Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Not Feeling the Clapotis Love

Fall and Winter 2004 the Knitting world was buzzing about the Clapotis pattern on Knitty. Everyone was either knitting one or choosing yarn for their's. As much as I wanted to I just couldn't become enthused about the pattern. I told myself it was because of the shape of the large scarf, or is it a shawl but truthfully I didn't know why it didn't appeal to me and I felt left out of the excitement this dropped stitched pattern was generating.

It's over three years now and I still have this little nagging thought in the back of my mind over Clapotis. Then on the Kathryn Ivy blog I saw a scarf adaptation of Clapotis knit with Noro Silk Garden and I was sure this was the answer to my Clapotis ambivalence. I ordered three colors of Silk Garden; you only need two but I wasn't sure how the colors would work together so I ordered a back-up color.

First try
Clapotis - first try
the colors didn't blend together - too contrasty for me. So I frogged it and tried my back-up color
Clapotis - second try
these two color ways worked well together. They are colors 226 and 264.
BUT
I just don't like how it looks when you start dropping the stitches. What is it with me and this pattern? I dislike the dropped stitch part and I still don't understand why so many, many others find it such a wonderful project. I tried but I'm still on the outside looking in and not feeling the Clapotis love!

There is one finished photo to share.
Chevron Scarf #3
Chevron Scarf #3 finished and blocked. Made with Misti Alpaca Worsted HandPainted in two different blue Colorways. The pattern is Chevron Scarf by Joelle Hoverson in the book Last-Minute Knitted Gifts

Pear_4
Here's proof Spring is on the way North; Winter is not forever.
Pear_1
The city is covered with clouds of white flowers on the Fruitless Pear trees.

2 comments:

LaurieM said...

I'm not interested in the Clapotis thing either. I've seen them, admired, and walked away. So I'll join you in your non-Clapotis club. Not haters, we don't hate it, we just don't want to knit it.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous pics, those last two. Especially the light in the last one. I knit my mom a clapotis, and it was fast, maybe a little boring, but I liked the simplicity of it and the way the dropped stitch and the biasing worked together to make that lovely floppy coil as written. Different strokes. Sometimes boring knitting is just what the doctor ordered. I think my favorite finished objects have been the simplest knits. I'm a simple girl. :)