Saturday 5 January 2008

New Style of Heirloom Knitting

It's not the Am Kamin which is the winner with me, but the oak leaf and the acorn motif.


So I had to try it - in line with my new resolution of knitting only from my stash - as I just discovered this nice green yarn ( too long forgotten).

Here it is:


and it's really easy.

Or to be more specific it became easy when I've realised that the twisted symbols (or the 'flying fishes') are NOT 'ktb's but strand increases. They are suppose to be oriented towards the right (the bold ones) or towards the left, the plain ones.

A brilliant explanation here: Strand Increase. Read this and you'll be fine. The Strand Increase(1) is for the bold twisted stitch, the Strand Increase(2) is for the plain one.

Next challenge is the mini chart A (8 stitches). It's about a small 'bobble' and a cable - because you would like to 'push' the bobble a bit away from the leaf main body.

So it goes like this: save 3 stitches on a cn at the back, knit the bobble according to the mini chart for the bobble (5 stitches reduced to one) then purl 3 from the cable needle. Easy.

Chart B is the bobble on the other side, and it is symmetrical. I trust my readers to be able to figure it out.

My swatch above has two mistakes, unfortunately I'm too lazy to go back a long way to correct anything. First there are two purled lines in the acorn pattern and I missed one - then I've lost one or two stitches from the background at some point, so my main leaf is slightly leaning towards the left. Sorry :).

Let's just call it the Leaning Oak Leaf in a windy day.

The book can be found here in YesAsia. Or just collect the ISBN number and feel free to google.

9 comments:

Aim said...

Do you mean strand increases? That's what it says at the link you gave.

And by the way, thanks for the info; I have this book, and purchased it specifically for that same pattern! I am wanting to make a scarf of the oak leaf and acorn cable.....

Silvia said...

Hi aim,
yes I mean strand increases. Thanks for spotting this. I guess I didn't fully recover after the holiday parties :).
I love the pattern as well and it's just now I've realised it's not very difficult.
Let us know about your scarf.
best wishes,
Silvia

Dorthe said...

Hi.
Oh so nice - I will try to get the book - if delivery to Denmark is possible.

I looked at your rib pattern - zoomed in, but I can not see through it. It is some kind of twisted stitches or???

Regards
Dorthe, foggy and cold Denmark

Silvia said...

Hi Dorthe,
YesAsia will deliver anywhere in the world and it is the cheapest option. It's the shop I use as well (I live in England). It might take a few (2-3) weeks though - they don't stock all books.
Amazon Japan is faster but more expensive.

Now the ribbing goes like this:
Twist 2 left : knit into the back of the second st on left hand needle then knit into the front of the first st on left hand needle, slip both sts off needle.

Hope this helps,
Silvia, foggy cold and rainy England :)

DoryO said...

The yarn you chose really shows that stitch well. I think it's great to have a little bit of "error" in this pattern. The acorn looks just fine with one purl row and leaves are supposed to lean! ;-) With an organic subject like this, I actually prefer slight variations in the repeats.

I can't see any real difference between a left or right leaning "strand increase" in the final result -- unless you're Grumperina you probably won't notice. Hopefully, these details won't put anyone off trying this very good-looking pattern. Looks great!

Dory O.
Foggy & rainy in Wisconsin
(where a herd of deer ran out of the fog and through my yard, round the house and back into the fog this morning!)

Dorthe said...

Hi Silvia

Thanks a lot - I will invest my weekend in browsing around YesAsia and trying out your ribpattern in some of my special 12 stranded yarn - it is wonderful in arans and cables.

Regards
Dorthe

Cosette Lai said...

I have bought this book and want to knit the scarf "Moon Night". However, I don't know how to get it start as I don't understand Japanese. Could anyone help? Thanks!

Cosette Lai said...

I bought this book and want to knit the scarf Moon Night. However, I don't know how to get it start as I don't understand Japanese. Can anyone help? Thanks!

paula said...

im overwhealmed! your knitting skills are great! im just starting in aran knitting and ill be coming again to check on your work.