What started out as love at first sight for this project quickly deteriorated into a love/hate pairing. 
From the first time I saw the picture for Glace in an ad for Rowan Summer Delights by Martin Storey I fell in love. I should have read the signs though for what was to come, they were very clear. After trying to get hold of a copy and discovering that it hadn't even been released, then waiting for Mothers day to come and go as I had requested voucher for my local rowan stockist (my local dept store) I finally rushed up there to get it only to find ....they hadn't got it. I did finally manage to get it another 3 weeks later. I was overjoyed at the book itself though, Glace which is the cover photo is only the tip of the iceberg, for £6.95 I think the book is fantastic value, for me especially as there is not one design in there that I would not knit. 16 patterns of sheer loveliness.
I have to confess though I winced very heavily when I priced up the yarn for it, just shy of £50 which is a lot of money to me (did I mention I'm a stay at home mum of four?????). I found a substitute yarn in James C. Brett's kool Kotton in a really pretty shade of
Lilac. It was in a sale bag ready wrapped which worked out to under £10 so I was very very chuffed.
This though is where it all goes downhill pretty steadily. I started knitting it with that lovely first high rush of enthusiasm for a new project, with that extra bit of glee that you get when it's something you really really fallen in love with.
It knitted up quite well and even though it was endless 2x2 rib my high was still up there. Next night I picked it up again, finished the first ball started the second ball finished the rib (YEY) and started on the left half of the front and was almost to the top when I decided it was time for bed.
Next day did my jobs and still excited at how well it was progressing decided to pick up my pins and carry on knitting. I don't always get chance to knit in the day apart from weekends when we have visitors when I can sit and chat and knit at the same time. Good job I did. In natural light I could see something was very wrong, it looked two different colours. I had checked the ball bands hadn't I?? When I looked again I had 6 that had shade lot 1001 and 1 that was 1011. GGRRRRRRRRRRRRR and typically had used the odd ball first AARRRGGGHHHH. How many times have you bought yarn and there has been a very noticeable difference in the shade lots?? occasionally I have had and there has been virtually no difference at all but this was a big difference, the difference between brand new and left in the garden for several weeks to fade in the sun. Because I had bought it already in a bag I hadn't noticed it in daylight and in artificial light in which I had been knitting you couldn't see it. This was the start also of a very steep learning curve for me and how much store our fellow US knitter put in yardage/meterage. You see although I'm what I consider myself to be an experienced knitter I suppose I'm a little old school and when I was taught to knit yardage never existed, or at least I was never told about it. So when this happened I had one ball less than the pattern said and I presumed that I wouldn't have enough to finish it without that ball so I tried frogging it and using the different shade yarn alternating with the other yarn. More endless 2x2 rib knitted in artificial light to check it the next morning to see what I knew but refused to accept. It looked cr*p. Frogged again.
A week or so later shopping in my notsolocal hobbycraft I came across some patons vintage, another cotton blend in a colour I loved, a mix of hot pinks/oranges that although the yarn wasn't very soft but would tolerate just for the colour. In the sale (have I also mentioned my fetish for bargain yarn) at £1 a ball.There were seven left in that colour again how many balls the pattern said I needed. I checked the tension on the ball band which to memory looked fine and when hubby agreed to me buying it (he was in a grump at the time) I was excited to be able to start Glace again.
In the meantime I had already started another design from the Summer Delights book, Fondant using the yarn I'd started Glace in. I also loved this top so made myself finish this first before I restarted Glace.
Fondant done and I wore it to my next knit meet taking Glace with me. Cast it on in the afternoon, started knittin
g on the bus and carried on at the meet and I remember saying to one of the other ladies as I started my second ball, mmm I do hope there will be enough of this as I hadn't seemed to have done as much at the second ball point as I had before, I double checked the tension which seemed fine although it did feel to be knitting up a bit thicker than before!!!! Alarm bells were ringing and all of you who know about yardage already will probably be shouting at me and how dumb I am at this point. Me though I plugged on through the alarm bells until I realised I had used more than half the yarn but was nowhere near the halfway point.
Just before this point though I went yarn sale shopping with my friend Lynda who I met at the knit group I attend. I had had a birthday and had more vouchers for the dept store which I had saved and hubby even gave me extra cash to take with me. ps hubby hates my knitting with a vengeance so for him to donate cash for me to extend my stash is a very very big deal. Anyway Lynda and I went lovely scrummy yarn shopping and the yarn that is recommended for Glace was in the sale.... and I had enough to buy some and some other yarn too. WHOO HOO. We had a fab day,great company,scrummy yarn, lunch and book shopping fantastic.
Anyway, I bo
ught some of the ryc silk cotton, 10 balls in fact although at the time I was still ignoring the warning signs that that Glace and Patons vintage wouldn't work, and there were two other projects in the Summer Delights that I wanted to attempt. It was that night though that I had to face the truth that I just hadn't got enough, it was also this point that the penny dropped and lessons learnt about yardage. It was also at this point that Glace had the name change to Nemesis.
I had earmarked the silk cotton for one of two other patterns but at this point I was so fed up and dejected at all the (self inflicted admittedly) problems knitting Glace I sort of come to the realisation if I didn't knit it now then I probably never would so with a bit of a heavy heart I cast on Glace for which I vowed would be my last time using the yarn specified in the pattern. 2x2 rib again. I have to admit though that as I carried on it got a lot easier and the knowledge that I would have more than enough with loads to spare spurned me on. When i got past the left hand side point and started the right hand side it felt great. I hadn't got past that point before and that was when I fell in love with it again. By the time I did finish it all was forgiven.
I don't think I have ever had so many problems with such a simple pattern and never on that scale with substituting yarns before. But it just goes to show that even someone like me who has been knitting for 30 years or so can make major blunders. So if any newbies read this hopefully you can learn by my mistakes. And just a final note, if I had used that first ball of lilac James.c. Bretts as my 3rd or 4th the penny would have clicked that I would have had enough to finish it after all without the rogue ball of different shade lot!!!!!! I discovered this after checking the yardage but much too late to use it as I had already made fondant.
From the first time I saw the picture for Glace in an ad for Rowan Summer Delights by Martin Storey I fell in love. I should have read the signs though for what was to come, they were very clear. After trying to get hold of a copy and discovering that it hadn't even been released, then waiting for Mothers day to come and go as I had requested voucher for my local rowan stockist (my local dept store) I finally rushed up there to get it only to find ....they hadn't got it. I did finally manage to get it another 3 weeks later. I was overjoyed at the book itself though, Glace which is the cover photo is only the tip of the iceberg, for £6.95 I think the book is fantastic value, for me especially as there is not one design in there that I would not knit. 16 patterns of sheer loveliness.
I have to confess though I winced very heavily when I priced up the yarn for it, just shy of £50 which is a lot of money to me (did I mention I'm a stay at home mum of four?????). I found a substitute yarn in James C. Brett's kool Kotton in a really pretty shade of
Lilac. It was in a sale bag ready wrapped which worked out to under £10 so I was very very chuffed.This though is where it all goes downhill pretty steadily. I started knitting it with that lovely first high rush of enthusiasm for a new project, with that extra bit of glee that you get when it's something you really really fallen in love with.
It knitted up quite well and even though it was endless 2x2 rib my high was still up there. Next night I picked it up again, finished the first ball started the second ball finished the rib (YEY) and started on the left half of the front and was almost to the top when I decided it was time for bed.
Next day did my jobs and still excited at how well it was progressing decided to pick up my pins and carry on knitting. I don't always get chance to knit in the day apart from weekends when we have visitors when I can sit and chat and knit at the same time. Good job I did. In natural light I could see something was very wrong, it looked two different colours. I had checked the ball bands hadn't I?? When I looked again I had 6 that had shade lot 1001 and 1 that was 1011. GGRRRRRRRRRRRRR and typically had used the odd ball first AARRRGGGHHHH. How many times have you bought yarn and there has been a very noticeable difference in the shade lots?? occasionally I have had and there has been virtually no difference at all but this was a big difference, the difference between brand new and left in the garden for several weeks to fade in the sun. Because I had bought it already in a bag I hadn't noticed it in daylight and in artificial light in which I had been knitting you couldn't see it. This was the start also of a very steep learning curve for me and how much store our fellow US knitter put in yardage/meterage. You see although I'm what I consider myself to be an experienced knitter I suppose I'm a little old school and when I was taught to knit yardage never existed, or at least I was never told about it. So when this happened I had one ball less than the pattern said and I presumed that I wouldn't have enough to finish it without that ball so I tried frogging it and using the different shade yarn alternating with the other yarn. More endless 2x2 rib knitted in artificial light to check it the next morning to see what I knew but refused to accept. It looked cr*p. Frogged again.
A week or so later shopping in my notsolocal hobbycraft I came across some patons vintage, another cotton blend in a colour I loved, a mix of hot pinks/oranges that although the yarn wasn't very soft but would tolerate just for the colour. In the sale (have I also mentioned my fetish for bargain yarn) at £1 a ball.There were seven left in that colour again how many balls the pattern said I needed. I checked the tension on the ball band which to memory looked fine and when hubby agreed to me buying it (he was in a grump at the time) I was excited to be able to start Glace again.
In the meantime I had already started another design from the Summer Delights book, Fondant using the yarn I'd started Glace in. I also loved this top so made myself finish this first before I restarted Glace.
Fondant done and I wore it to my next knit meet taking Glace with me. Cast it on in the afternoon, started knittin
g on the bus and carried on at the meet and I remember saying to one of the other ladies as I started my second ball, mmm I do hope there will be enough of this as I hadn't seemed to have done as much at the second ball point as I had before, I double checked the tension which seemed fine although it did feel to be knitting up a bit thicker than before!!!! Alarm bells were ringing and all of you who know about yardage already will probably be shouting at me and how dumb I am at this point. Me though I plugged on through the alarm bells until I realised I had used more than half the yarn but was nowhere near the halfway point.Just before this point though I went yarn sale shopping with my friend Lynda who I met at the knit group I attend. I had had a birthday and had more vouchers for the dept store which I had saved and hubby even gave me extra cash to take with me. ps hubby hates my knitting with a vengeance so for him to donate cash for me to extend my stash is a very very big deal. Anyway Lynda and I went lovely scrummy yarn shopping and the yarn that is recommended for Glace was in the sale.... and I had enough to buy some and some other yarn too. WHOO HOO. We had a fab day,great company,scrummy yarn, lunch and book shopping fantastic.
Anyway, I bo
ught some of the ryc silk cotton, 10 balls in fact although at the time I was still ignoring the warning signs that that Glace and Patons vintage wouldn't work, and there were two other projects in the Summer Delights that I wanted to attempt. It was that night though that I had to face the truth that I just hadn't got enough, it was also this point that the penny dropped and lessons learnt about yardage. It was also at this point that Glace had the name change to Nemesis.I had earmarked the silk cotton for one of two other patterns but at this point I was so fed up and dejected at all the (self inflicted admittedly) problems knitting Glace I sort of come to the realisation if I didn't knit it now then I probably never would so with a bit of a heavy heart I cast on Glace for which I vowed would be my last time using the yarn specified in the pattern. 2x2 rib again. I have to admit though that as I carried on it got a lot easier and the knowledge that I would have more than enough with loads to spare spurned me on. When i got past the left hand side point and started the right hand side it felt great. I hadn't got past that point before and that was when I fell in love with it again. By the time I did finish it all was forgiven.
I don't think I have ever had so many problems with such a simple pattern and never on that scale with substituting yarns before. But it just goes to show that even someone like me who has been knitting for 30 years or so can make major blunders. So if any newbies read this hopefully you can learn by my mistakes. And just a final note, if I had used that first ball of lilac James.c. Bretts as my 3rd or 4th the penny would have clicked that I would have had enough to finish it after all without the rogue ball of different shade lot!!!!!! I discovered this after checking the yardage but much too late to use it as I had already made fondant.
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