Pattern: Montego Bay Scarf by Amy R. Singer
Source: Interweave Knits, Summer 2007
Yarn: Handmaiden Sea Silk in periwinkle
Needles: Size 8
Mods: none
This is one of the few FOs that I knit exactly according to the pattern. I used the same yarn, color, and needle size called for. It turned out to be beautiful. None of the pictures of it really do it justice. The color is so bright and shiny. I absolutely love this scarf and I am sure that I will wear it often. As soon as it came off the needles, I was wearing it.
The pattern was really easy to knit. The hardest part was cutting 200 strands of yarn at the beginning for the fringe. I had quite a few strands left after I braided the fringe so I probably could have cut less, but I suppose it was good to have a few in reserve just in case. Once the fringe strands were cut, I just knit until I started to run out of yarn and bound off. So simple, yet so beautiful. I can see why so many people have knit this pattern.
The sea silk is so lovely and I hope that I can work with it again soon.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Seasilk is so gorgeous!
I love this stuff. It is so soft and shiny. I finally started on a Montego Bay scarf with some seasilk that I got on sale over a year ago. Soon I will have a billion scarves!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
FO: Ishbel Shawl
Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Socks that Rock Silkie in Oregon Clover Honey
Needles: Size 6
Mods: None
This is such a lovely shawlette! I think that it is the most beautiful thing I have ever made. The color of the yarn is beautiful, the pattern is beautiful, and the finished shawl is just the right size for wearing as a scarf or a small shawl. This yarn is crazy soft and it holds its shape very well after blocking.
The yarn came from Stitches West this year and I kept wondering what I was going to do with it. I had never worked with Silkie before an I worried that any socks made with this yarn would not hold up well. Then I had a hard time finding a non-sock pattern that used only one skein. This pattern turned out to be perfect. I only have a little bit of yarn left at the end and it made a surprisingly large finished object. (Unlike the swallowtail shawl, which turned out very small.)
I might end up making more of these since it went so quickly. I wore the shawl to work yesterday and one of my co-workers said that it would look really good with what she was wearing. Perhaps I should make some as gifts.... However, I am beginning to think that I can never have too many scarves and shawls because they are such great accessories to dress up an outfit a little bit. Plus, they are almost always work appropriate.
Yarn: Socks that Rock Silkie in Oregon Clover Honey
Needles: Size 6
Mods: None
This is such a lovely shawlette! I think that it is the most beautiful thing I have ever made. The color of the yarn is beautiful, the pattern is beautiful, and the finished shawl is just the right size for wearing as a scarf or a small shawl. This yarn is crazy soft and it holds its shape very well after blocking.
The yarn came from Stitches West this year and I kept wondering what I was going to do with it. I had never worked with Silkie before an I worried that any socks made with this yarn would not hold up well. Then I had a hard time finding a non-sock pattern that used only one skein. This pattern turned out to be perfect. I only have a little bit of yarn left at the end and it made a surprisingly large finished object. (Unlike the swallowtail shawl, which turned out very small.)
I might end up making more of these since it went so quickly. I wore the shawl to work yesterday and one of my co-workers said that it would look really good with what she was wearing. Perhaps I should make some as gifts.... However, I am beginning to think that I can never have too many scarves and shawls because they are such great accessories to dress up an outfit a little bit. Plus, they are almost always work appropriate.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Congratulations, it's a sock!
This is the "Rick" sock from Cookie A's new book, Sock Innovation. I'm not much into innovating my own stuff lately, but I am certainly up for following an easy pattern--especially since I happened to have the required yarn as a mill end.
This pattern is very simple even though it looks fairly complicated. I have one problem though--my yarnovers between knit and purls are too large and they create big gaps. I am a little concerned about making this sock's mate because there will be many of the of the big loopy yarnovers. I'm not sure how to proceed, but for the time being, this fun red sock will be a little lonely.
This pattern is very simple even though it looks fairly complicated. I have one problem though--my yarnovers between knit and purls are too large and they create big gaps. I am a little concerned about making this sock's mate because there will be many of the of the big loopy yarnovers. I'm not sure how to proceed, but for the time being, this fun red sock will be a little lonely.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Owls Sweater Unstuck
My camera clearly does not like this red color. I have not been able to get an accurate depiction of the color of this sweater yet. It is a bit darker than indicated in this picture.
I was stuck for a while on my owls sweater, but I figured out the problem and now it is full speed ahead. I missed one of the increases in the back and I could not figure out how to fix the problem without ripping back. This was kind of a happy accident because many people have complained about "poofy back syndrome" associated with this sweater. By missing one of the back increases, I have actually made the back of my sweater a very good fit.
Because I want to leave the back as is, I decided to decrease two stitches so that I can make the small size from here. I am terrible at math, so this created a huge problem because apparently the medium size has an odd number of stitches in the back and the small size has an even number of stitches in the back. I tried again and again to make the decrease/short row combination work in the back until I just decided to wing it and just make it look right without paying attention to the math.
So, now I think that I am good. Since I am now making the small size, I have to make the small size sleeves, which are a bit of a tight fit, but I think that I can block them a little to make them a little more comfortable. It is not that they are tight really--they actually fit like a glove--a really close fitting rubber glove. I also have to make sure that I figure out where the owls will go. Since my stitch count is now a little off, I will need to make sure that my owls are centered.
So much drama for a sweater that was supposed to be quick and easy. The good news is that i think that I have enough yarn to make long sleeves and finish the sweater with the 5 skeins that I have.
I was stuck for a while on my owls sweater, but I figured out the problem and now it is full speed ahead. I missed one of the increases in the back and I could not figure out how to fix the problem without ripping back. This was kind of a happy accident because many people have complained about "poofy back syndrome" associated with this sweater. By missing one of the back increases, I have actually made the back of my sweater a very good fit.
Because I want to leave the back as is, I decided to decrease two stitches so that I can make the small size from here. I am terrible at math, so this created a huge problem because apparently the medium size has an odd number of stitches in the back and the small size has an even number of stitches in the back. I tried again and again to make the decrease/short row combination work in the back until I just decided to wing it and just make it look right without paying attention to the math.
So, now I think that I am good. Since I am now making the small size, I have to make the small size sleeves, which are a bit of a tight fit, but I think that I can block them a little to make them a little more comfortable. It is not that they are tight really--they actually fit like a glove--a really close fitting rubber glove. I also have to make sure that I figure out where the owls will go. Since my stitch count is now a little off, I will need to make sure that my owls are centered.
So much drama for a sweater that was supposed to be quick and easy. The good news is that i think that I have enough yarn to make long sleeves and finish the sweater with the 5 skeins that I have.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Owls Sweater
I finally started an Owls Sweater. Ever since I first saw this pattern I knew that I wanted to knit it. I promised myself that I would finish the projects I was working on at the time before I started this sweater. So, I was good, but as soon as the Rowan Jacket was complete, I immediately started this sweater. The picture shows the yarn a little brighter than it is. It might be time to switch out the low light lens now that the days are brighter and longer. Hopefully the next photo will be more color accurate.
I am a little concerned about running out of yarn, but hopefully I will be okay. This yarn was supposed to be a Cherie Amour sweater from Knitty, but the more I looked at some finished Cherie Amours on Ravelry, the more I thought that it ultimately would not work for me. Since the sweater called for so little yarn, I had to struggle to find another use for this yarn from Handpaintedyarn.com. The Owls pattern claims to use less yarn than what I have for the medium size. We'll see if this is actually true. Luckily the sweater is constructed in such a way that if I do run out of yarn, I'll just have shorter sleeves. I suppose a 3/4 sleeve would do in a pinch, but I would rather have full length sleeves.
I just finished the waist increases and I am about halfway through my second ball of yarn. I tried the sweater in progress on and so far so good. It seems to fit perfectly! This project has been knitting up so fast and is a welcome change from other things I have been working on.
I am a little concerned about running out of yarn, but hopefully I will be okay. This yarn was supposed to be a Cherie Amour sweater from Knitty, but the more I looked at some finished Cherie Amours on Ravelry, the more I thought that it ultimately would not work for me. Since the sweater called for so little yarn, I had to struggle to find another use for this yarn from Handpaintedyarn.com. The Owls pattern claims to use less yarn than what I have for the medium size. We'll see if this is actually true. Luckily the sweater is constructed in such a way that if I do run out of yarn, I'll just have shorter sleeves. I suppose a 3/4 sleeve would do in a pinch, but I would rather have full length sleeves.
I just finished the waist increases and I am about halfway through my second ball of yarn. I tried the sweater in progress on and so far so good. It seems to fit perfectly! This project has been knitting up so fast and is a welcome change from other things I have been working on.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
FO: Rowan Plain Jacket
Pattern: Plain Jacket from Knitting for Him
Yarn: Queensland collection Kathmandu Tweed aran in Dark Blue
Needles: Size 6 and 7 circular
Mods: None
The never ending cardigan/jacket is finished. Well, I suppose it still needs to be washed and blocked, but all of the pieces are together and that is good enough for me to call it finished. I need to take some better pictures after it is blocked, but you can get the general idea from this pictures--although the color is a little washed out.
This is my first experience with knitting pockets. They were pretty easy to knit, but a pain to sew at the end. I ended up using some great advice in my giant Vogue Knitting book: I traced the area where the pockets should go with a thin contrasting thread and then used that as a guide for sewing the pockets. If I had not done that, the pockets would probably have been a little crooked. As it is, they came out wonderfully straight and look like real pockets.
The rest of the finishing took a really long time, After the collar and button band were added and sewing all the seams, there were a ton of ends to weave in. Luckily, because of the ribbing on the button band, it was pretty easy to figure out where the buttons were supposed to go.
The sweater fits the hubby perfectly (much to my pride and amazement) and he has already worn it once to work even though it has not been blocked. I'm sure it is full of cat fur and my hair after working on it for so long and letting it sit in various places around the apartment while I was working on it, so it really could use a good washing.
Now that I am finally done with this sweater, I can move on to other projects. I'm working on a sock from Cookie A's new book, finally starting an "Owls" sweater and working on a hemlock blanket. I will save progress pictures of those for other posts. Since my posting and knitting has been so erratic lately, I figured that I should save some things for future posts.
Yarn: Queensland collection Kathmandu Tweed aran in Dark Blue
Needles: Size 6 and 7 circular
Mods: None
The never ending cardigan/jacket is finished. Well, I suppose it still needs to be washed and blocked, but all of the pieces are together and that is good enough for me to call it finished. I need to take some better pictures after it is blocked, but you can get the general idea from this pictures--although the color is a little washed out.
This is my first experience with knitting pockets. They were pretty easy to knit, but a pain to sew at the end. I ended up using some great advice in my giant Vogue Knitting book: I traced the area where the pockets should go with a thin contrasting thread and then used that as a guide for sewing the pockets. If I had not done that, the pockets would probably have been a little crooked. As it is, they came out wonderfully straight and look like real pockets.
The rest of the finishing took a really long time, After the collar and button band were added and sewing all the seams, there were a ton of ends to weave in. Luckily, because of the ribbing on the button band, it was pretty easy to figure out where the buttons were supposed to go.
The sweater fits the hubby perfectly (much to my pride and amazement) and he has already worn it once to work even though it has not been blocked. I'm sure it is full of cat fur and my hair after working on it for so long and letting it sit in various places around the apartment while I was working on it, so it really could use a good washing.
Now that I am finally done with this sweater, I can move on to other projects. I'm working on a sock from Cookie A's new book, finally starting an "Owls" sweater and working on a hemlock blanket. I will save progress pictures of those for other posts. Since my posting and knitting has been so erratic lately, I figured that I should save some things for future posts.
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