You did not really think that all I finished in one month was a pair of socks, right?
First the skinny:
Pattern: Wakame Lace Tunic from IK Summer 2008
Yarn: Spunky Eclectic Summer in color Clouds, 4 skeins
Needles: US #4
This pattern caught my attention right in the preview of the last IK. With three or four inches of ease recommended in the pattern, it is hardly my usual type of project (do I see a trend here?) but I just had to cast on anyway. First task was to find a more affordable substitute to Tili Tomas Fil de la Mer. After some searching on Ravelry, I gave up on the idea of a pure silk sweater and started looking at bamboo, linen and different blends. I was hoping for a yarn that would hold up a little better than pure silk usually does, especially in this weight. I ended up with an unexpected blend of cotton and rayon called Summer from the local Spunky Eclectic. The yarn worked wonderfully for the design. I liked the fabric best on needles size 4, which produced a slightly smaller gauge than in the pattern. That worked well for me as I wanted less ease anyway.
The knitting itself was surprisingly straightforward. I followed the pattern almost exactly. The only adjustment was leaving out all the three needle bind offs. Instead I grafted the stitches on the bottom panel and on the top of both sleeves. People are going to think I am totally crazy, but I actually like grafting. I find incredibly satisfactory to watch a seam disappear. It does not make much sense to me either, because I absolutely hate sewing. The other day, I promised Hubby to wash the dishes, usually his job, if he sews a button on my jacket.
Anyway, modifications. In order to make up for the smaller gauge I had to knit more pattern repeats to get the same length as in the pattern. I wanted to have the horizontal lace panel positioned on my hips, the same way as the model in the magazine. My body type is a triangle with my shoulders slightly wider than my hips so I hoped this design would even things out and despite its looseness still be flattering on me.
The lace patten was really enjoyable. I memorized it pretty easily but it still held my attention. The only part that I found irritating was the sleeve construction. It took quite a lot of concentration and counting to make the lace pattern work and many times I found the picture in the magazine more helpful than the instructions.
Since finishing the tunic I wore it several times already and I must say it might be one of my most comfortable sweaters that still look pretty, elegant and are really versatile.
 |
|
|
|
|
|
I am back home from Vancouver, catching up on blogging and Ravelry after a great and very active week. My butt still hurts from all the biking I did. I also managed to see a movie, a theater play a concert of Taj Mahal and Blind Boys of Alabama, went river rafting and of course bought as much yarn as I could pack in my already full suitcase.
All together, I visited four different yarn stores, two of them I planned, the other two I discovered by chance while cruising the city on a bicycle. My favorite ones were Urban Yarns and Three Bags Full. Both the store have a beautiful selection of yarn and very nice and helpful staff. At Urban Yarns I bought a skein of Somoko by Fleece Artist and a skein of Mini Maiden. At three Bags Full I got my first Koigu and four hanks of Allhemp yarn in fingering weight.
.jpg)
The day before I left I visited a market on Grenville Island with an incredible choice of goodies. I spent a few hours there, knitting on the deck, browsing the food stalls and gift shops and visiting a little fiber studio where I picked up a skein of a handpainted mohair.
On my way home I finished the pair of Embossed Leaves Socks. I still need to weave in the ends and block them. While I never block socks, the pattern on these can definitely use it. Tomorrow I am also going to seam the Drops Jacket that I finished knitting before I left. The trip was wonderful but I was also excited to come back home. Hubby welcomed me with a delicious dinner and flowers, red roses and white kala lilies, the same combination I had in my wedding bouquet almost four years ago. I was so impressed that he remembered, I reached after his Rogue instead of starting a project from my new yarn.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vacation! Yes! (..doing the happy dance) I am leaving tomorrow morning for Vancouver, B.C., where I am going to spend a week, visiting a friend, hiking, biking, dining, hopefully yarn shopping and all that fun vacation stuff. I am so excited about going and of course I have been thinking for a week what knitting to take with me. I know it is not going to be the Drops jacket that I am working right now. I finished the sleeves last night and even though blocking and seaming will have to wait for me to come back, there is only the collar left to knit.
.jpg)
I also picked up Hubby`s Rogue again but with the body and most of the Hood done, the sweater is getting way to heavy for a plane knitting. Even though taking it with me on a trip as the only knitting, might be a good strategy for me to actually finish it. I have to consider this for weekend at my inlaws when I come back.
When I first booked my tickets, I thought I would take a lace shawl, possibly something out of Claudia Handpainted Silk that is in my stash. Following Elizabeth Zimmermann`s advice in the practicality of knitting a lace shawl on a trip, it made a perfect sense to me. But now after finishing the Peacock Feathers Shawl, I just don`t feel like starting another big lace project. Instead, I am taking socks.
.jpg)
This is a very humble beginning of Embossed Leaves Socks, a few rows just to get me started so I don`t have to fight with four ends of Lorna`s Laces Shepherd Sock on the plane. I find the beginning of two socks on one circular a little messy. It is the only spot where I still have to peek in the instruction book, 2-at-a Time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes, for directions. Well, turning the heel might be another one but I am not taking the book with me, so we will see how the heel goes.
I think, I will also need some really mindless knitting, so for my second project, I am taking Ether by Erika Knight from the latest Rowan. I am using the recommended yarn, Rowan Damask. I haven`t started this project yet so I only have a tiny swatch to show and even that is not really accurate as the yarn is a little more green or aqua blue than I managed to capture with my camera. I will try harder when I have some progress to show.
1.jpg)
Wish me a lot of airplane knitting and see you all in about ten days.
|
|
|
|
|
|
.jpg)
I have been meaning to knit this shawl for several years. I think I put it in my mental knitting queue right after I made my first lace project. Since then I have been waiting for the right moment and the right yarn. I wanted the right color, more of a turquoise than teal and just slightly variegated to give the pattern depth without overpowering the design. I was also looking for something slightly heavier than lace weight to make a shawl that is light but with some substance. The two skeins of Fleece Artist Suri Blue were just what I was looking for.
This project was full of surprises. From the beginning I wanted a larger shawl that would give me a little bit of warmth but until the last chart the project was looking pretty small. I was wondering how it was possible that everybody on Ravelry ended up with blanket size shawls. I did not start knitting from the second skein until the last chart and I was wondering what I was going to do with all the left over yarn. The last chart changed everything. Together with the edging, it took almost the whole second skein of yarn and considerably added length to the project.
The design is incredibly clever and elegant, gradually growing from a small mesh in the upper center into a larger pattern resembling the peacock feathers. The pattern itself is really well written too. Every part of the shawl is described with detail as well as charted. And they are not tiny charts that you need to squint at either! There is also a picture guide explaining how to make the crochet loops at the end. I think the easy to follow instructions are the reason why I managed to finish a shawl of this size in a relatively short time. The whole project took me under a month while simultaneously working on a pair of socks and after that the Drops Jacket.
One one hand I am shocked at the size of this shawl and wondering where ever I am going to wear this thing. On the other hand, I love the shawl anyway, the design, the color that I always associate with summer, the size, they way it moves in a breeze, the drama.
Pattern: Peacock Feathers Shawl by Fiddlesticks Knitting
Yarn: Fleece Artist Suri Blue, 2 skeins,
Needles: Addi Lace, #US4
Modifications: None this time, not even the needle size.
.jpg)
.jpg)
|
|
|
|
|
|
.jpg)
It`huge. I made myself a blanket, an afghan with holes. The shawl is blocking right now and I had to block it folded in half in order to fit it on my two large blocking boards.
In the meantime I am working on the very popular A shape tweed jacket from Drops Designs. I casted on some time ago but soon put the project down and picked it up again when I finished the stockinette socks and needed some mindless knitting. I am using Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran, same yarn I used last year for Juno, and it goes so fast I might still get a few wears out of this cardigan before summer starts.
So far I am blindly following pattern and hoping for the best.
|
|
|
|
|
|
After much more than a month I finally have a finished object. No Bells and Whistles here but a pair of basic and very soft and comfy socks. Actually, I am a little surprised at how well these socks fit. I did not do anything special, just followed a basic top down pattern from the Vogue Ultimate Sock Book. I made them a little longer than the pattern suggests just to use most of the yarn.
A knit both socks at the same time and as I said last time, this is a great method for me, or anybody with a serious SSS. I wanted the stripes on each sock to match, which was really easy. I don`t have much experience with self -striping yarn so I don`t know if all of them make the stripes so even but this one, Knitpicks Felici, did. All I needed to do was to make sure I casted on with the same shade in the color sequence.
Pattern: Basic Sock Pattern from Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Sock Book
Yarn: Knitpicks Felici in Mixed Berries, 2 skeins
Needles: Knitpicks Harmony, 40" circular, US # 1 1/2,
Modifications: Extra length in the ribbing and leg part
There is not much more to say about this project, the socks feel great on and the cheerful color make me happy every time I look at them. They are perfectly seasonal too as there is plenty of pink around with the magnolias, rhododendrons and crabapple trees in bloom.
In other good news, the Peacock Feathers Shawl is very near its completion. I am done with the main part and about to start the edging. The shawl is now at the point when the rows seem to go on forever. The last chart was never ending also because, with over 50 rows, it is the deepest out of the seven different charts. The edging is only half as deep so hopefully it will go faster. The lace pattern is less intuitive than I am used to and pretty hard to see in this preblocking stage. But soon enough the peacock feathers will pop out in all their beauty.
.jpg) |
|
|
|
|
|
Boy, I did not mean to stay silent for so long. The last couple weeks have been pretty eventful around here. It all started with a broken car, cat with a really bad urinary tract infection (I had no idea how much one sick cat can distort a household, luckily Peanut is doing much better) and finished with ten days in an incredibly cold apartment. This weekend the broken furnace finally got fixed so the room temperature finally climbed above 58 degrees. All together this past month I was left without any motivation to blog or take pictures. All I wanted to do was stay under an electric blanket, which luckily was the only blanket Peanut did not pee on, knit the simplest socks ever and treat myself to new yarn and knitting goodness. Which I did with abundance. First I signed up for my first yarn club ever, Sundara`s summer colorway. The first shipment falls exactly on my birthday. How could I resist?
Then, last Sunday I traveled with a few similarly crazy people down to Northampton to see the Yarn Harlot, where I had an awesome time, pretty much laughed trough out the whole trip, forgot to take pictures of the whole event and of course brought home yarn from Webs.
Lace and Sock yarn in a new Lantern Moon Basket.
During the ride down to Northampton and back I made a lot of progress on my two current WIPs, a pair of stockinette socks and the much more interesting Peacock Feathers Shawl.
This is my first Fiddlestick pattern and I hope all of their patterns are so detailed with clear and large charts as this one. The design itself is great too. It consists of seven charts, each slightly different than the other and each repeated only once so the process is anything but boring. I am using Fleece Artist Suri Blue and I think I got some kind of a magic skein. The whole shawl is supposed to take about 1200 yards. I just started the seventh chart and I am still using the first skein of Suri Blue, which has around 650 yards. I know the edging will use up quite a bit of yardage by so far it seems one skein of Suri Blue lasts forever.
Stripy Stockinette Socks: my first two at the same time socks on one circular needle. So far I really like this method. I have actually just turned the heels and I can`t believe that few more rows and I will have a whole pair. I know it does not take any less time than knitting each sock separately but knowing that once I get to the toe part, I will be done, actually motivates me to finish them. Plus, they will both be the same, which is a nice change for somebody who likes to abandon projects midway and forget about all their modifications.
And now I have a very important mail to study. The new IK that arrived today. I am quite enamored with the Wakame Lace Tunic.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
.jpg)
