Dawn Brocco's Life & Design Blog

I think that for every 2 designs I publish, there's one that goes wrong and never makes it out of the gate!

Here's a prime example. I was working on the Curvaceous Cables Collection, and I wanted to do a small purse design, and had found the perfect round cable, which I thought would be trés stylish, a conversation piece, and fun at the same time.

The cable I used is called "Barred and Braid Cable", from Barbara Walker's Charted Knitting Designs, A Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns. (LOVE the 3rd Treasury!)

I removed the barring from the cable, as I didn't, and don't, like it, but the shape and curves in the cable was perfect. So, I CO in doubled heavy worsted (in order to get a useable size purse) and shaped one round cable then BO. I picked up sts from the CO and worked another round cable going in the opposite direction and BO. So that all I had to do was seam the 2 cable "flaps" together and add a strap, etc.

I made 2 samples - the rosey coral and oilve green sample is done, the rich red sample is mostly done, just missing the button loop and button.

But, the decreasing that needed to occur in the furthest side purl ditches came out yucky, no matter what I did. As just as 3 sts needed to be made on certain rows, 3 sts needed to later be decreased out on certain rows. The making of 3 sts didn't make the purl area look too badly, but decreasing them out - well, you can see for yourself in this photo:



And, here's both bags:



I thought the blocking bath would have helped, but, nay. So, good idea, great cable, doesn't work in practise!

What do I do with these losing designs. I rip out the yarn and make socks, usually! But, fortunately, most of these no-go designs don't get as far as being knit up. I'll spend hours thinking about shape, finding stitch patterns or colorwork motifs, plot all the math, draw an extensive schematic, even write the pattern!, but then something stops me - usually another design pushing ahead in the queue. Then I go back to the sketched design and wonder why I spent so much time on something so, OK.

Now, I've released OK designs, not block busters - heck, everything can't be a blockbuster! - but that's usually because the sample's already been knit up and I figure, why not. It's already made and I'm gonna wear the thing, the math's done and maybe even the pattern is written. Usually, it's a simple(r) design and that's why I'm not thrilled, as I would be with a complex design, but simple(r) designs serve a purpose too - someone may be looking for *just that* kind of a basic pullover or sock design, who knows.

But, because I'm a designer, I think blockbuster. This is what I want, hope for. To do great and innovative design ideas, like Elizabeth Zimmerman, Lily Chin, Norah Gaughan.

And though I've designed things that knitters have really liked, there's only 1 design idea of mine, so far, that does something really different - and that's the shaped cable idea. The Double Knot Cable Scarves design was the first exposition of the idea, then the Curvaceous Cables Collection followed with 6 more designs in it, as well as a step-by-step explanation of the process.

Want to read a great review of my book? Look here.

I haven't given up on incorporating the shaped cable idea into other designs, it's just not what my inner knitter has been itching to do lately! And what might that be? Stranded colorwork - my first knitting love.

It's been a long time since I've designed any stranded colorwork, and I can only go so long without it!

In the meantime, I've begun a pair of socks:



Looks like an ordinary sock.

But it isn't:



I've been saving 3, 50 gram balls of Berroco's long defunct Bluefaced Leicester yarn.
Why on earth did they ever discontinue this yarn and the 2 other breed-specific yarns?

Not enough sales? Oh, but knitters can't live by run-of-the-mill yarns alone, and every now and then (or more often than that for we purists), we want a special yarn, and Bluefaced Leicester wool makes a VERY special yarn.

Think the finest kid mohair but with much more loft and just enough sheen to glow softly, like moonlight. BFL is luscious wool.

So, anyway, I didn't want to just double this worsted wt. yarn and knit my usual bulky socks, not with THIS wool! But I need warmer socks than 1 strand of worsted wt. wool will provide, so, the answer? Strand it.

Yup. 2 strands of the same color, alternating with each st, from the heel flap through the heel turn, down the foot and toe.

So, it has almost twice the sock thickness, yet it retains the finer gauge appearance on the outside. Now, stranding causes the fabric to have less stretch. No problem. The ribbed leg was on 52 sts, but I dec'd at the gusset shaping only down to 56 sts and, voilà, nice, cozy sock, though I could have dec'd just to 56 sts. We'll see how they wear and if the bit of extra snugness keeps them from bagging out.

So, I need to plot a colorwork design, or 2, or 3.... BUT I know how knitters don't like stranded heavy worsted wt. sweaters. So, I've been eyeing true worsted wt yarns, and need to buy a few to swatch with.

I don't want anything too ordinary. I've been reading (again) Poems of Color, by Wendy Keele about the Bohus sweaters and that beautiful fine wool and angora yarn they used. Except I can't go near angora with a ten foot pole, lest my allergies wreak havoc on my eyes and throat. But that yarn helped make those gorgeous sweaters stand out and be even more beautiful to look at and, surely, to wear!

Alpaca can be too warm, but I'm gonna try Berroco's new Ultra Alpaca anyway, simply because it's a 3 ply yarn. I want to see if the plying is keeping the alpaca from shedding. Shedding makes me nuts.

I'm also considering Beaverslide's 2-ply fine wool/kid mohair mix. Am also looking for Cascade's Lana d'Oro to try out. Seems it has been discontinued, but Cascade's site lists it as new, so *maybe* they're reinstating it?? I gotta ask around.

I just want something soft, NOT superwash, NOT pricey, and not so run of the mill. Cause once I begin working on a stranded design, I'll surely want to do more and I want a yarn I'll *want* to keep working with.

I have been writing alot lately. I hope you don't mind? I get so frustrated when checking blogs every morning to find SO many days or even weeks going by without new posts.

The email lists have slowed down ALOT in mail volume over the past few years, as blogs have taken over (and now podcasts), but I SO, SO looked forward to reading about knitting in the morning, whilst I have my morning coffees.

So, I've been missing the old email list activity - so many conversations and questions going on at once. So much to contribute to or answer. The forums just aren't the same, and I'd even go so far as to say I find them tedious to maneuver around, besides having to be on the web to read them. Does everything "have to" change? Can't *some* things remain the same?!
Onward.