stash, knit, repeat

Looking forward to seeing you in 3 weeks with some beautiful FOs.

Knit on!

That’s more like it!

More sleeve, more shawl, and a couple of kick-ass early birthday presents. Tonight: More knitting.

Hooray!

I finished all of these gorgeous projects and won a huge shopping spree at my LYS and got invited to teach the Queen of England to knit and…

…oh wait, no. Those were all dreams. Damn.

But I may as well tell you about them, because the actual knitting going on around here is sparse and boring. I think I’ve knit all of 1 row on the shawl, and a few puny inches of sleeve, since the last time I posted. I have high hopes, though, for the coming week. We finally got a replacement dishwasher installed today after waiting for almost 2 weeks, so I should be doing more stitches and fewer dishes. And in a week, I’ll be on a plane to Boston and Maine, where there will be babysitting and FOs.

I sincerely hope so, anyway, because I’m itching to cast on for some Sidewinders. Have you seen Nona’s and Grumperina’s? That Nona is a genius! And this sock pattern is just the thing for my misbehaving StR.

It is so impossible that an entire week has passed. Completely unbelievable. Thank you all so much for the lovely comments on Tulip, they kept me smiling all week long!

Of course, I cast on for something else right away. Two things, actually, which is really rare for me. It’s been a busy week, but I’m almost done with the first sleeve for the Shawl-collared cardigan out of Jo Sharp Knit issue one.

I didn’t want another alpaca cardigan, so I’m knitting this up in a lovely merino–Zara from Filatura Di Crosa. I really like how the yarn is knitting up for me so far, though I should warn others: It grew a lot once it got wet. I had to go down a needle size to get gauge, so I’m knitting it up on US5s. I’m trying out the “start with a sleeve, end with a sleeve” strategy to keep myself from going too crazy at the end of this sweater. We’ll see how it goes!

I’m knitting two projects right now because there’s no way I can do the other one while toddler-wrangling or chatting with my knitting group ladies:

“A curved shawl with diamond edging” from Victorian Lace Today, in Lacey Lamb. In the color pictured in the book, even! I’ve only gotten a dozen rows done this week, sadly. The pattern is pretty easy, the yarn is like a day at the spa, and I LOVE ME my new lace Addis… but let’s face it. Lace with yarn that thin just isn’t as easy to manage as a good sturdy merino stockinette. Who knows how long it will take me to complete the shawl, but I’m not in a rush. The longer it takes, the longer I’ll be feeling that amazing LL running through my fingers!

(It just occurred to me, writing this post, that I got both yarns from Ellen. The yarn I buy from her always seems to get knit up quickly, and turn into my favorite things. I think that bodes well for these projects!)

This is one sweater that knows how to have fun.

Pattern: Tulip, from Rowan Magazine 41

Yarn: Rowan Damask, color 47, 10 balls for the 39″ size (modified)

Time Elapsed: Nearly an entire month!

Modifications and Notes: I added around 3.5 inches to the length of the body, which led to waist/hip shaping, and I also changed the sleeves from cap to set-in. This was the first time I’ve tried a major restructuring of a pattern, and it definitely caused some hair-tearing moments–particularly with the sloped wrap neckline, which I had to rip out three times. But now that the sweater is done, the only thing wrong is that it’s not warm enough to wear it!

I loved all of the clever touches throughout the pattern. The scalloped edging along the bottom of the sweater and sleeves is created by turning the left-hand needle counterclockwise every 6 stitches. Beautiful, and easy! The ties are 1×1 rib instead of icord, so they have a stretchy belt look, which I really enjoy. The neckline gets the same trim as the bottom edges, except that it’s turned inside out.

A word to those who wish to knit this, though–the way that neck trim is attached is extremely fiddly. You cast on a bajillion stitches, work the twist edging, put the WS of the edging to the RS of the sweater, and pick up through both the sweater’s neckline and the trim stitches, sort of like a 3 needle bind-off. Then you cast off knitwise. It creates this darling little line of knit stitches running perpendicular to the edge, but it wasn’t easy to do.

Rowan is one of my favorite knitting magazines, but I usually find myself thinking about how the sweaters want to be worn by a tall, willowy woman with small breasts. Since I am none of those things, too often the latest Rowan is more inspiration and daydream-fodder than useful pattern source. But Tulip is just great for me. The color change in the Damask nicely camouflages any flabby tummy issues, the wrap style is great for a fuller chest, and the whole thing can go nicely from casual to dressy. The yarn feels silky and soft without being too fussy, as well.

All in all, four thumbs up. It makes me feel like dancing!

(As usual, for more wacky photos and commentary, see the FO page.)