gringa.org: Mom's Waikiki Tank Archives

May 5, 2004

Order in the Blog!

Yes, yes, I know. Sorry about the long absence. Let's get back on the horse, shall we?

Just over a month ago, I optimistically mused "this mother's day gift may be done before April!". When will I learn not to say things like that?

Here's the quick and dirty: I finished the knitting, and seamed the tank. I got out a crochet hook to do the edging and the straps, but when I started it looked all wrong. I ripped out the edging and tried again -- still not right.

Then it came back to me. When I made my tank, I did the edging as instructed in the pattern. Then I was shown a better way to do it so I ripped it all out and did it again with much cleaner results. I couldn't remember the method I ended up using, but surely I could get help again, right? Except.... oh, yeah. The person who helped with my tank's edging was my mom.

So, with Alison as a co-conspirator, when my parents came to visit last weekend I made up a story that somebody at Knitsmiths asked how I did the edging on my Waikiki tank. Could she possibly show me again? Of course she could.

With that riddle solved, the last obstacle to completing Operation Mothers' Day Tank was removed. Nevermind that I ended up ripping back to the armholes twice in the week after I re-mastered the edging -- that seems much less painful now that it's all blocked, pretty and ready to be presented this Sunday!

Project Name: Mom's Waikiki Tank
Pattern Source: Yarn Girls' Guide to Simple Knits; Summer in the City Tank
Size: Medium
Name of Yarn Used: Crystal Palace Waikiki (Cool Jazz), MilleFilli Fine (Turquoise No. 249)
Amount of Yarn Used: 4 skeins/balls of each (I haven't done the edging and straps yet, but I've used less than three skeins/balls of each! Update: In the end, I used just over 3 skeins/balls of each.)
Needles Used: No. 9 Addi Turbo circulars
Other notions used: n/a
Deviations from the Pattern: I didn't do it on purpose, but on both my mom's and my Waikiki tank, I ignored the gauge. Usually my gauge is right on but it ended up being too big on both tanks -- I think that the weight of the fabric created by these two yarns together makes for looser stitches. Also, I crocheted two straps on each shoulder instead of just one on my tank. Time will tell if I'll do the same for my mom's! (Update: I did two for hers as well. One just seems too puny.)
Other Comments (what I wished I'd known before I started this project): I didn't get gauge using the no. 9s, but I didn't get gauge on my tank either. Since my mom wants her tank to fit her just like mine does, wrong is right for this project! Also, these yarns tend to tangle -- check them frequently while knitting before it gets too tangled to use! (Update: To paraphrase the brilliant writers of The West Wing, the total tonnage of what I wish I'd known before starting this project could stun a team of oxen in its tracks. The edging: When you knit the body, you should follow the instructions on the armhole selvedges -- as in, there shouldn't be any. Don't crochet the edging the way they say to do it [single crochet]. Rather, starting with one loop on the hook, pull one another through the fabric then pull the third from over the top of the fabric edge. Once you have these three loops on the hook, pull the first (most recently acquired) through the older two. Repeat. Be careful when choosing how often to pull stitches through the fabric, on my mom's the best interval was big hole to big hole (long-ish distance), big hole to little hole (shorter distance). The straps should still be done in chain stitch. And whatever you do, get the edging and the straps right the first time -- every time you pull out the crocheted edges, it leaves big gaping holes!)

Posted by shannon at 10:29 PM | Comments (1) | For related posts: For Mom, Mom's Waikiki Tank

March 24, 2004

Zooooooom!

I had forgotten how quickly this tank knits up! I started the front on the plane to Austin and all of a sudden, it was done. Fifteen minutes of seaming later, all that's left is (1) slipping it on to make sure there's no glaring problems and (2) crocheting the edging and straps. Then it's off to the blocking board!

This mother's day gift may be done before April!

Project Name: Mom's Waikiki Tank
Pattern Source: Yarn Girls' Guide to Simple Knits; Summer in the City Tank
Size: Medium
Name of Yarn Used: Crystal Palace Waikiki (Cool Jazz), MilleFilli Fine (Turquoise No. 249)
Amount of Yarn Used: 4 skeins/balls of each (I haven't done the edging and straps yet, but I've used less than three skeins/balls of each!)
Needles Used: No. 9 Addi Turbo circulars
Other notions used: n/a
Deviations from the Pattern: I didn't do it on purpose, but on both my mom's and my Waikiki tank, I ignored the gauge. Usually my gauge is right on but it ended up being too big on both tanks -- I think that the weight of the fabric created by these two yarns together makes for looser stitches. Also, I crocheted two straps on each shoulder instead of just one on my tank. Time will tell if I'll do the same for my mom's!
Other Comments (what I wished I'd known before I started this project): I didn't get gauge using the no. 9s, but I didn't get gauge on my tank either. Since my mom wants her tank to fit her just like mine does, wrong is right for this project! Also, these yarns tend to tangle -- check them frequently while knitting before it gets too tangled to use!

Posted by shannon at 9:35 AM | Comments (2) | For related posts: For Mom, Mom's Waikiki Tank

March 11, 2004

If Lovin' You is Wrong...

Looks like I got the answers to my Mom's Waikiki Tank sizing riddles:

On size: The only way, then, to know for sure was to get my Waikiki tank out of winter storage and measure it and/or count stitches... (I cast on for the medium.)
I didn't really have to count stitches (though I did)... a quick glance at the width of my tank compared to my mom's told me that they were very close. Medium it is!

On not getting gauge: I'll admit, I didn't swatch for this tank, but -- here's the rub -- I'm pretty sure that I didn't swatch for my tank, either. Was my tank "wrong", too? Or did I make adjustments in needle size?
When I laid the tanks out together, armhole-to-armhole (as above), I was extremely relieved to see that they were almost identical in length. My original suspicion was right: my gauge was pretty far off for my Waikiki tank, and it looks great. So if using no. 9 needles is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

Posted by shannon at 9:01 PM | Comments (1) | For related posts: For Mom, Mom's Waikiki Tank

March 8, 2004

Haste, Waste, etc...

We've spent three of the four last weekends in New York. We always drive, and in a strange way I've started to enjoy the four-hour trip. We've gotten in the habit of listening to books on CD and Jason, the doll, doesn't mind if I keep a light on to knit by. It can't be just any knitting though -- if I stare at any fixed point in the car for a long period of time I start to turn green, so detailed knitting or anything that requires frequent referral to a pattern is out. This last weekend, I decided to work on my mom's Waikiki Tank on this trip -- lots of straight stockingette to keep the carsickness at bay.

After we got onto the highway and started our book, I got out my knitting. After looking at the pattern and then starting to knit, I realized that I had forgotten quite a bit about this pattern and project -- some of it good and some of it bad. Here's the current tally.

The Good
1. Speed: this project just zooms along. It's knit with No. 9s and there's just not a lot to it -- especially compared to my only other on-going project.
2. Yarn: the colors are extraordinarily vivid, and the drape of the fabric they create together is (for lack of a better word) sexy.

The Bad
1. Size: When my mom asked me to make her this tank, I had her try mine on for sizing purposes: it fit perfectly. The problem? I cannot, for the life of me, recall what size I made mine. No problem, I figured -- I know my measurements, so I'll just check the pattern. Unfortunately, the Yarn Girls don't provide any measurements-based guidance for picking a size (bust size, etc). Next I tried to guess based on the amount of yarn I had purchased, but I had enough yarn for either the small or the medium.
The only way, then, to know for sure was to get my Waikiki tank out of winter storage and measure it and/or count stitches. I know, I know, I should have put off starting the tank until I solved this riddle. But had I done that, I wouldn't have had any car knitting -- and I'll always chose ripping later over being idle now. (I cast on for the medium.)
2. Needle Size/Gauge: When I finished the back, I glanced at the pattern schematics and saw right away that it was too long. From the armhole decreases to the top, it should have measured 5.5" -- instead it was around 7". I ripped back and knit it again -- still too long. I ripped back one more time and re-knit, using a different interpretation their (poorly worded) instructions for the decrease intervals-- still too long. After some deep breaths, I took out the tape measure and confirmed the obvious: my gauge was way off.
I'll admit, I didn't swatch for this tank, but -- here's the rub -- I'm pretty sure that I didn't swatch for my tank, either. Was my tank "wrong", too? Or did I make adjustments in needle size? Again, only a trip into our dungeon, I mean, basement, to paw through our storage bins will solve this mystery.
3. The Yarn: While I love the colors and the drape, I had forgotten how "tangly" the Waikiki yarn was. It's especially annoying if you have to rip anything out (see #2).

The Lesson
I need to make better notes on my projects. I'm going to try to develop a "form" that I can fill out at the end of every completed work with the essential information. So far, I have:

Project Name:
Pattern Source:
Size:
Name of Yarn Used:
Amount of Yarn Used:
Needles Used:
Other notions used:
Deviations from the Pattern:
Other Comments (what I wished I'd known before I started this project):

Suggestions are welcome for refining this!

Posted by shannon at 10:40 PM | Comments (4) | For related posts: For Me!, Mom's Waikiki Tank

March 3, 2004

Long Story, Little Tank!

In honor of Alison's entry about the impending season of tanks, I invite you to sit down and get comfortable as I spin a good, long yarn about my newest tank project.

Last June, Jason's family and I threw him a birthday/farewell surprise party. I chose that special occasion to debut my Waikiki tank, and it was very well received. As I noted at the time, my mother paid me the ultimate compliment: she asked me to make her one. She offered to buy the yarn if I would provide the labor. What knitter has ever passed up such an offer?

In August, not long after Jason and I moved to Boston, my parents came to visit for the weekend and my mom and I went to Woolcott & Co. to find yarn for her tank. As you might recall, mine was knit with Crystal Palace Waikiki (left) and Filatura Di Crosa's Millefilli Fine (right).

Never ones to fix what ain't broke, my mom and I began our search with these same yarns. She was immediately drawn to the Waikiki in Cool Jazz, which is a groovy combination of cool blues, purples and turquoise. Now all we needed was the Millefilli Fine in a color that complemented the Waikiki.

Here's where things started to go wrong. None of the Millefilli colors that the store had in stock were good candidates and we couldn't find any good colors in substitute yarns either. Eventually, one of the store employees brought us a Millefilli color card and told us that if we found a good match we could order it through the store. We didn't just find a good match, we found a damn-near-perfect match: the Waikiki in Cool Jazz on the left, Millefilli Fine in Turquoise, color no. 249 on the right.

Nice combo, no? We paid for both yarns, I put the Waikiki in my stash and waited for the store to call when the Millefilli came in. About a month later, they called to tell me that they had just gotten around to placing the order (!!!) only to learn that shipping from their supplier was delayed 4-6 weeks. The woman I talked to apologized profusely for the delay in placing the order, and asked me if I still wanted her to order it. This was in late September, but our goal had always been to get the tank done in time for next summer (2004), so a 4-6 week delay didn't inconvenience us overmuch.

In the flurry of holidays and political activism, I admit that I completely forgot about the yarn. It was only a few weeks ago, while cleaning out my stash, that I found the Waikiki and recalled that four months had passed since I'd last heard from the store. One day last week, after some teasing from Jason and Alison, I looked up their phone number and resolved to call them after work. When I got home that very day, there was a message on our voicemail from the store telling me that the yarn had finally, finally arrived.

Total wait: over six months. I loved making this tank the first time, and it looks like I'll be able to get my mom's done in time for Mothers' Day. Goodness knows she deserves it -- she did teach me how to knit, after all!

Click to make me big!

Posted by shannon at 11:08 PM | Comments (4) | For related posts: For Mom, Mom's Waikiki Tank

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