Life LackaDaisiCal

AND THE WINNER IS...... SARA HANSON! I've just sent a message to Sara. Thank you everyone who entered this draw, and all of you who visit LifeLackaDaisiCal... I really appreciate it! Anne **********************************   I AM ENJOYING READING ALL OF THE COMMENTS... KEEP THEM COMING...EVERY COMMENT WILL BE ENTERED!   PLEASE, PROVIDE A RAVELRY NAME OR E-MAIL....   The "Zen" Competition I loved working with +RowanYarns  Fine Art Aran....and I want you to have a chance to try it! Fandango (550) Want to WIN  a skein of  +RowanYarns  Fine Art Aran? All you have to do is.... tell me..... WHAT DO MY HUBBY  AND SHERLOCK (as portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch) SHARE IN COMMON? Need a reminder?  Have another look at my "The Zen in Fine Art" blog post... 5.asset.soup.io To enter, leave your answer in a comment  on this blog post.  For a bonus ...

My Hubby - he studies the history of UK railroads, and he can usually be found in his hobby room..... Please note how the fine art pooling almost.... joins perfectly together at the shoulder seam - I can't take any credit for this - it just happened! He likes to play around with models of his favourite trains.... It's not playing he says....it's highly technical digital command control (DCC). Look how this design works beautifully with the pooling of the Fine Art Aran. T he bottom pieces are knit conventionally from cast on up. leaving the stitches live... while the top of each body piece is knit "sideways" from the armhole across.  T hey are then joined by picking up stitches from the bottom edge of the top piece  and doing a three-needle bind off...gives a neat right side seam! I know - sounds complicated!  But really it isn't! One of the Hubby's favourite engines - "Golden Fleece"   I asked him for a little bit o...

This applies to knitting perfectly!  It all comes down to the details...like getting  GAUGE! Without exact gauge....you have NO CHANCE in adapting a design from one yarn to another.    First - Can I get gauge with the Fine Art Aran Yarn? The original Zen was knit with Rowan Handknit DK Cotton - and I want to substitute Aran?  Hmmmm....let's see.... Gauge called for is 20 sts and 28 rows to 10 cm! Recommended Gauge for Fine Art Aran is 19 sts and 25 rows to 10 cm!  (Because of my experience knitting my Fine Art Aran Swatch cowls, I knew that on 4.5 mm needles I was getting the recommended gauge for this yarn.  But, my "swatch cowl" was nice and drapey....I wanted to make this sweater at a firmer gauge so that it would hold it's shape! So for my "Zen" swatch, I went down to a 4 mm needle and got 20 sts and 26 rows to 10 cm! This was as close as I could get - I loved the fabric this created....and I didn't want it to be any firmer... ...