Wrapped in Comfort

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Comment by pviglione97 on October 28, 2008 at 5:50pm

Hi, Alison and Bonnie,

Thank you for saying hello to me. I was wondering, would you know if you washed a knit in the machine and one came out stretched out and the other two did not. What did I do wrong? Thank you, Pat V.

Comment by Alison Jeppson Hyde on October 28, 2008 at 12:22pm

Glad to help any time. And it seems to be universal that beginners knit more tightly. I'm one who knits by grabbing the yarn in my right hand each stitch--and I do it fairly fast--but that seems to make for a looser fabric than the continental knitting I've seen others do. Don't know if that's it exactly, but that's how it works out for me.

Comment by Bonnie on October 28, 2008 at 10:15am

Mega thanks Alison. I have been itching to start a new shawl since these two different yarns have been setting on my table just looking at me, begging to be knitted. Your explaination on the yarn weight ratio has been a big help and makes more sense . I will look at that from now on rather than the ball icons. I really appreciate your help. Bonnie P.S. Alison, I sure wish I could be more of a "loose" knitter. I think it is because I am a beginner and I am still "up tight" over the stitches. One day maybe.

Comment by Alison Jeppson Hyde on October 27, 2008 at 4:59pm

The yarn ball icons in the book are a bit squirrelly; I didn't notice they'd been added in in the late stages of the manuscript so as to proof them. My profuse apologies for that. Go instead by what the weight/yardage ratio of the yarns is. All the baby alpaca Pacific Meadows yarns are done in the same fingering weight yarn, but those icons range from 1-3 for it. If you look at the Nina shawl, there's a note there saying it was in 450 g/1800 yard cones, quite close to double what the Shimmer is.

So. The colors compliment each other? Super. Use one strand of each together and I do think they'll be much easier to manage that way on a larger needle than either strand alone on a smaller one. At my gauge, I'd be using a size 9 (5.5mm) needle. Remember that I am a *very* loose knitter.

Comment by Bonnie on October 26, 2008 at 8:16am

Alison please help. I bought Alpaca Cloud and Shimmer (3 skeins each) thinking that I would make two different shawls in your book that call for a #1 wgt. I am having the worst time keeping the Alpaca on my needles, have frogged 4 times the Tara shawl and now scrappped the Tara project altogether and am using one skein of the Alpaca for the Concert Shawl which so far I have managed to keep the stitches on the needles. . I would love to use the Alpaca and shimmer yarns for one of the shawls in the book. Their colors compliment each other. But...1. Can they be used together and if so big question will using the two light weight yarns make it any easier to knit. 2. If you say this is doable what pattern and size needles would you recommend. Thanks Alison, Bonnie

Comment by Alison Jeppson Hyde on October 25, 2008 at 9:15pm

Depends what kind of look you want and what weight of yarn you want to work with and which size Julia you prefer--the pink one has a higher stitch count and a thinner yarn, and you could always use a slightly thicker yarn with it to add more width. For it to stretch wider at the front, though, whatever yarn, what you most likely want is simply to start with the stitch count of the first increase row and just go on from there.

One thing you might want to consider, too, is if you use two laceweights together, like say Shimmer and Shadow Lace, the merino in the Shadow helps stabilize the energetic Shimmer on the needle, you can use a 9 needle (at my loose gauge) and you get the color interplay between the two to add depth. Two fine laceweights equal roughly one of fingering weight, but when blocked come out looking more ethereal and light than the same weight spun together as one solid yarn.

Comment by k9girl on October 24, 2008 at 11:37am

Which KP yarns would be your choices for the Julia Shawl? I'm concerned about the Shimmer making too narrow a shawl. (I'm not plus-sized, but I am, shall we say, generously endowed in the bust and I do encounter gapping problems.)

Comment by Alison Jeppson Hyde on October 20, 2008 at 2:37pm

I've used Shimmer; I used a size 6 needle. It's a laceweight, but the baby alpaca content gives it sproing and energy that goes well with a larger needle size. For one of my shawls, I'd start at row 2, ie the stitch count that would otherwise be after the first increase row, to make the neckline wide enough.

Using a baby alpaca/silk laceweight on size 6s like that makes for a much narrower shawl, but I tried a Bigfoot in that on a plus-sized friend of mine and she loved it enough to decide to make one.

Comment by yarn hugger on October 17, 2008 at 6:09pm

I just joined the knit along and am going to order my supplies now. I have not done lace before (well, I have on a machine but not hand knitting) so am looking forward to the experience. I am going to knit the turtle shawl.

Comment by k9girl on October 14, 2008 at 12:49pm

Hi Everyone! I've owned the book for some time, but joining this group has caused me to actually select a project & get started. Well, I'll get started as soon as my Knit Picks order arrives - I just tracked it & the order has reached California so here's hoping for a delivery tomorrow.

I really like this book! It's great having photographs of the piece on a person and of the piece laid out flat. I enjoy reading the stories behind each design. My only problem has been to decide which design to knit first. Since I've already got most of my holiday knitting in progress, I've decided to begin with Julia's Shawl as a gift to me. Sunkissed Shimmer seem like a good choice?

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