Chapter 1
It really was because she had looked cosy and content, happy with life, and even a bit mysterious that Ebbie had decided to get involved. She had no idea who the woman was, and she probably would never find out, but she did know enough to get started.
Ebbie was now in her fifth airport, with just one more to go, then she would be home.
She had mindlessly wandered the quiet streets of an unfamiliar downtown over a week ago. After a meeting earlier that morning, her brain couldn't settle. She needed time out of doors to quiet herself.
The sidewalks tried to take her places they thought would calm her, but they didn't know her like the moss-covered trails in the woods she called home. Ebbie followed them anyway. Concrete paths moved her along in front of restaurants with sweet and spicy scents mixing together, upscale clothing boutiques filled with lovely dresses that she would never have the occasion to wear, and home furnishing stores with items too big to carry-on and a bit too expensive to ship. She had been walking the better part of the afternoon and couldn't remember if she had passed by the different storefronts before. Her mind had other things to do than pay attention to where her feet were taking her.
She decided to cross the street and search for the ice cream shop Mrs. Holmgren raved about earlier in the morning over breakfast. It was, after all, this delicious destination that had set Ebbie off from the B and B. She had been told the seventy-five-year-old ice cream parlor was a definite "must visit" and tucked in near the town center, still in the original location. Thinking the town center had to be a bit in, and away from the water, Ebbie readjusted her direction, turned right, and waited for the signal to cross. Funny that even as an adult, on an empty one lane cross street, she felt required to wait for the orange hand to disappear and be replaced by the small white pedestrian image. She always thought he looked like a creeping burglar with bad intentions, but still, she waited for him to give her permission to move.
Once he did, she crossed the street, repositioning the straps on the well-loved backpack she had slung over her left shoulder. Ebbie could pick up and go anywhere in under a minute. Everything she needed was usually in or near this bag. As long as her current knitting project wasn't out of control, Ebbie's life could fit inside this sack.
Or at least it could before…
Now she wasn't sure.
That lack of surety is what drew Ebbie to the nameless woman, for that woman was the literal face of Cosy.
Ebbie had crossed the street looking to find the place famous for homemade ice cream and instead stood in front of a green chalkboard easel with an invitation written simply: "OPEN! Come sniff the yarn."
So she did.
From Ebbie's Journal:
The swatch instructions were straightforward:
"12 sts and 21 rows for a 4 in/10cm square in pattern using US 10.5 needles."
I cast on 23 stitches and knit 30 rows. If I am taking the time to do this thing, I want it easy to read and big enough to measure in a variety of places. Plus, these little squares wind up under my coffee cup, clusters of jars on my desk, on the counter, wherever my life needs pops of fiber inserted. I know I've created enough swatches I could probably sew them together to make a crazy lap blanket.
The stitch pattern required for the swatch is one I always enjoy, a simple moss stitch.
Row 1: k1, [p1,k1] to end
Row 2 onwards is just repeating row 1.
A help to me is remembering that I need to work the opposite stitch of the stitch I see to keep me on track. See a knit, Ebbie? You know you need to purl. See a purl? Better make it a knit. Then I'm freed from relying on the pattern for a bit.
Initially, the swatch made me nervous. It seemed my numbers would be off. After a good a soak and block, it was spot on, which is THE WIN for today that I needed… and a reminder for me to follow through.
If I hadn't soaked and blocked, I wouldn't have a fair assessment of my gauge. But hurray, I'm good!
Now I can ball a few more skeins and get ready to cast on. I am getting quite into this balling by hand approach…
Pattern Update AND SUPER IMPORTANT STUFF:
Ebbie shares with you the gauge required for the pattern. In our next update, the pattern will begin to release as a PDF and will include things shared up to that point within.
I want to share with you additional thoughts for yarn if you are still in search mode, which is a fun place to be! I love the wonder and exploration that precedes the first worked stitch.
Still considering what might make a suitable substitution? Here are some of my thoughts:
I have worked this pattern into a sweater using Brooklyn Tweed Shelter. The fabric created from this at proper stitch gauge was a bit airy and had a light, fluidly soft drape. It, however, did not work up for correct row gauge, and I had to work more rows to achieve the called for measurements, which required a bit more yarn than the pattern states.
I have also swatched with Ella Rae Classic Wool. I am a fan of supporting my Local Yarn Shop, The Rookery. When proprietress Chris suggested this “great workhorse of a yarn” for a different project I was knitting over a year ago, I raised an eyebrow at her. “Is it scratchy?” She proferred a ball of very bright blue, but stopped herself and grabbed one of the grey instead. She gets me. I took it and rubbed it first between my fingers and then along my jawline. I gave it a sniff. I turned the ball around and saw it was $7.95 for 219 yards (200 meters) for 100 grams. She and I locked eyes. “I know!” she said. “It is really a great deal: a wonderful yarn, great price point, incredible color selection [I have to tell you Chris has floor to ceiling, maybe 5 or 6 feet wide, stacks of this yarn…. the whole shop is bursting with yarn and fabric…but this particular yarn she has every shade they make…and it was at this moment I was starting to understand the draw], and Melissa, it really is an awesome yarn you use.”
I had to ask to be sure: “Even for sweaters? And by ‘sweaters’ I mean ones I can knit and enjoy wearing.” In her matter of fact way, she answered with a simple nod.
Ella Rae Classic Wool is worsted weight, so not the Aran weight yarn that is suggested. But luckily for you, i designed this sweater and can take time to share some thoughts about getting off the beaten path.
Ebbie’s Cosy has schematics that share with you the finished size. I intentionally did not put: “If you are this size you wear a Small, and you with the bigger bust…well, you are a large... And you, with the measurements XYZ, you are a medium” I am sharing with you the finished measurements of the finished sweater IF YOU ARE KNITTING AT GAUGE REQUIRED. So if you are willing to knit your swatch in a different yarn, soak block and measure it, you can do the math and see how the sweater will change for overall size. You can then go up or down for the sizes. BUT PLEASE START WITH THE SWATCH. (don’t think of that as a shouty capital moment, but rather a do not miss this opportunity for excellence PSA)
Maybe you have Aran weigh on hand, but not enough to make this sweater. Or perhaps you don’t want a sweater this thick because you reside somewhere unlike me…maybe SoCal, Tennessee, Madrid. I encourage you to knit a swatch in the called for yarn weight, get the correct gauge with it, and then knit yourself a few test squares in what you think may be what you want to use as a substitution. Another knitting nugget of gold: do this for as many changes in your knitting life as you can. It allows you to understand the standard the designer had in mind and then allows you the realistic example of what you intend to create. I do this all the time.
Think bigger…by thinking smaller! If you have 9 million skeins of fingering weight yarn stuffed everywhere in your apartment or home, to the point you can not see the faces of loved ones across the living room unless you climb the fiber mountain obstructing your view…let’s make those skeins earn their keep! Holding a few of them together could be a worthwhile adventure. “Mel, I don’t actually have all 9 million of those in the same colorway.” I hear you, Friend! But I bet you have a few that could fade into each other! You have 5 skeins of one maybe 3 of another and 4 of two more? Maybe lay them out and see what you think about color transition. (No I don’t have photos, I wish I could give you my mental image, but let us play pretend a moment longer, and YOU do the fun creative imagery in your head) Hold a few strands of Color 1 together. As you run low or grow weary of the same color (which would be my case), add in a strand of Color 2. Then add another strand, until all your strands are Color 2. Repeat for the next color and the next. There you go! You are making your stash work for you. JUST BE SURE: to A.) do the swatch. Seriously. This is a fun new exploration, but you need to make some thoughtful decisions, and you can not do that without a swatch. B.) Save half of the yarn! You have a front and a back in this, so you gotta plan ahead.
Make a swatch. Or two or three. It is not wasting time. You learn from each of those squares. And be liberated from the hobbling scarcity lie that if you swatch, you won’t have enough yarn to do the project. I’m calling BS on that one. Make the swatch, record all information, snap a few pics of it. If you are running low on yarn and need that extra 6 yards in the swatch, it will be there waiting for you to unravel it and upgrade it from swatch to superhero saving the day.
See Number 4.
If you did step 6, Thank you! Now in the comments below, please answer this for me (I want to know fellow humans are here with me) what yarn are you using or leaning towards using? And maybe one more question: what is your hope for each project you make?
and before I go…
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In kindness with aloha,
Mel
