La Alhambra Pullover

This pullover reminds me of La Alhambra with pillars and ceilings adorned heavily with arabesque paneling. We visited Granada, Spain, two years ago and I finally got to visit La Alhambra. What a feast for senses! It is a spectacular place visually, of course, but the sounds of water running through the palace and the aroma of flowers and trees. I would love to visit again and again. Perhaps, I should have chosen ivory yarns for the pullover.



The pattern is from Couture Knit no. 8 by Shida Hitomi shown above, which I got last summer in Japan. I saw this pullover first time in Ms. Shida's book of
250 knitting patterns a few years ago and I’ve been longing to knit it ever since. Mine is knitted with Rowan Pure Wool DK in Dahlia, which of course is not the original yarn.

As you can see, I changed the collar so that the cable patterns continue from the body, and that it stays off of my neck. I just ignored the neck shaping, kept knitting with cable patterns slightly modified, and cast off when the length I wanted was achieved.

Circular Shawl by Shida Hitomi

A friend of mine has asked me to translate texts on a pattern by Shida Hitomi. It is an almost circular shawl from Ms. Shida's recent book "Couture Knits vol. 12".

Yarn spec (It is available on page 34 of the book. It is the fifth one from the top): Extra fine merino 50%, nylon 50%, about 200 m per 40 g ball, recommended needle size 5 to 6 (in Japanese sizing), gauge is 22-24 stitches by 33-35 rows.

Yarn requirement: 4 balls (about 800 m)

Needles: Japanese size 7 knitting needles and size 4/0 crochet hook.

Finished diameter: 53.5 cm

Knitting instructions:
- Make a circle and pick up 15 stitches by repeating knit 1, yarn over.
- Follow the chart on page 60 and knit 28 rows. There will be 74 stitches on the needles. Note that the blank squares indicate no stitches (in other instructions, they are for purl stitches).
- Next, follow the bottom chart on page 61 and knit 42 rows. On Row 1, the number of stitches are increased to 170, and on Row 42, 195 stitches should be on the needles.
- Follow the middle chart for 16 rows. There are no increases.
- Follow the top chart for 62 rows. On Row 1, the number of stitches are increased to 387, and on Row 62, 531 stitches should be on the needles.
- Using crochet hook, single crochet over the first 6 stitches, and repeat [6 chain stitches, single crochet over the next 5 stitches] all around the shawl. Over the straight edges, pick up yarns one stitch inside of the edge and repeat the pattern for 24.5 times. For the second row, single crochet all the way.

New book by Shimada Toshiyuki

Yesterday, I received two knitting books by Mr. Shimada, one of which was recently published and contains 14 garments previously introduced in Keito Dama without patterns, plus 10 new designs. (Link to the new book)

Here is one of the garments I was hoping to get patterns for some day since 2004. I happened to have a right yarn for this project, too.



Also, the recent issue of Keito Dama has Shida Hitomi listed in the contents page three times! It's been ordered but I won't receive it until December. Boo Hoo! (See the contents in Japanese)

Added: In case you want to order the book from YesAsia, here is the link!

Link to Errata: I just learned that there are errors in Mr. Shimada's new book, and they are corrected here. BTW, the book is indicated to have sold out on Nihon Vogue web page. Not to worry, though, as they are re-printing. Also, follow this link to find out if other publications by Nihon Vogue have errors.

Flower Shawl by Shida Hitomi

I discovered Ms. Hitomi Shida's knit work only recently, last summer to be exact. Her knit designs are very intricate and gorgeous. The above issue is the most recent one. She also published a collection of her designs from past issues of Couture Knit (Let's Knit Series).



There is a gorgeous flower shawl in the recent issue. You can take a look by clicking the second button on the right panel here.


A friend of mine is interested in this design and I am attempting a translation of the text below. For the stitch pattern, you will need the book.

The yarn used is Dia Keito Dia Couture Silk Lame. Scroll down to page 15 to see the colors and the yarn specs. The required amount is 340g or 9 balls. The knitting needles used is Japanese size 6, which is about 4 mm. Also required is a crochet hook size 5/0, or 3 mm. The gauge is 31 rows in patterned stitches per 10 cm.

Cast on 7 stitches and follow the charts. The forth cast on stitch is at the center and indicated by a darker shade in the charts. Purl all the stitches on wrong side. Rows 27 through 50 are repeated five times: for rows 51 through 74, repeat the stitches indicated by the blank start twice, for rows 75 through 98, repeat three times, for rows 99 through 122, repeat four times, and for rows 123 through 146, repeat five times. For rows 147 through 170, repeat the stitches indicated by the black star 6 times, and for rows 171 through 190, repeat the marked stitches 7 times.

Here is the Flower Shawl from the book. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo.