Yarn on Thursday: Stitch Edition - The End of Strip #2

The project: Knitting all the stitches in KnittingOnTheNet.com's Stitch Directory.
The yarn: Anything you want. I'm using a Phentex "Monster Ball of Yarn" (32 oz. 100% acrylic), which won't block, but will give good stitch definition.
The needles: Again, whatever you want that goes with your yarn. I'm using my beloved Lantern Moon size 7s, because they're pretty.
Why this is happening: Because lots of people want to learn new stitches this year!

This week's stitches: Pavilion (#32) and Pique Triangles (#33)

Pavilion is another 36-rows-is-one-repeat pattern, and I'm getting near the end of this strip, so first, I decided to start assembling the first two strips together. Thanks to giving up buying yarn (and any other craft related things!!) for Lent, I actually had to hit my stash - and found another Pound O' Yarn in a complimentary darker green. So, I did single crochets up the back, and, once it's all assembled (meaning I've actually finished Strip #2), I'll chain down the front. I'm hoping I'll have enough of the dark green for all the seams and the entire border. A pound makes a sweater, right? So there should be enough...


wrong side view
... and then I got the thing knitted up. Since it's a pattern based off a multiple of eighteen stitches, I put six seed-stitch border stitches before and after the 18 stitches of the pattern, and at thirty-six rows, it only got one repeat. I followed it with six rows of seed stitch border for the "top" of the swatch.




Things I noticed about this pattern: As you can see, it needs blocking - I wasn't sure which photo really worked best, so you get both. It's a cool pattern, though - triangles and bars put together in a really interesting way. Needs blocking, needs blocking, needs blocking. I can see doing an entire (sweater, scarf, blanket) out of it, because it looks pretty cool on both sides. (Darn, should've taken a shot of the back).

Pique Triangles is a nice little four row pattern over a multiple of five stitches, so I set it up with five seed-stitch border stitches before and after twenty pattern stitches (four horizontal repeats). Then I knit four rows, and checked to see how close I was to the end of the strip. Then four more rows. Then four more. Then one more set of four, because I wasn't sure I had enough inches left for the strip (remember, it has to match the pink one it's being attached to) to do five repeats. So, four repeats of the pattern for a total of twenty rows. Then, to make it stand out a bit (especially since it's an "end" pattern), I did one row of border/k20 sts/border.


Things I noticed about this pattern: Reversible, but I think the front side looks prettier - like little triangular flags running along a line on a yacht. It does pull in a bit, so blocking would help. I think it might be pretty on a hat, perhaps? It's an easy-to-remember fill stitch (really, remember two stitch sequences, and switch between RS and WS when knitting them).

So, Strip #2 is almost finished. Starting on the wrong side, I did the final seed stitch border, and it ended up being seven rows. I cast off knitwise on the right side, then finished the single-crochet-up-the-back for the strips. Then I chain-stitched down the front, putting my stitches into the through-the-strips loops of dark green that resulted from the single crochet on the backs of the strips. It makes a very pretty finishing seam between the two!


What shows through from the single crochet on the back


front, with chain stitch down the seam
You know what that means - next week, back to pink, and starting on Strip #3!!!

A note on the whole project: Since there are 139 stitch patterns (some are listed under multiple headings), plus 7 different edgings in KnittingOnTheNet.com's Stitch Directory, I'll be trying to do two to three stitches a week, minimum. This should get everyone a goodly number of new stitches by the end of the year, and hopefully get me a blanket. No worries if you "fall behind" or "start late" - this is for fun & education, there isn't *really* a time limit of any sort on it. If you're just discovering this project, this link will take you to the beginning, and this link will pull up all the related entries. Just knit on, and have fun!