So.

What do you do with one skein of stunningly lovely Giotto?

I had found a pattern that called for one skein for my size. Unfortunately I think Colinette got a model who’d taken a few too many Valium…

It’s from this Colinette book, called Westcountry

It’s a simple variation on a ripple stitch – two pieces, straight up for 26cm with no shaping and a couple of shoulder straps. It is rather cropped but on a scorching hot day,after a couple of trips to the gym, I think I can get away with it. 🙂

I had a bugger of a time keeping the pattern correct! Mainly because it was virtually impossible to see the increases and decreases in ribbon yarn, in garter stitch.

Once I decided to use my trusty B&Q stitch markers to mark where the increases and decreases fell, I got on much better.

Here’s a question, if you’re knitting something with a ziggy zaggy bottom edge, where do you measure to? The tip of the point (making the garment shorter) or valley of the “v” shape?

I got as far as 26cm to the tip of the “V” and started to get that uncomfortable, knitter’s intuitive feeling that there was going to be a problem.

“Hmmmmm….There’s not much yarn left to make the front….” I thought. 😕

I didn’t want to try and join the Giotto if I needed to make the knitting I’d already done longer so I decided not to cut the yarn and start the front. Instead, I wrestled the other end of the yarn out of the centre of my hand wound ball. I then proceeded to knit the front with the back sitting on my lap on a stitch holder.

I don’t know if you’ve ever tried knitting knitting from both end of the ball all once but let me tell you – you very quickly get in a great big tangle! I amused my fellow Guilt Knitters by spending about an hour painstakingly unlashing my near complete back from the remains of the ball.

The secret of knitting from both ends of the ball is to make sure the yarn you are not actively knitting with is wound tightly round the ball and looped into a loosish knot so it doesn’t unwind as you knit. The active yarn can then pull happily from the centre.

I managed, with some jiggling, to end up with a back and a front, both 26cm long. Unfortunately, to get that I was left with about 60cm of Giotto to make the straps! EEEk! 😯

What shall I make the straps from?

I dug into my stash and came out with a bag of Paton’s DK cotton I’d bought intending to make a granny square blanket.

These are the colours I had to choose from…

This is the Giotto, knit up into the ripple stitch…

Not a bad match huh? Just goes to show that I’m drawn to similar colours, time and again.

I couldn’t choose between the cottons. What’s more, I didn’t want to limit the top by having one predominant colour. So I chose all of them!

I picked up an 8mm crochet hook, for no better reason than the top was knit on 8mm needles, and crocheted a chain using all six colours held together.

This is what I got…

You and see the “right” side of the chain at the top and the “wrong”, bumpy side at the bottom. I thought the bumpy side reflected the garter stitch of the top quite well, so that faced outwards. It also a happy accident that it’ll be more comfortable to have the smooth, right side against my skin!

In the course of making this strap, I also discovered that I had created an irresistible cat toy…

Thug says he was just checking for durability but I don’t believe him – he’s having too much fun!! 😀

Do you want to see the finished article now?

I am pleased with it but I would have been much happier if it had been an inch or two longer.

If I’d used Giotto for the straps this would have been so short I would have been arrested! Especially as I’ve read that the Giotto stretches with wear…stretchy straps are not good!

Not quite the “get your knitting Mojo back” kinda project in the end was it?

I need a yarn sale…. 😉