So many new followers! Welcome! I do hope that you are not disappointed.
I realise that most of you have come on over from Jean's Knitting, lured by Uncia, and maybe thinking that you might like to try it yourself? So I thought it might be helpful to record a few notes on the process, while it is still fresh in my mind.
Choice of yarn.
I just ordered the Fyberspates Pebble Beach kit from Kate Davies, along with "The book of Haps". This seemed the simplest option, and it certainly works if you want your finished wrap to look like part of a cathedral: it's a very smooth, lace-weight Merino with just some light smudgings of darker colour. But it is a rather austere colour choice, so you may want to forget the stonework and go for your favourite accent colour. A smooth spun yarn is important because of the definition in the lace sections.
Managing the charts.
These look pretty daunting, but you are only working your way through them one at a time, row by row, and all the rows are numbered. I photocopied the pages for ease of handling. You could enlarge them, and should if your eyesight is failing, as some of the symbols are very small. I also copied P121 and P82 where the Abbreviations are explained, so that I could see them all together. When I began working from the chart, I just paper-clipped a piece of card above the current row to keep track, as I would with a colour work chart.
Set-up rows
The pattern does not show a picture of these - the narrow end is tucked into Lucy's coat - so it was hard to visualise. Essentially, you are knitting a series of ribs with a row of eyelets up each side edge. As you add those extra stitches between the ribs, so the shape fans out. m1p is easiest done by lifting the strand between stitches with your right hand needle on to your left hand needle before purling it.
Chart A
As soon as you reach Row 151 you realise the importance of having those explanations right to hand. Lucy is fond of hiding increases within the pattern, and this is all that the strange device does. It also caps off the columns with a section of small Gothic arches.
Notice that the presence of a dot means that a purl is involved, whereas no dot means that both stitches are knitted. The symbols then look like the process involved. By now you are slipping stitches on the Wrong Side rows, so it elongates the rib stitches to give a continuous vertical line. This follows on through the pattern. Chart A appears at the lower edge of this picture.
I realise that most of you have come on over from Jean's Knitting, lured by Uncia, and maybe thinking that you might like to try it yourself? So I thought it might be helpful to record a few notes on the process, while it is still fresh in my mind.
Choice of yarn.
I just ordered the Fyberspates Pebble Beach kit from Kate Davies, along with "The book of Haps". This seemed the simplest option, and it certainly works if you want your finished wrap to look like part of a cathedral: it's a very smooth, lace-weight Merino with just some light smudgings of darker colour. But it is a rather austere colour choice, so you may want to forget the stonework and go for your favourite accent colour. A smooth spun yarn is important because of the definition in the lace sections.
Managing the charts.
These look pretty daunting, but you are only working your way through them one at a time, row by row, and all the rows are numbered. I photocopied the pages for ease of handling. You could enlarge them, and should if your eyesight is failing, as some of the symbols are very small. I also copied P121 and P82 where the Abbreviations are explained, so that I could see them all together. When I began working from the chart, I just paper-clipped a piece of card above the current row to keep track, as I would with a colour work chart.
Set-up rows
The pattern does not show a picture of these - the narrow end is tucked into Lucy's coat - so it was hard to visualise. Essentially, you are knitting a series of ribs with a row of eyelets up each side edge. As you add those extra stitches between the ribs, so the shape fans out. m1p is easiest done by lifting the strand between stitches with your right hand needle on to your left hand needle before purling it.
Chart A
As soon as you reach Row 151 you realise the importance of having those explanations right to hand. Lucy is fond of hiding increases within the pattern, and this is all that the strange device does. It also caps off the columns with a section of small Gothic arches.
Notice that the presence of a dot means that a purl is involved, whereas no dot means that both stitches are knitted. The symbols then look like the process involved. By now you are slipping stitches on the Wrong Side rows, so it elongates the rib stitches to give a continuous vertical line. This follows on through the pattern. Chart A appears at the lower edge of this picture.
Chart B
Now you are knitting a series of columns distinguished by a range of slipped and twisted stitches. These continue the strong vertical lines of the piece. It's one of the simpler charts, so enjoy it while you can.
Only Charts C,D,E,F,G, and H left to go!
How helpful are these notes in fact? Do please leave me a comment to let me know.
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4 comments:
Thank you, Shandy. I'm unsure when I'll be starting mine but I greatly appreciate your helpful notes.
These are very helpful to provide context. Knowing the why beforehand makes confuzzling things so much easier to endure.
Thanks -- very helpful, as MaureenTakoma said, to know why beforehand. Haven't started Uncia yet, just finished Hap for Harriet; but Uncia is on my short list, not so much to wear as for the challenge of knitting it. [Tried to become one of your followers (another longtime Jean Miles reader) but Google has other ideas.]
Sharon N.
This helps a lot. I also bought the kit from Kate Davies but haven't started it yet. It looks like it will be the most complicated piece I've attempted. I'm trying to finish up Christmas knitting so there will be no other pressures when I attempt it.
PatP
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