Hocus Pocus Crocus

I unpicked the duplicate stitch row from under the light-green reverse stocking stitch ridge.

I then had to decide whether to rip all the way down to the light green, or do something else. I had vowed to rip without hesitation if the situation demanded it, but when it came to the crunch, I couldn't face reknitting the bits that were okay.

I also knew I wanted to break up the solid brightness of the light-green.


So I threaded in a safety line top and bottom, and snipped the yarn. I then had live stitches which were the top of the bottom piece and another lot of live stitches which were the bottom of the top piece. Confused? Not as confused as I was, when it came time to rejoining the two pieces.

I thought of doing a three-needle bind-off, but I thought it would make the area of the join too bulky.

Just messing around, I threaded a long strand of the purple yarn through the upward pointing loops and the downward pointing loops, alternating them one on one. I liked the effect. I was careful to make the thread loose enough to match the tension of the knitted stitches.

Still just messing around, I then threaded the purple yarn back the other way, this time weaving it through every second loop. It gives a really interesting effect, and the tension is good. I hope you can see in the close-up photo how it worked.

Now the question remains: do I do the same thing at the top of the light-green stripe? My pattern doesn't have to be symmetrical.


Oh yes, I break all the rules, and join colours in on purl rows too. I really like the nubs showing. It almost looks like top-stitching in sewing techniques.

I can see the yarn play -
purple:"It's my turn now"
green:"No, I'm not ready to go!"
purple:"Okay, just a little bit more then."

I've been doing that purl row colour joining quite a bit throughout. I don't know why all the advice books say don't do it. I like the effect.

All Colours Present in Crocus

All the colours now have their stripes in the Crocus jumper.

I'm not sure about the light green. It looks a lot more yellow knitted up than it did in the ball, and a lot lighter, too.

I tried to break up that brightness by doing some duplicate stitch of purple just below the reverse stocking stitch ridge. It doesn't look all that good, so I'll probably pull it out again. It scarcely shows up in the photo. The purple in the middle of the light green is some more Opal.

The next colour above the beige will probably be the dark green, and then purple again at the shoulders. I don't think I want any more of the light green.

Oh well, it is what it is ...

In The Green

Here's a little more progress on Crocus.
I've separated the Opal from the purple with a couple of rows of reverse stocking stitch. It gives a nice raised ridge, adding a bit of texture.

I've done the same with the green - I think this will be a repeated design feature - separating each colour change with those ridges.

The Opal has almost made fair-isle patterns - the repeats don't quite line up, but I don't mind. It adds a quirky randomness to it. And as I am working on a less structured approach to my life, so quirky randomness fits right in with my new philosophy of "go with the flow".

Not long ago I would have ripped and redone, ripped and redone, and if it wasn't absolutely perfect, I would have given up.

Now, it is what it is. Accept. Breathe. Be.

Crocus Progress

I did a swatch, I did the maths, and now I've started the Crocus jumper.

I've used several sources as a guide for my pattern - '1000 Sweaters' - which gives a good idea of the structure of a jumper, and ideas for necklines, etc; and a couple of home-made jumpers to use as examples.

The wool knits up nicely, although it feels a little strange using 4mm needles after all those chunky hats.
I switched to circs after doing the ribbing. I also didn't use a smaller size needle for the ribbing - I didn't want the gathering effect that this would give. I'm just about ready to start my first stripe of Opal.

Spring Colours

Well, I was feeling that I may want to try to knit something other than hats.

That's when I found two balls of Opal yarn, shown off with a swatch knitted up in the shop. Oh, I really loved the way it made patterns all by itself!

But I got the impression that the self-patterning only worked on small-scale garments - socks, a kiddie's jumper. 'Why didn't they make a "big" version of it?' I asked myself, followed by 'How could I make use of it anyway?'

So, I thought I could make use of it by incorporating it into a jumper as a feature panel or stripe.

I got some solid colour wool that matched colours that were in the Opal - purple, dark green, light green, and a pale beigey-cream. The purple will be the main ground colour.

The colours remind me of spring or autumn crocuses, so I will call it Crocus.


It may be ready by Spring - the end of Spring, perhaps?

I don't have a pattern, specifically. It's going to be A Big Adventure.