FO: Tilted Duster

Pattern: Tilted Duster by Norah Gaughan Fall 07 IK 36"
Yarn: Berocco Peruvia, 6 skeins of Chipotle
Needles: Susan Bates US9 29"

Leaf Buttons from Joann Fabrics

Finally some time for a photo shoot this week. I really like this sweater and I think it will get a lot of wear once the weather gets cool again... I had to go down a needle size to get gauge with the Peruvia, it is by far one of the softest yarns I have worked with. I am a bit concerned with how this garment will wear, the loose ends of the peruvia were already felting together while I was knitting so I'll need to be careful with this piece. The color in the photos is pretty accurate, it's a nice blend of red and brown, a great transitional piece from fire to earth in project spectrum. I made no mods to the pattern which is easy to follow. The skirt did drag on and on but really it wasn't too bad. Had I not been racing the weather I don't think it would have seemed to take forever to finish. My only issues are that the sleeves are a bit snug so only T-shirts underneath, and the collar is a bit long and floppy. I'm not taking it out but in retrospect I would have picked up a few less stitches and maybe knit it an inch shorter. Minor things and I'm still very happy. I made the 36" which is zero ease for me and it's fine, the next size up may have kept the front closed a bit more but I didn't want to risk it being too big. I saw the coconut leaf buttons on Ravelry and was so happy I found them at Joann, I think they really go well with this sweater. I've been doing lots of knitting but I want to get out and pick up some flowers for the yard so that will have to be another post. Enjoy the weekend!

Adventures in Sock Knitting

You know, I did well in math throughout school but apparently knitting math involves some wacky theorems that I know nothing about. The Leyburn sock went from this:

To this:

I have larger feet than what the pattern is written for and even though I swatched and went up a needle size something went awry. So I'm off to try again with the larger needle size but will keep the stitch counts given in the pattern. This is such pretty yarn I hope it works out this time.

Thanks to a sick day yesterday (I hate my sinuses) Tilted Duster is blocking away. There is still hope for wear this season :)

Mini Vacation

I was on a bit of a mini vacation this weekend. My sister and I both took the day off Friday to hang out together and see Jeff Dunham, the funniest man on the face of the earth with the Family. Seriously, if you haven't seen his stuff you are really missing out. Anyway, while out during the day we stopped in at Sit and Knit Too in Old Wethersfield. I like this shop quite a bit, the people were friendly and there was a nice selection of yarn. I of course left with a few treasures. First up some Dream in Color Smooshy sock yarn in lovely greens and purples for my first real socks using the Leyburn Sock pattern. I've made my parents toe up socks in Berroco Ultra alpaca but these will be for me. I'm not usually a variegated yarn person but the colors are suttle and I really think the pattern is cool. I hope to get to them soon. I recently decided to play along with project spectrum so these will fit well in the earth theme. I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep to the colors of each element but seeing as Chuck was red and the Tilted Duster has both red and brown hues to it I'm up for the challenge. I also left with two skeins of gorgeous purple fingering weight Baby alpaca and silk yarn for the Lace Ribbon Scarf from the most recent knitty. I've been looking for just the right scarf pattern for myself and as soon as I saw this I knew I'd have to cast on. It will be my small summer project when I need something easy and portable. So I'm still working on the Tilted Duster and I feel like I'm racing the weather with this one and loosing. I have a couple more rows on the skirt, which indeed seems endless, and the collar to go. I hope to finish it this week and get maybe one wear in before the warm weather but we'll see. At least I won't have it hanging over me the whole summer. So this is how I'm spending my last day off today, recovering from a little cold I picked up Friday with my knitting and a Puppy in my lap. Penny turned three Saturday so she's being spoiled this weekend :)
I don't think my Mom reads my blog but in case she gets sneaky I'm keeping a certain project off the blog, hopefully it turns out OK.

FO: Buttony

Pattern: Buttony by Katie Marcus

Needles: Clover US8 29" circs and DPNS

Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted 4 skeins of Onyx

I finally finished Buttony last weekend and we had enough daylight to take some pictures after I got home from work yesterday. The best part of this sweater is the cute flower buttons I found at Joann Fabrics, I love them. My camera sucks at close-up shots but you can get a hint of the cuteness from this shot.

This was my third top down raglan in a row. I made some changes to the pattern (more like an outline) starting with the yarn. I didn't like the bulky yarns my LYS carried so I decided to go with the Lamb's pride worsted since I had never tried it and the black colour was so intense. I love the color but this is a much rougher wool than I have ever used so I think I may always need a long sleeved shirt underneath. I was hoping to be able to wear T-shirts with this so I could keep it in rotation as the weather gets warmer but that is my own fault. I wanted to get the yarn at my LYS and had to compromise to do so. If there is a next time I will use a more drapier, softer yarn and do the 3/4 sleeves I thought about. I would also put the first button hole in the top ribbing, I think it would look neater. I cast on the indicated number of stitches and increased until I got the fit I desired. I made the button band seed stitch instead of garter stitch, I really love seed stitch and have never really been a fan of garter stitch. I also added some waist shaping which worked out well this time I think. Too bad I hadn't seen this handy calculator in time.

I started this sweater the first time in February and finished at the end of March but for some reason it felt like an unending process. I think it was having to rip out most of it due to stupid mistakes and really wanting to wear it before it gets too warm. I'm glad my Love-Hate relationship with this sweater is ending on a positive note. I really love it's cute, classy look and will wear it a lot, I think it will look great paired with a skirt on more dressy occasions.

I've been plugging along on the Tilted Duster but will save that update for another post. Penny hasn't made an appearance in awhile so here is a cute puppy shot, my version of Friday eye candy :) She just loves to wrap herself up in a blanket.

FO: Bluebird, aka Redbird, aka Chuck

Pattern: Bluebird by the Berocco design team

Needles: Clover US7 DPN

Yarn: Scraps of Ultra Alpaca

Say hello to Chuck! I don't know why I call him that but that's his name. This is the second little guy I made, I just had to have one for myself. These are really quick and easy to make, I highly recommend the pattern. Instant gratification projects that make you smile are a great thing :)

Happy Easter!

FO: Wicked-ish

I finished up my version of a Wicked type raglan this weekend and wore it to work today.

Pattern: Based on pictures of Wicked by Sarah and Rachael

Needles: Denise US7

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers

Overall I'm pleased with this top. It works nicely as a vest and fits pretty well. I love the color and I think this FO will see a decent amount of wear. The Cascade 220 was nice to knit with, not my favorite yarn but a good one. I think this only took about 2-3 weeks with other projects mixed in. It was a bit liberating not to have a pattern at first.

I've been making progress on Buttony, last night I split for the armholes. I will definitely like wearing this sweater, the black color is so vivid in real life and they Brown Sheep yarn is really soft.

I've also finally cast on for the Tilted Duster! I am so excited for this knit. I bought the magazine this fall and the yarn on my first trip to WEBS over Thanksgiving weekend. I'm part way through the back and I have to say so far the Peruvia is a dream to work with. It is sooooooo soft I love it. Hopefully the finished project will wear well. Call me crazy but after three top down raglans I am so ready to seam up a sweater. I can't believe I said that but those long rows before you split off for the sleeves go on forever. I guess I like having small milestones with seamed up sweaters. So I'm pretty much splitting time between these two projects though I may take some time off to knit another Bluebird. I knit one in red Ultra Alpaca but gave it to my grandmother without taking a picture. We had the first family gathering at our house last weekend and with all the crazy house cleaning we had to do I'm just glad I finished the bird.

WIP Wednesday

I thought I'd share a quick round-up of what I have going on.

First up is my Back to Wicked vest, from Back to School vest to this nearly completed Wickedish top. I have one cuff left before I knit to my desired length.

Next up we have Buttony. Buttony and I have not been getting along. I was up to splitting for the armholes when I realized I hadn't placed the markers right. Stupid girl. I really can't believe I didn't notice, I deserved that complete frogging.

I swatched for the Tilted Duster from the Fall 2007 IK and got gauge with US9. Once I have a FO I will cast on for that, I can't wait!

I was lucky enough to get promoted at work even though the company had a terrible year. So I allowed myself to celebrate with these two skeins of Canopy from the Fibre Company. They arrived today from WEBS and will become the Summer Shawlette, free in IK's website. I had been wanting a soft summer wrap and seeing that pattern on Ravelry sealed the deal. I was going to splurge on some cashmere but I was hesitant about the price and I fell in love with this color. It's so pretty I may just have to play with it tonight :) 50% Baby alpaca, 20% Merino, 20% Bamboo in the rosehip colorway.