Working out a new pattern

Sock in Progress
Originally uploaded by StoneAmazon.

So I've had this idea for some time, see if you can guess what it is before I put up the finished photos.

Yarn: Regia Jacquard
Needles: US 0

Clapotis Scarf - Magnolia Buds

Clapotis Scarf - Magnolia Buds
Originally uploaded by StoneAmazon.

So I went to the Conservatory Garden in Central Park today to knit at lunch, because I suspected things had begun to bloom. The pink on my needles was reminding me of pink tree blossoms. Was I right or what? The beginnings of the magnolia blooms were perfectly matched. There are cherry trees there as well, but those have not begun to bud yet. I'll keep my eyes open.

Fortunately it was still a bit chilly today so there were only a few hardy garden lovers who witnessed me awkwardly holding up a scarf against a tree to take photos.

Clapotis swatch - complete and frogged

Last Roll - 13.jpg
Originally uploaded by StoneAmazon.

Here's a long view of the swatch. Looking at it with the stitches dropped I think I like the pooled areas as well as or better than the stripes. The truth is I like the white flecked color better than the pink and if it isn't pooled it gets sort of lost between stripes of pink. Sigh. Well, then I'll just let it pool when it wills.

Also I just realized that the 43 stitch width would not be the width of the scarf and instead the width of the bias, making the scarf narrower than I was thinking 43 stitches would give me.

Since I like the pooled and the striped sections, I think I will be ok just increasing to the width I'd like and letting it pool and stripe where it will. So much for swatching to figure out the colorway.

I have frogged this quite substantial swatch now so that I can get as much length as possible for the scarf. Ready to cast on!

Clapotis Swatch - through the back loop

Last Roll - 07.jpg
Originally uploaded by StoneAmazon.

Here are the 3 ladders which carried through the whole swatch. For the outside two, I knit through the back loop and purled on the back side. For the middle ladder, I knit through the back loop on the front and purled through the back loop on the back. I think I will purl through the back loop for the framing stitches since it really does neaten up the ladder edges.

Clapotis Swatch - stitches dropped

Last Roll - 09.jpg
Originally uploaded by StoneAmazon.

So here's the 43 stitch bias swatch with stitches dropped. You can see that the 1 row striping effect continued nicely. Woohoo!

Clapotis Swatch

Clapotis Swatch
Originally uploaded by StoneAmazon.

Here are 2 sections of swatch. First there is a 49 stitch section, this was too wide for the color sections so I bound off 6 to 43 stitches and then started swatching on the bias. Two rows down from the needle here I adjusted the yarn to start the color at the beginning of the row. So far this is causing a 1 row striping effect, pink then white which travels nicely on the bias.

Clapotis Swatch

Clapotis Swatch
Originally uploaded by StoneAmazon.

This is the 43 stitch section and is the width I'm looking at because there are about 41-43 stitches per color. I just need to adjust the color to the beginning of the row. But I wonder about travelling on the bias if the stripes would travel too.