His & Hers Scarves

Wow, thank you so much for all the wonderful comments on the Cable Down Raglan. I am really flattered! Today's post is just a quick update to show you what I've been up to this week. I am actually wearing Bea right now as a type, but due to the much needed rain that finally arrived, photos haven't been taken. But, I will tease you all and say that this FO came out pretty great (given all the things that could have and did go wrong!).

At Stitches East, I splurged on a skein of Tilli Tomas Disco Lights. I have used this yarn before, in Sahara #1, and I used the Exotica in Sahara #2. I tried making my own beaded yarn with Ms. Marigold, but I realized that unless you can bead directly onto the yarn itself, carrying along a string of beads on thread is not easy (or really worth it, IMO).

Inspired by a modeled version at Stitches, I wanted to make a simple but pizzazzy (heh, is that a word?) thin scarf to throw around my neck on days when I need a little shine. A little panache, if you will. I tried several different stitch patterns, and I finally settled on this reversible cable stitch, inspired by It Ain't Plain, Jane! by Dorothy. It has a simple garter st border and cables that are similar to what I did in Something Blushy.

I also started a scarf for Bill using the Kathmandu Aran I got at Stitches. Inspired by the Harlot's One Row Handspun, this has a reversible cable in the center.

I'm sure most of you have seen the new Interweave Preview. I saw the cover Aran Cardigan at Stitches and must say, it looked really nice in person. I think this is going in the queue.

Juno is also progressing nicely. Just one sleeve, the rest of the collar, buttonbands and seaming to go!

Have a great weekend and stay tuned for Bea!

FO: Cable Down Raglan

This sweater was finished early last week, and is finally making its debut!

Pattern: Cable Down Raglan by Stefanie Japel, Interweave Knits Spring 2007
Yarn: Classic Elite Summer Set, color 3146. 11 balls.

Modifications: None. I followed this exactly as written for the 31 1/4" size. I still haven't figured out the whole negative ease stuff, but I know that when there are cables in a pattern that you should pick a size smaller than you normally would, so that's what I did.

Verdict: Pretty good! I wore this sweater to work last Friday. In the beginning of the day, it fit great. But as the day wore on, the sweater stretched out a lot. This is my fault in yarn choice. The Summer Set is 64% cotton, 19% alpaca, 12% polyester, 5% lycra. The alpaca makes it warm and fuzzy, but cotton grows. If I had to do it over, I would have picked a merino wool based yarn for this project. But, I was able to hand wash it, let it dry slightly and then throw in the dryer to shrink it back into shape. I guess I'll just do this every time I wear it.

The Summer Set was great to knit with and produces a soft, although just slightly itchy fabric (I have sensitive skin). I wore this with a t-shirt underneath and it was fine. The pattern was easy to follow and fun. Although, I was sick of those cables by the end!

As always, thanks so much for the helpful suggestions on my dyelot nightmare with Bea. It's almost done and I'll debut it next week!!

Stitches East Report: Tweed Alert!

Saturday was my big trip to Stitches. I went with my friend Elizabeth (non-blogger) and we had a great time. We both felt that there weren't as many vendors as there were last year, but that might just be that we knew what to expect this year. I was well behaved. I purchased items that were on my list and a few surprises, too.

I was hoping that Webs would have their new tweed, Williamstown, with them so I could check out the colors and feel. Let me tell you, this is really soft tweed. It doesn't even feel tweedy. It has 25% acrylic in it, which is probably where the softness comes from. I bought a full bag of color #5, a nice classic red. No project in mind yet.

Next on my list was to find a ball or two of a 4 ply tweed. I am going to make EZ' s Seamless Hybrid for Bill in some discontinued Yorkshire Tweed 4 ply. Inspired by Brooklyn Tweed's version with the folded hem, I wanted to find a constrasting color. Webs had some of the new Scottish Tweed 4 ply, so I picked up 2 balls in a blue.

I don't like the new Scottish tweed as much as the old Yorkshire tweed. Maybe it knits up differently, but it seems scratchier and more felted than the soft Yorkshire tweed.

I also found some clearance Queensland Kathmandu Aran in a hunter green for a scarf for Bill. It was a tweedy kind of a day!

Also on the tweed front, I picked up some Rowanspun Aran in Husk from Jan over on Ravelry. I'm thinking this might become the increasingly popular Drops A-Shape Jacket.

Last but not least, to balance out all this tweediness, I succumbed to the temptation of the beautiful Tilli Tomas Disco Lights (again). I picked up 1 skein in natural. It's simple and stunning and will become a thin, reversible cabled scarf to add pizazz when I need it.

My general report on Stitches is good: there were lots of yarns to look at and touch, but ultimately I only ended up buying from Webs and the other vendor where I bought the Disco Lights. A lot of the vendors just didn't appeal to my personal style. Many featured knitted sweaters and garments with novelty yarns mixed in and boxier shapes. There's nothing wrong with any of this; it's just not my taste. When I peruse Ravelry and blogland, I often find more updated, stylish FOs from knitters. I just didn't see much of that represented at Stitches. But I had a great time!

Destashing!

Stitches East is this weekend and I am going to the market on Saturday. I've evaluated my stash and am letting go of some items that I don't see projects for in the near future (and I need to make room for anything new that might be coming home this weekend...).

All of this stuff comes from my non-smoking but dog friendly home. It's been stored in plastic bags on a shelf away from the animals. These are my Ravelry stash photos, so there is only 1 ball pictured. For payment, I have Paypal, but let me know if you're using a credit card and not your Paypal balance. I am figuring that shipping will be in the neighborhood of $5-6, but I'll get you an exact number once I know your zip code. The only exception are the needles, for which shipping is $1. I've tried to price these well, but if you're interested in a yarn, please make an offer! You can either comment or send me an email at fpknits at yahoo dot com. Anything that doesn't go will be later listed on the Destash website.


Debbie Bliss Merino DK: PENDING
Content: color 606, 100% merino wool
Amount: 10 skeins, 1220 yards
$30


Cascade Indulgence
Content: color 522, 70/30 Alpaca/Angora - soft soft soft!!
Amount: 9 skeins, 1107 yards
$50


Rowan Handknit DK
Content: color 310, 100% cotton
Amount: 7 skeins, 622 yards
$25


Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece : PENDING
Content: color "Rue", 80/20 Cotton/Merino
Amount: 3 skeins, 645 yards
$16


Filatura 501: PENDING
Content: color 1283, 100% Superwash Merino Wool
Amount: 10 skeins, 1380 yards
$25


Skacel Addi Turbos : ALL NEEDLES PENDING
All needles are in great condition; I just don't use them! I always reach for my bamboos instead.
All Needles: $8 each + $1 shipping


#6, 16"


#7, 16"


#8, 16"


#5, 40"

Thanks for taking a look!

No FO, but here's Juno

First, thank you so much for all of the great feedback on the Old Navy sweater. After all of your comments, I've decided to keep it. Many of you said that there are too many patterns out there to knit, and how right you are! It's folded in my closet, waiting to be worn.

This late burst of summer we've had has prevented an FO sighting for the Cable Down Raglan. It's done, and folded in my closet with the Old Navy sweater, waiting for its debut. I think this weekend I might get to wear it.

I'm excited to say that I started Juno last week. Boy, does this project really fly. I finished the back in 2 days. TWO DAYS, people. Now I remember why heavier knits are so satisfying.

I made a few modifications to the back: made it longer and with some slight waist shaping. I'm also knitting the sleeves a bit smaller than the pattern calls for. Sorry for the bad picture, but with daylight disappearing earlier and earlier . . .

Bea is nearing completion, with mixed results. Earlier I mentioned a nasty dyelot issue with this project. My plan was to finish the sleeves by alternating between dyelots every other row. Well, that plan failed. The dye lots are SO different that you could see a striping effect. YUCK. I decided to knit as far as I could with the original dyelot and change the stitch pattern to mask the dyelot change. I'm getting to just above the elbow.

I'm not sure what to do next. I don't really want garter st sleeves from the elbow down. I was thinking of doing a garter st band around the elbow and then going back to the purl dots stitch pattern (Stef Japel does this effect with a lot of her patterns). I don't know.

Here's what it looks like on. See the sleeves? That's the total length I'm getting with the original dyelot (the second sleeve on the arm I'm holding the camera with will get down to the elbow - I just haven't knit it yet). Ideas? Suggestions?

Finally, on Sunday, Bill and I went to a wine festival at Boordy Vineyards in Hydes, MD. There was a lady with two alpacas and a small selection of yarn.

I purchased 2 sport weight skeins of this beautiful, straight-off-the-alpaca yarn. I'm thinking of making Gretel with it. Jenna over at Knits & Pieces made a beautiful version that has totally inspired me. Hope all of your fall projects are going well!

FO: Irish Hiking Scarf

Another fall project has made its way off the needles!

Pattern: Irish Hiking Scarf from Hello Yarn
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky in Cream, 4 1/4 balls. A big shout out to Alex over at Languidly Knitting for selling me the 4th ball!
Modifications: Because I was using a chunkier yarn than called for, I omitted 1 of the cables. I wanted to get more length instead of width with this one, so I could wrap it like I did in the picture.

Verdict: Love! It's a super versatile scarf in terms of style and color. The cable pattern is super easy but gives stellar results. Yay!

I'm about 2 1/2 rounds from finishing the Cable Down Raglan. I think I will sneak out during lunch today and finish it. So stay tuned for an FO report soon!

Now, I need opinions from the only people I trust: my fellow knitters and bloggers. On Saturday I went to Old Navy to check out their new jeans (which were OK). While there, I saw this:

It caught my eye for several reasons. I love the big buttons, and it reminds me of two patterns that I've liked for a while: The Tangled Yoke Cardi (that everyone seems to be knitting on Ravelry) and the Karabella Cabled Cardigan that I thought about knitting last year. So, I bought the sweater thinking I could sketch it out, return it, and then knit it. Here's what it looks like on me:

I'm wearing a really long top underneath, so the sweater might look short - it's not.

The sweater is 70/30 Cotton/Lambswool. No acrylic = bonus. It cost $36.50, which is roughly what yarn to make this would cost (I'm thinking something tweedy). The neckline is really wide, which I kinda like because I don't have anything like it.

So here's the question: Should I just keep this sweater and wear it and love it, or should I try to knit it? Of course if I were reading someone else's blog, I would say knit it, but I have 2 projects underway (Juno and Wicked) that I've been dying to knit, so I wouldn't get to this until around Christmastime. Opinions? Advice? Thanks!

FO: Trellis

Pattern: Trellis, from Spring 2005 Knitty.

Yarn: Elann Connemara in Wedgwood Blue, about 5 balls

Size: 6 months

Modifications

Intentional: I knit the back and front pieces together to avoid a few extra seams to sew. I also picked up stitches around the collar and knit until it was about 7" long, then used a 3-needle bind off to make the hood.

Unintentional: I knit part of the cable incorrectly. The 4-st cable where it says to knit through the BACK loop and then knit 2 together through the back loop . . . yeah, I knit through the front and couldn't figure out why mine didn't look like everyone else's. Oops. Well, I decided that no one would know and who the heck cares.

Verdict: Very cute pattern. I think this one delivers a real bang for the amount of work involved. It looks really complicated but is actually rather straightforward. I will definitely be making this again (but with the right cable pattern!). I gave it to my friend at her shower on Sunday and it was well-received.

So, what's next? I've been in a slight knitting funk the past few weeks. I've been distracted by some home improvements (painting) and the sewing. Thanks for the comments on my Swing Bag; I've used it a lot have received compliments! I am taking a little break from sewing (long story, but I tried making a mini clutch out of the leftover fabric I had, and it was a disaster). But, I am thinking of making the clutch bag from Amy Butler's In Stitches. There are some nice FOs of it here and here.

I did finish the Irish Hiking Scarf, ordered more yarn to finish my Cable Down Raglan and am s l o w l y making progress on the garter stitch body of Bea. I am trying really hard not to start my next 2 real fall projects: Juno and Wicked. Must finish WIPs first. Can you believe it's almost October??

Amy Butler Swing Bag

A few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to paint our family room a different color. It's on the bottom level of our house and doesn't get much natural light, so I wanted to do something bright. I picked a warm yellow and thought "I'm going to go all out and get some nice fabric to make some bright pillows for the couch!" I ended up picking up 1/2 yard pieces of Amy Butler's new Nigella prints. I sewed up 4 coordinating pillows.

Last year, I had purchased the pattern for Amy Butler's Swing Bag, but I never got around to buying fabric and making it. Buying these Nigella prints got me excited and giddy, so I found some of her Lotus prints at purlsoho and ordered the pieces I needed to sew the Swing Bag. Let me say, I have sewn pillows and curtains before, but I've never, even sewn from a written pattern where you have to cut out the pattern and cut pieces from your fabric.

I set Saturday aside to make my swing bag. I laid the pieces out and even used my iron (I've learned how important it is to press!)

It took several readings of the pattern instructions to completely understand what the heck I was doing. After a few hours and few rips, I had this:

So far, so good. I certainly had some moments when I wanted to throw my machine and the fabric out the window, but I continued on. It's not perfect, but here is my finished Swing Bag!

Pattern: Amy Butler's Swing Bag

Fabric: Amy Butler Lotus: 3/4 yard Brown Lacework for exterior, 3/4 yard of Coral Star Paisley for interior, 1/4 yard of Lime Star Paisley for the scarf.

Modifications: None, except I made my own scarf. Amy's pattern calls for 1 1/4 yards and has it sewn on the bias. I chose to make it with just 1/4 yard, folded in half and sewn with folded edges. Mine is shorter, but cost a lot less!

The fun wasn't finished there. I used the leftover fabric and Caro from splityarn's tutorial for making a zippered wristlet to make this:

I decided to throw all my knitting notions in here and keep with my knitting projects:

I had a really fun time doing these projects, although sewing is pretty tiring for me. I like that I can veg out on the couch with my knitting. When sewing, I was up and down from the machine to the ironing board, to the table cutting, measuring. And, there are so many accessories for sewing! But I do have another project in mind for the leftovers from my Nigella print pillows - I'm thinking of a large wristlet/small clutch!

Fall projects: What's OTN?

It seems that every month or so, I give you all an update on my current WIPs. There are few that I haven't blogged about, so I guess it's time for another edition of "What's OTN?"

The newest WIP is the Grannie Smith Cardigan, by neoknits. I started this last fall with some Kid Silk Haze and had a nightmare of a time keeping track of the stitch pattern. Since I loved working with the Baby Silk so much on my Mom's Sweater, I decided to get some before Elann ran out. I just started and am having a much better time keeping track of the lace pattern.

I also started the Irish Hiking Scarf, by Helloyarn. I bought 5 balls of Cashmerino Chunky earlier this year and used 2 to make a cabled hat. I planned on using the other 3 for a matching scarf and really liked this cable pattern, especially the garter edges. I've knit through 2 balls and it's about 1/2 as long as I'd like it. I only have 1 ball left, but thanks to Ravelry, languidly had 1 left in her stash that was the same dyelot that she wanted to sell. Score!

Cable Down Raglan: I don't knit with dpn's when I don't have to. I would rather seam a 20" long sleeve than knit it in the round. I decided to work the sleeves flat first and them come back and finish the body. I'm about 4" past the underarm, and I'm going to run out of yarn. Need to pick some up from WEBS asap!

Hooded Trellis: This is for a friend who is having a baby in December. She doesn't know the gender, but I showed her my copy of Special Knits for Babies by Debbie Bliss and she pointed to a hooded sweater. I had already started Trellis for her, but I decided to add a hood instead of knitting the collar. I think it came out OK, but I had to fold and sew down the sides, because I think baby might get suffocated otherwise. Yikes, we don't want that! I am thinking of adding a button to the top of the hood so she can fold it up and down. I'm worried a button on top of baby's head will look stupid, so we'll see!

You all met Bea in my last post, so no updates there. What fall projects have you all started or are thinking about?

New Bea-ginning

Thank you for all the helpful suggestions on what to do with Rusted Root. I haven't made a decision yet, but I am leaning towards frogging it. I think I'd want to start this one over from the beginning and make some adjustments to the neckline (and that darn nubbin') as well.

In the meantime, I've been working on a long-ignored WIP. Way back last year, I saw cmeknit's beautiful version of Bea, by Kim Hargreaves. For those of you not familiar with Kim's designs, they are done in Rowan yarns are are available in kits only. Patterns cannot be purchased separately.

Bea, from the Kim Hargreaves website.

Well, this got my creative juices flowing, because while I'd love to spend the $100 for the kit, I couldn't justify it. So I studied the pictures available online and started a knock-off version of Bea in February of this year. When spring arrived, I put it aside and ignored it. I was using Debbie Bliss Merino DK and liked the yarn just fine, but it wasn't thrilling me.

A few weeks ago, I saw knitterknatter's version of Bea on Ravelry. It is stunning and renewed my interest in this WIP. I decided to frog what I had started in the Merino DK and start from scratch using some Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton I had picked up at Black Sheep Knittery while on vacation. The original pattern uses Rowan Wool Cotton, so I thought this would make my knock-off even more like the real thing.

Here's how it's progressing. I know I'm not using the same exact stitch pattern (I'm just adding a purl stitch every 5 sts), but I think it's pretty close!

The faux-picot edging. I'm using knitterknatter's technique of doing a KFB on the last stitch and then casting off 1 on the next row, every other row.

The only issue so far with this knit is dye lots. I purchased 5 balls of the wool/cotton at Black Sheep Knittery and when I decided to make Bea, I knew I needed more. Because it is a discontinued yarn, I found what seemed like last 5 at Tropical Yarns's website. The batches of 5 and 5 are from different dye lots . . . you know where this is heading.

They are VERY different in shade. I know this because I started a new dye lot while still in stockinette - the effect was very obvious. To hide it, I knit from the beginning with 4 balls from 1 dyelot and reached the point when I would begin the garter stitch from the waist to the bottom hem. I switched to a new dye lot and garter stitch at the same time. The change from smooth stockinette to garter ridges really masks the shade change - see picture above.

But, I still have the sleeves to contend with. I have 1 ball of the original dye lot left and will probably alternate between dye lots while knitting the sleeves to gradually change, but I'll worry about that when I get there!