Birch - the beginnings
I've had an urge to knit Birch from Rowan 34 for a while now, largely as a challenge, and because many other people have done. I wasn't about to spend £10 on the book just for the one pattern, but by a lucky serendipity it was included in the four books for £10 offer that Rowan recently had. So now I have the pattern, and after an accident involving a yarn shop I hadn't seen before in Pocklington, I now have three balls of KSH in a dark green colour.
That should have been the end of it for a while, given that I have many many WIPs at the moment, but of course I had to play with it. I started to cast on the 299 stitches required (and learnt the lace cast on in the process) but then decided that it would be a good idea to do a practice piece first. I had some oddments of KSH, so away I went, casting on 49 stitches. The pattern is a fairly easy one, stitch markers help, but I'm going to get some Brittany Birch straights to do it on, I love my Denises normally, but they don't grip the yarn enough, and my throwing method of knitting left the right hand needle in danger of slipping out of the stitches. I've also ordered some plastic stitch markers, which will help - the metal ones all have a very small join, which the KSH slips through on a regular basis. The pattern is offset by one stitch on each repeat, meaning that all the stitch markers have to be moved on that row, but I think it's probably going to be worth it to avoid mistakes.
This is the finished test piece before blocking -
and a close up -
And this is it after blocking, on the same piece of paper for size reference -
and close up -
Finally, this is it modelled by Mollie, somewhat reluctantly, it must be said!
I've read several reports of people running out of yarn just before the end, so I think I'm going to cast on ten less stitches, and therefore do one less repeat of the pattern, which should mean that I'm okay for yarn. And it'll be finished a tiny bit quicker. Although it still could be quite a while before I'm casually throwing it round my shoulders....
That should have been the end of it for a while, given that I have many many WIPs at the moment, but of course I had to play with it. I started to cast on the 299 stitches required (and learnt the lace cast on in the process) but then decided that it would be a good idea to do a practice piece first. I had some oddments of KSH, so away I went, casting on 49 stitches. The pattern is a fairly easy one, stitch markers help, but I'm going to get some Brittany Birch straights to do it on, I love my Denises normally, but they don't grip the yarn enough, and my throwing method of knitting left the right hand needle in danger of slipping out of the stitches. I've also ordered some plastic stitch markers, which will help - the metal ones all have a very small join, which the KSH slips through on a regular basis. The pattern is offset by one stitch on each repeat, meaning that all the stitch markers have to be moved on that row, but I think it's probably going to be worth it to avoid mistakes.
This is the finished test piece before blocking -
and a close up -
And this is it after blocking, on the same piece of paper for size reference -
and close up -
Finally, this is it modelled by Mollie, somewhat reluctantly, it must be said!
I've read several reports of people running out of yarn just before the end, so I think I'm going to cast on ten less stitches, and therefore do one less repeat of the pattern, which should mean that I'm okay for yarn. And it'll be finished a tiny bit quicker. Although it still could be quite a while before I'm casually throwing it round my shoulders....