I ran out

I was moving right along on Ms. Marigold, knitting, knitting, knitting in the round. A little boring, but I felt like I was in the home stretch. I kept looking at the 3rd ball, attached to my needles, getting smaller and smaller. I was worried I was going to run out of yarn.

I was right. I started the edging (in seed stitch instead of the rib specified) and ran out about 3/4" in. Argh! I'm not sure what went wrong. I used 3 balls on elann's Sonata (115 yards each), which is actually more yards than the called for 3 skeins of Knitpicks Elegance. So, I went to elann to get the 1 more ball needed (hoping the dye lot is the same, or at least not too different looking) and ended up tacking on 6 balls of Devon, the 100% Virgin wool that others have been raving about. I think I have a pattern picked out for that one:

Embellished V-Neck from Vogue Knits Fall 2006. I'll need to knit a bigger size to get the correct gauge since the pattern calls for 21 sts/4" and Devon knits up at 25 sts.

I swatched for Arisaig last night and have re-written the pattern for a 34" finished size and to take Liz's modifications into account. I hope to cast on tonight!

Orangina is finished!

With the end of summer approaching, I've finished another summer top in time to wear. I figure I've got through September to sport the sleeveless items, so with about 6 weeks of wear time left, Orangina is finished!!

Front and center.

A shot from the side. I like having the armholes larger and more comfortable since I need to wear a cami underneath.

The details.
Yarn: Elann Sonata 100% mercerized cotton in Victorian Grape. It's a little darker than it appears in the photos.
Modifications. A few. I knit the smallest size and did the lace pattern for about 12 1/2" instead of 14". I wanted the change from the lace to ribbing to emphasize my waist more and not my hips. So, I had to knit the ribbing longer. I have a little longer torso, so I knit the ribbing for 7" instead of the 4" called for.
Verdict. I love it. This pattern has looked great on everyone I've seen knit it in blogland, so I am glad I am not an exception!

In other knitting news, I am already planning my Christmas knitting. Scary. It seems every year there is a new nephew/niece and since we all exchange gifts (Bill & I have tried to stop this, but there's no stopping presents when it comes to his family. Last year we just got gifts for the kids, but the adults bought for us anyway. ). I just placed a big order at Knitpicks for the Swish superwash in about 10 different colors. I plan to make the hats featured in Last Minute Knitted Gifts for about 5 adults (including 1 for me!) and 4 children. That's a lot of hats. I will definitely post a photo of the colors when they arrive.

A friend (Katie Z, if you are reading this, STOP HERE!), is having a baby girl in December, and I've finally picked something out to knit for her.

Daydream from Rowan Babies.

And, to coordinate with it, Miss Dashwood from knitty.

I'm using TLC Baby yarn in a soft lilac. Katie lives in Minnesota now, so this should be cute on baby girl come Easter time.

Pink and purple goodness

I can't believe it's been over 2 weeks since my last post. I'm slacking! At the end of July, I took a week off from work and Bill & I went to the beach with my parents. We stayed with my dad's friend in Rehoboth Beach, DE during the massive heat wave. We had a nice time despite the uncomfortable weather, and the best news is that I discovered a LYS in Rehoboth. It's called Knitty Gritty. We passed by one evening when they were closed, but I peered in the window and saw a TON of Cascade 220 yarn. I've been extremely undecided about what color Cascade to get for Forecast because the color of the yarn looks different on every website I visit. So, the last day at the beach, I stopped into Knitty Gritty after lunch and picked up some Cascade Tweed in a lovely deep purple. I was tempted to get the tweed in a bright bubble-gummy pink, but I will knit everything pink if I don't discipline myself. This is a color that I don't have any winter sweaters in, and it will look great with jeans or black/grey pants for work.
In other knitting news, Orangina is blocking right now and will have a finished post this week. I started the Prosperous Plum Tank over the weekend. I'm using some Rowan handknit DK in, what else, Sugar (pink) that I scored off of eBay. I can't think of a fruit that's pink colored, but since the color yarn I'm using is called Sugar, I'll call this my Prosperous Sugar-Plum Tank. I like it.
Lastly, Bill and his law partner were featured all over the local news last week for a popular case they are handling. Here's a link to the article that followed in the Baltimore Sun. He really enjoyed the few minutes of local fame!