Armhole finishing

I had finished my Valour Vest some months ago, and although I loved the color and the styling, I had never worn it.  I tend to like my clothes somewhat form fitting, so when I wear something that wraps, I pull it close around the waist.  When I put the vest on and pinned it to fit my waist, the armholes stretched at the back giving it an odd appearance.  See how big the armholes look even when it's on the hanger. It was even worse when I put it on.

Thinking back on the pattern, I remembered that it said to pickup around the armhole and then bind off on those stitches.  The number of stitches it directs you to pick up is substantially fewer than you would do if you were picking up for a button band or some other type of border.  The result, of course, is that the armhole pulls in to fit while you still get the nice effect of the ribbing around the bust.  Genius. 

This morning I finished around the armhole and it looked perfect.  I can pull it as close at my waist as I like without looking like I"m wearing a wife-beater undershirt.   The only down side of finishing the armhole is that now I have defined an inside and an outside of the garment whereas before, with the flat seam, it had been reversible.  Of course, if I wasn't going to wear it at all the way it was, then it didn't really matter whether it was reversible or not, now did it!  I chose the side with the strong rib texture for the outside (per the pattern), as it really is the more interesting side.  Here's the new and improved Valour.

Brigitta in Ushya

At long last, I had my new Brigitta and my camera in the same place at the same time.  As far as this yarn for this project, it is a match made in heaven.  Ushya is super chunky, but so light - a 100g hank gives you a generous 114 yards.  I made the size 36, and it took just 6 skeins. Ushya is also really springy, so it bounces back from knitting errors and garments made from it keep their shape really nicely.  I love this color too - a great heathery teal.  Yum. 

Sweet Charlotte

Finished Charlotte Wednesday night.  I had been really concerned about the fronts as they seemed to be drooping a bit.  So, when I picked up for the front bands, instead of picking up three stitches for every four rows, I picked up two stitches for every three rows, and the fronts hang perfectly.  Also, instead of doing garter stitch for the front and neck bands, I used reverse stockinette.  It matches the lace edging fine, but doesn't stretch.  The collective wisdom Wednesday night was that Charlotte looked better without a closure at the neck (which honestly, at my age, looked just a little too sweet) so I am opting to just wear it open.

Except for the front bands, I worked this pattern pretty much as written.  It was a little unclear to me why the designer opted for double decreases every four rows on the body rather than standard decreases every other row, but I did it anyway.  The result is a decorative little motif along the body portion of the raglan sleeve. 

Here's a lclose up of the double decreases (left slanting on the right side)

and right slanting on the left side.  

As you can see, when you make the decrease lean in the opposite direction of the shaping, it is much more noticeable, and can be very decorative. I'm not sure if I would work the decreases that way again, but it is really attractive The designer uses slip one knit two together, pass slipped stitch over for her left slanting double decrease.  I opted instead for sssk which I think looks a little better.  You can use whatever you like best.

On the sleeve, the pattern instructs you to decrease on the front and the back.  Again, she probably had a good reason for that guidance, but I like to keep things simple, so I did all of my decreasing on the right side.  Here's a photo of my sleeve. 

After it's all said and done, I  really do like this pattern and am thinking of doing another one.

When will it be fall

so that I can wear my Brigitta?  This was so quick and fun to knit up.  I think it took all of a week.  I knit the second size (36) and was afraid that it would be too short, so I followed the length directions for the next size up.  I didn't want the sleeves to hang down onto my hands either.  I followed the directions for the sleeve in my size and then just did the cuff as directed and it was perfect.  You want to be sure to bind those cuffs off really loosely so that you get a nice graceful bell. 

You can see more photos of my Brigitta on the shop blog.

I like this pattern so much that I'm doing another one in Mirasol Ushya - gorgeous shade of sea glass green.  Ooh ooh ooh.  

Valour- seaming and staging

As I said in the newsletter, I started this July 23rd, and finished it today.  I’m very happy with it—the yarn, the style, and the color.  I am also very grateful to our fellow Ravelers who posted pictures and wonderful advice about joining Valour back and fronts.  In particular, one wise knitter said she’d used a flat, reversible seam to join the parts.  How brilliant!  I had been really ambivalent about the right and wrong sides of this fabric.  The three by one rib gives a very strong textural element about which I have not made up my mind.  With this reversible seam, I can wear it either way depending on my mood.  Here's how it works

and how it looks on both sides

It's not a seam that gives the fabric a smooth and flawless join, but it is flat and you really have to look closely to see the seaming yarn.  I am very happy with the effect, and especially the flexibility it gives me to wear the vest with either side out. 


Other Ravelers mentioned using a sock yarn to keep the seams from becoming too bulky, which I often do anyway, but I was particularly pleased to find this bit of leftover Berroco Sox Metallic with all the same colors of the Colourscapes.  I pulled out the metallic bit so as not to draw attention to the seam. 

This vest is a beautiful way to try out Colourscapes.  I made the second size--a medium to fit bust 36-38, and I got gauge using size 10 needles.  You will want to swatch it yourself and be sure you’re using the needles that are right for you.  Per other posts on Ravelry, I took only three skeins off the shelf, and sure enough, I finished the vest with a small ball leftover.  I think I may, however, get another skein because the color that's leftover is the very pale blue, which may not be the best option for trimming around the armholes.

Here's the back.

I really like this vest and the yarn.  Can't wait for fall!

Willow

Finished my Willow sweater last week.  I really love the way it turned out.  I made it an inch longer, gave it a scoop neckline, and moved the lace panel to the other side on the front so that it would match up with the back.  It's fabulous to wear, and so quick to work up.  The lace panel was a really fun addition that kept the knitting interesting.  I would make this again! 

Finally Fringed

I've had the Lady Eleanor finished for three years now, but for some reason I'd never done the fringe.  I originally put on all the fringes, but never tied them because I thought it was too much fringe.  I took out half the fringe and thought I'd put beads on the remaining strands and resurrect my 70s macrame fetish. Then I read that someone had gone the macrame route and that the square knots were unstable (oh yeah, forgot about that part).  So on Earth Day I sat in the shop and tied the stupid overhand knots.  I only did half as many as the pattern called for, but I think more would have been too many. I'm really happy with it now.  Maybe I need a cotton Lady Eleanor for the summer...

Tessa is finished

and it's actually even better than I expected.  I've worn it three times already. 

Here it is on the blocking board.  It really does need to block so that bottom border doesn't flip up.

There was quite a bit of re-knitting on Tessa Wednesday because when I tried it on, I decided that I would really like to be able to wear it alone as a summer top, so the armholes needed to be shortened about an inch and a half..  I love the way the shoulders cut in.

It's a really flattering kinda' sexy halter look.  I could be persuaded to knit another one.  Maybe in white.  Lynne had a fabulous idea to do one with sequined yarn along the ruffle.  Wouldn't that be just fabulous!

Eastscarf

I finished my Eastscarf last week.  The pattern called for you to work the lovely leafy lace section over the first 100 or so rows at the beginning and then work the remainder of the scarf in simple repeat on the 16 center stitches.  I worked the 100 rows of the pattern (which took almost exactly one skein of gorgeous Inca Gold), and several repeats of the boring part when I realized that the boring part was not going to be in my future.  

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy mindless knitting as much as the next guy, but this boring part was just different enough to require that I carry the pattern with me (yes, I know, lots of you can keep a 30-row lace repeat in your head, but my brain is already too full of other details on kid schedules and such to remember).  So I decided to cast on again with a new skein and worked the 100 row pattern over again.  My thought was to have a symmetrical scarf with an attractive leaf motif at each end.  I was going to graft the two halves together in the center.  Here's how it looks.  I like it. 

Here is a close-up of the center join.  You will notice that the scarf is NOT grafted.  That is not to say that I didn't try to graft it.  If you'd been in La Plata last Thursday, you would have seen my valiant attempt at grafting 2x2 ribbing, reverse stockinette and yarn-overs to one another.  After about an hour, I decided that the return on investment for a grafted join was way too low, so I bound off both ends and seamed them.  Not bad, and that part took less than 15 minutes. 

Petra complete

Really do like this garment. Petra is perfect in Noro because it's knit all in one piece so the stripes on the body match up perfectly. The shaping in the front biases the fabric so you get diagonal rather than horizontal striping. I had hoped it would look as good as the ones I'd seen on Ravelry, and I'm genuinely pleased with the results.

Tweed Waistcoat is done

I've worn this several times already and just love it. It looks great with a turtleneck, a blouse, or even just a camisole. Such a great quick knit. Maybe now I need one in the black tweed...

Adult Surprise Jacket - as worn

Here it is on an actual body. I'm long-waisted, so it looks very cropped. Ty, who's about 5'2, was in yesterday and tried it on, and it hit her right at the waist.

Nikola - it's a 10

This is a GREAT little top. Didn't work steadily on it, but in terms of straight knitting time, it took less than 10 hours. Worked on size 10 needles in the lovely chunky cotton Chacabuco, it was quick to knit, and is lovely soft to wear. I'd wound 4 hanks, but it ended up taking only two. Wow! I'm already planning another one with the lace detail at the bottom.

Misbehavin' Cables Vest

is done. This photo is new, as the other one was altogether unflattering.  I really love this vest, and I plan to knit another one.  Ginni and I were talking about how it might be fun to add a zipper to it because it has this really wonderful facing that would hide it perfectly. 

Seville Jacket is done

This went together really quickly. Here's the back that I started the last week of September.

The fronts and sleeves were done by early October

And here it is, all together the 20th of October. I love this garment - already thinking about another one in a finer gauge. And I already know it fits!

Secret Garden Vest is complete...

...even the buttons.


Thanks to Ty who helped me select these cool fused glass buttons, the vest is a finished, wearable object. I love this design, and the yarn is my favorite - Alchemy Synchronicity. Just luscious to work with, and the colors are so saturated.

This knit up so quickly that I'm planning another one in Ellyn Cooper's Homespun, a slightly heavier gauge silk and wool blend. There's something very perfect about the combination of equal parts silk and wool in a fiber. It's like ice cream and chocolate sauce or strawberries and whipped cream, or some other combination of totally yummy things in perfect balance making the whole much greater than the sum of its parts. What decadent synergy!

Secret Garden Vest

This is a pattern from White Lies Designs- we carry nearly her entire line at the shop, and I must have every one of her patterns queued on Ravelry! Anyway, here's the pattern.

It's done in a bulky cotton, but since it just takes around 400 yards, I wanted to treat myself to something rich and decadent. I selected Alchemy Synchronicity in Red Run. Finally got to cast on May 25th as we were driving up to Mt. St. Mary's to pick Elizabeth from her HOBY weekend. It's about a 2 1/2 hour car ride. Here's what I got done on the ride up and back. The yarn is so rich and buttery, and the pattern is an addictive variation of feather and fan, so it's gone really quickly. I put it down for a while and then I changed my mind about how I wanted the lace to look with the shaping. The knitting is done except for the button bands and the armhole edging. Maybe I should have picked a better towel for the blocking! Oh well.

Flying Solo

In my new pink Solo shell by Chris Bylsma!

This top was an absolute dream to knit. The body is mainly a 4x1 rib, giving a smooth look with just enough stretch. The front has this sleek, easy lace pattern up the center that keeps the knitting interesting. The yarn is Louisa Hardings Mulberry - 100% silk, with a beautiful ply and great yardage. I made the medium size, added a good 2" to the body, and the shell still only took 5 skeins.

Speaking of which, the shop sample from Louisa Harding arrived at the shop yesterday - a simple, easy fitting tee with a cute crochet trim. It's absolutely adorable. I'll post a photo tomorrow.

On the Town Bolero

Is finished.

Hooray! I really like this little top. It looked like it was going to be too small while I was knitting it, but since it's kind of a rib, it's really stretchy and fits just the way I like.

Gloria Cardigan

I never posted a photo of this, but it's one of my favorites. Designed by Jane Ellison for Noro, this cardi uses two heavy worsted weight yarns. I used Aurora 8 for the main body and mixed it with silk garden for the sleeves and body top. It fits great, and it was fun to knit. One word of caution I always give is to hold the pieces up to measure them. The top of the body is worked in garter stitch, which has a tendency to stretch, so if you measure the pieces on a flat surface, they will likely be too long when you wear them. Plus the sleeves are extra long anyway.