Thursday, August 03, 2006

Blossom Swatch

This is a test. Only a test.

I have finally started doing something with the Lotus Blossom Shawl. I knitted the gauge swatch on Tuesday. The yarn is KnitPicks' Palette, color Red. US size 8 needle. I wouldn't have chosen this bright red if not for my mom's love for such colorful clothing. Bright red is very lucky for Chinese people. And I think that she wears it well too.




The size maybe a tiny bit smaller. But I really like how it looks unblocked. (Yes, I still have to block it to make a final decision.) My mom is a smaller woman. I think this might just work out great. The gauge swatch uses the "stem" pattern of Lotus. Looks OK I think. Gives me a little more confidence to tackle the whole thing. :-) I do think that the cast-on looks a little tight. The instruction calls for a "very loose" cast-on. I used a size 10.5 and this is what I get. How do you determine these things?

11 comments:

Annika said...

I use needles two to three sizes bigger when I cast on. Which is what you've done, so...maybe four sizes bigger? Or maybe try a different cast on? I use cable cast on for everything unless the pattern specifies a different kind.

Anonymous said...

The colour looks great...you seem to have been bitten by the lace bug also ;-) And thanks for the tip to use larger needles to cast on, I wouldn't have thought of that.

Anonymous said...

Moving up needle sizes for casting on to acheive a looser edge works sometimes... depends which cast-on method you're using, of course. You're better off learning to control your cast-on so you can get it looser or snugger as you wish.

Boy, that's really...um...red.

Anonymous said...

I love the color of the yarn, it really shows the pattern well. The size thing? I have no clue, so Im paying attention to see what the experienced knitters say.

aija said...

I love the red! No idea about lace though... I just like to watch ;)

Sachi said...

When I do a loose cast on for things like socks, I use two needles together. I've never had a problem with it being too tight or too loose. Maybe this would work for you. Also, I've found that a backward loop as opposed to a long tail does better for looseness.

Lacefreak said...

Jason,

Very very pretty. And yes, she will love the color and feel very lucky indeed while she wears it. As far as I can tell, if you are using a standard long tail cast-on, you can go up in size a little further on the needles but that really doesn't always work if you have a death grip on your yarn and needles. I cast on a few stitches and then stretch it. if not loose enough, I cast-on looser still. My friend Louise holds two larger needles together and casts-on to get it looser and my sister just says to heck with it and uses a turkish cast-on which is a looser cast-on.

Looking forward to seeing you work on it!

Good Luck and Good Knitting!

Jason said...

Thank you all for the suggestions! You are going to feel like throwing things at me. I read further in the pattern instructions. The cast-on for the real thing only consists of 3 stitches. :: running really really fast ::

:: pant pant :: But it's good to know what you all do for a loose cast- on, right? I know I will need that info. :-)

Anonymous said...

Hey YOUGUYS!!!!
I LOVE Sachi's two needle lose cast on.
That's a great idea.
YOUGUYS! That's so great!

Jason said...

Sheesh Dave, you almost gave me a heart attack! Woke me right up! LOL

Anonymous said...

Well, good mornin' to you! (Don't need any caffeine now, do you?)