Month: February 2025

Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

This is my latest circular yoke. What you can’t see if that I ripped back a couple inches, knit it again, ripped it back, and knit it once more. It’s been that kind of week.

I was trying, for a couple of days, to figure out how to get a bit more width on the Front of my circular yoke (for two obvious reasons) and still arrive at the needed number of stitches at the bottom of the yoke. If you also need this, good news, I was successful in the end. I figured out how to work 12 more stitches across the Front, above the bust and the divide, with 12 fewer stitches across the Back. This suits me and maybe it suits you too.

I’m hoping to post the pattern next week, all things going better than they did this week!

I now have 3 projects working the helical method. I thought I would just show you how the yarn you use affects how it looks.

This is the 3 colours, one-round stripes, in 3 solid colours.

Again, 3 colours, 2 solids and one variegated with a long colour change (cinnamon to light blue).

This is my stash bust of 2 variegated and one solid (brown).

All three using the same technique with very different results. Is this amazing or what?!

To continue my forward/back week, I started the Lunenburg circular yoke. It’s way more complex than mine. It is a Bohus style colour yoke with purl stitches which are part of this style. I am, at the moment, curious about all things circular.

I find picking colours really difficult so choosing 4 contrast colours against the main colour, grey, was not smooth sailing. I started with this.

I decided that I wasn’t feeling the pinkness. Ripped this back too.

Also, this pattern has lots of colours you use for only one round which means lots and lots of ends. So I decided I could take it down to 3 colours and the main colour. One of my colours goes from light grey to yellow (unfortunately you can’t see that in the photo) so I’m substituting it for the two light colours in the chart. Fewer ends, hoorah. I’m really happy with my decision.

I’m using Briggs and Little Sport in medium grey, teal blue, grey heather and Softspun Lite ‘n Fancy in the grey/yellow (the colour I’m using as both the 2 light colours in the pattern). After several inches of knitting the yoke, I finally feel like I am relaxing into the colour knitting. It’s been a while since I did any.

We are in the middle of the southern ontario snow dump. I live in a basement apartment and my view is filling up with the white stuff.

I’m burrowed in knitting. How about you?

Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

deb.gemmell on instagram

debgemmell435 on youtube

Winter blahs

I’m feeling that middle-of-the-winter slump. I curl 3 times a week, which usually helps the winter go by, but I am not doing very well, in fact, I have lost every game for 2 weeks. I guess that’s not helping! My knitting is coming through for me though. What do people do who don’t knit?

I finished the body of my Family Crew Neck for my rainbow obsessed grandson. It took a good bit of TV knitting but there it is, done. If you want to see me blather on about this sweater, along with an explanation about working the sleeves for an adult version, check out my latest youtube video.

And here’s the little guy, trying to play the solitaire game I taught him the other day. Hmm, wait a minute, the rules seem to have changed drastically!

He is totally knitworthy. He regularly wears the sweaters I knit him last year. I’m hoping this one will last a couple years.

At the bottom of the pullover, I cast off the ribbing with the Icelandic Cast Off. I cast off quite tightly if I’m not paying attention. I thought this might work better but it’s a little wavy. I’m not happy. I may have to rip it back and do a normal cast off after all.

Now the sleeves. I’m going to work one stripe on one sleeve and the same stripe on the other sleeve. This will make them go quite quickly, right? Here’s hoping.

Meanwhile on the helical front, I’m down to the bottom of the yoke.

I used my oM1 increase in the yoke, mostly because I like to see where they are. It reassures me.

And I started a second one in Hempton by Lana Knits.

I made a couple of changes to simplify things which I put in the second one. I have to see if they work before I get too much further. I’m also trying to figure out how to get a bit more room in the Front and make the Back a little narrower. That is what I like for my own figure.

It is a little hard to see the grey and green but they are there.

As I was already doing the helical thing, I started a pair of socks using 3 colours in the same helical method. Once I choose the 3 balls of yarn out of my odd-ball bag, I try to predict which colour will shine through. I am always wrong!

I didn’t realize that the variegated yarn had such a long colour change to it. That’s what makes helical socks so cool, you can never predict, or at least I can never predict, how the colours will end up.

A question that comes up when helical knitting is how to keep the colours straight and not too tangled up. Here is my solution. I move the colour to the end of the line of colours every time I finish with it. This totally works for me.

That’s a wrap for this week. Hopefully, two sleeves done by next week and maybe a sock. Days are getting a tiny bit longer. Yay!

Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

deb.gemmell on instagram

Debgemmell435 on Youtube

Two Sweaters and Helical stripes set up

My Family Crew Neck is just buzzing along. Therainbow stripes were a great motivator. I wanted to see what each new stripe would look like.

Now I’m at the point in this Family Crew Neck where I get into trouble. I want the body to be done, so I measure every couple rounds, thinking it will be the length I need before I start the ribbing. Even stretching the tape measure isn’t getting me there and you know I’m trying. Every time I’m sure that I must be there by now! Nope. A couple more rounds, a couple more rounds, a couple more rounds.

This is my weekly Youtube video if you want to see where I’m at on my two sweaters.

To keep my round measuring stress at bay, I am working on my Circular Yoke. The Short Rows are done and now I’m working the helical knitting rounds.

If you are serious about stash busting, this is a terrific technique. It makes one-round stripes, in my case, with 3 colours. That means I don’t have to buy an entire sweaters worth of yarn. I can stash dive and find enough of 3 colours, that when combined, will make up the amount I need for one sweater.

Here’s a video of how I got the stripes started and how to change colours. For this sweater the change takes place at the shoulders. Changing colours in the same place every time is the simplest way to work the helical method.

The trouble is that I chose colours that sort of blur into each other, much more than I thought. This is very deep stash from Wellington Fibres.

I am using the brown wool for my increase round, and you would think it would be easy to see, but, no.

How about starting another one?! Sure, why not. I am thinking of summer here.

I have 8 x 50g of the grey, 8 x 50g of the teal and 2 x 50g of the green. I think that’s enough green to get 3 stripes going in the yoke. This is Hempton by Lana Knits: 40% cotton, 30% hemp and 30% modal. That’s summery yarn, right? Again the grey and green are a little too close in value but I think they will show the helical stripes better. Here’s hoping!

Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-free patterns by Deb

deb.gemmell on instagram