Making progress with color

It certainly has been a struggle, but I think I'm making some progress with
color. Els, I still don't know how you got the back of those patterned
squares you sent me to be so neat, mine look pretty straggly in comparison!
Hopefully that will get better over time. I did do one of my October
partner's 6x6 squares in more than one color -- nothing too elaborate, but
it was color, so I was happy.

Earlier this week I took a class at my LYS doing a two color "shadow shawl"
that is knitted side to side -- I'm using a Cherry Tree Hill Cascade silk
fingering yarn in a variegated pink-to-blue for the contrast color and a GGH
TajMahal Merino/Cashmere/Silk yarn in black for the main color. The color
changes take place every second row, which isn't too bad -- there are no
ends to weave in except for the very beginning and the very end -- but there
is such a contrast between the two colors and the yarns are so thin that
it's very noticeable when I get sloppy with the tension, or where I didn't
twist the yarn properly at a color change -- so there have been more than a
few frogged rows, although they're getting a bit less frequent than they
were. Still, it looks so pretty where it's done right, that I am staying
motivated to keep at it.

Karen in MN

In article , "Karen"
wrote:

It certainly has been a struggle, but I think I'm making some progress with
color. Els, I still don't know how you got the back of those patterned
squares you sent me to be so neat, mine look pretty straggly in comparison!
Hopefully that will get better over time. I did do one of my October
partner's 6x6 squares in more than one color -- nothing too elaborate, but
it was color, so I was happy.

Earlier this week I took a class at my LYS doing a two color "shadow shawl"
that is knitted side to side -- I'm using a Cherry Tree Hill Cascade silk
fingering yarn in a variegated pink-to-blue for the contrast color and a GGH
TajMahal Merino/Cashmere/Silk yarn in black for the main color. The color
changes take place every second row, which isn't too bad -- there are no
ends to weave in except for the very beginning and the very end -- but there
is such a contrast between the two colors and the yarns are so thin that
it's very noticeable when I get sloppy with the tension, or where I didn't
twist the yarn properly at a color change -- so there have been more than a
few frogged rows, although they're getting a bit less frequent than they
were. Still, it looks so pretty where it's done right, that I am staying
motivated to keep at it.

Karen in MN

Karen great that you are not giving up. I did a lot of going back as well
and sometimes I walked away from
it , because I felt like yelling. I am now trying the mosaic knitting and
find that the instructions are totally lacking. Also I will try the same
pattern in knitting both colours at the same time instead of first
knitting one and than the other colour. At one time there is a leap of 9
stiches, and that is way to long, it will hook and pull on something.
Thus the stranding and weaving works better there. Just plotting along.

I am very interested in what you are doing with these great sounding
yarns What is a shadow shawl......The colours sound yummy. I was today
at my brother in laws embroidery store. He now runs it from his house. I
bought many little skeins of cotton and silk variagated yarns for
kumihimo.. It is very dangerous to have all the time in the world to go
through his stash. Came home with lots of fantastic colours.

Els

--
I have added a trap for spammers......niet.....

"Els van Dam" wrote in message
...
In article , "Karen"
wrote:

It certainly has been a struggle, but I think I'm making some progress
with
color. Els, I still don't know how you got the back of those patterned
squares you sent me to be so neat, mine look pretty straggly in
comparison!
Hopefully that will get better over time. I did do one of my October
partner's 6x6 squares in more than one color -- nothing too elaborate,
but
it was color, so I was happy.

Earlier this week I took a class at my LYS doing a two color "shadow
shawl"
that is knitted side to side -- I'm using a Cherry Tree Hill Cascade
silk
fingering yarn in a variegated pink-to-blue for the contrast color and a
GGH
TajMahal Merino/Cashmere/Silk yarn in black for the main color. The
color
changes take place every second row, which isn't too bad -- there are no
ends to weave in except for the very beginning and the very end -- but
there
is such a contrast between the two colors and the yarns are so thin that
it's very noticeable when I get sloppy with the tension, or where I
didn't
twist the yarn properly at a color change -- so there have been more
than a
few frogged rows, although they're getting a bit less frequent than they
were. Still, it looks so pretty where it's done right, that I am
staying
motivated to keep at it.

Karen in MN

Karen great that you are not giving up. I did a lot of going back as well
and sometimes I walked away from
it , because I felt like yelling. I am now trying the mosaic knitting and
find that the instructions are totally lacking. Also I will try the same
pattern in knitting both colours at the same time instead of first
knitting one and than the other colour. At one time there is a leap of 9
stiches, and that is way to long, it will hook and pull on something.
Thus the stranding and weaving works better there. Just plotting along.

I am very interested in what you are doing with these great sounding
yarns What is a shadow shawl......The colours sound yummy. I was today
at my brother in laws embroidery store. He now runs it from his house. I
bought many little skeins of cotton and silk variagated yarns for
kumihimo.. It is very dangerous to have all the time in the world to go
through his stash. Came home with lots of fantastic colours.

Els

I'm going to send you a couple of shots of the Shadow Shawl (so far)
off-line, it's sort of hard to explain -- but it's done in alternating
two-row colors, with groups of 10 purls and 10 knits -- so that if you look
at it straight on, it looks just like a striped shawl but if you look at it
from an angle, you see black chevrons in it. I'm not used to working with
anything in silk though, so I have to keep putting handcream on because I
have dry skin and I find that it tends to snag the yarn and I end up with
fuzzies.

I got your instructions for color in today's mail, and I'm going to try
them. I have mixed feelings about the FC magazine article on mosaic
knitting -- it looked easy enough from the description, but when I actually
tried it, it didn't seem as clear! I have that happen a lot -- I will THINK
I understand how something is being done until I actually try and do it
myself! The instructions you sent look good.

Karen in MN

In article , "Karen"
wrote:

"Els van Dam" wrote in message


I'm going to send you a couple of shots of the Shadow Shawl (so far)
off-line, it's sort of hard to explain -- but it's done in alternating
two-row colors, with groups of 10 purls and 10 knits -- so that if you look
at it straight on, it looks just like a striped shawl but if you look at it
from an angle, you see black chevrons in it. I'm not used to working with
anything in silk though, so I have to keep putting handcream on because I
have dry skin and I find that it tends to snag the yarn and I end up with
fuzzies.

I got your instructions for color in today's mail, and I'm going to try
them. I have mixed feelings about the FC magazine article on mosaic
knitting -- it looked easy enough from the description, but when I actually
tried it, it didn't seem as clear! I have that happen a lot -- I will THINK
I understand how something is being done until I actually try and do it
myself! The instructions you sent look good.

Karen in MN

Karen I did not think much of the instructions for the Mosaic knitting.
They sort of jump into the middle of it all and leave lots unsaid. Lets
see what others hear think of it.

Els not giving up yet

--
I have added a trap for spammers......niet.....