I was working on a hat for one of the people who got me into Echo Bazaar, and I tried to knit up something that looked vaguely flame-y and might evoke one of the Brass Embassy icons, since it is the hottest place in the setting, after all. Dances on floors of red-hot brass, dinner parties that leave one strangely unsatisfied, and, of course--Abstraction.

Notes are below; a bit sloppy, and I may try to store them elsewhere (or just come back in a couple of months and see if I can follow them), but for the moment this seems a convenient place to keep them.

2011/04/01 - In 1x1 rib, on 5mm needles, 34sts gives me 7” and 5/8. If I go to 2x1 rib, then I can increase each section of three to four once I’m done the ribbing. Means… 99sts.

CO 99, joined, began knitting in the round.

2011/04/02 - Y HELO THAR joined-but-twisted. Frogged, and I think I’m going to knit it flat and then go with mattress stitch to join the edge.

CO 101. Slipped first and knit last stitch on each row. For the rest, {k, p, k} repeating on right side and {p, k, p} repeating on wrong side. Knitted nine rows, ending with a RS row.

Row 10 (WS): sl1, {m1, p, k, p} repeated until last stitch, k. 132 sts

Cut and wound individual intarsia balls. (Did not have enough for a sixth orange one; cut the fifth in half. Will need to buy more orange.)

Began knitting; got to row four of chart.

On row three, for the cabling orange in front of brown (on the left of the motif), did it as followed:

1. slipped two orange stiches to cable needle, held in front.
2. knit/purled two brown stitches.
3. knit first orange stitch.
4. brought brown yarn to front.
5. purled second orange stitch. The brown yarn wraps around this stitch alongside the purl bump.
6. began knitting brown as normal.

2011/04/03 - On row seven, for the first cable (at the right of the motif), to set up for the brown being knit an extra column in:

1. slipped two orange stiches to cable needle, held in front.
2. knit first orange stitch.
3. brought brown yarn to front.
4. purled second orange stitch. The brown yarn wraps around this stitch alongside the purl bump.
5. continue knitting orange as normal.

Row nine, first cable:

1. slipped two brown sts to cable needle, held in back.
2. knit/purled orange stitches with brown yarn.
3. brought orange yarn to front between cable needle and left needle.
4. slipped brown purl stitch to left needle.
5. brought orange yarn to back between two brown stitches.
6. slipped brown knit stitch to left needle.
7. twisted orange yarn around brown, knit/purled two brown stitches. Knit up to row ten. Realized I had 37 individual pieces of yarn. Took a break to weave in ends. It should get better in a couple of rows. (If I weren’t doing ribbed cable, duplicate stitch would be so much easier. …actually, it would probably be easier anyway, but I don’t know how well it’d work over cables and ribs, and in any case the yarn is all cut anyway. Onwards!

2011/04/04 - Second twist on row eleven:

1. bring brown yarn to front between orange and brown stitches.
2. bring brown yarn to back between orange stitches.
3. put orange stitches on cable needle, hold in front.
4. wrap brown yarn, knit brown sts.

2011/04/13 - finished the chart, wove in the ends. Picked a point in the middle of the top row and started knitting in the round (this way, there isn’t a jog in row height at the join). Still think I put in too much ribbing, we will see.

2011/04/14 - I’m almost sure it’s too short. >.<

I’m going to block, and seam, and go from there, but…

2011/04/19 - Okay, that’s… not too bad, I guess. I wish the ribbing had been shorter, and the flames had been taller, but what the heck. :)