ARRGyle

Argyle is a Scottish knitting style that involves color contrasting diamonds and crosses, which require many individual strands of yarn on every row. I don’t love intarsia. But, you have to be Queen of Intarsia to make argyle anything.  So, I’ve been wondering what possessed me to attempt Sandi Rosner’s Argyle in the Holiday Issue of Vogue Knitting.

Here are the reasons, in roughly chronological order:

1.     I have started a collection of tweedy yarn (a Valley Yarn from WEBS called Worthington), and I had three colors leftover from other sweaters, and I thought they would look good on a dark grey background. Actually, only two colors are leftover—the third is still a sweater in progress.

2.     I only have about 5 projects going, so it seemed like a good time to add another. Plus, I've only just now started my holiday knitting.

3.     I was heading North in a few days, and would therefore be stopping at WEBS.  I am not capable of passing 91N, Exit 18, without going to WEBS.

4.     I always think of my Great Aunt Fran both when I see anything argyle and when I go North. She really was great in many ways, including that she was my dad’s aunt, and so was my Great Aunt.  She was also the real Queen of Argyle.  During her knitting days she was constantly making argyle socks for my great uncle. Once when I told her how much I disliked argyle knitting, she said she had become addicted to it. This will not happen to me. But, denial is the bedrock of addiction...

So there I was, up North, making my way through 54 rows of argyle.  When I first read through the pattern I thought it was unfortunate that I would have to add the crosses later using duplicate stitch, but at Row 26 was fully convinced that the whole thing, and me, would be crumpled on the floor if it was necessary to work with even one more yarn ball tethered to the project.  Eighteen is enough, thank you.  I developed a knitting system to make it through.  I commandeered the Southeast corner of the kitchen island, where I stood on the South edge to knit the front, and on the East edge to purl the back.  After each row I gingerly positioned the project to one side or the other of the 18 dangling mini balls.  The pattern indicates that working the argyle pattern on the back is optional.  No, sorry, I think not.

 

getting unwieldy

Eighteen mini-balls

Once the diamonds were nearly done I cut off the balls and let it get rat nesty

a view from the east side of the island

Part of the problem is that I am using sport weight yarn instead of the worsted the pattern calls for, and I’m making a large size, so instead of two pattern repeats, I’m doing four.  Double the number of dangling mini balls.

It all seems to have been worth the trouble--I'm happy with how the front is coming together!

One cross, two to go

Looking Forward to Fair Isle Friday

There is so much about Shetland Wool Week that I find exciting, and I’m especially looking forward to Fair Isle Friday, when folks are encouraged to post pictures of their Fair Isle projects on social media.  This seems like a great way to focus attention on this textile tradition, and I am preparing to participate.  My plan is to take pictures of ALL the webcam hats that I’ve designed over the past 3 years.  In all there are 10 different designs, each one inspired by Shetland Webcams.  All the designs have the same OXO pattern, with the O shaped like an eye and the X like a tripod in reference to the webcams.  The OXO patterns surround a central pattern that represents some aspect of what can be viewed from a specific camera, or sometimes from a few cameras. I have six versions of one of the hats, and some of them I have made using J&S for one and Spindrift for another. I’ve also used Uradale organic yarns and have tried a few using the non-Shetland yarn Knit Picks Palette.  

Aurora Hat

Inspired by Cliff Cams 1 and 3

The loopy central pattern represents the ever-changing greenish light in the sky around Sumburgh Head, as seen on Cliff Cams 1 and 3. 

Puffin Hat

Inspired by Cliff Cams 1, 2, and 3

I struggled with this pattern until I decided to show the puffin head-on. 

Waves and Rocks Hat

Inspired by Cliff Cam 1

The waves crashing on the rocky cliffs of Sumburgh Head provide endless entertainment.

Waves and Rocks on the brother, Pastures and Stiles on the sister-in-law.

Pastures and Stiles Hat

Inspired by Cliff Cam 3

I enjoy the cliff walk from Jarlshof to Sumburgh Head Light House every time I visit Shetland.  The sheep don’t seem to mind folks walking through their pastures.

The patterns for Puffin, Waves and Rocks, and Pastures and Stiles hats are available here. 

Lerwick Hat

Inspired by Victoria Pier Cam

The Victoria Pier cam offers a panoramic view of Lerwick and the central pattern of this hat was inspired by the silhouette of rooftops against the sky.

Speaker Hat

Inspired by Shetland Museum Cam (no longer in operation)

I loved watching the ferry come and go from this cam, and sometimes the water and sky appeared such a brilliant blue.  The central pattern of this hat was inspired by a terrace in front of the museum with an array of speakers that convey interesting stories about Shetland.

Fire Festival Hat

Inspired by Town Hall West (no longer in operation, but there is now a channel devoted to Up Helly Aa)

This hat was super fun to design, with the Viking helmet and the bright, fiery colors. A pattern for this hat is available here.

Jubilee Garden Hat

This is the one that has been most challenging to design, but also the most fun because I absolutely love the Jubilee Garden in Lerwick.  It is a vibrant, colorful oasis amongst rows and rows of brownish-grey houses in the middle of the town.  The early version of this hat depicted a pathway as the central pattern, but it seemed important to have a more obvious floral motif, so I played around with a flower design that included roots underground.  

Bressay Light House

Inspired by Fjara Sea Level Cam

The colors in this hat are based on the white, yellow, and black on the light house and the red equipment around it.  The cliffs and sea and sky provide a beautiful contrast on Fjara cam.

The Ferry Hat

Inspired by almost every cam, especially the new Lerwick Harbour cam

I often watch the ferry leave on its daily journey south. I’d have to be up at 2 a.m. to see it arrive, and I have watched it come in a few times, but mostly I see it leave, at approximately 12:30 or 2:00 p.m. my time.  I LOVE taking the ferry to and from Shetland and seeing it on the webcams from afar is a special treat. The ferry is not easy to translate into a Fair Isle pattern—the hat pictured here is the 4^th version, and I’m still not sure it’s quite right. What is supposed to look like a boat with Magnus the Viking pointing forward looks a bit more like the Statue of Liberty on a snail!

Making these hats and working out their designs has been hugely fun.  I love working with J&S 2-ply and Spindrift, and knitting the hats has developed into a source of solace during these past few challenging years. I’ve nearly got the pattern for Jubilee Garden Hat written, but I’m thinking I’ll stop there with this project and turn my attention to other Fair Isle projects and some Shetland lace. I can’t imagine not watching the webcams, though, so inspiration might strike again!