This was a dream to knit with & it's the 1st time that I am knitting with quiviut, one of the most luxurious fibre in the world. The yarn was purchased in Canada & I was asked to knit a neck warmer. I search for an appropriate pattern & found this .....
.... it's the Old Shale Smoke Ring which is the perfect pattern for the yarn. It turned out perfect - so soft & light as feathers. I felt really sad when I cast off as I could knit on forever.
The owner is really pleased with the results & she has more yarn and may want another one knitted up. I don't mind knitting this again & again & I could even knit it for free!
But my happiness was short-lived as I cast on the 2nd project. I was not really pleased when I saw the pattern .....
...... it's the Waistcoat with a collar (on the left). It's a very old design & the construction of the garment is antique. I nearly cried when I read through the instructions as all of you know I only knit garments in 1 piece & this pattern had a band that is knitted separately! I can't do this but I also can't turn down the request as she really wanted the waistcoat. So I re-work all the calculations & the instructions & I knitted it in one piece & pick up for the band. It worked !
.... looks a bit like a waffle stitch but it's prettier. It's a 2 row garter stitch pattern where on every alternate stitch, you knit the stitch below & then just knit all the stitches on the wrong side row. I really like the stitch & will use it for my own design. I still have the waistcoat & will be handing it over to the owner next week & I hope she is happy with it.
I am glad that it's all done & I can get on with my knitting. I think commission work is like having a job & you have to do what you are asked to whether you like it or not. It has been a good experience for me !
8 comments:
The neck warmer looks beautiful. I like the pattern used in the waistcoat too, very pretty.
Beautiful neck warmer. Wonderful recalculating that pattern to knit in one piece! Beautiful work.
Such a pretty pattern. Enjoy your commissions as I'm definitely sure your client will enjoy this lovely neckwarmer!
hi... i just left a comment on helen's blog and of course found yours through hers. :) well, thought i will drop you a note as well. my husband is doing his phd in curtin and i'm not working (yet) so i thought i want to learn knitting (something i've always wanted to do but did not have the time).. my budget is small so would be grateful for your recommendations as to where/ how i can start. i saw in the calendar in knitting inspirations of something on 15aug in borders, hays st (since i live in south perth, that's good).. what is it really? thanks... :)
Love the neck warmer and the quivit sounds nice. would love to get my hands on some.
The waist coat turned out nice. I can understand your feelings about knitting from such an old pattern but it's good that you managed to re-work it to suit you. I'm all for as few seams as possible and I'm planning to start exploring one piece garment design.
I have got to get myself some of that quivet, what a fabulous job you've done with the waistcoat,the stitch is so lovely. Why cant I get a job knittin and being paid for it sounds like a dream. Great work.
So this summer while in Alaska working, I splurged on some quiviut. It's actually a blend with bamboo since I couldn't quite come to terms with THAT much money for 200 skeins of yarn! It's the softest substance I think I've ever had my hands on. I've still been thinking about a pattern and what to do with 200 yards of laceweight quiviut/bamboo...maybe this one would work for me as well? It's beautiful work and I can just see the softness in the cowl!
Also, kudos for recalculating and doing that cardigan your way. I'm impressed with the effort and the final product!
Love the neck warmer, the yarn sounds divine. And well done you for re-working the pattern to suit, it came out really well.
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