[Repost of material originally appearing on 3 August 2006]

First, here’s a picture showing one finished meta-unit, plus one that’s mid-assembly. You can see the swirl hex in the center, plus where the square and triangle units fit.

In the layout I’m using, these meta-units fit together with plain triangles inserted at the point where three meta-units meet.

I suppose I could have made just one big triangle for those spots instead of four smaller ones. That design variant will have to wait for a future blanket. In the next photo you can see how the concept above actually works:

Finally, here are some other arrangements for the same basic units. The swift will note that the one in the upper right is in fact the layout I am using:

In addition to these, the squares and triangles can also be used by themselves, or in combo. LATE UPDATE: The two layouts on the right are in fact different. While both employ entire meta-units, with plain triangles where they meet, the top one butts the meta-units up against each other by uniting the edges of the squares, the other unites the edges of the triangles. The differences are subtle, but the lines of the piece do look different if the lower right hand arrangement is made.

In terms of technique used and hints for seaming – the squares fit stitch for stitch along the edge of the hex. Due to decrease ratios, the triangles are in fact just a bit wide at the base. To eat up that extra width, I play with ease, plus I sew them in using mattress stitch. I take a slightly bigger “bite” out of the triangles’ sides than I do out of the edges of the squares to which I am sewing them. So far it has worked out well enough. Other spots where cast-on/bind-off edges meet are sewn together with whip stitch, picking up the innermost edges of the chains formed by the cast-on or bind off (or if no chain was formed, the equivalent edgemost stitch).

I do note that I’ve gone back and forth several times between working the hex, then sewing on the squares, or working the hex, then working the squares directly onto it’s live stitches. I had forgotten I had done this as I began this summer’s production, but looking at my finished blanket, I’m hard pressed to identfy the abberant sewn-on squares. I’ll go back to the knit-on method on the next meta-unit. In the mean time, I’ll just sit here in the heat and think about knitting, because at over 100-deg F indoors, it’s too hot to actually do anything more than sit in one spot and pant like a dog.

Now. Has anyone else tried the hex yet?

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[Repost of material originally appearing on 2 August 2006]

As promised, here is the third unit needed to build my North Truro Counterpane. I won’t say the last, because I still intend on squaring out the sides and adding coordinated strip-knit coordinated trim. That will require some half-hexes, half-squares and the trim itself. But I’m not there yet.

Like the square, the triangle is knit flat and is quite straightforward. In addition to the patterned piece graphed below, I also make some plain triangles to fit in between the larger meta-motifs. In essence they are the triangle graph below, but without any patterning. To make them I cast on 31, then work entirely in stockinette, employing only the shaping directions shown at the ends of the right-side rows.

[Click on pix above for larger rendition]

I think that I might have done the patterned triangle a bit differently if I were to assay it again now. I might have eliminated the YOs and companion decreases down the center on rows 1-11. Or maybe not. I’d have to play with it to see if I liked the meta-unit (and how multiple metas fit together) after assembly without those radial spikes.

Tomorrow I’ll discuss again how these go together, and present some alternate arrangements.

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[Repost of material originally appearing on 1 August 2006]

As promised, here is the square I use to build my North Truro Counterpane – the first of the companion units needed to build the thing along with yesterday’s hexes.

I could see someone making a blanket of only the squares, or only the triangles (tomorrow’s post), but I did design them to fit visually with the swirl counterpane to make up the larger star meta-motif. I like the contrast between the patterned, almost embossed central swirls and plain stockinette. The lines of the square extend and frame the swirl’s motion, spreading the design out beyond the borders of the hex itself.

The square is knit flat, back and forth on straights. I use two of my longer DPNs for all the smaller units. Since these are quick and almost never languish on the needles, don’t bother finding a pair of traditional straights with end buttons.

[Click on pix above for larger rendition]

Now, why did I go to all this trouble? For the classic reason. Why not?

I’m not a big fan of pieced quilting. I think it can be visually quite lovely, and value it as a medium for artistic expression, but I don’t enjoy manipulating all those little patches of cloth myself. I am however fascinated by simple geometry. Things like tessellations tickle my fancy. I can’t pass by a bit of interesting mosaic or brickwork without pausing to appreciate regular polyhedral tiling. Traditional Islamic non-figural ornamentation is a source of wonder to me. When I stumbled across Phillips Knitting Counterpanes I skidded to a halt and hung on every page.

Since then I’ve kept my eye open for more pieced counterpane style patterns of all levels of complexity. But I notice that very few are built on layouts beyond all squares, triangles, or hexes; or (at the most) on octagons plus small squares. I wanted to play with some of the more unusual layouts – to see if I could bend knitting around them. There are lots of ways to tile an area with simple regular polygons, and simple regular polygons are easy to knit. Why not mix squares and triangles? Or hexes, squares and triangles? Or (be still, my heart), dodecagons, hexes, and squares? North Truro is my first attempt.

I wonder what trouble i could get into if I departed the single plane, and ventured into the 3D world of polyhedra? Hmmm….

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[Repost of material originally appearing on 31 July 2006]

O.K. Apparently I’m not the only crazed loon out there that’s interested in knitting something with ten thousand ends. So in response to requests, I share my North Truro Counterpane.

Please note that as a pattern, this is still in Beta stage. I have no yarn quantities, gauge estimates, or recommended needle sizes. There also may still be an error lurking in the upper right double moss area on rounds 35-43, after the centered leaf motif. I think I’ve corrected it on this version, but since I mostly work my motifs on autopilot at this point, I can’t swear that I’ve payed close enough attention to test-knitting this particular edition of my graph. If you run into oddness, remember that the double moss area on each side of the center leaf should mirror. If it looks like you’re developing a rib on row 37 or 39, invert the knits and purls after the center leaf and all will be well.

In terms of materials, I can say that I’m using a insanely inexpensive unnamed coned cotton flake yarn found in the back room at Webs. It’s soft, with some open and relaxed sections, rather than a tightly spun mercerized cotton. In terms of weight it’s probably closest to fingering, with occasional puffy bits making it hard to describe. I’m getting 16-17 wraps per inch.

For needles, I’m using 3mms. NOT US #2s, which tend to be 2.75 mm, but true European 3mm needles. I’ve got a mix of 10-inch and 8-inch long steel DPNs of that size, and am working my hexes on four, moving to seven when the number of stitches on the needles makes that more comfortable (one needle per side, plus one to knit with). Now not everyone is as DPN happy as I am, so if you prefer using one or two circs, try starting out with a set of 4 DPNs, (two hex sides per needle), and using them until the piece is large enough to make the transition practical – probably around round 23 or so.

Please remember to note the one-stitch transition on round 35. I shunt the beginning of the row one stitch to the left on that round. You should knit the first stitch of Round 35 onto the last needle of Round 34, then work around, doing that terminal K2tog on the last stitch of each repeat and the first stitch of the next one. If you’re using circs and markers, move the marker to after that K2tog. The final repeat of Round 35 will work out even – the last K2tog will combine the previous final stitch of that repeat plus that stitch you knitted and transferred at the beginning of the row.

[Click on pix above for larger rendition]

I will post the graphs for the companion square and the triangles tomorrow. The hex can be used alone or in combo with the other units. In fact, the geometry of the thing allows several possible assembly layouts I’ll write more about that later in the week.

Finally, there’s one more reason why this is just in Beta. I haven’t finished the total counterpane design yet. It is my intent to (eventually) draft out companion half hexes and half-squares, to finish the piece off as a rectangle, then trim the whole caboodle with a custom-designed edging that complements the design elements of the motifs.

Needless to say, I’m not there yet.

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