Ribwarmer

The ribwarmer is moving on well, despite the unseasonal nature of the project. I'm working on the second side, which is going faster than the first side which required plenty 0f ripping and re-knitting. The first thing I didn't realise was that the width of the piece was almost exactly the same as the dyeing repeat length, which gave weird pooling effects. I ripped and reknit using alternating balls to break up the sequence. I also tried to be clever and use wrapping on the short rows, only to realise that this gave an ugly reverse side, which was no use as I needed reversible pieces. I ripped that back and went for the simpler EZ method of short rows with no wrap, which worked just fine.

Pattern alterations made were to reduce the armhole depth to 8" which has the side effect of reducing the body length too, and to knit the short rows in front to give a less curved bottom edge.

The yarn is working well with the pattern too. I originally bought it to make a sweater, but was disappointed with the colour and texture when it arrived, as the colour mix was too strong and the yarn loosely spun. However, it's perfect for a fluffy, bulky ribwarmer and is knitting up nicely.

I've also started a lace shawl using more of the bamboo tape yarn. This is the first time I've knitted lace from written instructions rather than a chart, and it's much less intuitive and harder to learn the pattern. It works as long I can concentrate without interruptions, and the lace pattern looks good with the variegated yarn.