Sotherton continued and Lavaliere restarted

I've been ruminating on my Sotherton arms issue (designer had you knit the body and 2 sleeves, and then, yoke). I couldn't decide on sleeve length..and originally had to re-jig numbers to make the sleeves be snug against my wrist (5.5") and increase towards the elbow 9", forearm 10" circumference, and arm at bust (top of body tube) is 11".

I had originally reduced the pattern repeat to 4 repeats from 6 repeats for my size to make it be snug on my wrist. Problem is that snug at my wrist means there isn't enough stretch and I end up strangling my arm if I push up my sleeves (or try to push them up past my elbow).

I contacted the designer, and also talked to someone in my group who handily could visualize and drew me a quick sketch. I'm going to try to cast-on provisionally, the sleeve stitches at the top of the body tube, and then, knit the yoke as per the pattern, and then, pick up and knit down the sleeves to the length I want.

I like the idea of having long-sleeves but right now, summer's here and it's too hot to think about what I'd like to wear in the winter time or if I think I'd wear the sweater some other time of the year.

I've also started a new projectwhile I was ruminating - Lavaliere..a pattern I received last year for my birthday..and here's the pics of the yarn with the pattern pic.



These were 2 skeins of white-faced meadowhawk from the valentines bonbons which arrived as non-variegated well-blended skeins..and happened to match well enough to cast-on. Turns out I took a wayward turn on my lifted increases, and decided last night after knitting a couple of inches that I wasn't happy with it, so I ripped it back completely and started over.

One of the projects will end up working out..

As my mom said... I would have less problems with my projects if I just followed the directions. However, I wouldn't necessarily be happy with the finished project..and I think that tailoring it to me so it actually fits me makes it so I'm more likely to wear it.

Sotherton pics

Just took a peek in here, and realized I hadn't posted any pics of Sotherton - so here you go...







I'm debating about the sleeve length now since it's cuff up. I've actually knit past the elbow, but i'm thinking of either (a) frogging back and making the sleeve a 3/4 length sleeve, or (b) trying to knit the yoke and do top-down sleeves, which would require me to veer from the pattern, since the designer has designed it to have body and 2 sleeves, and then, knit the yoke and pick up the 2 sleeves.

I hate it when I stall..but i'm too busy right now to think about doing anything else.

May starts

I'm having a bit of startitis these days..actually more like dreaming about starting. I've been reading and dreaming and imagining a few patterns, and squishing yarn. I started a new project yesterday..Sotherton with a dk weight yarn - traveller. the little swatch I made is very springy and softened up a lot. Not sure about how the variegation on the yarn will fall..so the skeins might end up going back if there's too much black popping up in unwanted places....I'm now thinking of a light lacey summer top as well...and debating about a heavier coat thing for the fall with my madtosh birthday yarn.

Also, I finally ripped back the back and two fronts on the Austin Hoodie, as it was really bugging me about the 6 stitches that had gravitated from one front to the other. so, that's sitting in little balls right now taunting me to finish.

The audrey cardigan is sitting as my armhole is shorter..and i'm not happy at all with the short-row sleeve. the body was a super quick knit. Someone asked me if I could make it a vest, but I think the armholes might be too close for this. It's a possible..the lace on the front is lovely. I just don't wear many vests.

I whipped up a quick scarf...in codex again.. I think that's the trick to keep the momentum is to mixup the gauge if one doesn't work..go bigger and whip out something quick. It took just a few evenings and I was wearing it by yesterday. 

pics to follow.

Codex Calling..

I took a short break from Audrey to knit up another codex shawl. The colors just called..and so I zoomed through in 4 days:



Colors are Through the Looking Glass (Blue), Devil's Dictionary (Black with bits of pink and blue), and a Mystery Pink.

Close-up:



Audrey's on hold. I can't get the sleeves right.
and Codex is calling again..so I've cast-on a scarf to show off the lovely sheen:

Meet Mary Reed

Audrey Cardi continuing

The Audrey Cardi is continuing. I've knit the body including the lace panels, and starting the top-down sleeves.

Here's the pre-lace progress pic:



Since the first pic I posted, I discovered I was on the wrong needle, I'd misread my project pages.
So, I had to frog back the 3" of twisted ribbing and re-cast on, on a US6. A bit of finagling later, I was on my way. I like doing the twisted rib, but it gets old after awhile..and I need to remember not to double-twist the stitches otherwise they end up being big and puffy, just like a stitch that isn't twisted properly.

Also, the bugga yarn on these skeins is stiffer..and I'm hoping it'll block out when I'm done.

My birthday came and went with lots of celebratory dinners out - Lao Ventiane for Laotian food, Lamb dinner and tiramisu at San Remo's, and a Large bowl of mussels at The Brentwood Pub. Also, since then, dinner at The Roost, recommended by Mandy, a gal in my knitting group. The roast beef was delicious and I kind of tripped down memory lane.

Some new yarn for my stash - (Happy Birthday to me! ... The lovely Coquette  in MCN Worsted-



and some new old yarn dyed over by my friend Emma as lovely teals:



The before pic below -  olive green (shown far right) and a mint green (2nd from right), both not my colors from a Pigeonroof Studios Grab Bag.  Both apparently were quite yellow - too much so for my complexion. The mint is some kind of fingering MCN very soft and I couldn't part with it. The Bacchus is a merino-silk blend with a lovely hand and bit of a sheen.

.
Not sure what the dark teal will be, but I think the blue-green will be some kind of shawl.

Pas de Valse cardi in Blue Lobster Done

Project: Pas de Valse Cardi by Marnie Maclean
Yarn: 3 skeins The Sanguine Gryphon Bugga in Blue Lobster (~1236 yds);
Needle: US 6 Signature Needle
Gauge swatch was 22st per 4" on US 6, so I picked the 33.5" size for 35", and negative ease as the pattern has 2" of positive ease built-in. Post blocking, I measured several different points on the cardi, and ended up between 22st and 24st per 4" on US 6.
 
Notes: Adjusted for gauge, as I didn't want the collar to be wrapping me in 3. I decided for now, not to do the lettuce edge as I like the way the collar curls. Due to the difference in gauge, I ended up only doing the first 2 decreases on the back piece, and then, knitting up so the back and fronts were matched. Then, I did the short rows at the shoulder as called for, and joined the extension to the back at the back neck so they matched. Like others, I had holes in the back of the neck, but I ran a yarn through to close it up.  In the original pattern, the collar is so big and floppy it covers up the back neck and the front where the extension is joined. Since I didn't want such a big extension, the reverse stockinette on the front shows more, and blocking straightened out the wows from the increases along the left side of the cardi. I also had about 70 stitches picked up for the top of the sleeve, so I followed that set of numbers on the top-down short rows, until I had 4 stitches on each side, as per the size I was making. Seemed to work out. The back is a bit tight still after blocking, but the cardi is very flattering, and the yarn softened and bloomed after soaking, blocking, and air drying.

Pre-knitted pic of the yarn - a lovely blue-green teal:



Pas de Valse pre-block:



Post - block:



Better pics when I can find someone to take a better pic.
Seems like my self-pics are too blurry to post..without give you a headache to look at them.

and my new love - The Blue Caterpillar colorway (from the Verdant Gryphon), also bugga. It is the most brilliant of blues - close to tardis blue, I think they've referring to it as - see for yourself...kind of burns your eyeballs off it's so bright.



I've started the twisted rib of another sportweight cardi.

The Cats Paw Cowl

Ta Da!

Emma has now made available her "Cats Paw Cowl" available on Ravelry.



Knit with The Verdant Gryphon Bugga, Sportweight, on a US 6 (4.0mm) in the Colorway iSkein, created in honor of Steve Jobs in 2012 (currently a Standard colorway at The Verdant Gryphon).

Pas de Valse progress - about 80% or so; I've finished the body, and knit 1 sleeve, and I'm about 2" in on the top-down short-rowed sleeve. It's been a brain-taxing week, so it's nice to let go and just do some plain knitting.

Back to regularly scheduled programming

I took a bit of a hiatus from my regular knitting to do test knitting for a gal in my group who has a new cowl she is releasing shortly (next week).  It took me about 2 weeks of elapsed time, and I substituted a sportweight yarn Bugga for the fingering weight it called for. Cats Paw is the pattern name and I'll post a picture soon. The cowl has turned out to be very soft.

For Pas de Valse, I took a detour as well as I'd gone to knit the shoulders and back and realized that the stitch count was off, so I ripped back the armhole decreases to a number closer to what I needed, and just did the first few armhole decreases, and knit the back straight again. It has worked out well.
I was able to do the short row shoulder shaping, and extension increases and short row shaping to join the extension to the back of the neck, and do a three needle bind-off.

As with other patterns, it helps to read others' projects to see what modification you have to make. Although following the pattern from the designer makes the process of the assembly work out..I had the same problem as everyone else where the back of the neck is hole-y, so I will have to run a thread through there to make it closed up and look pretty.  I think it may have been somewhat intentional as the collar is a shawl collar and will flop over the back neck and hide this problem..also it's helpful here to have long hair..which the designer has.

Also critical to have looking good is the increasing on the extension on the front of the cardi as it can be seen when it is on the wearer. Since I'd planned to make my shawl collar less, it's more noticeable. I hope to run a strand up the back as well to tighten it up and make it more presentable. I might try this again and see if the increase can be made at a different spot - at the edge, or further in from the actual change point. It's turning out to be a very flattering cardigan.

Sleeves:
I'm on the sleeve now that I did the short rows (for the first time!) on the top-down sleeves.
I will surely do these again, although there is probably a better way to pick up so the sleeves are not so markedly recessed as mine look.

I had 71 stitches on the armhole as opposed to the 60 I was supposed to have. I think it's better to pick up more anyway to avoid holes there, and then, decrease to what you need. So, I just followed the short row instructions for the size that said 71, but went until there was 4 stitches on each side as per my regular size. The sleeve is fitting well. I will have to try it on as I go, and not blindly follow decreases - which looks like approx 1 every 9 rows for most of the length of the sleeve. That part will depend on me, so no point in knitting to someone else's arms.

I am itching to knit with my mondegreen as the yarn is so soft and it's a light weight yarn perfect for a spring or summer cardi..but still undecided about patterns. I like to read ahead and make sure I want to make them, and check out mods etc.

I'm also adding German Short Rows videos to the left side under tips.

Pics coming soon..

The bonbons 2013

The 2013 Valentine Bonbons from Verdant Gryphon - yarn love in a box:

Osmia Avosetta Nest -



Normally, I am not into baby pinks, just hot pinks. This one is a bit more sophisticated with the cream mix.  Lovely.

Weevil Wasp -


A redder version of Peacock Butterfly..no purple. This is going to a new home soon.

Pink-tipped Satyr -


A surprise for me..the lavender is hooking me in..and the pink is very pretty in natural light.

White-Faced Meadowhawk:



The Ultimate jewel in the box...
 and of course, many of VG's fans are clamoring for this to return. Sadly, they are tired of dyeing pink, so we'll have to wait for these to show later.

The silver lining is that I discovered another company who offers almost this exact same colorway -
Dragonfly Fibers - their Save the Ta-Tas colorway is almost exactly the same colors - red pink and purple. Djinni sock is the same as the former SG Skinny Bugga base.

Pas de Valse pics and new yarn

I've knit to the armhole, and tried following the pattern for the armhole decreases, but it's just too loose the way the designer has set it up, in keeping with the loose gauge which she's designed, which I'm not knitting. I've made a firmer fabric with my bugga, so I want a firmer armhole decrease. I'm going to adapt the Larch cardi decreases and then, try to go back and do the top down sleeves as per the pattern.

so far:



The purl part is the extension, which starts at the bottom of the front on both left and front, and gradually increases out as it is knit up.

Left side (facing); right side for wearer:



Right side is looser - I switched how I did the increase for the extension, so this will have to be tightened up at the end.



and some new yarn loves:

Canon Hand Dyes custom self-striping yarn in "The silence often of pure innocence persuades, when speaking fails ~ Winter's Tale" from theamyleeshow



I'm so on a blue kick right now..and still loving pinks and reds too:

VG Samhain in Traveller - this was my winning colorway inspiration last fall. I finally buckled and bought the colorway on VG Traveller which is a superwash merino when it was re-offered in January. The skeins that came were much more orange than I expected, but still beautiful:



and White-Faced Meadowhawk from the VG Valentine Bonbons 2013 box:



so in love with this. Cold. Dead. Hands.

Here's the rest of the box; better pics to come...



As with last year, I have been tracking yardage out and in. Even with the yarny acquisitions, I'm ahead, currently 9K yards out (thanks to some older lys yarns that I've given to a friend to fundraise with).

mid-Feb Bugga knitting

It's mid-February, and I'm one skein into a hopefully 3-skein bugga cardi again - The Pas de Valse.
It's intended to be made with 2" of ease, but I'm knitting the size down, so I can get some negative ease. So far so good. I ended up knitting the extension to 50 stitches on each side. One side looks very clean (right side for cardi wearer), and the left side is pretty ragged. I'm hoping the stitches will relax once I've blocked it at the end. The yarn again is a dream to knit with and a very soothing blue-green. So enjoying this.

Hopefully, pics to come later.