I must have lost my mind

Hi Everyone! This is all Laetitia's fault. I have lurked at her blog sporadically since sometime last year because the gal has great taste in knitted fashions and she wears them well. Anyway, I followed her link to IC and, next thing I knew, my man was drooling over my shoulder enquiring as to whether there should not be some internet blocks on displaying so much bare instep when attired in such a skirt and "when are you going to make one like that?". It did no good to point out that, at 50, I might be a little mature to be flouncing about with a bow on my butt. Whatever. It may well be my last chance to wear such a skirt without looking totally ridiculous. While I was wiping the drool off the keyboard, he put in a further request that it be made of silk in a vibrant blue. The first thing that came to mind was Fiesta La Luz in Bluebonnet. I have no experience with this yarn and would welcome some feedback. Not yet content, the man then ventured that I should work a discreet eyelet pattern to bracket the diamonds formed by the ribbon, creating the illusion that one might get a peek at something more (the eyelets would actually sit under the ribbon until movement let them flash briefly). By this time, my jaw had gone totally slack. Who knew that the man could have so many consecutive thoughts about fashion? When I ventured that bamboo might be better than silk for preventing sag, he responded firmly: "they make parachutes out of silk for a reason!". So, there you have it. I wish I had a local source for La Luz so I could do some swatching before committing to a skirt's worth. Thanks for letting me join and I look forward to seeing everyone's progress.

hey, nice to meet you

My first response to the fall knitty was "Must. Make. That. Skirt." I am, however, a little afraid of what that much curve would do to my hips of doom so I've decided to stitch it up for my tall and skinny sister-in-law for Christmas. Joining a KAL always makes these sorts of projects more fun, especially since invariably I come to a moment in every pattern where I want to tear the project off my needles and rip it apart because something won't do what I think it should. Y'all will talk me me off the ledge, right? Okay, so maybe that won't be necessary--the pattern looks pretty straightforward. But here I can share my opinions and pictures of my progress in a stealth-like fashion, far away from the peeking eyes of my intended gift-ee.

Next step? Buy yarn. Hi, I'm Amy. I like to make stuff with my hands.

So far...

ic 002
Originally uploaded by fallbrowneyes.

Since nobody has blogged for a while, I figured i'd post and show you all my progess. Because I'm knitting the 2x size, it takes 254 stitches to knit one row, so far.. :-P Basically all I've finished is the elastic casing/waist band.

Hope to see everyone's yarn/progress soon!

Yarn Sale

While looking for SWTC Bamboo yarn, I found the Discount Yarn Sale site, which is selling 10 skein bags for $101.25 (American). That is approx. $3/skein less than retail (for example, Kpixie sells it for $13/skein). The image at left is the color card of available shades. I do not know if this is the older version of the yarn that Ashley mentioned in the previous post, or the newer, washed version. And a bag is more than is required for the project, but if you are interested in having some for your stash, this might be a cost-effective way to use the yarn called for in the pattern. Has anyone purchased yarn from them before?

I am also confused about the gauge for this pattern. Ashley, you mentioned that this yarn is a worsted weight, knit at DK gauge, but all info I could find on this yarn says it is DK. Did you mean that knitting it on smaller needles (the size4 you used vs. the size6 recommended by SWTC)? Thanks.

Hope everyone finds this helpful.

Notes from the Designer

I received a lovely email this morning from Ashley Moncrief, the pattern designer of "our" skirt, saying she was both appreciative of our interest in her pattern AND available for consultation via email with any questions we might have. She also left these messages as notes to previous posts, which I though I'd share here as well:

To Bettina's question about yarn substitutions, Ashley wrote:

"Hello, this is Ashley Moncrief, the skirt designer. To Velma: I really would be extremely cautious about using a yarn with a moderate silk content because it does have a tendency to grow and 'stretch'. Elann.com has two Peruvian Collection yarns, one in alpaca and one in wool in worsted weight that come in several different colors. Remember that I knitted with a worsted weight yarn at a smaller gauge to help prevent sagging. I have never used a Peruvian Collection yarn, so I don't know exactly how it will perform. Another yarn you could use is called Zara by Filatura di Crosa. It is absolutely one of my favorite yarns. It is an extrafine Merino Wool that feels wonderful. I think it would be a good option. If you don't use it for this, at least try it out on something else in the future. I think it's the best Merino out there (that I've come across). Good luck."

To Laetitia, who is using the recommended SWTC Bamboo, Ashley wrote:

"About your concern about sagging: The pattern calls for a smaller gauge than what is recommended for the yarn, specifically to help eliminate the sagging effect of some knitted skirts. If you stick to the gauge called for, I really don't think you'll have a problem."

Finally, I received a second email from Ashley, as follows:

"...the skirt I made is wearing fine with no sagging or stretching. However, I am a little concerned because SWTC has changed their bamboo, and the one currently available is not the one I used. They have said that it is the same thing, and the only difference is that they washed it. However, the bamboo yarn I used was sort of rough and the 'new' version is very shiny and smooth... possibly troublesome for a skirt. I washed my swatch, and it didn't turn into the shiny smooth version that is now available, so I really don't know if that is the only difference like they say. Actually it does feel much better now, I just hope it will behave the same way.

Like I posted this morning, I think Zara by Filatura di Crosa would be a great substitution. I can't say enough good things about it. The only drawback is that it has a somewhat loose ply and you can easily split the yarn with your needles if you're not careful."

So, there you have it folks, directly from the horse's mouth, as they say, we have yarn substitution suggestions! I am also sending Ashley a Blogger invitation so she can post directly to this blog. Welcome, Ashley, and our thanks!

Miscellany

Dears, I have created a Frappr! map and linked it in the sidebar. We are a truly international group, representing Australia, France, Spain, and the U.S. to date. Please add yourself to the map, so we can see where one another calls home.

I have also contacted the pattern author, inviting her to participate as a guest in our little knitalong. I am hoping that she is interested in offering yarn substitution suggestions. We shall see.

I also emailed Green Mountain Spinnery, who offers a Sylvan Sprite, a Tencel/wool blend dk yarn for sale. My thought was that because Tencell, a wood-pulp derived fiber, is supposed to retain garment shape well, as does wool, this might be a nice yarn substitution. Knitter's Review did a Yarn Profile of it HERE. A major drawback to this yarn, as I see it, is that it is only offered in 2 shades: a creamy white that may or may not take dye well, and a "brown-gray" color that looks more blue-gray to me. It is also costly, at $11 per 180 yard skein. On the upside, it is a relatively "green" yarn, as GMS uses environmentally-friendly processing and suppliers. I am still waiting to hear from them, too.

Hope all are enjoying the knitalong. Happy knitting!

Yarn Substitutions

Hi,

I can't wait to start this skirt, but first I will have to find a yarn I like. I was all set to order some Bamboo as in the pattern, but I really don't like the colors. Ok, don't get me wrong, the colors are great but for me none of them cries out "skirt". I was looking for a pewter or charcoal or maybe even a sand or oatmeal kind of color. The brown would be great, but I have 4 brown skirts (all different materials and shades, but I really don't need a fifth brown skirt, LOL).

So, does anyone have ideas as to substitutions? I was thinking Euroflax, but any suggestion would be welcome.

Until I have found the right thing, I'll keep plugging away at my UFO's and continue searching cyber space (no LYS anywhere here, unfortunately!)

I got my yarn today!

icyarn 002
Originally uploaded by fallbrowneyes.

Hi everyone, I'm Hanna from Iowa. This is my first knitalong and flickr/blogger post, so I hope this comes out ok.
I'm going to be making my IC in this lovely shade of scarlet red bamboo in the 2x size. The picture makes it look a bit more bright and metallic than it really is. It's closer to like a blood red. I used my center pull ball winder on all six balls so I wouldn't end up with a tangled mess. All but one had manufacturer's knots in them, so watch out for that if you use the yarn called for in the pattern.
I hope to start a swatch as soon as I'm done with this post.

Welcome to the Intolerable Cruelty Skirt KAL!

The new Fall 2006 issue of Knitty is out (yeah!!) and I was so taken with the Intolerable Cruelty Skirt pattern I decided to start a knitalong. Hope you will join me!

To Sign up:
Please send me an email WITH YOUR NAME, EMAIL ADDY, AND YOUR BLOG URL (if you have one) to velma underscore occam (at) yahoo (dot) com and I will:

1. Add you to the group
2. Put your name and a link to your blog (if you have one) in the sidebar
3. Send you an invite to join, allowing you to post here
   

Next Steps:

1. Get your pattern
2. Get your yarn
   
3. Start knitting!

Finally:

1. You can post your progress/problems/photos here (please, no photos bigger than 350pixels, the Flickr! small size)
   
2. You can also join and post your photos to the Flickr! group
3. Take a button for your blog (please save to your server; don't be a bandwidth thief!)
4. Tell your knitting friends!
   

This knitalong is the first I've administered, so please be patient and cut me a little slack if (er, when) I foobar it up. (Please post any questions about the KAL in the comments for this post).

Happy Knitting!