My Merino Mantra

Cutting Into Lace: The Save of the Century

Two years has passed since I started this cardigan.  It has been the most painful project I have ever undertaken.  It lay in some area of my house until I decided I really wanted to wear it this spring.  Early on, I knew that the pattern was not going to work out.  It had me wringing my hands and cursing the designer, whose creations I happen to love.  I was not happy with the way the lace pattern looked as I increased for the sleeves.  I felt that it compromised the integrity of the sleeve seams, given the fact that I was using a cotton yarn which is rather heavy and splits like mad.  I thought it would over stretch the seams to have the lace right at the edges.  After many starts and stops, I decided to incorporate the increases into the lace after I had enough stitches for one full repeat.  There.

But that was nothing.  Midstream, I decided to change the size from a large to a medium.  I fearlessly forged ahead, not giving a whit about how I was going to change things when it came time to seam.  And then it was time to seam.  I had extra fabric at the sides. There was no way I was going to rip back for the fortieth time.  Wait!  I know!  In a flash of brilliance, I decided to add a couple of lines of stitching with a sewing machine, cut into the lace, and then seam it together.  I grappled with the prospect of that task for two years.  Finally, I became brave.  Shade your eyes and read no further if you are faint of heart.

I placed a line of slip stitch crochet near the place I wanted to cut off.  I pinned it with tissue paper, and reinforced the area with three lines of machine stitching.  Then I slept on it, waited a few days, had a drink, and used my Razor Fiskars to cut right into the lace.  It was either that, or be faced with the reality that I would never wear this cardigan.                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Done.  Suddenly, I had energy.  I didn't even care that there were a million minute pieces of yarn scattered all over the house, or that I would have to pick out the tissue paper from the seams with tweezers for months afterward.  The seams didn't look that bad.  It looks like ready to wear.  And I am ready to wear it!

Pattern:  Victoria by Mags Kandis from Mission Falls Quinte Scrapbook

Yarn:  Gedifra Korfu (50% cotton, 50% microfiber), color 88, peach

Amount Used:  1057 yards / 970 meters / 21-1/4 ounces / 606 grams

Needles:  Addi Turbo size 6 and 7, and KnitPicks Options size 6 and 7

Return of the Victoria Cardigan

I finished one sleeve of the Victoria Cardigan, and I'm working on the second.  I'm doing the sleeves first, because they are such a pain!  Increasing in the Vine Lace stitch has been no picnic, so I want to complete the worst part first, or else I may never finish this cardigan.   There are no other increases in the lace in this cardigan.  Although I love the designs of Mags Kandis of Mission Falls, her directions for this cardigan are murky, at best, and I'm doing much better by disregarding the pattern.  Perhaps it's in how I interpret them.  Regardless, I knit and reknit it numerous times, and finally decided to add a full Vine Lace repeat as opposed to half a vine, which looked silly.  The vine wanders, or staggers, and I have to pay very close attention to where the yarn overs and k2tog's go.  Despite the fact that I graphed it out for myself, I consider it more of a visual aid, so I am just eyeballing the lace as I go.  It is a beautiful lace pattern, and if it weren't so lovely, I would have chucked this project across the floor long ago.  Still, the repetition of knitting the lace is addictive and soothing.

Here is a comparison of two cotton / microfiber blended yarns.  The coral one on the left is a yarn I just got through working with, Rowan's Calmer.  Calmer's 75% cotton and 25% microfiber blend make it soft and yummy, but it's the cabled construction which makes it a dream to knit, as it is literally springy to handle.

On the right is Gedifra's Korfu, a 50/50 cotton microfiber blend, in a beautiful peach color, which I am using for the Victoria Cardigan.  Korfu has little give, and acts much like a typical cotton, while the multi-plies cause my needle to jab through it from time to time.  Both have excellent stitch definition.  The Korfu has an elegant and very light sheen to it, and is heavier, but hopefully not as hot to wear.  Calmer is puffier and lighter, which makes for an insulating garment.

I had peach colored Eddie Bauer cardigan years ago, one of my favorites, which I wore until it faded and shrank.  The color of the Korfu is reminiscent of that cardigan, and I can't wait to finish it.  I'll have to switch off on projects, though, to give my hands a rest.  Do I hear that Market Squares Bag calling to me?

Meet My Albatross

I don't think I have ever frogged a project as much as this Vine Lace Cardigan.  This design is by Mags Kandis of Mission Falls, and comes from the Quinte Scrapbook.  Usually, I don't have this much trouble with a pattern.  In my life in general, I don't tend to beat a horse or myself to death just to prove a point, or "win" a situation.  Life is too short for such nonsense.  I am not in competition with anyone.  I am told by the new distributor of Mission Falls that there are no mistakes to this pattern, yet I have run into snafu after snafu.  No mistakes, perhaps, but it IS poorly written.

Note the unnecessary stockinette stitches to the left and right of the edge vine lace, near the white markers.  I have since moved them toward the edges of the piece.

The repeat itself is 9 stitches, but there are extra knit stitches at the beginning and end of each row to enable the YO's to slightly wander, although the vine ends up vertical.  The pattern says to begin the vine lace when there are 5 stitches available, but that would mean splitting the vine not quite in half vertically, and it didn't look so hot when I did that.  Plus, the seam would be weaker than if plain stockinette were used for a few stitches there.  I decided to start the repeat with a full vine.  In the unlikely event that I ever make another Vine Lace Cardigan, I will stagger YO's at the edges to make it more lacy.

No doubt, the sleeves are the hardest part of this project, as it calls for increases of the vine.  The fronts and back have bound off vine lace, which I can handle.  Lace shawls usually have charts to follow, better pattern directions, and are loads more fun.  Hmm, maybe I do like suffering.