FO Friday - Caribeño Clapotis

When I saw this yarn on sale at WEBS, I knew I had to have it. 51/49 silk & merino means it's super soft, and the colors are just gorgeous! It transferred just a bit of blue dye to my fingers while I was knitting it, but not excessively so.

So, normally, the yarn this pattern calls for would cost you 120$ (maybe more plus shipping...) I KNEW I didn't want to spend that much, even though I love the Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb. So, I waited. And waited some more... A few years later, this wonderful substitute comes onto the market, with even more colors than the recommended yarn. Yeay! So, I bought 5 balls - for a grand total of 45$ and I got the shipping free (because of course I had to order more yarn than THAT! Hahaha!)

I was hoping to have it done in two weeks instead of three, but sometimes you just don't feel like a smurf. Hehe. It was fun to knit, though; and even though I'm onto more complicated projects now - I wish I still had something simpler like this one, going at the same time.



The only changes I made to the pattern were adding one extra width repeat, and 5 extra length repeats. The third ball striped really nicely through the middle, but all of the other ones flashed and pooled like I expected a hand-painted yarn would. Huh?! I like it, though - and that's all that matters!

Specs: see it on Ravelry!

• Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert, Knitty Fall '04
• Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Caribeño - 474 (5 balls, Xgr)
• Needles: sz 7 Knit Picks Interchangeable (metal tips)
• Cast on: Friday, July 24th 09
• Cast off: Friday, August 7th 09
• Completed: Monday, August 10th 09

FO Friday - Raspberry Delight Scarf

Ooops! I'm late to post this, but i guess better late than never, eh? Hehe.

You know, it should be called the "Lazy Ribbon Scarf," because it's so easy - and I've done the repeats so many times now, I could do the 24 row chart in my sleep with one arm tied behind my back… (well, not really! But, you get my point!)

It's easy. Really. I promise, once you "get it" - it's like riding a bike. Lace may be scary at first because it looks so complex and impressive; but it's not impossible to manage! Especially if you're knitting with Malabrigo! It's yummy in a way only a knitter can understand!

So, admittedly this one took me longer than anticipated to finish. I wanted it done by the end of February and it's June now. I know, (please don't remind me!) But, to be fair, it's only because I procrastinated it until the absolute last minute, for no other reason than I'd done this pattern a bunch of times already! Ha - and Oy - both!

This was the first time I'd done this pattern in a variegated colorway though, so that was a lot of fun. I'm almost sad to gift this one away I like it so much! (I have enough of these Lace Ribbon things, though! Hahahah!)

Specs: see it on Ravelry!

• Pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery Spring 08 Knitty, + 4 extra horizontal repeats
  
• Yarn: Malabrigo Lace in Little Lovely, 470yds x2 skeins, 100% Baby Merino wool
• Needles: Knit Picks Harmony Interchangeables, sz4 - 24" cable
  
• Started: January 24th, 2009
• Finished: May 23rd, 2009
• Size: 11"wide x 60" long appx. - (unblocked)
  

Finishing Frenzy! (W/O Pics - Sorry!)

Yesterday, I went on a fanatical finishing frenzy on my knitting. Four FO's got their ends woven in; and I took a much more honest inventory of the WIP's I still have going. Some I'll finish knitting, but others need to be ripped back, or out entirely. It's the nature of the universe, I guess - that you can't get everything right all of the time.

I wish I could share more pictures today, but so many are gifts; and I want them to reach their recipients first - before I post pictures. And, to be honest, a few of them are SUPER EARLY - so I was super sure not to be late finishing them. (A fate more than one of my gifts have suffered from. And, one I want to avoid as much as possible! Hahaha!)

It feels good to have them really, finally finished - and wearable. But, if I'm really feeling honest, some have waited nearly a YEAR to have their ends woven in. Poor FO's!

Oh yeah, and how the hell is it June already? I know time marches on, but DAMN man! This year it's feeling a little ridiculous. Rant over.

FO - Lavanda Lace Ribbon Stole

Project specs - see it on Ravelry!

• Pattern - Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery, from Spring 08 Knitty
  
• Yarn - Malabrigo Lace in Lavanda, 470yds 50g (2 skeins)
  
• Needles - Knit Picks Interchangeable Circulars, sz6 & 24" cable
• Size - 14" wide by 60" long, unblocked
  

This was a super impulsive cast on, and after I started I really wondered to myself why I would knit another lace ribbon project. I was happy to finish it up before the Ravelympics, though - even though I'm only posting it now.

I was trying to decide if I wanted to block it or not, I think it's got great texture unblocked - and I really like it this way. I love in that first photo, that you can see the art. It's a piece by Christian Lassen of a purple Hawaiian sunset, and it's one of my favorite pieces.

I don't know why I've been so interested in knitting scarves and wraps lately, maybe because gauge doesn't matter quite as much. Maybe because if I don't like it for myself, I can always hang onto it and gift it to someone later (who'd do that with a sweater, hehehe?!?!?!)

See what I mean about the texture? It's kind of nice this way, I'm leaning towards not blocking it. Any thoughts?

FO - Dolphin Shorty Shrug

I love this pattern, even though I didn't get "it" exactly, the first time through! Hehehe, anyway it's pretty easy, and went fairly quickly for the Ravelympics - yeay!

Specs. - see it on Ravelry!

• Pattern: Shetland Shorty Shrug by Gudrun Johnston
• Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss in Dolphin
• Needles: sz4 & 5 interchangeable needles, 32" & 60" cables, sz6 dpn (to bind off - all Knit Picks)

I picked up the stitches and knit them from the wrong side around the collar, but I did it correctly for the armholes. It doesn't seem to make too much of a difference, such a cute finished object!

Yeay! I finally got my medal for this! Hooray!

Ravelympics - Dolphin Shorty Shrug

Another Ravelympic entry here, what can I say? (This was supposed to be WIP-Wed post, but oh, well...) I caught the fever! I know now, how Star feels when the Tour de Fleece rolls around. Maybe I'll even be spinning by next summer?!?!

Anyhoo, The Shetland Shorty is a cute little shrug/bolero. And, I'm shrug obsessed lately, so there you go. Plus, I love grey for my wardrobe as well, so really how could I resist?

After a false start on the medium size, I rethought and frogged back. Annoying, but hopefully it'll mean a finished object that isn't baggy or bunchy. Re-knitting the 264st ties was really annoying. And then, I screwed up the short row working! Ugh. So yeah, it's not Wednesday anymore... hehe.

WIP Wed - Smokey Pearl Scarf

Not long after I started my Flutterby scarf, I found myself itching to cast on for something else. This seems to happen a lot when I'm working on one project at a time, so rather than fight it, I used it as an opportunity to de-stash and use yarn I'd already purchased.



Somehow or another, I ended up fixating on the Lace Ribbon Scarf from this spring's Knitty. The funny thing was, I decided it would be just perfect in Malabrigo lace. Haha! Yes, I decided to start another scarf from one skein of Malabrigo lace… so I have two going right now, one in a multi-colorway and one in a semi-solid. Grin. They're both for me. And I don't feel bad at all. I've had some issues as of late with family, inducing feelings of extreme exclusion; so I feel like it's time I stop pouting and start acting to change the way I feel. I can't change the people making me feel that way, after all… (even though I've tried. That's about as much as I feel comfortable sharing here.)

Anyhoo, if you can't tell yet (or are new here - Hello!) I LOVE MALABRIGO LACE*. It's just about the softest 100% wool I have ever laid hands on, (and I shop by sticking my hands on every sweater in a store,) it has great yardage per skein - 470yds! - and it's the perfect weight for a lace beginner. It's thin enough for lace projects, but it's thick enough that it's less frustrating for someone unfamiliar with really fine weight yarns. They dye it in so many colors, and you can also get un-dyed for those who dye their own (Kool-Aid is awesome for this, see my mini-skein experiment.)

Even though it's a 24 row repeat, I found this pattern very fast moving. (I have 13 repeats of the chart done!) I chose size 6 needles because I wanted 5's, but my other Malabrigo lace scarf is on them, so I went up one. I've always been on the tight side, tension wise, so I tend to go up in needle size regularly anyway. The repeat was also super easy to memorize. At first it looked like such a big chart, but it's really only 4 rows alternated in a certain sequence in those 24 rows.

I love the movement of this piece... normally I would've dismissed a zig-zag as "not my thing," but I'm so happy I didn't let that stop me. I seriously love this piece… the design is balanced but not boring, easy yet still somehow challenging and versatile. (Originally I wanted to add beads to this, but I wasn't sure I had enough, and wondered how well the thin one-ply of the lace would handle lots of beads sliding over it.)

*I've linked to Eat.Sleep.Knit for this yarn. There's plenty of places to buy it, but they ship fast (and they had the color I wanted - Molly. That's for another project! I'm currently crushing on Cuarenta. Hehehe.)

FO - Lilac Everlasting Bagstopper

When I decided that Stargazer wasn't the project to bring with on my vacation, I thought that finishing something that had lain languishing might make me feel good. Boy, I had no idea how good! Even though I'd only let it sit about a month, it was great to get back to work on a reusable shopping bag, especially since I'm sure to do some shopping in Hawaii! (This is the Everlasting Bagstopper from this summer's Knitty.)



I worked the lace pattern to 12" unstretched instead of 10", and only did 7 rows of garter in the round at the top before binding off. I decided to use an I-cord handle, but wanted it to hold the bag a bit more balanced - in case I want to carry anything larger - so I split it for the 3" closest to the bag. The total strap length is 20" - long enough to put over my shoulder, but short enough so it won't drag on the ground if I carry it in hand.



It folds up neatly, and the handle is the perfect length to keep it that way. I'm pretty happy with the finished look, but I hope I don't have any problems with yarn tails poking out. Splicing the second ball of hemp in was the toughest join ever; normally I like to use a Russian join, but it didn't come out looking nearly as neat & clean here as it normally does. Oh, well… I'm off to Hawaii tomorrow! :D

WIP Wednesday - Everlasting Bagstopper

I started this last week so I'd have an easy project to work on while I was at Stitches with my Mom & sister. And then, I got sick Friday morning, the day I was supposed to go. Ugh, I had even reigned in the yarn spending when I hit Wool & co a few weeks ago (for the first time! Love it!) Oy, ok - so anyway, I had an easy project to work on while I wasn't feeling so good.



This is one of the suprises from the summer Knitty, and even though it's so similar to my Montego Bay scarf, (by the same author too!) I really like it. The yarn's not nearly as soft (hemp on this project, bamboo on the scarf,) but I think it might get softer after a wash. Even if it doesn't, I could always make the handles out of something softer; I haven't really thought about them, or the drawstring yet.



The color is probably better in the second picture than the first, but it seemed so dark that I lightened it up a bit. Normally, I'd want to go back and fix it, but I've got better things to do today! LOL

Nearly FO - Wisp

When I first saw this month's Knitty, I was a little disappointed. None of the patterns really grabbed me. It's not as if I didn't like some of the cute summer tops, like Coachella and Zin Zin; but I didn't know if anything would be worth making for myself. When I went back for a second look though, Wisp really caught my attention. Plus, I just happened to have the perfect yarn for it - Douceur et Soie mohair/silk in soft seafoam - it was meant to be!

Detail shot of the backwards loop cast on.

Since it's a wrap I didn't bother swatching, just went up to size 10 needles and followed the pattern. I did write out the 15-row repeat, though - it was too much for my brain to remember the eyelet placing along the lace & garter sections. Eventually I got the hang of it, but I was glad to have it written out the first couple repeats.

I used to be really intimidated of lace, thinking it was only done on teeny-tiny needles. Now I know better, and I'm really enjoying this project. It was pretty easy to memorize, after I got the hang of where the eyelets went; and it knit up very fast, too. I started last Thursday, and I'm nearly finished already! (I actually finished the knitting Wednesday night.) I even got the suggested shell buttons, in both sizes no less! LOL All I have left to do is sew the cast off edge. I like to match my cast on* & off edges, I find traditional bind-offs to be very noticable, and not very stretchy. I still use a regular bind of every now & again, but for anything lacey or stretchy I tend to use what works best for me.

It's funny when I think about how personal knitting really is. Even though it's a craft lots of others do, I think we all have to find our own personal style and decide what techniques we like or don't, for ourselves. I feel like I've really pushed my knitting to the next level this year, though. I've never finished a project so fast, or been so satisfied with how it finished. My Clapotis came close, but after wearing it out a few times I decided I really should have added a few more straight repeats, to make it just a bit longer. Oh well, I can always make another Clap! LOL I've tackled my first sweater, skirt, circular, and lace projects this year, and I've gained a ton of confidence in knitting from a pattern. Not all of those projects were sucessful, but I'm not nearly as intimidated by the patterns or techniques that seem complex to me anymore.

*Note - When I knit wraps, stoles or anything stretchy, I use a backwards loop cast on. It's tricky to knit evenly from, and I end up having to even things out a bit after the fact; but it's much stretchier than cable, knitted or long-tail cast on for me, and so I use what works.

Best Friend Bag - Now with Handles!

My sister gave me this lovely little bag last year, the Best Friend bag from Knitty - in aqua cashmere!!! I knew I needed to add handles, though; I was too afraid of leaving it in some restaurant, or on a checkout counter somewhere. So, I asked if I could trade her for the rest of the yarn, so I could make handles. (Jenn, I don't think I ever gave you anything for this, lemme know if you have any ideas!)

I let it sit for a few months, it wasn't very high on my priority list, and I'd never done I-cords before. I only realized this after editing my Ravelry profile, that I've been knitting for 4 years, without trying such a basic technique. It sort of bothered me, so I put a few other things aside for an evening, and knit up a pair of 9" I-cords (5 sts on sz2 needles.) Turns out, they're easy peasy! I should've figured, but I'm a fairly shy knitter. I'm trying to remedy that, though! I did my first short rows on the Blue Sky Alpacas Pleated Skirt I'm working on (watch for more details on Wednesday!)

Anyhoo, I used the tail ends to sew jump rings onto the ends, and then threaded them up through the I-cord itself. When I moved both ends to the middle, I knotted them and stretched the handles slightly, to draw the knotted ends up into the I-cord. I wanted the handles to be sturdy, and not stretch too much when I wanted to carry heavier items like my camera or sunglasses. I'm very pleased with the results, I feel like they won't stretch unless the knots pull out - and I took my Mom's advice and tied my knots in the opposite direction of one another. Did you know if you tie them the same they can pull out, easy as punch?!?! Thanks, Mom! It's an awesome tip to learn & know!!! Thanks also to Jenn, who's one of the most talented knitters I know!

Who Can Take A Sunrise...

... and brighten it with dew? The Candyman can!!! Or anybody else with bare yarn and Kool-Aid! LOLI liked Kool-Aid dyeing so much the first time I tried it; I had to go out and buy more wool to play with! This time, I cut 3 balls of Lion Brand wool into 25yd mini-skeins, and ended up with 18 (appx.) half ounce skeins. Yeay! LOL

I love playing around with color, and this is a great way to do it. I still want to try more, like self-striping patterns, and more variegated colorways. But, I wanted to start with a base, and know what each color was going to turn out as, that's why I dyed such small mini-skeins. I know the Knitty article showed a bunch of different samples, but I wanted to see for myself, what shade & tone each different color Kool-Aid would finish like. Single packets of color turned out mostly saturated, and wildly different effects can be achieved by overdyeing. I must mention, Kool-Aid dyeing is SUPER fun! Watch out! It can be addicting! LOL

Upper Left to Right - (Middle left was left undyed,) Grape, Berry Blue, partial packet of Berry Blue, Arctic Green Apple, partial (tiny bit!) packet of Lemon Lime, partial packet of Lemon Lime overdyed with a partial packet of Berry Blue, Lemon Lime, and Lemon lime (2 packets.)

Lower Left to Right - Black Cherry, Strawberry, Watermelon Cherry (2 packets,) Watermelon Cherry, Strawberry Lemonade, Lemonade overdyed with partial packet of Watermelon Cherry, Lemonade overdyed with Strawberry Lemonade, and Orange.

FO - Bamboo Clapotis

I'll start by saying that this has got to be my most favorite knitted project ever! I'm totally in love with the finished product, it's super soft and so drapey. Because of the drape, it doesn't have much curl compared to other Claps, which I was a little disappointed with at first. Small issue, as I can always knit another out of a less drapey yarn.

There are a few mistakes, but I'm resolved to not nitpick about 1 puny extra stitch, and a few wraps from not moving the yarn to the back correctly after a purl stitch. I'm curious though, how many stitches go into this finished object… seemed like an awful lot when I was knitting it! LOL It only took me 2 weeks & 2 days to finish though, it just felt like forever through that straight section!

For my Clapotis, I followed the pattern exactly*, with size 6 needles and SWTC Bamboo yarn in Intensity. I finished with a little bit less than 2 balls, which rocks cuz I have 2 left! Finished measurements without blocking are 15" wide by 48" long. I don't think I'll need to block it, it doesn't curl very much, and the dropped stitches are stretching out enough on their own. Plus, I'm lazy, so I figure, why bother!?! LOL

I'd really wanted to knit this one for a while, but the recommended yarn was so expensive - 90$ to 120$ depending on whether I wanted to shell out for a fourth ball to cover my ass (and not run out of yarn mid-project.) I'm really glad I did wait, because this yarn turned out to be really perfect for this project. Two balls cost 26$, and the color and texture are perfect. I couldn't be happier with this one! Woohoo!

*I did make one change, and slipped the knit sts on the increase section purlwise.