myself a little swatch with the background being blue and the foreground being grey and see if I don't like it better.  

I prefer the background to be steady as a rock and the foreground to play games, but I clearly can't always get what I want.  I always think that the narrower bit is the pattern and the wider bit is the background.

Let's see where this one leads.  I think that if I convince myself that I'm trying something like grey rocks in blue water I might be able to live with an undulating background.  

Attempt at a swatch (stranding)

I mentioned previously that the yarns I got had different wraps per inch.  And I mentioned previously that I should have learned that lesson before now.  "Should have" turns out not to be the same as "did".  However, I'm an academic and I can turn any mistake into a useful lesson.

In the swatch, the difference in yarn thickness between the grey and the blues does show up.  But I almost like the way it works.  I wish that it was the background (grey) yarn that was thicker, but all in all I don't mind having a block of colour be more solid than another one.  There are pictures of the right side in yesterday's post.

It did make it more difficult to keep the stitches even, though.  I'm not naturally a "pick" knitter (I mean that I learned "throw" knitting and haven't fully come around to the other side) and so carrying two strands in the pick manner (in this case, one in each hand) doesn't come easily to me at the best of times.  As a result, there is a little bit of puffiness about the strands in the inside-out view.  It's not the worst case of the puffs ever unleashed on the world, but it's made worse by the fact I was dealing with differing yarn gauges.  

I know from experience that one way to address this problem is to knit so tightly (for both yarns) that the knitting gauge is entirely determined by needle size.  It's not an easy option when the yarns are as fine weights as these are.  It's probably not a safe option to follow for a whole sweater, either.  Now that I've put it down in writing, I see some ways in which it shouldn't work.  I swear that it has worked for me in the past.  Maybe some day I'll explore that option further.  

Not with this yarn, though.  I have other plans for this yarn.

Attempt at a swatch (colour II)

The swatch which resulted from the terrible wool-buying technique I described in the day before yesterday's post was, predictably, a disappointment.  An important part of the disappointment was the colour palette.  I like the colours I got.  I like the way they look together.  I like the way they work.  I like each one individually.  However, it's too restricted a palette.  Much too restricted.  There are only 3 colours.  

Three colours probably isn't in and of itself a terrible number.  However, two of the colours are virtually indistinguishable.  I didn't know it at the time I bought them.  On the spools, they look different, but like they're different shades of the same colour.  That's why I bought them.  I love that smooth-flow-from-one-to-next thing that gets done in fair isle so effectively.  

I learned that effect is actually a bit pointless when there aren't enough colours.  

And, I learned that different colours on the spool doesn't necessarily equal different colour in small scale.  Observe the following photographs.  There are my lovely spools of yarn.  Aren't they pretty and cool?  Now, in that first picture, the darker blue single strand is in focus and you can see it's different from the lighter blue spool which is out of focus behind it. In the second picture, we get to my trouble.  Now the lighter blue spool is in focus and that single strand of darker blue gets completely consumed by the colours in the lighter blue spool.  It just doesn't show.  

So, next time I know to get more MORE MORE.  I am completely and non-negotiably enamoured of the smooth colour flow thing.  I just need to be prepared to fork over lots of money to get lots and lots and lots and LOTS of colours.  I can learn to live with that, but only now that I've learned my lesson.