Faerie Knitting Read online

  Slip next st to cable needle and hold to front, k1, k1 from cable needle.

  1/1 LPC (1 Over 1 Left Purl Cross)

  Slip next st to cable needle and hold to front, p1, k1 from cable needle.

  1/1 RC (1 Over 1 Right Cross)

  Slip next st to cable needle and hold to back, k1, k1 from cable needle.

  1/1 RPC (1 Over 1 Right Purl Cross)

  Slip next st to cable needle and hold to back, k1, p1 from cable needle.

  For more abbreviations, stitches, and techniques, see Glossary.

  INSTRUCTIONS FOR RIGHT MITTEN

  Cuff

  With larger needles, cast on 34 sts and divide onto 3 needles (15 sts/9 sts/10 sts). Place BOR marker and join to work in rounds. Work in Garter stitch for 16 rounds (approximately 13/4"/4.5cm).

  Change to Stockinette stitch for 16 rounds.

  Change to smaller needles. Knit 8 rounds.

  Change back to larger needles. Knit 8 rounds.

  Thumb gusset with pattern

  Set-up round 1: K5, place panel marker, k7, place panel marker, k4, place gusset marker, M1R, k2, M1L, place gusset marker, knit to end.

  Set-up round 2: Knit 1 round, slipping all markers.

  Round 1: K5, sm, work round 1 of Crystal Cables, sm, k4, sm, M1R, knit to marker, M1L, sm, knit to end.

  Round 2: K5, sm, work round 2 of Crystal Cables, sm, knit to end.

  Round 3: K5, sm, work Crystal Cables, sm, k4, sm, M1R, knit to marker, M1L, sm, knit to end.

  Round 4: K5, sm, work Crystal Cables, sm, knit to end.

  Rep rounds 3 and 4 two more times.

  Next round: K5, sm, work Crystal Cables, sm, k4, place 12 gusset sts on holder or scrap yarn for thumb, remove gusset markers, use thumb cast-on method to cast on 2 sts, knit to end. 34 sts.

  Next round: Knit to panel marker, sm, work Crystal Cables, sm, knit to end.

  Hand

  Work even as established until rounds 1–11 of Crystal Cables have been worked a total of 3 times. At this point, glove should meet top of index finger. To make longer, rep last round to desired length.

  Decrease

  Remove panel markers on next round, redistributing sts as needed to work decreases.

  Decrease round 1: K1, ssk, k5, p1, k5, k2tog, k1, place marker, k1, ssk, k11, k2tog, k1. 30 sts.

  Decrease round 2: K1, ssk, k4, p1, k4, k2tog, k1, sm, k1, ssk, k9, k2tog, k1. 26 sts.

  Decrease round 3: K1, ssk, k3, p1, k3, k2tog, k1, sm, k1, ssk, k7, k2tog, k1. 22 sts.

  Decrease round 4: K1, ssk, k2, p1, k2, k2tog, k1, sm, k1, ssk, k5, k2tog, k1. 18 sts.

  Decrease round 5: K1, ssk, k1, p1, k1, k2tog, k1, sm, k1, ssk, k3, k2tog, k1. 14 sts.

  Decrease round 6: K1, ssk, p1, k2tog, k1, sm, k1, ssk, k1, k2tog, k1. 10 sts.

  Place 5 sts each onto 2 dpns, close top with Kitchener stitch.

  Thumb

  Divide 12 held thumb sts evenly onto 3 needles. Rejoin yarn at gusset and knit 1 round, picking up 2 sts in 2 cast-on sts at top of thumb space; place marker for new BOR. 14 sts.

  Join and knit for 12 rounds (approximately 11/2"/4cm) or until thumb is 1/2"/1.5cm shorter than desired length.

  Decrease round 1: K2tog, *k1, k2tog; rep from * to end. 9 sts.

  Decrease round 2: K1, *k2tog; rep from * to end. 5 sts.

  Cut yarn. With darning needle, thread tail through rem sts and gather to close top of thumb.

  INSTRUCTIONS FOR LEFT MITTEN

  Cuff

  With larger needles, cast on 34 sts and divide onto 3 needles (14 sts/10 sts/10 sts). Place BOR marker and join to work in rounds. Work in Garter stitch for 16 rounds (approximately 13/4"/4.5cm).

  Change to Stockinette stitch for 16 rounds.

  Change to smaller needles. Knit 8 rounds.

  Change back to larger needles. Knit 8 rounds, end last round 4 sts before marker.

  Thumb gusset with pattern

  Set-up round 1: Place new BOR marker, k3, place gusset marker, M1R, k2 (removing old BOR marker), M1L, place gusset marker, k4, place cable panel marker, k7, place cable panel marker, knit to end.

  Set-up round 2: Knit 1 round, slipping all markers.

  Round 1: K3, sm, M1R, knit to marker, M1L, sm, k4, sm, work round 1 of Crystal Cables, sm, knit to end.

  Round 2: Knit to panel marker, sm, work round 2 of Crystal Cables, sm, knit to end.

  Round 3: K3, sm, M1R, knit to marker, M1L, sm, k4, sm, work Crystal Cables, sm, knit to end.

  Round 4: Knit to panel marker, sm, work Crystal Cables, sm, knit to end.

  Rep rounds 3 and 4 two more times.

  Next round: Remove BOR marker, k3, place 12 gusset sts on holder or scrap yarn for thumb, remove gusset markers, use thumb cast-on method to cast on 1 st, place new BOR marker, cast on 1 st, knit to panel marker, work Crystal Cables, sm, knit to end. 34 sts.

  Next round: Knit to marker, sm, work Crystal Cables, sm, knit to end.

  Hand

  Complete as for right mitten.

  FINISHING

  Darn all ends. Sew buttons to circular spaces in Crystal Cables panel on back of each hand.

  Crystal Cables Chart

  Crystal Cables Chart Key

  Chapter 4

  The Lilac Tree

  he had lost everything, but what is lost can also be found. Her husband had gone off to war. He promised he would return, but years had passed. Time was like a river that washed over her, and now there was gray in her hair.

  On summer days she stood beneath the lilac tree where she had met him when they weren’t much more than children. Now that time was long ago. Nothing bloomed anymore. There had been a great drought, and the land had parched as the war dragged on. Everyone in the village had left and moved away. Except for her.

  She was waiting for him.

  * * *

  Every day she was there beneath the tree as the leaves fell off one by one and the seasons changed. She sat in the grass and knitted a scarf, but as time moved forward the scarf became a shawl. By the time she was done there was snow on the ground.

  He had been gone for years. Perhaps he’d been captured, or lost in the desert. The king himself had fled to another country, one where there was rain and everything bloomed with a haze of violet and green. The war was over and there was nothing to fight for anymore. People’s lives had been ruined and saved; villages had been burned and rebuilt.

  But her husband had still not returned.

  * * *

  She stood beneath the lilac tree even in winter, when the bark was black and the boughs were thick with snow. She thought about the first time she saw him, the first time she talked to him, the first time he kissed her, when the lilacs were fragrant and new. In the evenings the edges of the blooms turned violet. She wrapped herself in the shawl and closed her eyes. When she opened them again the snow had disappeared, the lilacs were blooming, and her husband was walking down the lane toward her.

  * * *

  How had this happened? Had time shifted into the future? She didn’t care. All she knew was that her husband was close by.

  She raced toward him, but as she ran her shawl fell from her shoulders. The world turned cold in that instant. She was back on that wintery day when no lilacs bloomed, shivering and alone. The shawl fell into a snowdrift. Before she could grab it, it had disappeared. No matter how deeply she dug, she couldn’t find it.

  * * *

  Somehow she had knitted the future into the shawl, and without it, time would not move forward. Every day was the same, filled with darkness and snow. Every day she tried to recover the scarf, but she had no luck at all. Winter lasted for four months, and then five months, and then a year.

  Every night she was alone in the home they had once shared. She had her dinner, always saving her crumbs for the mouse that lived under the stone hearth. Because the woman had been so kind, the mouse decided to return the favor. He crept into her coat pocket, and when she went out the next day he went along, riding in her pocket, where he was glad to find crumbs.r />
  The woman knelt in the snow beneath the lilac tree, searching for the shawl as she did every day. By now the drifts were as tall as a man and the cold, blue snow seemed as if it would never melt.

  The mouse jumped into the snow. The drift was so dark and so deep it was as if night had fallen, the blue night of winter. Still, he followed his nose. He picked up the scent of lilacs, and before long he found the scarf. It was too heavy for him to carry so he did the best he could. He took a single thread.

  When he presented the thread, the woman cried and her tears melted the snow. There was the shawl that held her future. She placed it around her shoulders. Now when she looked across the field the grass was green. The future had arrived. There was her husband, after all this time, coming back to her on the day when the lilacs finally bloomed.

  Lilac Tree Scarf

  DIFFICULTY: Advanced beginner

  MATERIALS

  The Periwinkle Sheep Sport Wolle (325yd/297m, 3.5oz/100g) 100% Wool, 4 skeins: 1 in color Ghost of Molly [A], 2 in color Hyacinth [B], 1 in color Slate [C].

  Or approximately 1,300yd/1,188m total of any sport-weight yarn that meets gauge.

  Size 5 (3.75mm) needles or size to obtain gauge.

  J-10/6mm crochet hook or larger for attaching fringe.

  Darning needle.

  SIZES

  One size.

  FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

  14"/35.5cm width, 69"/175.5cm length.

  GAUGE

  23 sts x 34 rows = 4"/10cm in Basket stitch, after blocking.

  23 sts x 34 rows = 4"/10cm in Stockinette stitch/Reverse Stockinette stitch, after blocking.

  Take time to check your gauge.

  Knitting Wisdom

  Scarf has Reverse Stockinette edges on the sides that will curl toward the right side of work, and on the top and bottom that will curl toward the wrong side of work.

  When transitioning between colors DO NOT CUT YARN until after working second repeat of pattern row 8. Carry alternate color up along the edge with an even tension so fabric doesn’t pull.

  To cut strands for fringe tassels, use a book that is approximately the length or width of the finished measurement and wrap yarn around loosely for the desired number of strands, then cut through them all at once—you will have a doubled length that will be halved when folded and pulled through to knot.

  Leave enough of desired color to cut strands for fringe tassels (I used about 1/4 of a skein, approximately 85yd/77.5m for tassels on the sample shown) or cut them in advance to be sure to have enough.

  Use this or a similar, handwritten chart to note your color choices:

  A

  B

  C

  STITCH GUIDE

  Reverse Stockinette stitch

  Row 1 (RS): Purl.

  Row 2 (WS): Knit.

  Basket stitch (multiple of 10 + 15) (includes edge sts)

  Row 1 (RS): P6, *k3, p7; rep from * to last 9 sts, k3, p6.

  Row 2 (WS): K6, p3, *k7, p3; rep from * to last 6 sts, k6.

  Row 3: Rep row 1.

  Row 4: K6, purl to last 6 sts, k6.

  Row 5: P11, *k3, p7; rep from * to last 14 sts, k3, p11.

  Row 6: K11, p3, *k7, p3; rep from * to last 11 sts, k11.

  Row 7: Rep row 5.

  Row 8: Rep row 4.

  For more abbreviations, stitches, and techniques, see Glossary.

  INSTRUCTIONS

  With A, cast on 85 sts. Beginning with a RS purl row, work 6 rows in Reverse Stockinette stitch.

  Work rows 1–8 of Basket stitch 19 times or until piece measures approximately 18"/45.5cm, ending with row 8 of Basket stitch.

  Transition to next color by alternating colors as follows (see Knitting Wisdom):

  With B, work rows 1 and 2 of Basket stitch.

  With A, work rows 3 and 4 of Basket stitch.

  With B, work rows 5 and 6 of Basket stitch.

  With A, work rows 7 and 8 of Basket stitch.

  Rep previous 8 rows once more.

  Cut A, continue with B. Work Basket stitch (rows 1–8) 30 more times or until piece measures approximately 48"/122cm, ending with row 8 of Basket stitch.

  Transition to next color by alternating colors as follows (see Knitting Wisdom):

  With C, work rows 1 and 2 of Basket stitch.

  With B, work rows 3 and 4 of Basket stitch.

  With C, work rows 5 and 6 of Basket stitch.

  With B, work rows 7 and 8 of Basket stitch.

  Rep previous 8 rows once more.

  Cut B, continue with C. Work rows 1–8 of Basket stitch 18 more times or until piece measures approximately 67"/170cm, ending with row 8 of Basket stitch. Work rows 1–7 of Basket stitch once more.

  Beginning with a WS knit row, work 6 rows in Reverse Stockinette stitch. Bind off.

  FINISHING

  Darn ends. Steam lightly. Make four large fringe tassels (see Fringe Tassels note) and attach one at each corner.

  FRINGE TASSELS

  For each tassel, cut forty 14"/35.5cm strands. With RS of work facing, insert crochet hook in corner of scarf from back to front, grab middle of all strands together and pull loop through to back, then pull that loop over the remaining ends toward the front. Tighten and adjust to neaten. Rep in each of the remaining corners.

  Basket Stitch Chart

  Basket Stitch Chart Key

  Chapter 5

  Love Never Ending

  t first she didn’t know a spell had been cast upon her husband. They had known one another since they were children. They’d grown up together and went to school together and loved only each other and had married young. Their lives had been braided together through good times and bad. For years they had been not only lovers but also best friends. There had never been an unkind word or argument between them. Then the woman began to notice small changes. They were so tiny, like moths in the palm of her hand, but fluttering, all the same, full of life.

  The first change was that he could not sleep. He, who had always slept like a rock, now left their bed when the stars came out to wander through the woods. He lost interest in their farm. The fields were left untended, and the cows came to the barn crying to be milked. He stared at the pastures as if they belonged to someone else, and were nothing more than a bother.

  Now he did not answer when she spoke to him. He did not even seem to hear her. His thoughts were elsewhere; he seemed to speak another language, one she had never learned. He said words she hadn’t heard him say before: betrayal, secret, lie.

  I need to think, he told her. I need to be alone.

  He refused the meals she offered him, even when she cooked his favorite dishes. Usually he traipsed through the mud on his daily rounds of the farm. Now he came home from his walks with his boots neatly polished to a fine shine, as if by magic. He wore a sweater she had never seen before. One day his pale blue eyes turned green.

  Then she knew. Something had begun.

  She went across the meadow to her dearest friend’s house, a friend so dear she was called Darling, for she was that sweet and good. She could always be called upon to visit on dark days, to join them for dinner, to bring flowers and herbs as gifts. The woman told Darling of her fears. When something was begun, something else was ending. She was losing her husband a little more each day.

  It’s the witch, Darling told her. Darling was plain looking, but she dressed well. She wore silk dresses, and she always made certain her black leather boots were polished to a fine shine. The witch has enchanted him. You must go to her and beg her to let him be. The dear friend gave her a small bottle. Drink this when you’re in the witch’s presence and it will protect you from harm and force her to tell you the truth.

  The very next day the woman went to the twisted tree where the witch had lived for a hundred years. Everyone knew the witch was best left alone. Witches are easily angered, and one never knows how they will react to an accusation; still, the woman who was losing her husband was desperate. She knocked on the oak door. No one answere
d, so she let herself inside. There was the witch at her spinning wheel. The yarn she spun first appeared to be the color of the earth, then it shifted to the color of the meadows in spring, then at last it became the color of the tree where the witch lived.

  Who asked you to come here? the witch said.

  Please, the woman begged, let me have my husband back. Don’t take him from me.

  You can have him, the witch told her. I never wanted a husband. How dare you accuse me!

  The woman reached into her pocket and took out the bottle that Darling had given her for protection. When she opened it the room smelled like almonds. Just as she was about to drink, the witch threw a knitting needle that shattered the bottle. As it spilled, the liquid burned everything it touched. Sparks of the poisonous fire of envy fell around her onto the earthen floor.

  Whoever gave that potion is the one who is enchanting your husband, the witch said. She wished to do away with you so she could have him for her own and I would be the one who was blamed for your death.

  The witch and the young woman sat at the table. They had become allies. The witch mixed up a tea ground from the leaves of the tree that was her home. The fragrant green tea would make the husband sleep for as long as Darling’s spell was upon him. While he sleeps this is what you must do if you still want this man. Why you would, I’m not certain. But love is a curious thing.

  I want him, the young woman said, for she’d known him for what seemed like forever, long before he’d been enchanted.

  Knit a circle and do not stop. Knit it as long as infinity, for love that is true never dies, and love that is meant to be cannot be stolen.

  The young woman took the yarn the witch gave her. It was made with the sort of love that could defeat envy. She gave her husband the tea and he fell into a deep, untroubled sleep. Then she set about knitting. On some nights she heard footsteps outside. They circled the cottage. She knew who was there and she knew what she wanted, but the young woman just continued to knit. On other nights someone beat her fists against the door. She heard her dearest friend’s voice calling to her husband, but she didn’t answer. She kept knitting without bothering to rest. She knitted through the summer and into the fall, and then it was winter and she was finally done. She looped the cowl around her throat and woke her husband. When he saw her he recognized the way she loved him and he remembered that he loved her in return. They never spoke about the friend again, and they never saw her either, nor did anyone else in their town, although the old witch sometimes came to the market wearing good black leather boots, polished to a fine shine.