Take Two

I have been a bit lazy with my knitting lately, and even more lazy with my blogging! I finished Fifi last month but hadn't taken proper pictures of it. This is one of those projects that I had begun with great gusto, only to lose my interest when I ran into problems. I had chosen the wrong size, my gauge was off, and the neckline curled badly. I had to be honest with myself: I was never going to wear it like that! And so I finally mustered up the energy to frog all of this...


to turn it into this...



I confess much of the joy of knitting it had dissipated the second time around, but by the end, I was glad that I had tackled it! And I've enjoyed wearing it several times this past month! More details are in the gallery and on Ravelry.

Me Do Redo

Have you ever had a pattern that absolutely called out to you? For me, it's Eastlake, from Norah Gaughan Vol 3. As soon as I saw it, I knew I just had to make it. I stalked my LYS for the booklet, and when it arrived, I picked it up as soon as I could. I poked around in the store for awhile and found a lovely yarn--Cascade Venezia. It's a blend of merino and silk and knits up like a dream!

I started on the front first because that's where most of the action is. There are a few minor errors, but nothing to detract from the project:

The pattern doesn't tell you when to switch to the larger needles after having cast on with smaller needles. I'm assuming it's the same as the instructions given for the back

The pattern essentially calls for 8 rows of ribbing for the front and only 7 rows for the back, so this has to be adjusted one way or the other

Row 17 of the leaf pattern has a missing yo

Here's what I have so far:


I did think far enough in advance to cast on 2 sts less than the pattern suggests so that the k2p2 ribbing both starts and ends with a k2 for easier seaming. The pattern panel is really beautiful and fun to knit. The thing is, I decided that those yarn overs on either side of the "stalk" will be too revealing to be able to wear to work without another layer underneath. I wouldn't be opposed to fixing this by dropping a whole lotta stitches, but then there are also the decreases across the last row of ribbing. If you look to the left of the pattern panel, you can hardly notice where I did decreases because I tucked them into the purl ribs. But if you look to the right...


...it's a lot more obvious because 2 of the decreases had to be done on the knit ribs, and I don't like it. I'm going to go back and redistribute the decreases a little differently than the pattern suggests so that all of the decreases will fall in the purl ribs.

Also slated for frogging is Fifi. I mentioned before that I was going to frog back to fix some sizing issues, but I never got around to it. I'm actually going to frog all the way back because I also don't like how the neck curls and a crochet edge doesn't entirely take care of it. I like the pattern well enough, though, to work on it again and don't plan to abandon it.

Orange You in the Mood?

Obviously, I am. I have discovered that I really like the color orange. It can be autumnal when it has reddish or brown tones. Or it can be bright and summery like in these two examples.


This is Fifi, done in Rowan Calmer, in the discontinued Tangerine color. I got this as a Ravelry destash. I'm not really sure that it's a good color for my skin tone, but regardless, I like the color because it reminds me of Orange Creamsicle pops. Very yummy and summery! Unfortunately, I'm going to have to frog back quite a ways. My gauge is a bit off, and I thought I could get away with it since Calmer is so stretchy. The top does fit, but I have to admit it is just too small and is the cables are stretched in unflattering ways when I try to wear it. I thought about adding short row shaping for the bust, but I decided I'd just be happier redoing it in a larger size. Also, I saw this version (Ravelry link), which has some extra cable twists at the top, and I wanted to incorporate that.

And this second one is Coral Seas, (ie. Emerald Seas from last summer's Knitty). I'm making it in Tahki Cotton Classic. The color is actually called Flamingo Pink (which is not that appealing), but it looks to my eye like it's a more orangey, coral-like pink. So there. Now, I picked up this yarn on sale at my LYS because it was the right gauge that I was looking for. After I got it home and looked it up on Ravelry, I was alarmed by the inordinate number of dishcloths that have been made with this yarn. I have nothing against dishcloths, of course, but I didn't want to look or feel like I was wearing one! Luckily, it is working out fine so far. We'll just have to wait and see when it's all done.

Progress

I finished the Cropped Duster! I really wanted to get some wear out of this before the cold weather completely disappears, so I was glad to be done. More pictures and details are in the Gallery if you are interested.



In other good news, I was able to get the Fifi pattern! I contacted Kristeen through Ravelry and I was able to buy the pattern from her online. Hooray! Now that I have the pdf, I'll be swatching for it in the next day or two. I've also been swatching that Blue Skys Alpacas Dyed Cotton for the Mirabella cardigan, and I think it will work! So all in all, things are looking good.

Celebrations, Part 4: Birthday (and Contest)

Yes, it's my birthday! I treated myself to a bunch of new yarns over the last couple of weeks. The Calmer is from a Ravelry destash and the rest are from a recent sale at my LYS. Let's look at some yarn porn, shall we?

This is Berroco Linen Jeans. As you can see, I've already knitted 1 skein's worth on Athos from the new Norah Gaughan book. So far, it's very nice and drapey!



Next up is some Rowan Calmer, in the discontinued Tangerine color. I intend to make Fifi with this, and I was actually all set to swatch for it. I had somehow thought that I could download the pdf of the pattern but was really bummed that I couldn't. So I'll have to wait till I find a site or local store that carries these patterns. Darn!



I love the color of this Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton. I am really hoping that the swatch will work out for the Mirabella cardigan from the new IK.



This is some Tahki mercerized cotton. I was thinking about this for the Emerald Seas top from Knitty or for the Drop-Stitch Lace Tank from Fitted Knits, but I need to swatch it and see if I like it for either.



I realized after I finished making all those scarves for Christmas that I actually have very few scarves of my own. So I bought myself some yellow Malabrigo to make a Shifting Sands scarf and some variegated purple Manos Silk Blend for a My So Called Scarf.



Ahhh, I love it! Okay, now, it wouldn't be right to bask in all this fiber goodness by myself. So I decided I'd have a little contest. It's easy. All you have to do is guess the time of day that I was born. Remember to indicate AM or PM and make sure I have some way to contact you, either through your blog or email. The contest will run through next Saturday, February 23. The prize? The person who comes closest to guessing the actual time wins 2 skeins of Malabrigo in her choice of color. Enjoy!