Double Applied I-Cord with Apologies to Elizabeth Zimmerman

Apologies to my husband whom I blamed for deleting photos of the blanket I made for Daughter #2. I found the photos on i-Photo!

I thought I would do a small tutorial on using I-cord to join two knitted fabrics. I could not find anything about this technique in Elizabeth Zimmerman's books, so I un-vented the technique myself. I later learned that Meg Swansen has a demonstration of this on one of her videos. Experience doing applied I-cord to an edge of fabric is helpful.

Tutorial:

Getting ready: Pin the two fabrics together with the amount of ease you need to make the two pieces match.

STEP ONE:

Perhaps you can see that I am applying a double edging (the pink garter stitch strip with the purple knitted-on lace) to the blanket. The section on the middle left has already been applied with green yarn using I-cord. The upper middle shows the edging pinned to the blanket but not yet applied. There are three stitches on my (sharp points) double pointed needle. This is a three stitch I-cord. I simply cast on three stitches to begin.

Concept: The idea is to generate one stitch from each fabric being joined. In this case, I generated one stitch from the blanket and one stitch from the edging. I obtain easy and good stitches from the blanket, which was knit on the bias, I did a single crochet in the green yarn all the way around the blanket, doing one single crochet stitch in each garter stitch "valley" row.

STEP TWO: Picking up stitch from the edging.

I "generated" an I-cord stitch from the edging after working the three I-cord stitches. Using the working yarn from the left, I pulled the yarn through the slipped stitch edge of the edging using a second double pointed needle. I found that this all worked much easier with very sharp double pointed needles.

STEP THREE:

Put this new stitch on the right side of your working needle and knit it together with the second stitch (previously the first stitch) on the needle.

STEP FOUR:

Do the same idea for the blanket edge. You have already knit the first (new) and second stitch on your needle together. You then knit the middle stitch of the I-cord on the needle. Then, you slip the third I-cord stitch.
Put your left needle under both loops of the single crochet edge of the blanket. Pull the working yarn through these loops so that you have one strand of yarn on the left needle as a fourth stitch. Put this stitch on the right needle.

STEP FIVE:

Pass the slipped (third) stitch over the new stitch. Slide the stitches to the other end of the needle and repeat from the top.

This photo (ABOVE) was taken just after I slipped the third stitch over the new stitch. You can also see the single crochet edging on the blanket (left of center) and the edge of the pink and purple edging to the right of center.

Here is the corner of the completed blanket with the I-cord holding together the edging strip and the blanket. I think it gives a nice framed picture kind of look. The I-cord adds texture and depth to the blanket.

I am very proud of how the blanket turned out. As with most projects, there was a point at which I thought the entire project was stupid and should be tossed into the trash barrel.
Because the knitting of the squares was so easy (garter stitch squares on the bias), I concluded that I needed to have a very nice edging. I didn't want future generations to say the blanket was ugly or that great-grandmother really didn't have many knitting tricks up her sleeve.


I like how the squares go together to form x's and diamonds. The effect is of an optical illusion at some points.
Credit where credit is due to Cosmic the Knitting Kitty. He helps with blocking, sitting on the wet wool to help it dry and removing the pins holding the pointed edges of the blanket in place.

Mystery Laundry Basket Winner; Landscape Shawl; Travel Mystery

The Prize Winner!!
Do you see this sweet, sweet kitty? His name is Cosmic and he is well loved by daughter #2, who calls him her little brother. Cosmic is also a knitting kitty; he loves to help pull the yarn out of the ball and he removes pins from items while they are blocking. He also loves to go outside in the nice weather. Can you imagine how sad we would all be if he ran away, was attacked by a dog or eaten by a coyote. (our last kitty was attached by something and died in the backyard. That psychotic cat was no great loss, but Cosmic would be mourned for decades.
Well, we solved the problem! In my last post I showed this photo and asked whether anyone could guess what it was used for. There were many great, imaginative guesses. Some were close, but no one got the correct answer.
Vicki Knitorious guessed it was a trap.
HPNY Knits loves riddles and mystery.
Diana thought it was a little boy's trap.
sherriknits Sherri guessed a trap, such as a cat trap.
Karen thought of something for gardening.
Kate anticipated the Yarn Harlot's battle with the local yarn stealing squirrel and thought it was a means of protecting yarn that I was drying.
Melissa also thought of a trap.
greno Bea from France suggested that my neighbor (male) is a secret knitter and he didn't want his wife to know so he hid the yarn under the basket!! I love that idea!
Pilar from the Canary Islands thought that I asked my husband to put up a clothes line from which to hang freshly laundered hand knit socks, and he did it upside down!! How does she know my husband so well??
Acuarela from Spain thought that it was a play area for cats or rabbits. Actually, her guess is the closest. and she gets the prize!

We put a blue harness on our precious Cosmic and attach the end of the long rope to the harness. He can then roam around the backyard, pulling his laundry basket as he goes. However, he can't really leave the yard because the laundry basket gets caught on bushes. Sometimes his leash gets caught on rocks, flowers and so forth. Then, he sits quietly until we come to rescue him. We only put him out when we are home and can keep an eye on him. He loves his harness and leash, and will sit next to the box in which they are kept on the screened porch. He cries mournfully and hopefully until we open the lid. He recognizes the sound and stands still so we can put his harness on him. Then, we carry him outside and attach him to the long leash.

Aquarela wins two skeins of Manos of Uruguay Cotton Striata.


Landscape Wedding Shawl

In my last post, I explained that I was making a Landscape Shawl for my step-daughter's wedding on July 2. I finished it on Sunday, mailed it on Monday and it arrived on Tuesday!! And she loves it!! Here it is, blocking. I will post a photo of her wearing it in August. The wedding is a small private affair. The family party will take place in Seattle at the end of July.
Although the shawl is perfect for her (not lacy, lightweight cotton, dusty blue) I would not make another shawl out of fine lace weight cotton. Maintaining tension was impossible and I tried to master 3 different ways of holding the thread/yarn. Nothing worked completely well. Although I love the feel of the lightweight cotton shawl, and the drape, I can't see fighting with the thread/yarn for thousands upon thousands of fine, fine stitches again. I can see why such fine cotton is used in crocheting, but not in knitting.
This is the second Landscape Shawl that I have made. You can see the different shades of blue in the photo; this was caused by different knit and purl stitch patterns. The pattern is for a perfect triangle of a shawl. However, I wanted the shawl to fit better on the shoulders, like faroese shawls. the shawl is knit from the tip, beginning with one stitch. When I got to the tip of the last triangle, that is, the last V that you see in the middle of the shawl, I began doing short rows on either side of the yarn over increases that define the final V. I knit two rows between each short row. The shaping worked out well, giving a bit of extra shawl on each side of the neck.
I am not a big fan of triangle shawls, I've decided, because I like more shawl to keep my chest warm. (Being flat chested, I don't have much insulation there to keep me warm!!) I was glad that the short row shaping worked. I will have to figure out how to do this in lacy patterned shawls.
Summer Pleasure
Travel Mystery
I love it when knitting bloggers post photos of places to which they have traveled. Here are some photos of a place to which we traveled recently. All photos are from the same city, as is the photo of the flowers and sun-umbrellas above. I have enough yarn in my stash for two lifetimes. Therefore, I thought that rather than tell you where I went and what I saw, I would let you tell me!! Name the city and answer one of the questions. Take a wild guess. The names of all commenters will be put into a hat (handknit, of course) and I will draw the winner!

Where is this and why did it give me the shivers??


Who or what can cross this bridge and what river does it cross??

What is this building?


I will tell you what this is. I took this photo in the ladies bathroom of the building in the photo above. This is a sink without a faucet. You simply run your hands under the little etched drops of water and water comes out. Unfortunately, the little drops of water are hard to see. My husband came out of the men's room (which must have the same type of sink) complaining that the bathroom had soap dispensers but no water!!

Taking care of those treasures!

As with all other sock knitters, I LOVE my hand knit socks. I love wearing them. I love seeing them in my drawer, I love making them. What I don't love is finding a hole when I go to put them on. Given the amount of time that went into making each sock, I subconsciously plan on them lasting at least 25 years! Consciously, however, I realize that holes happen!
After graduation from library school, I had a little time on my hands, or on my feet......I washed all of my wool socks carefully. Then, I applied a little pill-buster "machine" to them. This is a little hand held, battery operated pill remover that I found at the hardware store. I love it. It keeps my socks and other wool items looking spiffy! Then, I examined each sock for signs of wear. I rummaged through my leftover yarn box to find matching yarn, and I duplicate stitched any worn spots. Then, I put them out in the sunshine for a nice group photo! (these are only my wool socks. My cotton/wool/nylon socks are still in the sock drawer.) Then, I put them in a box to save for next fall.
I realized that I need a little more color and variety in my sock stash! I love the fit and texture of Lucy Neatby's Mermaid Socks, so I'll add that to my list of socks for the fall. I'll also add another pair or two of the Feather and Fan socks from Socks, Socks, Socks. And, I'll try some new sock patterns that the bloggers are making. Finally, I'll make some more of the elegant rib socks--elegant rib is from Barbara Walker's stitch guides and it is a fabulous snug rib with cross-cables every once in a while. I'll also get out a knee sock pattern to see if I can make some that stay up!
With my left over sock yarn, and left over sock yarn from friends, I've been steadily working on daughter #2's leftover sock yarn blanket. You can see that she uses it every night on her bed, even though it is not finished. (Her beloved cat sleeps in the "nest" on top, with the baby blanket I made for her. The cat loves the little bobbles--in a way-too-Freudian way--and sucks the baby blanket before curling down to sleep!!!) Currently, the leftover sock yarn blanket is 13 by 11 squares. We think it needs to be 12 squares wide and 14 squares long to make a real blanket for her bed while in college. After knitting up those additional squares (let's see; I've knit 13 x 11=143 squares and I need 25 more squares, for a total of 168 squares total!!!!) I will put applied I-cord around to keep all the edges in line. However, I'm not finished with sock yarn squares. Now daughter #1 says she wants a similar blanket. So I've got 168 plus 25 more squares to make!! This is a very long term project.

Non-knitting and knitting friends alike ask me how long it takes to knit a blanket (not a smaller size afghan) out of sock yarn on size 2.5 mm needles. Well, 168 squares times 2389 stitches per square equals--401,352 stitches!!!! (or, 401.352 for European readers). Multiply time-per-stitch by 401,352 and then add the time of sewing the sides together (roughly four sides times 168 equals 672 and subtract one side for each of the edge squares) and you have the total!!! I sew the squares in as I complete enough for a side or edge and, therefore, reduce the angst of sewing together. Just doing the math makes me tired.

I've been on a spring house cleaning of my unfinished knitting projects. I had only a few items on the needles and I decided to finish them all before starting anything new. (does this ring a bell with anyone???) I finished the shaped shawl that I showed in my previous blog and gave myself a big pat on the back. Then, I finished my Potomaous (spelling??) socks from the Knitty pattern. They are made out of wool/cotton/nylon. Therefore, they went into the sock drawer, not into the box for next fall.

I also got out my husband's Dale of Norway sweater which needed 1.75 sleeves. It now needs only 1 sleeve. Sorry, I don't have a photo.

I got sidetracked onto a new project!! I know, I can't control my start-itis. My step daughter (age 40) will be getting married on July 2. Last week I offered to make her a shawl for the wedding!! Why I didn't make this offer a month ago,I don't know. (yes, I do know. I was overwhelmed with finishing projects for my MLS degree!! How quickly we forget labor pains!!) I am now making a shawl out of very fine lace weight cotton. Because her dress is lacy, she wanted a plain shawl. I can't show photos or divulge the pattern until after I send the shawl to her. I'm using size 4 needles (the new Addi Turbo lace needles for which I have mixed reviews). Laceweight cotton is more difficult to work with than I anticipated. Plus, the stitches get stuck on the join between the needle and the cable. Rats!!

After washing and mending all of my wool socks, I got to work on my wool sweaters. I washed all of them in my super dooper front loading washing machine that has a superb hand wash cycle. I spread the sweaters on my floor to dry. This attracted Cosmic, who loves damp wool. I, being human, do not understand the glories of damp wool as a bed, but who am I to say.
Cosmic's eyes are flashing a warning--do not disturb!!!