Thursday, September 06, 2007

GREEN BEFORE THE GOLD: A Free Free Range Pattern

Green Growth

Early September and the world around my house is still intensely green—the river, the trees, even the hydrangeas ('Lime Time' variety)—are all cast in some verdant shade. Part of me expects more gold in September, forgetting as I do that the mellowing tones are yet to come. So, no turning leaves yet. Many of the flowers are gone and those that remain are purple, an out-there, neon pink or an audacious fucshia. But green still rules.

So, in honor of green's last days of glory, I offer you the Kelpy wrap with its deep shady-bower teals and greens. These wraps are so simple to make: just one long rectangle knit on gigantico needles. If you'd like to make one like it, track down a hank of Great Adriondack's Surprise in 'Kenya' and then go a-gathering for like shades that pick up it's hand-dyed mix of mysterious tones. There's a rich undergrowth purple happening there, lots of tealy-greens and every other shade of green under the trees from grass to emerald.

Here's the recipe:

• With size 9mm/US13 needles, cast on 100 stitches with your lushest, greeniest yarn (I used La Lana's Bombyx hand-dyed silk) and work 10 rows seed (k1,p2)
• Change yarns to GA Surprise and work two-wrap drop stitch
• Change yarns to turquoise and work another 10 rows seed
• Change back to green and work 4 rows garter

Continue working in blocks of seed, garter and drop stitch alternating yarns that pick up the colors in the Surprise (or any variegated or hand-dyed yarn you choose) until you reach the end. When do you know when the end comes to meet you? When you think it's long enough. Really.

This is free-range knitting. Like growing a garden, just plant your seeds by casting on stitches and then nurture your emerging design until it reaches fruition. You don't need someone to tell you when to change where and to what. Your eye knows and so do you. You just have to trust yourself