The Vortex

This is the first time I’ve done modular knitting on doublepoints on quite this scale. Meet Vortex, by Lijuan Jing (and me). It’s knitted in JoJoLand Rhythm Superwash. Such a pretty little thing. And I do mean little. Quite an effort for 27 inches by 44 inches.

I’ve let it soak in Eucalan and dried it flat, as the JoJoLand Superwash Rhythm instructs, and it’s relaxed a bit since these photos were taken. The grooves are still nice and deep, but it’s just not such a concentrated weight of yarn anymore. Without this step, putting it on your lap felt a bit like when the dental hygienist lays that heavy gray x-ray apron on you. I’m adjusting to the odd size. More like a baby blanket, actually.

I don’t usually pass along a lot of knitting tips, but for anyone knitting Vortex here’s a few:

  • I needed 17 skeins, not the 16 the pattern called for.
  • Mark the first triangle so you’ll always know where “A1” is. Otherwise, you’re toast.
  • The instructions say to pick up stitches in a clockwise direction. I don’t get the “clockwise” thing, but what is meant is to pick up and knit the stitches in a backwards direction. Beats me how you do that. Instead of pick up and knit, I picked up and purled, putting the needle point in from the back side of the work while looking at the wrong side.
  • The directions for the order of the triangles are at the very end of the pattern. That’s a bit subtle and kind of easy to miss.  They are a bit idiosyncratic in that the written instructions tell you the order in which to knit the triangles, and it’s not always in numerical order.
  • But here’s the most important tip.  The  pattern (dated 11/30/2009) has errors. The instructions for the “T” isosceles triangles are wrong at rounds 4, 8, 11, 14, 18, 22, 26 and 30. Unfortunately after I tried a fix on my own (which sort of worked, but not as well as what the designer planned), I reached the designer at the email address on the pattern and received corrections. These are how the  instructions for the rounds listed above on the  four “T” triangles were supposed to read.  I was told it’s OK to tell my “friends” who may be knitting it. So, friends, this is the fix for the errors. I have to say that I haven’t tried it (because I am really sick of knitting little triangles) but it looks correct. And I clipped this stuff right out the designer’s email to be sure I wouldn’t be the one to introduce any new errors.

Rnd 4: k26, s1kp, k26, s1kp, s1kp, k46. (101 sts)

Rnd 8: p22, p2tog, p22, p2tog, p2tog, p39. (86 sts)

Rnd 11: k19, s1kp, k19, s1kp, s1kp, k34. (75 sts)

Rnd 14: p16, p2tog, p16, p2tog, p2tog, p29. (64 sts)

Rnd 18: k12, s1kp, k12, s1kp, s1kp, k22. (49 sts)

Rnd 22: p8, p2tog, p8, p2tog, p2tog, p15. (34 sts)

Rnd 26:k4, s1kp, k4, s1kp, s1kp, k8. (19 sts)

Rnd 30: p2tog, p2tog, p2tog, p1. (4 sts)

The error in the pattern is disconcerting, but the designer was very responsive to my inquiry. So that is a plus in my book.

This next photo is Vortex, edged with applied I-cord and after its Eucalan bath.  I dried it flat, but without blocking,  It relaxed some but I don’t think it was with much sacrifice to its signature deep grooves.


19 thoughts on “The Vortex

  1. @Del…Thanks, much. The main body of it is 36 triangles, all the same and knitted modularly (no sewing up), with 4 sort of isosceles triangles hooking together the ends of 4 strips of triangles. Rather fiddly work, actually.

  2. WOWWWWWWWWWW… I didn’t know what to expect when i clicked the post title but it wasn’t that gorgeous photo! I can easily imagine it was fiddly work, but before long the fiddliness will just be a memory story. That’s really stunning, I love the dimensionality of it. But that seems like a lot of (and a lot of kind of critical) errors in the pattern. Not good.

  3. @Lori…thanks much. It does have a bit of a wow factor–this designer has a lot of gorgeous modularly-knit (entrelac) patterns. The errors in this one, well, not at all happy about that.

  4. @Christina…thanks much. The Vortex is one of those projects that you warm up to more…after it’s done. But I do like it. (And I also enjoy reading your blog!)

  5. Had to check out your blog after I received your comment about the circle cloth … Thanks 🙂

    Love the unusual texture of your blanket…looks like it was a very interesting piece to work on with a very pretty result!

  6. Bought the original pattern. Tried to print off your ammendments and couldn’t get it all to print. Only 1 page of 2. Copy, open a new window in Word, paste. Wonder when I’ll get round to knitting it…? Thanks, Suz

  7. Thanks for the correction I will get this pattern and give it a try. I saw it in a pic on the have you any wool facebook page and emailed and called about it. I live in Florida now but an coming up to visit in Sept. You are a beautiful knitter all your stuff looks lovely. Thanks for the help in this pattern. I enjoy the pics of Michigan in your blog it makes me a little home sick, but also brings back good memories

  8. @Ann…Happy to help out. Thanks for checking out my knitting and blog. Michigan…come back and visit sometime!

  9. OH wow. That is just amazing. I found you on a Google search and boy am I glad I did. Incredible.

  10. @Laura…Vortex was a challenging knit for me, but I am pleased with the results!

  11. Could I kindly ask you to send me an email address for Lijuan Jing? I very much want to buy a copy of her pattern and the company JoJoLand unfortunately does not do business with people in my country and I have not found an alternative option for purchasing it. Perhaps she will be able to help me. Thank you so much. I think the piece you created is gorgeous and I would love to try and create one as well.

  12. Noreen – I managed to find a supplier that would ship to me, with your help. Now I cannot thank you enough for your generous posting of the details of the correction for the Vortex. I reached the Isosceles Triangles and discovered how frustrating it is that the mistakes had not been corrected over the course of the years. I wrote to the address on the pattern as you did and this time the response was disappointing: “The decrease of stitches are not always 4 sts, some are 3 sts. When doing this, we can get a proper triangle to close the blanket as a rectangle.” I feel so fortunate and grateful that you shared the specifics for the correction and I could go ahead with the project. (I am only half way through, but I did the two Isosceles Triangles before continuing on to the second half!) I love it! It really is gorgeous. All the best to you.

  13. @Margie…so pleased what I posted was helpful. I received those corrections directly from the designer and she gave me permission to post them on my blog. Odd, and disappointing, that they haven’t corrected the pattern copies yet.

  14. @Lucia…this pattern is available on the designer’s website, and in a number of yarn shops. With Lijuan Jing’s permission, I posted her corrections to the triangles. I hope that’s helpful.

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