sweater
Peacock beauty
The last few weeks have been crazy busy for me, both at work and in my personal life, and in my book that generally means dealing with A LOT of stress. As a form of damage control and to let off some steam I’ve been trying to crunch a few minutes of knitting or spinning when I can to (somewhat) try to keep the stress under control. Fortunately for me, it’s been successful on two fronts; I’ve been able to keep stress on a manageable level and I’ve been making great progress on some super fun yarny projects, so yay!
The first thing I want to show you is my last spin, a fingering weight navajo plied yarn I just finished yesterday using some malabrigo nube I had in stash, in color “solis”. It’s 112 grams and 407 yards of yummy merino goodness, and I’m really excited to show it to you because it’s the first time I’ve plied a full skein using the navajo plying technique, I am so thrilled!
On the knitting front, I’ve also been making pretty good progress on my golden afternoon sweater, an all-over lace pattern called Clementine Pullover, from Carole Francone. I am not thrilled with the pattern, I’ll give you a full review once the sweater is done, but I must say that I absolutely LOVE the lace stitch. To make this the perfect summer top, I’m using some Euroflax Sport Weight yarn in color Goldenrod.
Camilla love
I’ve been wanting to make myself a Camilla Pullover from Carrie Bostick Hoge for the longest time, but it seems like I always had too many things on the needles or couldn’t find the right timing. Let me tell you folks, it finally happened in February. Yes, I now have made myself a gorgeously fuzzy, fun and comfortable Camilla Pullover out of some Patons Classic Wool Roving yarn in the Low Tide colorway. Yay!
Let me tell you guys though that although I loved every stitch of this beauty, I struggled quite a bit throughout the process, and for all the wrong reasons, too.
The story starts back in 2013 when I bought 4 skeins of this yarn, not knowing yet what I wanted to do with it. A little while after, I fell madly in love with this gorgeous, gorgeous Camilla pullover pattern and thought it would be a match made in heaven with the yarn I had so I got really excited, until I realized I didn’t have enough yardage to do it. I tried convincing myself for months (if not years) that I could simply make the pattern work with a different yarn (after all it was not even the right weight!) but I simply couldn’t get it out of my head – I’m stubborn like that sometimes.
I looked at every local yarn store but couldn’t find the same yarn in this color anymore, the only option was to purchase it online on Joann’s website. So after a little while, since that project had been haunting me for a long time, I decided to finally order a couple skeins of it so I could reach the required yardage and start the project. Since it’s a commercially produced yarn, I was sort of hoping the color would be a close match to the one I had in stash because there was just no way I could find skeins of the same dyelot, but when I got them, I realized the new skeins were significantly lighter than the ones I had. Sigh.
Now had I been wiser (or just less eager to start), I simply could have waited to get the new skeins to start and then alternate old and new skeins throughout to make the color difference disappear – but I totally didn’t do that. I was so excited about the project that I started it before receiving the extra skeins, and was already almost almost at the armpits when I got them. I didn’t want to frog the entire thing so I did what I could, and when you look up close, you can notice that the body is darker, the sleeves are lighter, and the yoke is somewhat of a hybrid of the two. Oops.
All in all, I don’t really mind it so much and it surely won’t prevent me from wearing the heck out of it for the remainder of the cold season, but lesson learned, folks! I’ll be more careful from now on to avoid this kind of (totally preventable) issue. Had anything similar ever happened to anyone of you guys?
Happiness is a simple thing
I just finished the new sample for my feather and fan lace sweater pattern that is currently being tested, and I am SOOOO happy at how it turned out! It feels breezy, sunny, fun and perfect for spring. Awesomeness! I still have a few things to fix here and there before the pattern can be released, but I’m shooting for mid-February to early March. Things are moving so fast!
Testers wanted!
Hey guys!
I just recently opened a test-knit for my feather & fan sweater pattern, if you are interested head over to this thread in the Ravelry Forums, there’s still a few spots open ! Here’s a short description of the requirements.
This sweater in worked top down and in the round using a DK weight bamboo yarn. It has a lace pattern on both sleeves and the front, and a progressive rib from the waist down. Please note that since bamboo tends to grow a lot when worn, I wrote the pattern with 2” negative allowance. If you plan on using a yarn that’s a little less forgiving, you might want to size up a little.
This test is scheduled to start on January 1st, 2016.
Deadline: February 15, 2016, for a release on March 1st.
SIZES:
S (30”) for 32” bust, M (34”) for 36” bust, L (38”) for 40” bust.
GAUGE:
20 sts & 8 rows for a 4” square on size 6 (4 mm) needle in stockinette st
TECHNIQUES USED:
This pattern is pretty easy, you need to know how to Knit, purl, SSK, K2tog, YO, M1L & M1R. The instructions are written, no charts are provided.
The sweater-dress concoction
November 30th, perfect day to present you my finished NaKniSweMo 2015 project – my 50 174 sts Laurie.
I am absolutely thrilled by the final result and I love every stitch of this wonderful dress, but I must admit this was not was I was going for – not the smallest bit. This project was originally supposed to be just another sweater; no more no less, and I have nobody or nothing to blame for the (happy) mistake except for my very own foolishness in thinking I could pick a pattern without checking the number of stitches first, and my sinus infection for not realizing sooner how long this “sweater” was becoming.
For those who don’t know what NaKniSweMo is, let me explain first so you can understand better what my predicament was. NaKniSweMo stands for “National Knit a Sweater in a Month”. It’s basically a month long knit-along (KAL) where the main goal is to start and finish an entire sweater within the month of november. The main criteria for this KAL is that the sweater you pick must be at least 50 000 stitches.
Earlier in November, I decided to participate, choosing Laurie (from Josée Paquin), as my project for the challenge. Even though the sweater was using DK weight yarn, I didn’t bother to check the number of stitches before I started because I thought it’d be fine since it’s kind of an oversized model and I generally like longer sweaters anyways (I have always added length to every single sweater pattern I’ve ever knitted). I cast on and worked about 50% of this sweater, carefully marking my progress as I went, but somewhere around the middle of the month, I got a sinus infection.
I was feeling groggy and out of it, but still tried to make some progress – all I could focus on though was the 50k stitches goal, that was really all I could manage given the sickly state I was in. At one point I stopped working the body, worked one sleeve as a point of reference, then calculated (based on how many stitches I already had and how may stitches both sleeves were going to be) how much longer the body needed to be in order for me to reach 50k stitches. With that knowledge, I kept working on the body again, and again, and again until I finally reached the desired amount of stitches and bound it off around November 19th.
Around that time I started to feel better and my head was finally starting to get out of the clouds, and that’s when I realized just how long my “sweater” has gotten in my sickly slumber. I tried it on and realized the finished piece was going all the way to my knee… *sigh* I had knitted a dress instead of a sweater. Fancy that. I was still very happy with the project though, so I knit the second sleeve then washed and blocked the project and voilà ! A brand new autumn dress, I guess 🙂
NaKniSweMo 2015
Hey guys! Are you feeling this winter-y vibe? This familiar sensation that comes with colder days, closeness of the Holidays and this strong desire to cuddle around the fire with a woolen sweater? Well I most certainly do. And although I know the few weeks left before the Holidays will be insanely busy, I just feel this urge to knit myself a cozy, warm sweater.
In all fairness, I must say that NaKniSweMo has the BEST and the WORST timing at the same time – I most certainly DO want to participate and indulge myself in a new, fun, warm and cozy sweater, but I know I definitely SHOULDN’T. Which is why I have been debating whether or not I should participate this year. And… well… This happened:
I decided to try it, although I will give priority to the Christmas presents and getting the house ready for the holidays. The sweater I’ll be making is Laurie by Josée Paquin, and I’m using Classic Elite Yarns’s Soft Linen in the color Smokey Rose. I am absolutely, positively thrilled about this project, and although I know chances are slim that I’ll be able to complete it before the end of the month, I’m hoping I can at least finish it before the Holidays. Please cross your fingers with me!
In the meantime, I also just finished the Casu Cowl, using some Berroco Element yarn I had in stash. It looks fantastic, and I’m absolutely delighted by the pattern/yarn combination. This pattern written by Galia Lael is elegantly simple, exquisite in the small details. I especially like the raised edge between the moss stitch and lace sections and the elegant slip stitch borders. And the yarn just brings out the texture beautifully, so I couldn’t be more satisfied with this project.
What do you guys think? Are you participating in the NaKniSweMo this year? What are you working on? Leave me a comment and let me know what you are up to 🙂
No, I’m not dead
Hey Sweeties! Long time no blog!
I feel like I have been neglecting you guys this summer, and I do not like that! My summer has probably been what everybody else’s summer has been – filled with food and fun and sun and trips and things! Although I have not really taken time to blog, I have been spending an awful lot of time knitting – and it shows, because I am now almost done with my Bluesand Cardigan.
I’m quite happy to show you this today as this is the first time I have ever used one of my handspun yarns (even though I have been spinning for over a year – I know, shame on me!) and I think the solid yarn I chose for the body really complements the colorful handspun perfectly. I’m so happy! 🙂
Also, I must say this pattern made me realize I still have a lot of things to learn when it comes to knitting, as this cardigan has proven to be quite the challenge. Don’t get me wrong, this pattern is amazingly well explained, clear and precise, with so many diagrams and figures it really makes me wonder how much time actually went into making this pattern. But the construction of this cardigan is just so cleaver, I know it’s something I definitely would not have been able to come up with on my own. Seriously, I understand now why so many people are in love with this cardigan (and other rililie patterns) – t’s brilliantly designed with a lot of cute and interesting details and a simple yet unique construction that really makes this pattern stand out. I am in love!
What about you guys, have you ever been so smitten by a pattern that you just wanted to keep on knittin’?
Cardigan Duo!
My friends, I am so happy to announce to you today that I have finally finished my Stellata Cardigan! Yes! It looks great and it feels amazing, as I predicted. So… I am definitely going to wear the heck out of this one this summer! The yarn I used is Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy in color “peach”. Now that I’m done, I can definitely say that I LOVE this yarn. I will be using it again… Surely! It’s soft, comfortable and airy, and it also knits up like a charm.
If you have not used it yet, I definitely recommend it for any summer garments!
Amongsnt other things, I also completed a very (tiny) project for a little human in the making, who is supposed to be born sometime this summer. I used a cotton/acrylic blend so it’s not too hot and also easy to wash, the yarn is DungarEase from Knit one Crochet Too. I picked the color “Sand”, which I thought was perfect for a baby who’s gender you do not know yet.
So what have you Sweeties been up to lately?
Sea Breeze released!
Good morning fellas!
Just a little heads up to let you know that my Sea Breeze sweater pattern has been released yesterday, woohoo! It’s available on Ravelry, go check it out! 🙂 
Monogamously knitting!
Hey Sweeties, long time no blog!
I have not been very present on the blog in the last few weeks, and I’m sorry to admit that I don’t even have a good reason for it! It’s not like I have been outrageously busy or anything but quite frankly, I have not had much to show you lately since I have been a very, very monogamous knitter since I came back from vacation.
This is a little weird to me since I generally tend to work on at least 3 or 4 projects simultaneously at any given moment, but lately I started test-knitting a second version of the Stellata cardigan pattern from the lovely Anne and I have been pouring all my heart into it, since it is such a lovely, sweet and elegant design.
Since I started a week late because of vacation – and because I had a little mishap on the way – I have not been able to progress as fast as I would have wanted to, but I am delighted to show you where I’m at as of today.
The yarn I’m using is Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy in color peach. I am so exited about this project because when I swatched for it, I noticed the washed swatch plumped up very nicely and felt not only soft, but also supple and breezy – seeing that, I can already predict now this cardigan is going to be a favorite of mine this summer, and the next, and the next again!
How about you guys? Are you monogamous or polygamous knitters? How many projects do you usually work on simultaneously?
Crafty Effie 