Saturday, August 6, 2016

Finished Object: Color Blocked Bias Wrap

Yo peeps. While I could do 10 of a zillion things, I've decided to spend this (hormonally replete) weekend on my couch and in my yoga space a) knit swatching for a bunch of new projects, b) reading 3 new health-related books which were recently recommended*, c) lengthening the bits of my body that are scrunched into pain and d) trying out my latest online yoga discovery (you know how I love finding new home-based yoga sites).

That site would be Yoga International online. You may recall it was a well-respected paper mag for a good couple of decades. In the death-throes of that industry, it modernized with an online articles-meets-workshops-meets-yoga classes platform. While I cannot speak of this as yet (I'm still in the early stages of discovery), I sense that this may be my fave version yet. There's much more emphasis on alignment-based yoga here - and much less of that facile fusion everyone seems to be doing. Also, the people look just like those you'd see in your yoga class (real, if excessively competent).

I do have an exciting adventure on the horizon, which I'll speak more about soon. But in the meanwhile, let's look at one of the most satisfying knits I've encountered in a very long time:

Color Block Bias Wrap by Suzanne Shaw. I won't lie, spelling "colour" without the "u" is disturbing to me!


This is the yarn my parents bought for me in Charlotte this spring. I love it even more knitted than in the hank. These pictures really do not do it justice. The colours are delicious. The hand is awesome. The finished garment is the perfect size to keep you very warm all winter - even if your pre-renoed, century-home is a sieve. This is not skimpy, nor is it unweildy. When well-knit, it looks like an expensive thing you've bought in a fancy shop.

Who should make this? Everyone who likes shawls who's got at least 3 projects under his or her belt. You need to know how to cast on and bind off (but only in the most minimal way), knit, purl, increase stitches, decrease stitches, do clean colour-switch up (at the ends of each ball of yarn) and, natch, fix dropped stitches or other issues should they emerge. It also helps to block this with wires (found in any knitting store) because it will turn your finished project into a thing of professional standard.

What I Recommend:
  • Knit it with the prescribed yarn - Classic Elite Chateau (or Chalet, if you like colours). There's a tonal beige colour-way and this grey one (and a few other neutrals to substitute if you prefer). This chainette, bulky-weight yarn knits up exceedingly fast. I knit at a fair clip and I got through this in 4 days without trying, particularly. Even a nervous newbie could do it in a month. Sure, other yarns will work - but this yarn has the PERFECT hand and drape for a shawl of these proportions. You will not regret it - and the yarn is easily found and well-priced.
  • I won't lie, consistent tension is a must. That may become increasingly challenging for some as the needle size increases (and the project grows) because ergonomics erodes. When knitting in stockinette, consistent tension is always important but given the quality of this yarn, your project will not look optimal if the tension slips. That's why my point below is key.
  • Swatch to ensure that your fabric isn't too open / loose. This yarn will grow with blocking and under its own weight - given its drapey fiber composition of bamboo and alpaca. Seriously consider going down a needle-size unless you are a super-tight knitter. I hate knitting with a needle of the recommended size, US13 (or anything above a US9, though I can force myself to use up to a US11 if the project entices me adequately). I swatched with a US11 to ensure that I would be happy with the fabric, and I knew how my decreased gauge would impact the finished size. I'm very happy with it but I wouldn't have been if I'd used the recommended needle size.
  • Wet-block and use blocking-wires when drying.
  • With appetite and budget, starting now you could easily pump out 5 of these as Xmas presents.
So that's my weekend. What's up with you? Does this shawl appeal? Will you make it? Let's talk!

*In case you're curious, the books are My Age of Anxiety by Scott Stossel, Ending Back Pain by Jack Stern, MD, PhD and (my mother's fave) How Not to Die by Michael Greger, MD... 

12 comments:

  1. Thanks for your book recommendations! Can you please elaborate more on the Yoga site? Maybe I've missed previous posts but if you can write something that will help me understands how to start (and what my needs are) it will be great. I started acupuncture and herbal medicine that help me health-wise but my body is in a complete mess. So many people told me I should try yoga but I don't know how (I'm not the meditative kind of a person and hypersensitivity doesn't help with tolerating the slowness I associate with yoga).

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    1. Hey Roni: I have also written about Yoga Download and My Yoga Online (which subsequently was bought out by Gaia and now has quite a different vibe, though all of the same classes and more). Look under those key words. I am quite enjoying this new one but it's early days. Of either Gaia or Yoga Download, I prefer the interface of YD but there are good (and bad) classes on both sites. I'd def say that Gaia is way more new-agey yoga and YD is more "fitness / fusion" yoga. Neither is a perfect fit for me but both platforms have a lot of enjoyable and safe classes. Here's the thing, if you have never done yoga, it's important to learn safely. I don't recommend an online platform (unless you really don't have access to good studios / teachers). I think you'd prefer Yoga Download but look up the beginner classes - like for total newbies. Yoga can mess you up as easily as it can help, if you don't know what you're doing and there's no one around to correct your pose.

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  2. This looks gorgeous! And, good luck with the new books. ;)

    We went camping. /sigh. I think I hate camping. Not sleeping in a tent, not roughing it, not cooking over a campfire or even the outhouse. But DAMN do I hate the packing and logistics of it all. But, it's done now, and I still have a couple of vacation days to recover... ;)

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    1. Lord - you couldn't pay me to camp. You're like an angel for giving your family a happy vacation at your expense :-) Recover well!!

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  3. The shawl looks amazing!! And very squooshy :-)

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    1. Gail - have you seen this yarn? It's crazy squooshy. And so soft but with lovely drape and recovery. I don't love its splittiness but I'll forgive it for all of the knitted-up joy.

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    1. Thanks! You have got to make this. So easy for the train. But it does start to get long...

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  5. Very nice. I would probably not make it, as I'm not a shawl person, but even I am a bit tempted by the color-blocking potential and the idea of how nice this would be on a cold airplane.

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    1. You know, that's the first thing that came to me. It's perfect for a flight (except I don't like to wear anything really special onto a plane cuz they're kind of dirty).

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  6. That sounds like a pretty perfect weekend. I love this scarf...definitely just what you need for your grim winters. Good luck with the books. And do let us know what you think of this new site when you've had a good poke around.

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    1. I know! But it's also great for your damp winters. It's like a really chic hug. I'll keep you posted on the site. I've been a bit all over the map for the past couple of weeks so haven't had that much time to engage as yet.

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