Heliopath Vest KAL - Week 5 - Shaping

I can hardly believe another week has gone by on this lovely little vest. I feel like I'm drowning in cables. Or I thought I WAS drowning in cables until I received a video from Rijel over at Pick & Throw showing me how to cable without a cable needle. And now my life is so much better. If you've not yet learned this little trick I recommend you check it out.

Now, does that mean I'm on schedule? Uh... no. But I'm close! Which reminds me that my 5th grade teacher, Miss Hanrahan (lovingly referred to as Miss Hammerhead... gods she was an unhappy woman) who always said "Close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades". Wow... tough words for 11 year olds to absorb. So, am I on schedule, I ask again? No. And I hang my head in shame to admit it because honestly, as the co-host, I should be ON this. But I'm not. But I am really, really close.

I have two inches left to go... and that is about 15 rows for me. So I'll get to it today I hope. But we have guests coming for dinner and I'm making fish and chips (from scratch) and I have to wash my hair today and that takes FOREVER! Plus, the Hubbs probably wants to hang out or some crap so I'll have to make time for that... kidding. I dig that guy so it's easy to make time. 

Also, it's my Mum's birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MUM! I forgot to send a card and she's out traveling in Vancouver so I likely won't get to call, either. Soooo... that's an awkward confession. But I still love you, Mum, and I'm thinking about you. I'll do better next year. 

But let's discuss what's happening as far as the next step of the vest. Actually, before I get there, let's get pumped. Folks are still plugging away and I'm SO EXCITED to see what everyone looks like in their FO's. I think these last two weeks were hard as far as staying motivated because it's 14" of the same thing but look how awesome they all look:

@kenzie_emery (also my favorite two guys to knit with... mmmmmm)

@pameladayton

@thecraftydarling

@trainergirl15

We're all at different stages in the game this week but if we put on a push these next two weeks we'll still be done on time. Who's with me? I can't hear you... WHO'S WITH ME? 

OH, wait, this is a computer and we're not on Skype so of course I can't hear you. I hope you're on the other side cheering and fist bumping your needles saying "I can do it!!!!".

Ok, so shaping the armholes. There was a question on the Ravelry discussion about the dropped stitches vs. bind offs. Thankfully @seaandlake (Alicia) was able to do some digging and found the answer on Emma Welford's blog in the comments. So if you've had questions regarding binding off with a dropped stitch, here's the dealio right from the horses mouth (albeit Miss Emma looks nothing like a horse and is quite cute to boot):

This comes into play when binding off or decreasing stitches for the armholes, armhole shaping and neckline/neckline shaping. You’ll probably first run into it when binding off sts at the underarm, but the stitch pattern falls different depending on the size. So say you’re binding off 5 sts for the underarm and the 2nd stitch is one designated in the chart as a drop stitch. You would BO the 1st stitch normally, then drop the 2nd st off the needle and let it unravel to the hem–instead of panicking and picking it back up as you usually would when dropping a stitch! That 2nd stitch DOES count towards the number of sts you need to bind off, so in this scenario you would BO as usual the next 3 sts for a total of 5 BO sts at the underarm. If this occurs when decreasing sts rather than binding off, drop the st when you come to it and do your best to make your decreases and the stitch pattern fit around it–just remember that the dropped stitch is missing from the stitch count so if you only need to decrease 1 st and it coincides with a dropped st, you won’t actually need to do the decrease there as the dropped st will have taken care of that for you.

I'm not here yet but I'm glad to have the answer when I get there... later today. Which WILL happen. If I stay positive it WILL happen. Right?

So once you work your bind offs and drop your stitches, you're now working only parts of the vest at a time. @thecraftydarling's photo was a perfect example of how that looks. As you finish each section, the left front being the first, you'll place those live stitches on a stitch holder or piece of waste yarn and set it aside. 

Then you'll move onto the center set of stitches for the back, working independently of the left front section, and with the WS facing you'll start the same sort of system again. You'll work over JUST the back stitches (between the BO's for the left front and right front sections) with a new piece of yarn. It does mean that there will be some ends to weave in at the end but there aren't that many. 

You'll repeat the same for the right front section and by the time you're done that you'll have 4 cable needles of waste yarn holders with your live stitches on them: right front, right back, left front and left back. And that will be our discussion for next week. From then it's super easy. We'll use the 3-needle bind off, which is really fun, and get to finishing. 

Have you all got your buttons chosen yet? I ordered mine and they arrived and now I can't remember where I put them so I'll have to dig them out to share with you next week.

If you have any questions about the steps for this week please feel free to leave comments in the Ravelry discussion board or on here and we'll get them sorted out. Keep up the good work ladies - we're almost done and then it's PRIZE TIME BABY! Please keep posting your work on Instagram using #heliopathkal or in our Heliopath Kal Ravelry discussion board, and tagging me, @socalmeaghan, and my good buddy @ghostfaceknitter.

Keep in mind, to be eligible for a prize, you need to finish your Vest (and post images... not blocked is ok, but ends woven in) by 11:59 PST on Saturday, April 12th. Use the tags above on Instagram or post to the discussion board.  

Happy Knitting (and cabling)!!!

Turn It Up To 11 Sock Mystery KAL - Coming Soon!

Ok ladies and gents (wait... what gents? Do men read this? Other than my hubband... hi baby! mwah!)

It's time to get down to the knitty gritty (see what I did there?) about this upcoming "Turn It Up To 11" Mystery Sock Knit Along that I've devised. I've spent the week sorting out how it'll all work and what it comes down to is that you're all guinea pigs. You're welcome!

Why guinea pigs? 'Cuz I've never done kits before. And I've never hosted my own mystery KAL before but I'm confident we'll have fun. I've done KAL's, just not with mystery clue releases. But for serious - if it's a total bomb and we all end up with scarves instead of socks then at least there's prizes at the end, right? Nah... we'll have socks. It's my happy place so I'm confident we'll all end up with socks.

Oh, prizes, you say? Yes indeedly-doo. We've got 4 prizes. I have to wait for pictures but here's what's up for grabs:

• A skein of yarn from Black Market Wool (and it'll be a surprise but you'll love it!!!!)
• A free pattern from the lovely Knitsomniac Designs (WOOT WOOT!)
• A small project bag from my local peep, Sarahinajar (amazeballs!)
• A free pattern of your choice from ME!!! You can choose from any of my sock patterns or from the patterns I have with Ewe Ewe Yarns and I'll buy it for you (since they're now not technically mine to give away). 

The prizes are randomly drawn so it's not like "best one" wins because seriously, if that was the case, mine would win. All the prizes. Aren't I humble? But since I'm hosting I can't win and so I'll ship all the goodies to you and pout all the way to the USPS store because I'll want to keep it all. 

So, let's sort out the deets shall we?

Supply Details:

These socks will be knit toe-up using the magic loop method. Why? Because that's how I knit socks and in my not-so-humble opinion, it's the best way to knit socks. For me. There are plenty of merits for knitting one at a time, or top down, and I can appreciate all of those but for me this is the best way. With that said, I'm also hosting this MKAL in this method because a lot of my lovely IG friends say they want to learn. So here's the chance to learn how to rock socks! So here's what you'll need:

• Approx. 400 yds of sock weight yarn, or alternative - DK, Worsted, lace... anything that makes you happy... just keeping in mind that if you use DK or Worsted you'll need less yardage and if you use lace weight you'll need more yardage
• 2 - removable stitch markers (for those of you getting kits, you're covered on this basis)
• 1 - US 2, 40" circular needle or a needle size appropriate to your yarn size  
• NOTE: for 2aat (two at a time) socks a 40" circ is the minimum length recommended
• A tapestry needle 
• Scissors

Kit Details:

Yeah baby! I'm so pumped to put these together. I got a sneaky peek of the skeins dyed up today and they. are. freaking. fabulous.

There will be a dozen kits and it's a first-come, first-served type dealy. I CAN tell you that there are 4 colorways and there will be 3 skeins of each color for you to choose from. And the REALLY exciting bit is that these 4 colors are going to be sold exclusively for this KAL so this is your one chance to get your hands on them. When the skeins arrive I'll post pictures on IG and in The Unapologetic Knitter's Discussion Board so you can plan and scheme and decide which yarn you want to order. 

Each kit will include 1 skein of Black Market Wool in a custom colorway (I'll try to give you all what you want but some may go faster than others). The skein is a high-twist BFL/nylon blend and my favorite fiber combo to knit with. Well, unless you add in cashmere but that's super special and more expensive and I'm trying to keep costs low for everyone. Also included in each kit will be a little baggie with a set of 5 stitch markers for you love, use often and show off all while saying "neener, neener" to those who don't get one. Yeah, that's how I roll, too.

Also in each kit will be a download code that you can use to download the pattern for the MKAL from Ravelry. This download code will be specific to each user so be sure to hang on to that handy dandy little code. The overall cost of the kit will include shipping and the pattern in addition to the yarn and stitch markers. Oh, and the cost? Riiiiiiiiiiiiight... Ok, it's $30. That's it, that's all. 

On Tuesday, April 8th I'll have a custom contact page here on the blog where you can submit your request for a kit. Once I receive that request I'll send you an invoice through PayPal. I'll respond in the order in which the requests are received so I can make sure the colorways are divided up fairly. 

And for those of you who want to use your own yarn, please do! Because these are custom fit socks (yep - you'll love 'em) you can use whatever yarn you want and the needle size appropriate for that yarn.

Pattern Details:

The pattern will be available for purchase on Ravelry on Tuesday, April 22nd for a cost of $5.

The initial download will be details about the swatching I'll want you to do, how to accurately get gauge and give you more information about how the MKAL will proceed. We're going to be making CUSTOM FIT socks here folks so you'll definitely want to  play along. Then each week for the next 4 weeks I'm going to release a clue so you can knit along and make your own unique socks. 

So - mark your calendars, set up your "To Do" list and look for smoke signals (or at least a pic on Instagram) so you hit these dates:

• Tuesday, April 8th - kits go on sale
• Tuesday, April 15th - all kits will be shipped
• Tuesday, April 22nd - the pattern sale goes live on Ravelry
• Thursday, May 1st - the "Turn It Up To 11" sock MKAL goes live

In the meantime I'm off to get The Unapologetic Knitter discussion board set up on Ravelry. Keep an eye out for it and come join me. I'd love to see your bright shiny knitting needles, photos of your fiber choice for this KAL and questions you may have. 

And most of all - thank you all for your support here on the blog, on Ravelry and on Instagram. It's an honor and a pleasure to knit with you all.  Now lets rock the shit out of some socks!

Heliopath Vest KAL - Week 4 - Catching Up

Before I get into this knitting business can I just get a shout out for all the Mum's out there?! Holla!

I'm not a Mum. Please don't read that as "I don't like children". I do. Well, most children. Some are assholes but that's because their parents are assholes and we can't do anything about that. But, I'm not a Mum. And I don't want to be one to more than my fur babies. But that doesn't mean I don't like kids.

This past week I had the chance to be a psuedo mum two my best friends kiddo's. And guess what? Its the hardest thing. Ever. Ever. Ever. I kicked cancers butt and having a kid is harder than that. And I wasn't even on solo duty. I had "sole" custody of the kids for an hour or so when we went to the beach last Sunday and that was hard enough. I had to make sure that the creep-o standing around watching the kids wasn't going to touch them - but if he tried I was gonna karate chop him (HUCKY TUCKY!). For serious.

The hardest part is being woken up in the middle of the night by a child crying. And I can't do anything but rub her back and make cooing noises. And then Mum shows up. And it was amazing. For you mother's out there you probably know what I'm talking about but I'd never witnessed it before. I was in awe. It was pure animal instinct. Mum came in, grabbed her daughter who was in a heap in my lap and in one fluid motion picked her up and curled her into a ball and shut out the rest of the world. I'm hardly doing this justice with my words but it was an awesome moment. My back rubs didn't stand a chance. I get chills just thinking about it.

I don't mean to make a reference between animals and humans insofar as the theory that we haven't come any further than the apes. Obviously we have (opposible thumbs are pretty mandatory with knitting, after all) but it was the motion I've seen in monkey or apes dozens of times at the zoo.  Baby is in distress. Mum picks him/her up, becomes a cocoon and dares anyone else to mess with her. Ah. May. Zing.

Anyway, I'm sharing this not only as an expression of my awe at motherhood but also as an excuse as to why I'm so bloody behind schedule on my vest. I had two kids in my house for a week and in the middle of the visit I caught a cold and I was dead at the time. *Side note: I love Eddie Izzard.*

Ok, so I didn't die, but I felt like I might. So I knit socks 'cuz that's my happy place and I pretty much ignored my vest until yesterday. And then I did some panic knitting. And THEN I went back to the schedule and realized that we don't have to separate for the arm holes until NEXT Saturday and I was like "Whew... dodged a bullet there". So this week will be my catch up week.

Before I get to the round up of some of the awesomeness that I'm seeing on IG again this week, I thought I'd share a handy little tip that I shared on the Ewe Ewe Yarns blog for the Penpal Hat KAL that I hosted back in February.

If you're like me and you're not using large skeins (I have 12-50g skeins of Wooly Worsted) there are going to be a lot of joins and I hate (read: LOATHE ENTIRELY) weaving in ends. So I found a join that works in some cases. And happily this project has enough bumps and texture that I can get away with it. This is verbatim from the Ewe Ewe Yarns blog since I already did the work over there so head on over and check out that fun when you have time, too.

**Caveat: I don't recommend using this join where you're going to drop your stitches. Hide it in your cables or other purl sts where you won't have long running threads where a little bump would be noticeable. Ok. You've been warned**

THE MAGIC KNOT

For sample sake, I'm going to use the end of my original color and use a different Wooly Worsted scrap I have leftover from the Stuff It Stocking KAL I participated in this past December so you can differentiate one end from the other. 

Lay your working yarn end so that your project is in front of you with the tail pointing towards you (this isn't a requirement in the future but will help for purposes of this tutorial). Next, lay the end of the new ball parallel to your working yarn with the tail pointing away from you. You'll want the two ends to overlap one another by about 4".

In this case, the working tail is Teal, and the new ball is light blue.

Tuck the working yarn UNDER the new yarn so it looks kind of like the number "4".

Pull the working yarn back to the left going OVER the new tail, and back over itself again.

Tuck the working tail under itself.

Pull tight on both ends of the WORKING yarn. The new ball is basically just hanging out with a knot tied around it, not with it.

To work the second half of this join, in a similar style to above, take your NEW yarn tail and tuck it under the working yarn so it looks kind of like  "P".

Pull the new tail back over the working yarn, to the right and over itself again.

Tuck this new tail under itself.

Pull this one tight again so that you've now got two knots about 2" apart.

Now here's the "Magic". We're going to pull these two knots together and create a double knot that is almost impossible to break apart. I say almost because if you really worked at it you could do it, but what I guess I mean is that it'll hold up to washings and wear and you'll love not having to weave in the ends.

To create your "Magic Knot" pull on the long ends of both the working yarn and the new yarn.

The two knots will slide together and meet up. You can give a pretty good yank on this puppy and it's only going to make it stronger. If you had your Wheaties this morning, don't pull so hard that you break the yarn. But a good yank'll do. 

Once the two knots have become one (like a little Yarn Wedding) I always give an extra tug on each individual knot. To do that, grab the long end of the yarn, and the short bit of the same yarn, and give it a tug. Do it with both ends.

Now, as close to the knots as you can stand... cut  the ends off (the short ones... not the working yarn).

I'm usually about an 1/8" away from the knot when I cut the short tails. 

Et voila! 

You now have a knot that'll stand up to washing and wearing and because of the form of the hat, you'll never see it. 

Cool right? I thought so. 

Ok, so here's the round up. I'm only this far (38 rows out of 103 that I need to complete to get my 14"):

I'm not very far but I'm LOVING this. 

@bcrlmom

@ghostfaceknitter

@gloryqqbe

@rijelviolet

@thecraftydarling

And then there's these two jokers making EVERYONE look bad - and by "bad" I mean creating us all to look on in envy as they ROCK THIS KAL!!!

@justrunknit

@seaandlake

*insert emphatic crowd applause and cheering here*

And that's another week of progress (or lack thereof on my behalf) on the Heliopath KAL. Thanks for stopping by. Please keep posting your work on Instagram using #heliopathkal or in our Heliopath Kal Ravelry discussion board, and tagging me, @socalmeaghan, and my good buddy @ghostfaceknitter.

Now that I'm healthy after the kids have left I'm going to make a big push to catch up in time for next week when we get to the really fun part and make this thing look like more than just a rectangle.

Keep in mind, to be eligible for a prize, you need to finish your Vest (and post images... not blocked is ok, but ends woven in) by 11:59 PST on Saturday, April 12th. Use the tags above on Instagram or post to the discussion board.  

Happy knitting!

New Pattern: Coffee & Cupcakes

Much like with the Lausox, these delightfully colorful socks were specifically designed for a giveaway I hosted on Instagram when I reached 300 followers. I'm lucky enough to say that as of today I have reached 700 followers. Pretty cool!

These socks were made for @catscoffeecupcakesandcarrie, my 300th follower and she's just received them in the mail. It feels so nice to know that something I made is out there keeping someone tootsies warm.

So here they are:

Coffee & Cupcakes

These socks are knit from the toe up and feature my newly developed short row heel called "The Ribbon Heel". It's been received well by my test knitters which makes me really happy.

Speaking of test knitters, can I get a "What! What!" for my intrepid test knitters: 

• @befadee
• @knittysheshe
• @lorriep
• @rijelviolet

I'm happy to say that all 4 ladies successfully knit the heel without too much trouble. We've worked out the kinks so it should now be a breeze for you. 

And like the Lausox, which also feature Black Market Wool, the owner, Rijel, is offering a discount on her Coffee and Cupcakes colorway if you download the pattern before April 15th. WHAT???? Yep. Baller move, Rijel.  Baller move!

I hope you enjoy knitting these as much as I did, and as much as my test knitters did. They'd make a spectacular Easter or Mother's Day gift for someone special. *hint hint*

Heliopath Vest KAL - Week 3 - Cables and Lace

WHAT A WEEK! Where to start?

First, I'm not a mom. I don't have kids (not that I don't like kids before you get all "hater" on me) so I'm not really used to what it's like having them around. And then my bestie, who is in town for a friends wedding, descended with her two kids. A 2 year old (almost 3) girl and a 5 year old boy.

Allow me to say to ALL mothers out there: hats off to YOU! This is hard work. And they're not even mine. And they're only here for 8 days (we're just on day 3 right now). I. am. exhausted. While I'll miss the kids, I'll probably be pretty pumped to have my life back to "my normal" when they leave.

Also, right as they arrived, I published my first paid pattern: The Lausox. I am so excited to say that 8 people have already bought the pattern. I know 8 doesn't sound like a lot in 3 days but to me it's pretty darn exciting. I sure hope people love knitting the socks as much as I did designing them.

On top of these two events, allow me to add a third. This weekend I am officiating my first wedding ceremony. I can hardly believe its actually here. This may well also be my last ceremony as it's not what I'm planning to do with my life at all but it sure is an honor to be asked. Here's hoping I don't cry through the whole thing. I was asked, by the way, because I introduced the couple to one another. SQUEEEE! Right?! It's so freaking exciting.

Ok, so to the reason you're all here. KNITTING!!!

This week we're officially scheduled to start the Cables and Lace pattern of the Heliopath Vest KAL. How much fun is this, right? The first row, worked on the wrong side of the garment, is the trickiest and from there on out it's a breeze. I hope you're all finding the same thing.

As I write these posts, I do get a little ahead of the plan so I can photograph the work and I'm a bit embarrassed to show you that I'm only 5 rows into the pattern as this week was crazy (see above) but to also admit that I got a bit cocky. I totally thought I had the pattern memorized from the gauge swatch and I knit 7 rows. And then looked at the pattern. And realized I had K2tog instead of P2tog on the lace pattern on the wrong side. Thus... froggy time. Boo. Urns.

So "technically" I knitted (knit? Is that a past tense or just bad grammar?) 13 rows but only 5 of them are showing.

Before I get on to showing off all the speed demons who have blasted past me on this KAL I thought I'd share a little "peace of mind" with you. It's another simple little trick that makes sense to me when I'm working repeat patterns like this. Stitch markers.

I've got two colors. The two blue stitch markers indicate the stitches before and after the repeat sections of the pattern (the stuff inside the red box) and then the pink stitch markers show the beginning/end of each pattern repeat section so I can make sure my counts are always correct for each section. 

Ok, on to the bragging portion of this. Well... is it bragging if I'm showing off for other people?! I'm blown away by the talent on this KAL. Here's a hearty "WAY TO GO, MATEY" to everyone plowing ahead. 

@bcrlmom

@gloryqqbe

@kenzie_emery

@kialtho

@rijelviolet

@seaandlake

I hope you're all enjoying working this vest as much as I am. Next week is a catch up week for those of us, like me, who have fallen a bit behind so if you're still waiting for yarn to arrive or working on your ribbing, don't panic. There's still plenty of time to catch up.

I hope you'll all cheer each other on here, on Instagram using #heliopathkal or in our Heliopath Kal Ravelry discussion board, and tagging me, @socalmeaghan, and my good buddy @ghostfaceknitter.

Keep your fingers crossed I don't bawl all the way through the ceremony on Saturday and I'll update you next weekend as to how it went (in case you're curious... if you're not then you can skip that part). 

Keep in mind, to be eligible for a prize, you need to finish your Vest (and post images... not blocked is ok, but ends woven in) by 11:59 PST on Saturday, April 12th. Use the tags above on Instagram or post to the discussion board.  

Happy knitting!

New Pattern: Lausox

I'm so honored and blown away at the excitement over this sock. After sharing a few pics of them on Instagram it was time to get the pattern live.

Introducing...

The Lausox.

"Lau" is the Hawaiian word for "leaf" and since I'm making these socks for a lovely Hawaiian native it seemed appropriate.

These socks are knit from the toe up (my favorite method) and also introduces a brand new short row heel I've developed. I'm calling it The Ribbon Heel since it looks a lot like the Awareness Ribbons we see everywhere nowadays.

I think my favorite thing about these socks, beyond the custom-dyed colorway, named after the socks, by Black Market Wool, is that they're so delightfully stretchy. The pattern inadvertently creates a ribbing effect so while they're not quite one-size-fits-all they're definitely one-size-fits-MOST.

I hope you love them. It seems like the folks on Instagram do.

Oh, and guess WHAT? If you download the pattern before March 23, you'll get a discount code for 20% off your yarn purchase from Black Market Wool. WOWZERS!

Alright. Go. Knit. Love.

Heliopath Vest KAL - Week 2 - Casting On

How many of you were DYING to cast on after working your gauge swatch? And how many of you actually didn't? I know some of you have gone ahead and that's fabulous. It means you'll definitely be done in time for submitting for our fabulous prizes. I had a rather busy week and am only getting to it now (or rather last night when I wrote this post).

Speaking of prizes, we have a small addendum to make. Remember that beautiful skein of Madelinetosh Pashmina Worsted from JustRunKnit? You know... this one?

You can't have it anymore. 

BAH! Got ya! 

It turns out that Megan (isn't her name good?! - I sure think so!) is giving us not one, not two, but FOUR of these skeins so the winner of this prize can turn around and make themselves another vest. Or some other fabulous yardage-rich project. THANK. YOU. MEGAN!!!! I really wish I was eligible for these prizes. 

Moving right along...

Assuming you didn't have time to cast on this week, let's do that. And I know you all know how to cast on so there's not much to share with you except a quick little trick that I was taught years after I started knitting. And I still do a face palm every time I remember this. Why, oh why, didn't I think of this genius little trick YEARS ago? 

Because of my lady curves I'm making a size 41-1/2", that's no small feat when it comes to casting on 208 stitches. So rather than try to count on 208 stitches, I cast on 20, place a marker, then cast another 20, and so on. 

If you all are laughing that it took me so long to learn this well... keep on laughing. Because seriously... it's so simple, right? Yep. Now if I have more than 50 sts to cast on I do this. Makes my life way easier. I only ever have to count back 20 sts if I lose count when my husband starts talking at me mid count. Not that he ever does that. And not that your partner would ever do that you. No. Noperoonies. Never. They can always tell we're deep in thought counting out those minuscule little stitches when making socks. 

*eye roll* I need a blinker that I can turn on and off. You know, something like "Counting now, don't talk to me" or "Yep, you can talk, it's just garter stitch". 

Again. Moving on.

Once you've cast on your stitches, it's on to to the ribbing. The 1 x 1 ribbing. *le sigh* 1 x 1 ribbing. How I loathe thee. No kidding. I love making socks. I loathe the first 1 1/2" or last 1 1/2" of ribbing because of it. It just feels like it takes forever. These lovely 2 inches took me far more hours than I feel is necessary. But I love it anyway. 

Oooh... lets look closer at that stitch marker, shall we? She's my favorite!

Hello, sexy!

And just so you know, she's not doing anything more than a) making me happy every time I knit past her and b) marking the right side of the work. When knitting rib it's hard to tell which is the right side and which is the wrong side so I do this just to make sure. Once I establish the front I can take it off. But I won't. 'Cuz as I said: she's my favorite. 

My co-host on this KAL, the fabulous ghostfaceknitter (and her ridiculously adorable cats) are hosting a recap of our progress this week over on her blog. Please go check it out, see whose work made the cut (maybe it's yours?!) and be sure to leave comments to cheer on your fellow knitters. 

So that's really all to share this week. If there are any questions about the gauge swatch or the KAL in general feel free to leave them here or in our discussion board. 

Also, please keep in touch in our Heliopath Kal Ravelry discussion board, on Instagram using #heliopathkal and tagging me, @socalmeaghan, and my good buddy @ghostfaceknitter.

Keep in mind, to be eligible for a prize, you need to finish your Vest (and post images... not blocked is ok, but ends woven in) by 11:59 PST on Saturday, April 12th. Use the tags above on Instagram or post to the discussion board.  

Enjoy that ribbing!!! And next week,  for those who are just getting started, we'll begin the pattern section. You've still got plenty of time to get caught up before the "real work" begins! Happy knitting! 

Heliopath Vest KAL - Week 1 - Gauge Swatching

Can I start out with an apology? I had MEANT to get this written up last night so that it would go live at 7am PST for all the folks joining us from the east coast (and across the ocean) but then the Hubbs stayed home from work yesterday and was on the computer all day, and then I got sucked into my knitting chair and just couldn't get out and I was dead at the time. Ok, not really. I'm alive. But the other stuff happened.

Regardless! Let's get this KAL party started, shall we?

Here's what we're making:

The Heliopath Vest by Emma Welford

And here's the long list of what you can win:

2 Skeins of Wooly Worsted by Ewe Ewe Yarns in Saffron along with a copy of the Angel Food Cake Cowl also from Ewe Ewe Yarns

A skein of "Just. Perfect" from Black Market Wool in a sock weight (a BFL/Nylon blend)

A skein of Madelinetosh Pashmina Worsted from JustRunKnit

Or a pattern of your choosing from the designer of this vest herself, Ms. Emma Welford!!!!

Seriously?! 4 PRIZES? That means we'll have 4 WINNERS!!! So generous all these folks wanting to donate. I'm blown away. And I even managed to save a few donations of prizes for my future KAL coming up in May. More on that later.

Let's talk about swatch baby! (in my head I'm singing that to the tune of "Let's Talk About Sex Baby"). Funny, right? No? *le sigh*

Ok, so when I started knitting I didn't get a "Gauge 101" class included and apparently I was too lazy to look it up online so I just willy nilly knit away and hoped things would fit. No bueno when you've got a yarn investment for a project like this one. Let's make sure this beautiful vest is going to fit. So please! Do a gauge swatch. I know some of you giggle at your riskyness and love that you don't gauge swatch. And that's fine, my pleading won't change your mind, but if you've considered it and didn't know how best to do it, as I didn't, here's what I've learned since (I actually DID take a gauge class).

First rule: don't knit a teeny tiny little gauge swatch. It won't tell you anything about how the overall fabric of the vest will behave. I decided to knit a swatch the width of the entire pattern panel for my size. In my case that was 56 sts wide. I was going to do one repeat of the pattern panel but found it to be too short so I worked a panel and a half high (so 24 rows). And I learned a lot.  First, here's the panel without the dropped sts.

I've pinned it so you can see what it looks like and it's SOOOO pretty. You'll notice I haven't bound off that top edge yet. I read a little bit about dropping sts and it seems like it's best to do it when you're about to bind off. And prolly way more fun since you can watch those sts fall and stretch. At least I like that part. 

Ok, so where's what it looks like after I bound off the sts. Notice how I've had to turn the blocking board so that it fits. It gets wayyyyyy longer.

To bind off while dropping the sts is super easy. You bind off the sts until you get to the row that says "Dropped St Row" and instead of binding off that st, just let it fall off your left needle and continue binding off to the next st. I do recommend going up a needle size or two for the bind off so it's loose enough. You want that top edge to be the same width as the bottom edge so you don't get a wonky gauge reading. 

Now to the blocking. Everyone has a preference for blocking their swatches. I'll tell you how I do my blocking and you can choose to do it this way, or your own way. I just had a total lightbulb moment when I took my gauge and swatching class and now I feel way more confident in my knits.

With the yarn I chose, Wooly Worsted by Ewe Ewe Yarns, I can throw this sucker in the washing machine. Yep! That's the beauty of Ewe Ewe. So I did. I put the swatch right into the washer and let it go. When it came out, I had a wet piece of wool that needed to be blocked. 

How many of you block like this?

Yep, me too. Or rather I used to. Ain't nobody got time for that when it comes to blocking a sweater!

Now when I do my swatch blocking I just lay it out and push it to the dimensions that I think make the fabric look best and let it dry. No pins (except with lace, of course). What happens when you block like the picture above (and note: it's not WRONG, just not how I do it anymore) is that when you get your gauge from a swatch like above, you'll have to block your work like this. Every. Time. You. Wash. It. I much prefer to just wash it and lay it flat, after pushing the yarn into shape. Makes sense, right? Ok. Moving on.

Now that my swatch is dry I can cake a gauge measurement. I prefer using a clear ruler and normally I would put it right on top of the work so I can read the sts through the ruler but it was hard to photograph so I lay it beside the work for the stitch count. 

If I could from the "0" line I have 4 sts in the cable, 2 sts in the P valley, 4 more sts in the cable, 2 more sts in the P valley, 4 MORE sts in the cable, 3 sts in the dropped st/P valley and then it looks like 1 sts in the first part of the cable. That's 20 sts over 4" which is gauge. Yahoo! This doesn't always happen, lemme tell ya!

Now moving on to the row gauge:

See, I've laid the ruler over the work. It's harder to see the ruler but in real life it's easy peasy. As I mentioned before I knit 24 rows of work (not including the cast on or bind off row). So I see 24 rows over 3 - 1/8".  This equates to 7.68 rows per inch or 30.72 rows over 4". I would likely round that up to 31 rows per inch. 

The pattern calls for 20sts and 28 rows per inch. I have the stitch gauge but not the row gauge. OMG. The world is ending. I'll never be able to make a project that fits!!!! Take away all my yarn. Lock me in a small room. 

Kidding. 

All this means is that when the pattern says to knit for 10" (for example) I'll have to do some math. If I need 10" of pattern (POST BLOCKING) then I'll have to take 10" and divide by 4, which is 2.5. Then I multiply 2.5 by 31. In my case, that would be 78 rows (I always round up since I'd rather have a slightly too long project than too short).

Clear as mud?! Yeah, you get it! I know you do.

So what are you still doing here? Go swatch. Love your yarn. And get pumped for next week when we start the cast on and ribbing. By no means do you have to wait until then if you're itching to move forward but we wanted to set a reasonable timeline so we could all finish by April. If you want to see the full schedule check out my previous post that introduced the KAL .

Also, please keep in touch in our Heliopath Kal Ravelry discussion board, on Instagram using #heliopathkal and tagging me, @socalmeaghan, and my good buddy @ghostfaceknitter.

Keep in mind, to be eligible for a prize, you need to finish your Vest (and post images... not blocked is ok, but ends woven in) by 11:59 PST on Saturday, April 12th. Use the tags above on Instagram or post to the discussion board.  

Happy knitting! I'll be watching for your updates!