Tuesday, July 26, 2011

WIP Wednesday

I've been working on three of projects this week: The Alison shawl (yes, I picked it up again after many months hibernation!) my nice, simple pink and green socks, and the Summer Flies shawlette.

You don't get to see any of the Alison shawl today, because I finished it! It will be part of an FO Friday post at some point....once I get it photographed!

The socks are almost done. I am about half-way through the foot of the second sock. I'm suffering a little bit of Second-Sock Syndrome here, but I'm trying to push through the with the knowledge that once this one is done, I get to try toe-up socks. It seems to be working pretty well..Look!:


I have made it through four of seven sections of Summer Flies. Progress has been quick so far, but is getting slower the more stitches I increase. I love how it's turning out so far, though, and can't wait until it's finished. I love working with Berocco Ultra Alpaca- it's so soft! There was one place where it was spun really tightly, but I worked through it, and now we're back to nice, normal, beautiful yarn:


The boyfriend has promised me an FO photo shoot this weekend, so hopefully I'll have some posts for the FO Fridays to come!

This is a part of Tami's Ami's Work in Progress Wednesdays. Head on over to see what everyone else is up to!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

FO: Decimal

I loved the Decimal pattern when I first saw it in Knitty, and threw the yarn for it into my cart on a whim awhile back. The yarn sat in my stash for awhile, until I finally decided that I wanted to make that cardigan.

I loved knitting this. The pattern is fairly easy to follow if you have a little bit of sweater experience, and the lacy rib is really pretty. I chose to follow the pattern as written for the sleeves- a lot of people seem to alter them, but I love the bell sleeves in a ¾ length.

A little bit of panicking happened when I thought I had knit it too small (I’m not sure why it seemed so tiny!), but a good blocking stretched it out to the perfect dimensions.

The yarn was fantastic. I really like Shine Sport, and I would totally use it again. It knits up well, with a nice stitch definition, and it’s not overly splitty, as cotton-blends go. It’s nice and soft, and makes a great spring/fall cardigan.

I don’t know that I would knit this pattern again, but only because there are so many other pretty cardigan patterns out there. I want one of each; I don’t have time to repeat any! I would, however, recommend this pattern to anyone else who wanted to knit it.

Pattern: Decimal

Yarn: Knitpicks Shine Sport

Colorway: Orchid

Needles: US3

Ravelry Project Page

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

WIP Wednesday

One sock down, one to go on my nice, basic, pink-and-green socks. No pictures, though- I want to save pictures of the completed sock for when I finish them both.

I’ve decided to add a bit more shaping to the Celebrity Tank. The tank is really cute, but my body shape requires a garment to have a bit more shaping in order to be flattering. I’ve finished the decrease section; now I just need to try it on and, if it’s fitting property, work even for an inch, and then do some increases. I’m taking copious notes on how I’m modifying this pattern so that I can put it in my project notes on Ravelry, where hopefully someone else will find it useful.

In other news, I think I may have lost my mind. The KnitCircus Ravelry group is doing a Knit-A-Long for Fannette from the KnitCircus Summer 2011 issue. Because I don’t already have enough projects on the needles (ha ha), and I love a good KAL, and because I did already have the shawl in my queue, I have decided to participate. Anyone else want to join too?

I cast on for in Malabrigo Fingering in Velvet Grapes.


This is part of Tami's Amis' WIP Wednesdays. Head on over and see what everyone else is working on!

Friday, July 1, 2011

FO: Spring Meadow Clapotis

It seems like everyone has been knitting a Clapotis, and I didn't want to be left out! When Little Knits was having a sale on Arauncania Aysen ($3.50 a skein!), I decided that I had to give it a try. I picked out a lovely pink and green color that reminds me of a meadow in spring- the green of the grass, interspersed with pretty pink flowers.


This pattern looks really complicated, but is actually quite easy, once you get the hang of it. By the time I was half-way through, I didn't even need to refer to the pattern! It's also pretty cool to be able to drop stitches on purpose.


The only thing that I don't really like about the finished object is the variation between the skeins. I didn't realize that skeins from the same dye lot could look so different! The middle of the shawl has a much lighter area where one of the skeins had a lot more white than the others. It may not be all that noticeable to anyone but me when I'm wearing it, but it still bothers me a bit.


The yarn produced an incredibly soft shawl, but was a little annoying for this particular pattern- the yarn clings to itself so much that it was rather difficult to unravel the dropped the stitches. However, all things considered, I think it turned out nicely. I really enjoyed knitting it, and I'm already working on a new Clapotis, too.

Pattern: Clapotis
Yarn: Arauncania Aysen
Needles: US8
Yardage: 573 yards


This has been a part of Tami's Amis' Finished Object Friday. Go check out her links and see what everyone else is working on!