Tesla

It's time to start a new project.  I have been itching to start this:

The yarn is Tesla from Artfibers.  It is a really neat stainless steal cable with cotton nubs throughout.  I have been wanting to knit it since I got it in May, except that I just couldn't get my mind around it...I didn't know what I wanted to knit...it was to hot... it required too much thought... other inspiration hit...and so on.  You know how it is.

After going to the Cooper Hewitt to see the Extreme Textiles exhibit I was reminded that I wanted to knit this by a really neat swatch of knitted stainless steel which we were allowed to touch and fondle.  This experience re-kindled my fingers' need to be knitting Tesla and they have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity.

Remembering Claudia's comments on her sweater knitted out of this same yarn last spring, I started playing around with guage and decided to go much smaller in guage than that recommended on the yarn label.   I ended up knitting on size 7 needles and as the guage got tighter, I kept thinking I would knit the Adrienne Vittadini sweater shown next to the yarn swatch above, from the Summer 2005 book.  It is knit in garter stitch and I like the firmness of the Tesla yarn in garter stitch.  The simplicity of the shape should be nice with this yarn, at least I hope it will.  The biggest advantage is that the bottom of the sweater is knit in the round (yeah no seams) and then the sleeves are knit (flat unfortunately) up to the yoke, at which everything is picked up and knit together in the round to the neckline.  I am hoping this will work really well with this yarn, and if not, well, life is an experiment, right?

Of course, life is not problem free, and I woke up at 3 AM suddenly thinking I might not have enough yarn.  I managed to lure myself back to sleep, but first thing this morning I was in the sewing/knitting room, looking at how much yarn I had and how much yarn I would need.  The nice people at Artfibers tell you right on the label how many yards it takes to knit 1 sq foot in the recommended guage.  Given that information it is easy enough to extrapolate how much yarn I would need in my guage -- bad news.  I have just slightly more than half the yarn I need.    Of course they were getting 12 stitches and 19 rows to 4" whereas I am getting 19 stitches and 33 rows to 4".  It was too early then to call California so I had to wait.

Meanwhile I fretted.  Should I start the sweater anyway, what if the new yarn is too far off in color, if the dye-lots are totally different?  It does have a good bit of hand-dyed variegation in the yarn.  Will the new yarn blend in?  I started looking for a new project.

I did call, more yarn is on the way!  Hoorah!  They think it will not be a problem and now I am back to decisions.  Should I blithely forge ahead with Tesla or should I start something else.  I have decided that Tesla on size 7 needles is not a knit in the dark project, or a knit when not paying attention project either, the little thin strands of steel are too easy to drop.  So another project it is.  Tesla for home and "pay-attention" time.  and another more mindless project for other times.  Project to be announced.

Comments

[Grace]

I am also knitting with Tesla. Kira at Artfibers warned me against trying to seam it. After knitting with it, I agree with Claudia that it would be a bitch to seam.

I would go with larger needles to make a loose, airy fabric. That way, you can see the stainless steel. See the swatch on my blog, http://badmomgoodmom.blogspot.com/.

[claudia]

If I were you, I would seriously consider changing the pattern to knit the sleeves in the round as well, at least up to the armholes. The Tesla was kind of a bitch to seam AND the seams sagged a bit due to their extra weight.