Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Provisional Cast On for Mermaid

Hello to all!

I am preparing to start Mermaid, and would like to know which Provisional Cast On was successful for the front edge? At times I've used the crochet cast on, then knit into the crochet chain, but the stitches are very tight, besides there being one stitch less. The crochet cast on doesn't seem right for the front edge of Mermaid. What has worked for others?

I haven't had many chances to practice Provisional Cast Ons and tried to avoid them in the the past. Which cast ons were used for the completed Mermaids? Any and all tips are appreciated :)

Thanks to everyone [especially amy! for the spreadsheet].

Jules.

ps, knitting stripe 27 on Diva has eluded me, I am on stripe 25, hopefully by tonight I'll be finishing the big triangle. I'm a knitting fool.

Ballerina Help

Hello Ballerina knitters. Can someone please help me with the pattern symbols? On side 3(noted at bottom of pattern page) column 1 about halfway down, there are some strange symbols which I can't figure out and I have searched everywhere for an explanation. After it says At The Same Time.........it ends with Work 1 ridge-then work short rows to make sleeve slant towards raglan seam (6) to (8) -Then there is the first symbol. The second symbol appears after Ridge 2 . Then I see another one of these symbols at the top of the next column-almost looks like 4 $ signs. What are these crazy symbols? I am going crazy trying to figure them out.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

New Member =)

Hello All!

I'm new & this is my first knitalong. I purchased the mermaid in colorway #6- slate & purple, still waiting for her to be arrived from UK. Can't wait !! I have a few questions here if anyone of you don't mind to help me out:

- i've heard there's millions of ends to weave in during the finishing process, is that true?
-it seems the project level is moderate, but the pattern is hard to understand & the small guage takes forever to knit, do you agree?

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Diva at 22

Here's Diva after a dozen-or-so hours of knitting, and she's 14.5"/ 37cm from base to peak. I wish I had fewer WIPs so I could concentrate only on Diva, but I'm easily bored and distracted so am forever casting on.

This photo shows 21 cyclamen/ plum stripes completed, of which I need 27 for size medium. At this exact moment I am halfway through the 22nd stripe, it's really hard to see here, but there are ~300 pink stitches on the needle. I WILL knit through till the 27th stripe tonight, eek it's almost midnight already.

The fabric is nice and squishy, light and huggable, and I love it. Lots of people notice Diva as I knit in public often, she's cute and gets a lot of attention. I answer more questions about this little beauty than any other project. Diva is simply beautiful.

Jules.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Hello from Wales

Hi
Glad to be joining the blog...I've been reading it for a couple of weeks and it's very inspiring. The kits I am getting are Pagode and Pyramide...I could not make up my mind between Pagode colorway 1 or 2...anyone got these??? I wasn't sure how representational the colours on Hanne's website were..given how some folks blog pigs seem lighter than the Falkenberg gallery pics.
I also couldn't find any webpics of the Pyramide blueberry/black and chestnut/black colourways. They both sounded lovely.
Anyhow, I'm based in the Uk and I plan to start on Pyramide.
Jackie

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Diva and Mermaid

Hello! I am Jules and am joining in with 2 kits: Diva 7 and Mermaid 9.

I wanted to knit Diva for many months but felt I should wait until some WIPs were finished. That was plain torture so I gave in and ordered both kits on New Year's Eve.

Here's the beginning of Diva which is coming along after a few false starts. The needles are 3mm Addis, and I was able to achieve proper gauge by knitting slightly looser than normal, I am a tight knitter who consciously loosens up, as it is easier on the wrists.

I'll be posting progress and asking questions!

Jules.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Working on Mermaid

Hello,

I'm new to this blog, but pretty excited about it! I've been keeping my little gem of a kit in the corner and you all have inspired me to get it out (especially the one that has made 3!!)

I bought my kit about a year ago and waited several months to start it. I'm not too far into it. It just doesn't feel "right" when I'm knitting. I'm an A.D.D. knitter anyway and this "wrongness" hasn't helped my disorder. :)

Anyway, my name is Kallie and I'm from South Bend, IN. Been knitting since I was a kid. I also spin and quilt.
Looking forward to playing with you all via the web.

Kallie

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Knitalong Maintenance

As some of you have noticed, I temporarily changed the sidebar of the knitalong where the participant list appears. Right now I am using the automatic blogger list which lists everyone who is a member of the knitalong. To visit someone's personal blog, click on their name which will take you to their profile. If they have a blog, they can put a link to the blog in their profile.

With 157 members, I got behind on adding everyone to the side bar along with their blog address and HF projects. So, I took the list down until I can get everyone added in and then I'll put it back up. Thanks for your patience.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Lastrada Help

Well, it sure didn't take me long to run up against a question I couldn't answer. On Page 2 of the directions, (bottom of first column) it says 14 more rows in Colour A , a total of -for me- 17 rows.
OK. then it says work 2 rows in colour B. 19 rows. Continue in stripes as shown in the chart. Each square=2 k rows=1 ridge.

Question: There are two charts shown. I'm assuming that they mean the chart on the right, where it says "Start here after first 10 ridges." (20 rows). Fine, but I have only 19 rows.

What am I missing here? Are they counting the cast on row?

Thanks,
Barb

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Tweedie!

Tweedie-Kit

As a part of this year's goal to knit no less than 9 sweaters, I am trying to start off on a high note and begin with another Hanne Falkenberg design. I ordered and received this kit from Kangaroo, and despite a bit of a mix-up (the kit is missing a colour so I'm waiting for them the ship it to me separately) I am thrilled with the colours and pattern so far. I've had a bit of a read through and the pattern seems relatively straight-forward, and knit on rather large needles for a Hanne design too! I can't wait to really get started on it!

Saturday, January 06, 2007

Studio Long

I am starting Studio Long. This is the turtleneck with the zig-zag on the front. I am doing colorway 3. Has anyone already created a spreadsheet to go with this sweater? Are there any pattern errors that anyone knows of?

Thanks for your help. I have previously knitted Mermaid and it went very smoothly, thanks to the spreadsheet. I find her patterns to be somewhat challenging, to read.

Thanks
Susan

New member on the blog

Hello everyone!

I´m new to this blog, my name is Marianne and I´m knitting a Hanne Falkenberg LUDO jacket for my son in colour 5.
I´m purposely choosing an easy - and small - first project just to see if I get along with the HF patterns.
Next, I plan to do the lovely Lascala Scarf! There are so many lovely items I would just love to knit, and I´m eagerly following all your progress with different patterns and colours to see what motivation may strike.

I have to read a little bit more about what rules you have for uploading pictures and such before I show you my progress so far, but please have a look at my blog for updates on the LUDO jacket and my other knitting projects. I´ve already had a few small run-ins with both the yarn, cast-on and pattern but now everything seems to be going well :)


Marianne in Norway
http://strikkebloggen.blogspot.com

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

New Member

Well, Lastrada #1 has been sitting my dresser, staring back at me for well over a year. Last month, when my LYS offered a series of 4 instruction-only classes for HF kit owners I immediately signed up. Right now, I'm in the swatching phase and have had to frog several times as I try to get the right needle size. I will say that the yarn holds up very well even after repeated ripping out.

The thought of casting 475 stitches is a bit daunting, but not as much as finding out I need about 10.5 yds for my long tail cast on!!!

I'll get a photo up as soon as I get the cast-on done.

Barb in MI

Monday, January 01, 2007

Ballerina Question

I just started my first Hanne Ballerina and thanks to Amy, the spreadsheet has made for an enjoyable knit. I am still a bit curious about sizing. I am 5'7' and about 135 lbs. I was making the larger size for the length. Does anyone have any more experience with this? I'd hate to goof, but would really be sad if I did all the work and it ended up being too small.