Long rows

We read a lot about short rows in knitting. Not so much about long rows. But if you’re knitting a shawl, you become familiar quickly with long rows.

You start out innocently enough with the tip of the shawl—cast on a couple of stitches maybe. And then you work your way up the triangle, adding 2 stitches per row in the case of Tuscany. And the rows start to seem interminable.

When you say, “Just let me finish this row,” you’re no longer talking about a couple of minutes delay. It’s a good chunk of time.

Here’s my progress on Tuscany:

Yarn is Blue Heron Rayon Metallic - Sport Weight; color is Sandstone. Here you can see the gold accents in this yarn:

In the future, I think I’ll stay with stoles or bias-knit stoles. On those, the length of the rows doesn’t increase (at least after a certain point, in the case of bias knits).

All the same, I’m enjoying Tuscany. It’s an easy pattern. And it got much more enjoyable when my size 7 Knitpicks Harmony needles arrived. I had been using some old bamboo needles for the shawl, and knitting with them felt like moving the yarn over sandpaper.

Harmony has been my choice for wooden needles since Knitpicks introduced them; they have just the right balance of grip and slickness. I don’t know what happened to my size 7s, but I have them now.

I am finding, though, that I have to pay too much attention to lace knitting. I’m already casting about for a non-lace project . . . although the projects I think I’ll begin soon (Surplice Lace Top or Eyelet Cardigan) both incorporate lace in the designs. Right now I’m trying to figure out how to add shaping to these two designs. I am working up to this Shaped Pullover, which already has shaping in the design, but I will need to lengthen the sweater.

More stashbusting house socks:

Yarn is Mission Falls 1824 Wool; color is Raspberry. Odd thing about these socks, though—I bought two skeins of this stuff in the same lot number. But there is a slight difference in thickness in the two yarns. It’s not obvious on the skeins, but it sure is in the socks.

When I squeeze the partially knitted socks in my hands, one sock is noticeably less dense than the other one. (I’m past the heel on both socks now, so there’s enough squeezable fabric.) I guess I won’t use Mission Falls again for worsted socks.

I realize now that I never posted a photo of the finished Tuscany socks. You can see the famous Lorna’s Laces pooling. Pooling in socks doesn’t bother me, although I think it would in a sweater.

Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted; color: Tuscany

I have found that my LL Shepherd Worsted socks stretch and get quite loose when they’re on my feet, so this time I cast on four fewer stitches so the socks would be snug. When they stretch out now, they’re just right.

However, I’d like to go back to handwashed socks after I work through my stash sock yarns because non-superwash yarns don’t seem to stretch out much—at least that has been true of my Mountain Colors socks.

 And I don’t mind handwashing knitted socks.