I’m hoping to add a pattern, a saleable pattern, to my roster of projects.  It’s a hat.  I’m competing in the Designers Discus and Hat Dash events for Ravelympics 2008, for Team Junkie (that’s Malabrigo Junkies, for you Ravelers), and my goal is to have the pattern available to purchase by the end of the Olympics in Beijing.  So far, I have two half finished swatch/tester models, where I got the stitch pattern worked out.  Which would be good, except that it looks like a very well known pattern that’s been out almost a year.  Phooey.  So I regroup, and am starting a new plan.  I think it’s going to work out.  Wish me luck!

I was up a large part of the night, trying to wrap my head around an idea I can’t test knit at night.  I’m still trying to imagine what I am going to do with the newsboy hat.  I’ll sort it out.

In the meantime, what evening light is good for is swatching.  Anyone ever seen the book Knit 2 Together, by Tracey Ullman (yes, that Tracey Ullman) and Mel Clark?  There’s a pattern in it that I absolutely love, and I’m gifting one to my big sister.  I got swatching last night, for the Pimlico Shrug.  A quick flickr search has plenty of examples of the FO.  The one I’m knitting has a different stitch pattern for the body, one that’s simpler and I think more my sister’s style.  And it’s being knit out of Elann Superwash Bamboo, colorway praline.

I’m really looking forward to posting WIP photos for this project.  I’m doing it for Ravelympics2008, so can’t cast on until the Beijing Games begin, and it’s really hard not getting started early.  Which is where patterning in my sleep really comes into play.  I’m designing several projects for the Games, one cowl pattern is already posted, there’s the Orijanelle Newsboy blogged below, and I have another cowl in the works.  I’m on two teams, Team Junkie (for the Malabrigo Junkies group on Ravelry), and Team Canada, for obvious reasons. 

I’m doing a whole bunch of events, because a project can count for more than one event if it meets the criterion for more than one event, but the projects I hope to complete are many.  I’ll blog them when I get to them.  The event that’s plaguing and challenging me is the Designer’s Discus.  I’m up all night imagining how various techniques will turn out.  Sitting with my reference books, making decisions until my eyes close because I can’t keep them open anymore.  And when I go to bed, I’m knitting, swatching, making notes on my pattern, all in my head.  And it feels good.

I’m working on a hat design for my brother-in-law’s girlfriend.  She and I went through the Vogue Stitchionary2, and she picked a stitch pattern.  I converted it to in the round, picked a tester yarn.  Got knitting. 

So far, the hat looks an awful lot like Jared Flood’s Koolhaas.  There are plenty of differences already, and there will be more, but I don’t want to make the pattern free to the public, given the similarities.  I’m still sorting out what to do.  I’ve never seen the Koolhaas pattern (although I have seen scads of FOs on Ravelry), and now that I’ve got this similar design, I never will.  At least not on purpose.

It’s knit from Colinette DK, colorway dusk.  This yarn was a gift to me from a very dear friend, and it’s since been discontinued.  I’ve had it in my stash for a couple of years now, and CO any number of projects with it.  I kept frogging it, though, because it never turned out quite like I hoped it would.  This round, however, I’m really enjoying the effect.

You’ve heard about the socks, if you’ve read here anytime recently.  I now have some FO pics to share.  

First, up a tree, for an artsy perspective.  Now for a close-up view of the design I used.

It’s a reversible cable, the instruction is to slip four st forward, k2p2 from the left needle, then k2p2 from the cable needle.  It was pretty simple, and is an element of my Grand Mal Moebius design, so I thought I’d practice on the 2×2 ribbing.  An added bonus (which I knew would happen, but not to what degree) is that the ankle of the socks is nice and snug, but stretchy.  No bagging ankles need apply.

Drumroll please…

The Totally L-A-T-E Socks are washed and blocked, and will be shipped out as soon as they’ve dried.  And they’re pretty darn near perfect (meaning that I’m sure someone who has knit more socks would find flaws, but they turned out like the pattern I was working with said they would, and how knitters who have used the same pattern said they would, so I’m happy as a lark).  No pictures yet, but you know how it is – all you have to do is be patient.

As for the Moebius, I am thrilled beyond believe that the Figure 8 Moebius CO works.  I tried it out twice this morning, and it worked both times.  Even better, since after getting the stitch counts fouled up several times in a row (thanks 4.5yo son, you’re the best!), I decided to put stitch markers on the needles as I did the Figure 8s, and what had taken an hour now took ten ninutes.  I then decided to try and get a few rows knit in pattern, using the same two circular needles I started with (a 36″ long 5mm and a 29″ long 5mm), and that worked, too.  No need to wait for that superlong needle, now…

Here’s my innovation of the evening (or morning, when I tested the idea I had in the middle of the night): a true moebius cast-on that can be done on two average-length circular needles, and then transferred to a long circular needle.  If you’re already familiar with the Figure-8 Cast On, you can get started right away.  If not, there are tutorials on Flickr and YouTube.  Once you’re steady on the Figure 8, it’s time to start your Moebius.

1. Hold two circular needles of the same size and approximate length, and cast on your desired number of stitches (plus a few spare) using a Figure-8 cast on. 
2. Place one of those little hat doohickeys onto the ends of your circular needles, or pinch the ends of the yarn tightly.  Recount your stitches, ensuring you have the desired number of stitches on both top and bottom.  If you have a few extra, figure out exactly how many extra you have.
3. Hold the work in front of you, so the needles are parallel to each other.  Switch the order of the needles, so that the top needle in the left hand is the bottom needle in the right hand, and the bottom needle in the left hand is the top needle in the right hand. 
4. Remove the holder thingy from the end of the top needle in your left hand, drop any extra stitches you had, and knit ten stitches with the bottom needle in your right hand.  (This is to ensure the work is safely joined without losing any stitches at the beginning or the end.)
5. Next, pick up your long circ, and knit around in whatever pattern you’re using for your Moebius.  (This is where, if you don’t have the little hat thingies on the ends of your circs, you could drop stitches and wreck the whole thing, so if you don’t have the hat thingies, be really, really, really careful).
6. When you knit around to the end of your second needle, put the hat thingy back on all your needle ends and recount the stitches. 
7. Place a marker at the join (ten stitches before you get to the end of the second shorter circular needle), and happy knitting!

So there you have it – how to do a Moebius CO on two circular needles, and transfer them to a long circular. 

 To download a pdf that includes the above, and instructions on how to knit this moebius on 3 circular needles, click here.

Let me just say for the first time, that I don’t really hate knitting socks.  I do, however, hate knitting from a pattern, and then getting confused, and wondering why a pattern was written a certain way, trying something else thinking it was better, discovering it was not actually better, wondering if maybe I hadn’t somehow done the mod bass-ackwards, trying to figure out if that’s actually what I’d done, and then being unable to figure it out because the yarn in use was really dark and didn’t have much in the way of stitch definition. 

That said, the socks are going well.  I’m in the midst of turning the heel.  Once that’s done it’s the cuff and I’ll hopefully be done by Sunday.  Yahoo!

So while it’s dark out, and I can’t accomplish the task I had set for myself because I can’t see the stitch definition, I thought I’d go crazy with future knitting.  Rather, designing.

I’ve already posted that I’m going to have a moebius cowl designed in short order.  And I will.  The pattern is written out, I just have to convert it to electronic status and ship it out to some very loverly testers.  Then I have some other cowls in my head.  Oh yeah, and a newsboy cap that my brother-in-law’s girlfriend requested.  That’s three projects to design, right?  And I’m aiming to get them all done during the Ravelympics, aka the Knitting Olympics-ish event taking place during the Summer Games, although our knitting ones are HQed on Ravelry.  I’ll be competing for two teams, Team Canada (insert humming of Oh Canada here), and Team Junkie.  No, Mom, I’m not a junkie.  Except when it comes to Malabrigo Yarn.  I am almost out of it, and it’s my favorite, so I knit it up and hung for more.  In any case, there is a group on Ravelry which claims the status of “Malabrigo Junkies,” ergo, Team Junkie.  So projects I’m hoping to knit with Mal are for Team Junkie, other projects are Team Canada.  All is fair in love and wool…I have a lot of projects to get done, and I’ll do my best to keep details coming here. 

BTW, for anyone ISO of soakers or skirties, I’m shifting my focus to knits for winter.  I have a plan, and I hope you all like it!

Corrections complete as of August 10, 2008.

Any and all testers who want to give this a go are welcome to do so – happy knitting!

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This Moebius was designed for Malabrigo Merino Worsted, but can be worked in any worsted or aran weight yarn. 

The CO is up to you – you can use the Figure 8 Moebius CO I figured out (I didn’t have my longer circular needle yet, but I did have shorter circulars, so I gave a brainstorm I had in the middle of the night a shot).  Or, use Cat Bordhi’s method, which I’ve linked to below.

FO dimensions: approximately 24″ around, after the twist, and 10″ tall

Yarn: One skein Malabrigo Merino Worsted, I’m using Citrus.

Guage: 4-4.5st per inch, 4-4.5 rows per inch (guage isn’t incredibly important, given it’s a cowl and has some stretch built into the pattern)

Notions:
-Two circular needles in different lengths but the same size, US6-9 (4.6mm) whatever size you’re comfortable knitting a worsted or aran weight yarn with
-One 40″ or 47″ US6-9 (4-6mm) circular needle in the same size as the two shorter circulars
-Row Counter ~ to mark beginning of work and first pattern repeat
-Stitch Markers ~ to mark pattern repeats
-Tapestry Needle to weave in ends

Techniques: 
k = knit
p = purl
yo = yarnover
k2tog = knit two stitches together
ssk = slip one stitch as if to knit, slip next stitch as if to knit, put left needle through both stitches and knit them together
c8f = slip 4 sts to a cable needle and hold to front, K2, P2, then K2, P2 from the cable needle. (Many thanks to Kristen of Come to Silver, for allowing me to borrow the language from her Palindrome Hat pattern).

• CO 126st using the Figure 8 Moebius CO (126 on the top needle, 126 on the bottom needle), or Cat Bordhi’s MCO, as televized on Knitty Gritty, episode -DKNG-406 (there are tutorials on YouTube as well, Part 1 and Part 2).
• Join the work, if you’ve used the Figure 8 CO, work a few stitches of Row 1 from the top needle on the left with the bottom needle on the right, placing a row counter before the join. 
• After the work is joined, recount the stitches to ensure none have been lost along the way, you should have 252 total. 

Click here to see a close-up of the way this will end up looking; the first few rows will seem wrong, but keep going, it will work out soon!

• Row 1: *k1, (k2, p2)x2, k1, k11, pm; repeat from *
• Row 2: repeat Row 1
• Row 3: *k1, c8f, k1, (k2tog)x2, yo, (k1, yo)x3, (ssk)x2, pm; repeat from * for one round
• Row 4-6: Repeat Row 1
• Row 7:  *k1, (k2p2)x2, k1, (k2tog)x2, yo, (k1, yo)x3, (ssk)x2, pm; repeat from * for one round
• Row 8: repeat Row 1
• Repeat stitch pattern until there is about 12ft of yarn left, ending on row 4
• Bind off loosely in pattern, weave in ends

There is no need to block, so at this point you’re done.

Stitch Pattern Chart TK

1. Correction: stitch count 126p/needle, 252 total after joining
2. Correction: stitch pattern, now 21st w/ 6 repeats, 252 live stitches total
3. Correction: purl stitches on either side of the cable should be knit, or omitted
4. Correction: finish on row 4 (previously no row given)

Will be finished this week! Some of you may remember the BaDumBums 3-minute lottery last September, for Totally F-R-E-E Socks. Wellllllll…..they got put on a backburner, bigtime. I did cast them on, and I did finish one. In 2007. Then I didn’t get around to the second sock until spring 2008. And it was terrible. The winner of the lottery has been so incredibly patient with me, for which I am eternally grateful, and will soon have those socks in hand, or on foot, as the case may be.

After that, I’ll be focusing on knitting for winter. I know, I know, it’s July. That sort of thing doesn’t bother me…