random threads

Here’s the project that I have spent the most time knitting on recently– a kit of Pagode, Color #1 by Hanne Falkenberg. Hanne’s most popular kit seems to be Mermaid, judging by the participants in the Hanne KAL. Pagode is much simpler knitting, all garter with decreases at a common point (use markers) or at the edges. I have been working on this since early 2006, so we are approaching the 18-month-age. Hopefully it will be completed long before the ‘Terrible Twos’ start.

I have both sleeve/fronts, and the back done, and started adding the sleeve extensions/cuffs. Boring knitting, so I seamed up the sides so I could check the fit (large but not too bad. I knit the XL size in the kit)–but it does seem a bit heavy and might droop?

I wasn’t real happy with my attempts to mattress stitch on garter stitch, what with the colors changing every 2 garter row bumps. Any suggestions? I followed as best I could the instructions here from Knitty. Even in her photo you can clearly see the seam, not-so-invisible.

I still have the pockets to knit and sew in once the sleeves are done and final seaming finished. The thin white line you see where pocket openings should be is my dental floss used as a temporary stitch holder. The ‘designer label’ has already been added, so it is starting to feel ‘done.’

I have been continuing to knit on the Hanne Falkenberg kit, Pagode in colorway #1. I have completed the second front/sleeve, and am getting close to a third-of-the-way done on the back. Here’s some pictures from earlier in the week, when the back was only a quarter of the way done.

I’ve been knitting pretty much continuously in my spare time on the Hanne Falkenburg design, Pagode, for the past week. The result as you see here is one front/sleeve.

The knitting contruction is a bit unusual–the 430 stitches you cast on make up the sleeve seam, front edge and bottom right front. Two decreases points in the knitting make the corners at the lower right edge and upper right edge (at the neck). Decreases build the sleeve underarm seam. The thin white line is my dental floss (unused of course!) holding the pocket stitches. The sleeve will be lengthened with a navy blue cuff.

And to keep the momentum going, I cast on last night for the left front, 430 stitches–and I got it right the first time, placing markers every 25 stitches.

It has been about 8 months since I knit on my Hanne Falkenburg sweater. I pulled it out yesterday, for some mindless knitting. This is garter all the way, with only 2 decrease points in rows of over 350 stitches. It started out with 430 stitches per row, but I hope I have decreased down below 400 now. I’m not stopping to figure that out–it would be too depressing.

The pattern is Pagode in colorway number 1 (sortof, I think they changed the colors slightly), with colors like sand (it is medium grey), yellow (it is rust orange), ivory, navy blue and turquoise (those are representative names of the actual colors).

Miss Cleo is fond of my larger knitting projects as they offer a suitable kitty nest. Socks just don’t cut it for her. Speaking of my cleo-girl, she has been diagnosed with a heart murmur and now is on Enalapril to reduce her blood pressure (one of the drugs Emma is already on…)