Besides the Brea Bag that is finished and only needs to be sewn (by someone else, I guess, because I'm TOO bad at it), I've managed to finish the Pima Poncho I've been knitting and undoing since June! :-D
Well, it actually looks more like a scarf, but I have to join the two sides and add the fringes. Again the joining scares me. I guess I have to take some sewing classes ;-)
There's no doubt about it. The problem is, I never finish anything. I recently gave up on at least 3 projects. Vik scarves for the homeless are waiting for me, half started. The pink mohair shawl is somewhere in a bag, the brea bag is almost finished, almost, and what about the polar blanket? Still waiting for the winter to come.
And what do I do? Of course I've just started a new project!! I guess I have to definitely face the fact that I am a flighty starter and knit alongs simply aren't good for me (or, better to say, I am not good for them).
Anyway, this is the lovely new project I've embraced yesterday, the Chanson Capelet. Isn't it sweet? I'm making it in black cotton and instead of working it as a little cape, I'm doing closed rounds, so that in the end I'll have a short poncho. If I manage to finish it.
But this time the pattern goes on pretty fast and I'm confident that I can make it. I'll keep you posted :-)
This winter is pretty bizarre. Since December I've traveled a bit around Europe always finding sunny days and warm weather. Last month, passing the Alps I couldn't see a bit of snow. How weird. I mean it's pretty cool, because the weather is really mild, but very strange.
Anyway all this warm weather makes me want to make plenty of ponchos!
And once again I go back to Viva Poncho looking for inspiration. What about the pinky one? And the beige with a collar? It's so hard to choose!!!
Looking inside the book "Viva Poncho", that I often use as inspiration, I found the lovely "Desiree Poncho" (in the pic in pink), and I found this Brioche stitch pattern very very nice, perfect of a scarf made with the new Rowan Polar yarn I just bought on eBay. So I tried.
The pattern looked very easy:
Co multiples of 3 sts
Found Row: *yo, sl 1, k1*
1st Row: *yo, sl 1, k2tog*
Repeat 1st row for pattern.
Simple isn't it? Well it is SO elementary that it's impossible to figure it out. How do you start a row with a yarn over? And how do you yarn over? When it says Slip 1, it is knitwise or purlwise? The number of sts will double from found row and row 1?
It took me a whole day of research on the web, I've found 1000 explanation but none clear and understandable. So I tried every possible combination, knitting and undoing what I had knitted, over and over again. The pattern was always a mess... until now!
I finally got it!!! I am so happy that I want to share my experience with you, so that from now on if you find a brioche stitch (or brioche rib) pattern you'll know how to do it without going crazy :-)
Here some tips I figured out:
1. YO = Yarn over in this pattern does not mean a usual yarn over, as if to make 1. But it means bring yarn forward, toward you. And keep it in front of you as if to purl. So you'll always start your row with the yarn in front of you. Then you'll slip one stitch as follows.
2. Sl 1 = Because the Brioche stitch is a rib pattern, which usually alternates knits and purls, I figured that slip 1, meant slip 1 as if to purl, because after that you always knit.
3. K2tog = Because the yarn is in front of you as if to purl, when you'll knit the next 2 sts tog (or k1 in found row) you'll bring naturally the yarn back, making a new st crossed above the slipped st (you'll knit them tog on the next row). You always knit together 2 crossed sts (a slipped one from precedent row and the stitch you made bringing the yarn back to knit). After knitting the sts, bring anew the yarn toward you (yo in the pattern) and restart.
3. Foundation row = Begin as it follows (this tip comes from Viva Poncho): Bring Yarn forward (yo), slip 1 (purlwise), k2tog, then continue as in pattern, *yo (=bring yarn forward), sl 1 (purlwise), k1*. If you follow this tip count one more stitch to the multiples of 3 sts.
So, after all this tying change the pattern as it follows:
yo -> Yf= Bring yarn forward as if to purl
sl1 -> Sl1p= Slip 1 purlwise
Cast on multiple of 3 sts (+1 if you follow the Viva Poncho Tip on foundation row)
Foundation row: (Yf, Sl1p, k2tog;) *yf, sl1p, k1*. Repeat ** till the end of row
Row 1: *yf, sl1p, k2tog*. Repeat **
Repeat row 1 for pattern
I hope I've helped some of you to figure this pattern out, because now that I got it, it goes really fast and the texture of the ribs obtained is fluffy and exquisite. Here's an example of the Brioche rib in Polar Combat (click to enlarge).
Happy Knitting!
ITALIAN UPDATE:
A grande richiesta aggiungo la spiegazione anche in italiano. Con un'avvertenza, prima di iniziare uno schema impratichitevi un po' con il punto. E' molto bello e veloce, ma difficilissimo da recuperare in caso di errore. Per cui meglio fare 2-3 prove prima di partire con la sciarpa o il poncho.
Monta maglie multiple di 3
Primo rigo di fondazione: *porta il filo verso di te (come se dovessi fare un rovescio), fai scivolare 1 maglia come se dovessi lavorarla a rovescio, lavora 1 maglia al dritto**. Ripeti da * a **
NB: quando lavori la maglia al dritto crei un incrocio col filo che hai precedentemente portato in avanti.
Rigo 1: *porta il filo verso di te (come se dovessi fare un rovescio), fai scivolare 1 maglia come se dovessi lavorarla a rovescio, lavora 2 maglie insieme al dritto*. Ripeti da * a **.
NB: Le due maglie che lavori insieme sono incrociate, perché una delle due è quella che hai creato all'andata.
Ripeti il rigo 1
Hi,
I made a few new progress icons for a Vi Poncho and a felted purse, feel free to use them if you like'em :-)
This horrible series of evil events won't stop me. I've stated crocheting and knitting again. Slowly, but happily. I'm progressing on the (in)famous blanket wich will be ready in 4-5 years, maybe! And I've started another poncho, from Viva Poncho! very nice, I'll post a pic asap.
If nothing elese bad happens, I should be back online (and in the US) by the end of september, then I'll come back to visit all your lovely blogs, my friends, I miss you and your fantastic jobs!
Lot's of love to eveybody, see you soon!
Hello everybody,
as I promised here I am from abroad. Here the weather is rainy, so not much of a change from the Bay Area ;-) and I've just received 3 skeins of Noro Kureyon 154 that I had previously ordered on E-Bay UK. Sweet!
Later this afternoon I'll post the picture of the Eleanor Poncho that I have just finished and a coordinate hat I've made while I was on the plane (praying for my safety ;-). Since then here's a nice pic of the Belgian Capital.
Here is the pic, as promised. As you can see, the Poncho still needs to be washed and blocked as to shape it correctly, but I am so bad at washing wool that I'll give it to my mom as it is, and she will fix it. Hope she'll like it anyway.
I've been trying to use the lovely Knitting Progress Tracker by Indigirl, but apparently Blogspot doesn't support JavaScript :-/
Anyway, I spent the last hour making my own poncho icons, feel free to use them if you can put a JavaScript in your Blog :-)
Here they are:
I've also made some "progress poncho icons". Feel free to download them to your blog. Please do not link directy those files, it would hurt my bandwidth. If you decide to use those icons, I would appreciate a link to this blog :-)
It's here! It's here! I've just received it!!
What? But the 10 balls of Rowan Polar color Jaffa that I had ordered on e-Bay! I'm SO happy!!!!!!!!! :-D
The color is actually even better that I expected, and it's so soft and rich. O my goodness, I'm so excited, I can't wait to start the
Eleanor Poncho for my Mom!! Yuppeeeeeeeeeee!!!!
Finally all my bidding on e-Bay gave some results. I've received the fantastic, marvelous, wonderful, outstanding Boyle Needle master. Yooohoooo! I LOOOVE it, and even if I'm a very bad knitter, I don't care I wanna knit the world with my needlemaster!!!
I already started to knit a pillow cover, and I already can see that the results will be very poor... But who cares!? My next step will be knitting a poncho from the lovely book "Viva Poncho", I've chosen this one, it's called ELEANOR. Isn't it lovely? I'll do it for my mom. 
My only problem now is buying the Rowan Polar yarn necessary for the project, and apparently is not easy, not even on e-Bay. I thought I made it today, but at the very last 20 sec on the auction someone bided 1 dollar more than me and got the yarn :-(
I guess, I'll try again... or I'll go to Article Pract in Oakland and ask for a substitute yarn...
