Projects
Finished! A Colorful Thing
Dear Kay,
The Corrugated Shawl by Cecelia Campochiaro has been my constant companion in recent days.
This is my idea of a staycation: a soothing piece of knitting with moments of drama and long stretches of zen.
Cecelia Campochiaro’s Corrugated Wrap from Field Guide No. 5: Sequences may be the perfect thing. It’s such a sampler, exploring Cecelia’s idea of sequence knitting. These simple knit/purl patterns create surprising textures when you do certain clever things that Cecelia has figured out.
For example, this wrap includes three sections of knit 6/purl 2 sequences, yet each section is unique because of what you do at the end of a row.
The drama here? [whispering] You don’t know what these simple knit/purl patterns are going to do. Thrilling! This is not like any other knitting I’ve ever done.
This is my second Corrugated Wrap, but the first to use color changes that fade from one section to the next.
I worked 14 of the 16 sections specified in the pattern, because I’d arrived a symmetrical color arrangement, and I didn’t want to work two more sections.
When I blocked this piece, the superwash Lichen and Lace gained a foot in length—what was 72″ became 84″, which pleased me utterly because I like a long wrap. I hadn’t knitted a swatch, because I didn’t care about size or gauge. If you do care, then you’ll want to knit and wash a swatch to see your exact gauge.
It’s not really what you would call a fade, but it has fadey moments.
To get from color A to color B, I did the 12 rows of stockinette or reverse stockinette in alternating stripes.
This yarn had me in its thrall. These Lichen and Lace colors remain one of my favorite palettes.
The sequence of colors evolved as I went. I didn’t intend to mirror the colors for the second half of the wrap. But it just seemed the thing to do. The result is a sort of warped rainbow. Thank you, Megan Ingman, for your color sense. Can’t wait for the heat to break so I can wear this thing.
Midsummer Binge Report
As for all my TV wallowing while finishing this Corrugated Wrap, I’m relieved to report that I. Am. Done. with Scandal. I’d do a huge spoiler here except I’m so over that show that I don’t even know or care what happened in those last episodes. It’s like the end of Lost, that other show that started out awesome and ended up with people eaten up by the Smoke Monster and beams of light and I don’t even know what.
And Outlander? I am sad to report that it’s way too violent and sadistic for me. The series of novels (which I devoured) is loaded with violence. But seeing it is so much worse. I hereby retract my gleeful endorsement of Outlander! So sorry to send you to a series before I’d seen enough to check my Puke-O-Meter.
And my beloved Patrick O’Brian novel audiobooks? I’m up to number eleven, The Reverse of the Medal. I can’t quite believe a series of novels can remain so fresh and delightful, eleven novels in. To be clear: I am not a sailor, have never had any interest in the British Navy of the 19th century. I still don’t know what a trysail or a trunnion is, but it doesn’t really matter. Such a tale this is!
Love,
Ann
Gorgeous! I especially like how you did the in between 12 rows of reverse stockinette stitch in alternating stripes. So pretty!
Ann, I wish you many many good times wearing this Corrugated Wrap.
This is so beautiful! I love the idea of alternating rows to make the transition between colors.
I wonder if this would work with the Freia yarn bombs? Maybe keep the width the same but make the length of each section based more on when the color starts to change on the yarn bomb?
This is a very pretty piece. Do you have a list of colors, or are they in the pattern. I don’t think i’m good at picking colors.
Hi Betty! I used the seven colors of Lichen and Lace 80/20 Sock that we offer in the MDK Shop. The colors are (from bottom of wrap) Teal Tide, Beach Glass, Linen, Citron, Shrub, Coral, Clover. Then the color order reverses for the second half of the wrap. You can see the yarn in our Shop here: https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/shop/lichen-and-lace-80-20-sock/.
LOVE, love, love this…. Great job!
Ann, this is brilliant. I have a whole pig pile of Tosh Merino Light that needs some attention. After I finish my first wrap, that is…
a spectacular showcase for those yarns!
I JUST got the Field Guide with the corrugated wrap and had decided to make it…now this inspiration! Can’t wait to get started.
Oh, you have a lot of fun ahead of you!
The wrap is gorgeous! Both Outlander and Scandal lost me in the first season. My friend told me she could only get through Outlander by muting and closing her eyes tightly. Thank you no! the news is stressful enough.
Exactly–I just looked at my knitting during the gruesome scenes and hummed “It’s a Small World After All.”
I read the first two of the Outlander series, and then I was done. Such good stories but I couldn’t take that level of gratuitous violence.
The wrap is amazing. The LOVE the fading. I can see that this would be fun to knit. You’ve got me curious about Patrick O’Brian. I took your advice and got the Neapolitan audio books. I’m just finishing up the 4th (and last) book. I’ve been memorized. Thank you!
I’m so glad you got into the Elena Ferrante novels–I crave a fifth book, you know? What a storyteller. And if you’re an audiobook listener, the narrator for the Patrick O’Brian series is astonishing. The entire series narrated by Patrick Tull, who is just a genius.
This is especially welcome news to me! 99% of my reading is audiobooks these days, and a narrator can make or break even an excellent book.
This piece is stunning, Ann. Winter IS coming, though I’m choosing wools for my next scarf, as I’m watching the hummingbirds darting about in my garden.
When I first learned to knit in 1983, there was very little yarn to choose from. When Kaffe Fassett first brought out his colorful book, so many good things began to happen in the world of knitting. And I love the Sequences’ book And then this wonderful site MDK came into our lives.
It’s a great time to be a knitter !
Thank you for the kind words, Ann! It is a golden age of knitting, I feel. So much beautiful design and yarn all over the place.
I started Outlander just about when ‘me too’ happened. Couldn’t watch it.
Your wrap is inspiring me!
I love your wrap!
I think you got past the worst of Outlander! Season 1 was brutal. Maybe give Season 2 a try. I’m waiting for Season 5 to air in 2020.
I hear you. I mean, the handknits in Outlander are just superb–maybe I should just skim through and pay attention to those!
The pattern for the shawl shown in the bedroom scene at Lallybrock has been worked out and is available on Ravelry! The original is back in a museum. I won’t be knitting it ant time soon because it would probably take me over a year! Other hand Knits are wonderful. I wonder if they will also show the girls spinning or Jamie turning a heel on a sock for Claire. Only future seasons will tell.
Your CC shawl really is gorgeous; I may have to give it a try. And I too continue to be amazed at the Patrick O’Brian books. How can I, as someone who has no interest in sailing, nautical history, and most British naval stuff of any sort, continue to be so enthralled with these books? Novelists take note: there are lessons here!
The way he explores male friendship is so fascinating to me. There are such nuances in there about the way men relate to each other. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin have this incredibly intimate relationship. It really makes me think.
I think of the series as Jane Austen But With Dudes.
I have yet to finish my sequence shawl, although I have pkcked it up again with the goal of having it finished and blocked by October,(maybe, probably), and now you have to inspire me with another! Drats! Its tuly gorgeous.
My husband is a veteran of the entire Patrick Obrien series. Along the way I bought him a Concordance: a book which defines all the terms. It was a well worn book by the time he finished the series.
I now find myself saying “Make haste! There’s not a moment to waste!” which is what Captain Jack Aubrey is always fussing at Stephen Maturin.
On my. I am so excited to hear you are a fellow reader of Patrick O’Brian! I am up to #16. I am not a sailor either, but I love, love, love the books. I even bought “A Sea of Words” which is a companion to the books and explains all the terms. Also, I am reading the books on my Kindle and delight in instantly looking up words that mystify me. I have slowed down a bit as I don’t know what I will do when I reach the end! I agree with you totally about Outlander. I enjoyed the books but disliked the series. For one thing, in my mind, Jamie looks nothing like the pretty boy playing the part! Too harsh?
Oh right. The knitting! The scarf is beautiful. I have the Sequence book and have knit several things using this technique. It is also fun to make up your own sequence! After seeing your beautiful scarf, I feel like knitting one too. Perhaps in the colors of the Sea!
Agree 100 re the casting of Jamie. I mean, the actor does a perfectly OK job. But who in 1743 had a Crossfit bod like that? It’s not credible!
And yes, I freestyled some of the sequences in my wrap–that’s where the adventure is.
I love the elegance of white version in the Field Guide. But this makes my heart sing. Is that too soppy?
Did you use all of each skein?
Just weighed my leftovers–I used half of each skein. So if you wanted to make a Corrugated Wrap but not get seven skeins of yarn, you could make it with four, and use each color for two sequence panels rather than one as I did. Or you could go with a one-color wrap which would be four skeins of one color. I do love the original version, which makes the most of all the textures.
❤️
I’ve knitted my first Corrugated Shawl in alpaca. Your last post inspired me to take on this project again. I have both the book and yarn and ready to get started. Which two patterns did you leave out of the sequence.
I left out the final two sequences. I did actually freestyle several of the sequence panels, for fun. It is amazing to see what a simple change to a stitch count can do to a texture.
This may be one of the most beautiful wraps I’ve ever seen!!!! I’m so in love with it!!!
I looooove that wrap! It’s so beautiful – the colors are having so much fun next to each other! Congratulations!
Beautiful!
And I agree with you about Outlander.
Love the wrap. I felt the same when reading the Outlander series. She writes too much graphic violence in too much detail, too often. Ick.
I did the same. The books were so graphic and painful that I stopped reading it. Same with my Mom. I haven’t even checked the TV show for the same reason. Knitting is my comfort.
My daughters convinced me to watch Outlander when it came to Netflix.
Maybe because our Country provides violence on A daily basis I find no escapism in this show.
My husband, who is an avid sailor, has been pushing these books in my direction for years. He also thinks that I will be inspired to sail the open oceans if I read tales of modern sailors perilous journeys! I will, based on your recommendation, begin the series. There’s nothing more satisfying than reading a series in order.
Do you do any of these with looms?
How much yarn did you use? I’m very tempted to order and just copy your exact scarf, but is that a knitter faux pas?
Hi Helen!
Flattered!
I just weighed my leftovers–I used half of each skein. Which sets me up for some serious multi-color sock glory. If you wanted to make a Corrugated Wrap but not invest in seven skeins of yarn, you could make it with four, and use each color for two sequence panels rather than one as I did. Or you could go with a one-color wrap which would be four skeins of one color. I do love the original one-color version, which makes the most of all the textures.
The yarn is here:
https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/shop/lichen-and-lace-80-20-sock/
And Field Guide No. 5: Sequences is here:
https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/shop/mason-dixon-knitting-field-guide-no-5-sequences/
A trunnion is a side dish created by simmering an onion in treacle.
In my mind, anyway 🙂
Oh fiddle…that was supposed to be an lol emoji and a heart. Sending them to you invisibly! Loved your definition.
This is so beautiful. Ordered the yarn from you and can’t wait to start….right after I finish my zig zag scarf! Thank you for the inspiration! Just lovely!
SO beautiful! What shades did you use – and will you be offering this lovely thing as a kit?
Hi Sherrie! I used the seven colors of Lichen and Lace 80/20 Sock that we offer in the MDK Shop. The colors are (from bottom of wrap) Teal Tide, Beach Glass, Linen, Citron, Shrub, Coral, Clover. Then the color order reverses for the second half of the wrap.
We’re not cooking up a kit per se, but it turns into a kit if you order each color plus Field Guide No. 5: Sequences.
The yarn:
https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/shop/lichen-and-lace-80-20-sock/
And Field Guide No. 5: Sequences:
https://www.moderndailyknitting.com/shop/mason-dixon-knitting-field-guide-no-5-sequences/
I’m on it!
We are so much on the same page. I loved both the written Outlander books and the audiobooks, but can’t stand to watch it on tv. Too much violence/emphasis on sex.
Also, I am very much a fan of the Master and Commander series. I have read all of the books (more than once) and have listened to the audiobooks (in order) several times. Patrick Tull is incredible. There you are in the British navy! Think I may need to do this again, very soon.
I basically anticipate listening to Patrick O’Brian until the end of my days . . .
Concerning outlander, my friends kept raving about the tv series, i watched a few but it was so nasty i quit. Sure, every show has some sex but this was so explicit and i dont think a mans bottom showing every week is sexy.
The wrap looks great, but why don’t we see any cat hair on it? Didn’t Kermit try it to see if it would make a comfortable cat blanket?
I love that Corrugated wrap! It is kind of guernsey to me . Also I met a girl at a Cutting Competition with horses and cattle . She’s on Dixon, and her other horse is Mason I’ll try to send you her photo. I told her about you two. Or you can go to my post of 8/11 and see her photo on that post. 🙂
It’s glorious!!
Your corrugated wrap is stunning! I finished one this summer in a tonal ballet pink. I also found the pattern changes mesmerizing. I couldn’t put it down! Now I’m thinking about a multi colored one. Maybe in a smaller cowl?
you are an inspiration, Ann!
You are always knitting gorgeous things, creatively. Sigh. And yes to Patrick O’Brian’s books. I listened to the series years ago and loved the whole shebang.
Awesome
A Patrick O’Brian question – we started listening to one, but the fellow reading the book (who had won awards for his reading!) did these voices for the characters that I did not find appealing at all. Are there other readers for these books? Do you have a favorite reader? I am very curious now.
Oh, I see you have already answered this! Hopefully Patrick Tull is not the person I disliked…
Unbelievable! Your shawl and the book discussion! Just the other day I was searching this site for clues about the O’Brian books – couldn’t remember the title, characters, only that it was about two friends on the high seas. I’m just finishing another great series, the Niccolo books by Dorothy Dunnett. Readers might like to use the blog Book Series in Order, but you have to know the author, characters, or title.
Thanks to all!
The deep saturated colors are gorgeous. I was inspired to pick up My Brilliant Friend by your review several months ago and loved every book. Another series I’m absolutely hooked on and taking a break from after reading book 9, Maudie Dobbs. Strong complex female character who solves murder mysteries that elude the top guys at Scotland Yard. They eventually start hiring her for the odd job that requires her particular style of intuition and unwillingness to let it go when others do. For tv knitting, I enjoy Call the Midwives and Grantchester.
Scandal was intended to end sooner because of current events they extended it. I agree with u. It’s the sad fate of so many good shows.
Re Outlander I loved season 1. Season 2 eh. 3 good again and I literally stopped watching during season 4 because I just didn’t care anymore. And I hated/was too bored by a main story line.
But most important, love ypur shawl!!
This will be my 2nd corrugated wrap…just ordered the sock yarn! Wondering what size needles you used?
Hi Joan!
So glad to hear you’re going for another Corrugated Wrap–I can easily imagine doing a third one myself! I used a size 5 needle, 98-stitch cast on as in the pattern. I hope you have fun with this!
Happy Saturday to you,
Patrick O’Brian was a genius and a brilliant story teller. I re-read the whole series and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m glad you’re enjoying them. And your wrap is stunning!
Harbors and High Seas: An Atlas and Geographical Guide to the Complete Aubrey-Maturin Novels of Patrick O’Brian
by Dean King
Suggested reading for those who don’t remember where Valparaiso is. Atlantic or Pacific?
Ann, I got to sail into Port Mahon this summer…past the mole…past the hospital island…to the pier with the steps that go up to the town…gorgeous!!