Cabled Bolster Finale!

It is still missing a cord to pull close the ends. I just got my hands on my long lost knitting dolly. It had a piece of my first work on it. Apparently, back in 2011 I was able to make a neat-looking cord. I guess human procedural memory isn't half as good as it's said to be.

Nevertheless I present to you:

My (almost) finished Cabled Bolster!

Pattern:

MATERIALS: 

approx 150g of Aran weight yarn (240m), in this case Schachenmayr Nomotta Cotton Light

two sets of 5mm circular knitting needles (that is if you want to work on both ends simultaneously.)

cable needle

one bolster cushion - I bought mine in Ikea, but removed the labels and can't remember the name :(

Part I - Centerpiece

This part is knitted flat, back and forth on circular needles. 

NOTE: First and last stitch are edge stitches. I use the technique my Grandma taught me. First stitch is always slipped to the right-hand needle and last is always knitted. Both on right and wrong side.
This creates a neat edge with series of bumps and bars. Like this:

Whatever technique you use,keep in mind that you will be picking up stitches from this edge later on. Just don't make it harder than it is :)

CO34  using provisional cast on (32 sts + 2 edge sts - those will NOT be mentioned in directions)

Row1: *p2, k4* 5 times, p2
Row 2, and every even row: *k2, p4* 5 times, k2
Row 3: *p2, cross2L, p2, k4* 2 times, p2, cross2L, p2
Row 4: repeat Row 2.

Continue until desired length. End with Row 2.
Graft using kitchener stitch or three needle bind off.

Part II - Tubes
this part is worked in round. I am a die-hard fan of magic loop technique, but if you're more comfortable with DPN's do not hesitate to use them.

Pick up the stitches from each edge. You should pick up stitches from beneath bars and bumps mentioned earlier. Number of stitches should be dividable by 4.
I got 100 sts by picking up as follows:
*bar, bump, bar, skip one bump,* four times and than bar, bump, bar, BUMP, and again  *bar, bump,.. and so on.

If your number of stitches is not dividable by 4 - don't worry! Just knit one round and add/take away some until you get it right.

Row 1-8: k2, p2 around
Row 9: k2tog, p2 around
Row 10-17: k1, p2 around
Row 18: k1, p2tog around
Row 19-26: k1, p1 around
Row 27: yo, k2tog, p1, k1 until last 2 sts, p1, k1.
Row 28: k all sts and yo
Row 29: p all sts
Bind off. I recommend using some kind of stretchy bind off. I used Jenny's surprisingly stretchy bind off - here's an article on it on knitty.com

HINT: Every bolster is a bit different, and I hate counting rows and making notes. That's why I used second set of needles and knitted a few rows of each side at a time.

Part III - The Cord
Make a nice cord with any technique you choose. If you don't like making cords you can always buy a fancy one in a store :)
Pull it through the holes made in Row 27.

Enjoy your new cabled bolster! Yaaay!

© Copyright for pattern remains with the designer. Intended for personal use only. Not for commercial use.
Selling items made from this pattern is not permitted.
© Copyright M. Machowska - Escherichia, March 2015

Pdf version on Ravlery HERE

Whew! I'm glad it's done. This yarn is quite pleasant to work with, but it splits from time to time. It drives me crazy when I find a loose thread sticking out from my work 5 rows below...

I finally went home for the weekend, and left grey, gloomy Katowice for few days. And while at home I found... Spring! Look for yourselves!

Crocuses (or is it "croci"?)

Snowdrops (or "Śnieżyczka przebiśnieg" in Polish :)

Of course I had to return for my next week of classes, but I went back with my inner batteries charged. And let's not forget about home-baked bread from my Mom and eggs from genuine country-side hens. Home, sweet home!

Have a nice evening!

Gosia.

Phase Two of Cabling Initiated.

Yay! Finished the central part of my Cabled Bolster.

Here's the first part of the pattern:

NOTE: First and last stitch are edge stitches. I use the technique my Grandma taught me. First stitch is always slipped to the right-hand needle and last is always knitted. Both on right and wrong side.
This creates a neat edge with series of bumps and bars. Like this:

Whatever technique you use,keep in mind that you will be picking up stitches from this edge later on. Just don't make it harder than it is :)

CO34  using provisional cast on (32 sts + 2 edge sts - those will NOT be mentioned in directions)

Row1: *p2, k4* 5 times, p2
Row 2, and every even row: *k2, p4* 5 times, k2
Row 3: *p2, cross2L, p2, k4* 2 times, p2, cross2L, p2
Row 4: repeat Row 2.

Continue until desired length. End with Row 2.
Graft using kitchener stitch of three needle bind off.

That's pretty much it for the first part of the pattern. Time for some commentary:

About grafting... Since I'm not good at kitchener stitch, not to mention kitchener stitch for ribbing, I decided to use three needles bind off. To make it clear: I'm not proud of the outcome, the 1 stitch jog is clearly visible, and overall effect is messy... but every cushion has to lie on a bed of sofa, right? This means it has to have a bottom side!

Shame, shame, shame...

I picked up stitches with right side facing me, starting with the last stitch that remained from binding off. At first I picked one stitch from under each bump and bar, but it came close to 120 and that was definitely too much.
So I picked stitches like this: *bar, bump, bar, skip one bump,* four times and than bar, bump, bar, BUMP, and again  *bar, bump,.. and so on.
It resulted in 100 sts. I decided to make a ribbed (2x2) edges, narrowing towards ends. I still have to come up with some kind of fastener, because I want to be able to wash it once in a while.

Here's a look of how much work I still have left to do:

I have lots of free time this week, but in fact I'm really busy. For example I was going to make some serious progress on the Cables Project today but in the meantime I was asked to make a friendship bracelet for my husband, because his previous one broke. I think he has some kind of bracelet addiction :)

Have a nice afternoon!

Gosia.

Winter brake, computer meltdown and baloons!

I passed all my exams and finally have some free time!

My progress on Cabled Bolster is rather slow, but steady. I am 10cm away from grafting the centrepiece into a tube. I also started experimenting with corrugated rib stitch with my pink leftovers. I should call it "2 shades of pink", since counting color's shades got so popular lately...

Unfortunately, my almost 5yo laptop showed some bizarre behaviour yesterday and I had to wipe it clean. Now I struggle with restoring my previous software. I won't be able to share my pics until I get my hardware up and running :(

And one more thing (that I'm super proud of). I learned how to make balloon animals! OK, maybe using plural here is an exaggeration, but I know how to make a dog, a dachshund and a giraffe, which is also a dog, but with longer neck.

It's all thanks to my friend who invited me to a fun and games event organised by her parish. They invite all local children and arrange competitions and different activities.  

Here's the outcome of our hard work:

That's all for now. Keep your fingers crossed for the well-being of my poor old computer!
Have a nice afternoon!

Gosia.

Cables onwards!

My work on the bolster coushion cover  progresses slowly but steadily. It's a bit too narrow but it was ment to be only a centerpiece anyway. When it's done I will graft both ends together and pick up side stitches to continue towards endings.
Yeah, and I just now realised that my cables will be horizontal not vertical after that... I guess I'll just change project's name.

Here's Hasiok helping to present my progress:

I really like how texture is so prominent with this yarn! You can see every single loose stich! That, of course, I do not like.

It seems someone is hoping for a new blanket:

Have a nice afternoon!

Gosia.

EDIT! Ohohoh! I almost forgot! Tomorrow night the Mysterious Pink Thing shall be shown to the world! Rejoice!

Slanting Cables Gone Wrong.

Winter just got very winterish all of a sudden. Tempertures stay below 0°C for most of the day and it snows every now and then. I found a little snowy heart under my window!

I came up with this form my bolster coushion cover:

Circumference 54cm

CO 64 st with provisional CO

Row1: * row always starts here: k2 p2 k4 p2 k24 p2 k4 p2 k22

Row2: k2 M1L p2 k4 p2 SSK k23 M1L p2 k4 p2 SSK k21 adjust row marker position

Row3: knit knits purl purls

Row4: k2 M1L p2 cross2L p2 SSK k23 M1L p2 k4 p2 SSK k21 adjust row marker position

 And I was happy about it... untill I realised that it was:

• too big - I based my calculations on an old (and currently nonexistent) swatch.
• weirdly shaped - that's what you get when you mess with the row marker
• asymmetrical on sides - SSK isn't the neatest decrease.

That's how I abandoned my Slanting Cables Plan, and now I have a Vertical Cables Plan going on.

It wasn't easy to pick one version of it either:

I decided to go with three cables separated by two plain stripes. It's the last one sketched. 

Have a nice afternoon! 

PS.: Don't you just LOVE winter sky? I certainly do!

Taking an evening off.

Yay! Just two exams left to go... I took an evening off today. I got some work done  Finished the main part of Mysterious Pink Thing, as well as playing Mass Effect Trilogy. That last thing made me rather uncheerful for the rest of tonight.

There's also something new going on!
While I was putting my dress back to the wardrobe I stumbled upon a package stored in the corner. I almost forgot about my bolster coushions I purchased in Ikea in October!

I started designing a knitted cover for them. The yarn I used for my Autumn Mess project works up quite nice, but it leaves lots of tiny fibers on clothes when worn. That's why I decided to use what's left of it for my bolsters. I thought about making 2 slanting cables on each bolster. Since I'm ambitious and too proud to look up other people solutions... it may take me some time :)

Can't wait to see how will it turn out!

And speaking of new things: my Bloglovin' profile

Have a lazy evening!

Gosia.