Fashion: Yarn Style

Marie Wallin’s "Vintage" Norbu Cardigan (Including Errata)

 

The past few weeks have been a sort of waking dream as I have tutored my students into finals week in spite of my head injury. Perhaps that’s because when I haven’t been tutoring I have been sleeping? Somehow, in between, I managed to finish my Norbu by Marie Wallin! 

 

Given the tricky challenge of navigating hours of tutoring & driving through dizziness, nausea and mental blanks, I’m sure it’s the knitting that has kept me going. Luckily, this vintage-inspired cardigan features large swathes of stockinette I could knit with eyes closed. Speaking of which, I do apologize for the typos in my posts recently. I still can't see very well.

 

 

However, Norbu features a cable design executed with twisted stitches, rather than a cable needle and I did have to stay fully alert to knit it. This cable design is notable because the chart for the sleeves contains an error. Here it is: On lines 8 and 16 of the cable chart, the first twisted stitch in each repeat should be a Tw2R. However, it is drawn on the chart as a Tw2L. Andrea of Fruityknitting alerted viewers of her podcast to an error, and said the cables were correct in the yoke section for the neck. By dint of much comparing of the two sections, one being chart-based and one only language-based, I figured out which lines contained an error. However, later, I discovered you can go to the Rowan website and download a corrected version of the cable chart for Norbu, which would have saved me a lot of time!

 

 

 

As you can see, in my version, these two cable patterns match because of the kind help I received from others. I am hoping now that I've posted this, it will be even easier to knit Wallin's lovely cardigan. I find I most often wear it open, as that creates a flattering line on my body, but it can be worn closed as well. There is a bit of waist shaping but overall the fit is loose. I used Rowan softknit cotton as the pattern requires because I still LOVE that yarn!

 

Sorry it’s been so long in between posts, I’ll be back with another once I survive this last finals week--only ten more days to go!

 

 

Dreaming of Peerie Flooers

 

 

I had the priveledge of attending Kate Davies’ book reading for her new book, Handywoman at the Edinburgh Yarn Festival. During this inspiring talk, she described the way she used her creativity and resourcefulness to overcome her brain injury, and how this in turn led her to success in the knitting world. I was really moved by her talk and wanted to knit one of her designs afterwards. It seemed especially appropriate, after I fell and hit my head last month, to make myself a healing hat with Peerie Flooers from Kate Davies’ designs.

 

I used some Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift and Cascade 220 yarn from my stash to knit the hat, and I adore the cheerful colors!

I have never knitted a hat from Shetland Spindrift yarn before, and I feared it might feel a bit scratchy, but I didn’t find the fabric uncomfortable at all to wear. More importantly, the motif of lovely flowers to me symbolizes healing and hope.

 

 

I am now back at work almost full time, but I am still finding that dizzy spells come and go and nausea is almost constant as I am recovering from my concussion. I do apologize for any typos or blurry photos on my blog these days, but I still can't see very well as my healing brain finds focusing a challenge. So I have been knitting small projects--comforting accessories with a healing message. This week, I knitted my first ever pair of socks, a beginner’s pattern by Very Pink  that uses worsted weight yarn and provides a helpful video tutorial for each step of the sock knitting process. Here is the result:

 

 

I feel the toes look rather odd and would not duplicate the kitchener stitch technique from the pattern, but otherwise I liked it. After I knitted my little ankle socks using Rowan Pure Wool Superwash Worsted yarn, I duplicate stitched a Peerie Flooer onto each one, using Kate Davies’ schematic as a guide. I really love the effect! I am going to knit another pair, this time using the kitchener stitch method I know from classes I've attended in the hopes the toes will be less oddly pointy. But I do love the idea of flowers near my toes! We're rather surrounded by flowers at the moment, as the rose garden has finally bloomed, almost a month late this year

 

I feel that when we encounter difficulties, it is helpful to dwell on happy times, and Scotland-inspired knits right remind me of the wonderful adventure in the UK right before my fall. I am already eyeing some more stranded hats and a few designs I am tempted to embroider on the next house socks I knit. Speaking of which, if any of my readers feel passionately about a beginner’s sock pattern they really like, please let me know! It is all new to me, and I am excited about diving in but am not ready for size two needles yet!!!!