Mason Dixon KAL

I have finally finished knitting the larger-sized Moderne Log Cabin. Here it is:



Did you notice that I said "finished knitting" vs. finished? That means I still have about a million ends to tuck in. I managed a few yesterday, but then needed to take a break. I will probably really finish this today sometime.

For those of you who are interested, I thought I would share a bit of the details:

First, I scanned the page from the book that showed the color layout. Then after chosing the yarn I wanted to use, I brought the scan into my PaintShop Pro and worked on the scan - making rectangles to overlay and then filling in with colors. I didn't like the original color layout, so I changed it up a bit.

Next was figuring out my gauge and doing the math to determine how to get the correct finished size 50" x 60" out of worsted weight yarn (Cotton Ease).

From the gauge swatch I determined that I was getting 4 stitches and 8 ridges (16 rows) per inch. I then marked up the print of my colored scan so that I would have all the numbers handy.



While I was knitting I kept track of how many stitches I could get out of a whole skein. It came out to approx. 9216 sts per skein. Knowing that, I determined each square total stitch count (stitches x ridges x 2 (because each ridge is 2 rows)) so I could be sure I had enough of each color.

I knit this up leaving the live stitches on the needle instead of binding each rectangle off, and then having to pick up those bound edges. My Denise needles came in really handy here - especially since I had already purchased the additional extra long cables that are sold separately.

Just for the curious, for this large size log cabin in worsted weight it came out to a total of 96,000 stitches - without the i-cord binding calculations.

For the 2 side-by-side squares I had originally went about following the directions, but I thought it looked sloppy, so I tore that all out and knit each one separate. I zipped them up together at the end.

The edge is done with i-cord in the dark blue color. I wish I had flipped it before I started the i-cord so that the raised edge would be on the front vs. the back.


front with i-cord edging


back with i-cord edging

To end, I would make this again and probably will. Another worsted weight but not cotton-ease because I don't have enough to do another and I am not liking the new colors - too pale.

If anybody has questions about my calculations or such, please feel free to email me at shaguirre@comcast.net

Here is a last photo of my dogboy Spencer helping me:


Peace!
Susan / ZenKnit