Finished: Imogen

Ten days ago I embarked on my Imogen cowl with some left over stash Madelinetosh Pashmina. It was a long road with some bumps along the way, but I am happy to say I am finally finished and the end result is to die for. The pattern is really well written, but the stitch pattern repeats are on both the right and wrong side which makes the project a little less mindless than I usually prefer. Somewhere at the beginning, I thought it looked "off" (bad words if you ask me), so I went down a needle size and restarted. This is something I almost never do. I always trust in the pattern and my knitting skill but I am really glad I did. Something about the lace being a little tighter helps all those ssk's be a little more visible than my first version. I won't lie, somewhere before my skein was over, I started dreading it, getting bored, restless, just dying for something new, but I am in love with the end result.

As for my knit-along, Vanessa and I have decided to work the Edie Shawl, another pattern by Quince & Co. I am dying to get started and spent the better part of a day fawning over and winding my Quince Chickadee yarn. Just can't wait to get my hands on it.

Happy knitting!

Finished: Clapotis

My Clapotis is finally finished! I used one ball of Madelinetosh Pashmina in the Thyme colorway. I would totally recommend this pattern. Loved the pattern, love the yarn... what more could I ask for? I could have easily used the other ball, but I think this size will be perfect for summer. For my birthday Phillip bought me a nice wood shawl pin (in the shape of a bird!) which will match wonderfully. I am looking forward to wearing it soon! (You can see more photos of the Clap here or by using the link in the project bar on the side of the page.)

Phillip's sweater yarn finally arrived earlier this week and I am swatched and ready to begin. I imagine I will be finishing it in the fall, so don't be surprised if it hibernates over the summer and you don't hear much.

I am really looking forward to starting a Baby Sophisticate sweater for our soon to be nephew. I had purchased some Louisa Harding Fleuris in a (so-so) green color, but now that I have gender confirmation, I ordered Blue Sky Cotton in a nice beige-brown color. (I initially wanted to make a black sweater, but heard that babies "absolutely should not be in black"... Since I have no kiddos I will assume that to be truth, but just know mine will have a drawer full.) I have made many Baby Sophisticate sweaters, and beyond the con that they are tiny if you follow gauge, the pattern is really well written and easy. I should have one cranked out in a day or two which is good news since I have a second one to make for my dear friend in Michigan who is due in early July.

Must stalk the post man until the yarn arrives!

Fall 2011 Planning

The other day I had a conversation with a LYS worker about how my knitting often drops off in the spring/summer months. I have a hard time wanting to pick up wool or variations of it when the weather gets warmer and even though she went through the trouble to show me plenty of springy patterns (lots I loved from a Rowan book---big surprise), I just couldn't get into it. I usually will work on a project or two, but other than that, I am generally needle free for many months.

I knit for my husband often, but I don't Knit for him. He wants a scarf? Sure, no problem. He wants a hat or two? Again, no problem (though I am curious where the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino hat I have not seen for a year disappeared to...). Gloves? Okay, I can do that. For the most part my work for Phillip has been knitting, not Knitting. There is a distinct difference as when I am Knitting for myself I tend to not have issue with trying new patterns and being a little adventurous. So the seam is a little off, or the some stitches were never really recovered... Meh. It reminds me of the "don't knit a sweater for a guy" sentiment... I think Knitters never see this folklore as an issue. If he doesn't like it, oh well. There will be plenty more where that came from. knitters think "If he doesn't like it, I will never make another again!" That is not to say that proper gratitude for the hundreds of thousands of stitches a sweater takes should be blown off as if no issue. Lots of hard work and sweat go into the planning, the yarn choosing, the pattern selecting, the actual knitting and that is not even discussing the problems ("Hmm, I guess I made this second sleeve 20 inches longer than the first...? Wait, I attached the front on the wrong side...") but we never have those. Last night I started wondering whether I was having the wrong idea about this mid-year knitting curse. What if I extensively planned the next few months and crammed them with projects just waiting to be worn once the weather changes? Maybe then I will have more time to finish and I won't activate the evil powers that are causing my recent hand pain issues. And as an added bonus so many of the fall/winter yarns tend to go on sale around this time, which means making a project that would have cost me $120 can be made for as little as $40 or $50. (Or so I tell Phillip....I am joking!)

I couldn't sleep last night once I had settled on a sweater pattern for my dear. I chose the Cobblestone Pullover by Jared Flood and have looked at just about every one of the 3,000 projects I can find. Cascade 220, Malabrigo, Ecological Wool, Rowan Tweed Aran...surprisingly the list of used yarns was quite small. I decided picking a color first would be best but I knew it wouldn't be difficult as Phillip is pretty set on his color palette. I ended up choosing a heathered olive green color, which if you know my husband, makes perfect sense. I ordered the yarn and am really looking forward to casting on. I have already begun changing the pattern some--I will add 2x2 ribbing to the neck, sleeves and bottom to clean up the lines a little. I doubt I will do any major changes to the construction as it is seamless and is well written. I think once I am finished I can finally add men's Knitter to my growing list of Knitterly occupations.

In other news, I have cast on a Clapotis with the Madelinetosh Pashmina I recently purchased (see last post). The Damson is still high on my list but I am a little burned on triangular construction (though Clap is very similar with increase rows galore) and thought it would be nice to finally finish one up. I assume there has to be a reason it is likely the most popular pattern on Ravelry with something like 20,000 project pages. So far so good and the MadTosh is looking pretty wonderful. I am usually not a fan of kettle dyed, or hand dyed yarn, I like something very constant so this is a bit of a stretch for me. I am happy with how it is coming; I am somewhere near the 3rd increase section and after that I imagine a lot of mindless knitting to come to achieve my desired length. Either way, I am happy for the distraction, as I wait for the post man...

Is he here yet? I think I heard something...Wait, I just ordered that 20 minutes ago.

Other projected projects for Fall 2011:

(for my wearing)

Saffron Jacket

Goodale

Cables and Lace Vest

Tea Leaves Cardigan

Happy Knitting!

Me>Entrelac

I have officially beaten my Entrelac problem and completed my Lady Eleanor Stole. I ended up using only 8 balls of Noro Silk Garden (which means I will have a few left over for my stash...). If someone were to ask, I would have to say that once you can sort of grasp the idea, the Scarf Style pattern is by far the best I have come across. It can be a little annoying trying to distinguish between tier 1 and tier 2 once it becomes mindless but I had little to no problems. I thought the Noro was a great choice and as I expected once washed became terribly soft though I will suggest going down a needle size or two to compensate for the thin pieces throughout the yarn. The thicker parts filled in beautifully but some of the thinner yarn is noticeable to the trained eye. The only complaint I would really have to tell someone is that I HATE the way the end tier came out. I am sure there is a better set of instructions somewhere but the K2together, kx, ssk method seemed to leave very uneven edges on mine. It would be worth looking on Ravelry or another site for a better tutorial, I think. After blocking it grew about 1/4-1/3 the size in length so that is something to keep in mind as you begin losing your mind to boredom. I am still debating with myself about whether I will put the fringe on since I am generally not a fan of anything that can snag and destroy itself in an instant. (Bad memories, don't ask...)

(You can see more photos by clicking this link or using the Project Bar on the side of my page. )

In equally fab news, I recently received a gift card to my LYS . I went by this past week to see what I could find after thinking long and embarrassingly hard. I ended up coming across a hidden stash of Madelinetosh Pashmina that I had to scoop up- HAD, HAD, HAD to! The colorway is Thyme and it is gorgeous. Of course the selection was very limited but for a last-minute, didnt-think-you-had-this decision, I am insanely happy. I also picked up the last ball of Madelinetosh Vintage in the Dahlia colorway, which I only now realize will clash with my new, seriously-red hair. I will be working on figuring that one out, though I am leaning toward a hat, maybe another Spring Beret--I gifted my Blue Sky Cotton one to a dear friend in Texas some time ago. I will keep the updates coming, as I am planning on starting my Damson (by Ysolda Teague... who is quickly becoming one of my knitting crushes) with the Madtosh Thyme. I think the end result is going to be fantastic!

More very soon!

And please, please, please cast on your vote for my next project! (Yes, I did just make a knitting joke...)