FO Friday

What a productive week around here. I managed to finish up 2 count them 2 items that I have actually not had laying around forever...think Shaped Edge Sweater as my laying around waiting & waiting project. Anyway I got my Ruffled Edge Hokie scarf finished early in the week. I love this scarf...a new fav for sure. The yarn makes the scarf so soft and squishy it's sure to be the one I grab when it gets cold around here.

Thanks to Debbie at Mosaic for sharing the pattern. I just know I'll be using the pattern a ton for Christmas giving. It's super quick and so easy to knit up. A simple ruffle on the ends really help hold the scarf in place. What's not to like?

On to the details:
Pattern: personal pattern from Debbie at Mosaic

Yarn: Frog Tree Alpaca, Chunky weight, 100% alpaca, 100 yds, 100 grams...soft and so squishy
Needles: Addi Turbo, size 10 circular

Length: 65" long, 6" wide

Gauge: didn't matter, but the yarn knitted up to 4 sts/inch on size 10 needles

Onto the second finished item which pleases me greatly. I've been working on the Central Park Hoodie as part of the Mosaic Maniac CPH KAL which started back on July 12th. I worked ahead as I usually tend to do even thought I tried to hold back and work on my other sweater. The other sweater could not hold my attention long and wasn't as easy to knit so it's got left behind. Now the CPH is done. I'm happy with the end result...it fits which I must say is surprising. I must admit to being worried most of the way through that this wasn't going to fit. The back looked too tiny and the fronts looked like they were toddler sized. Anyway I perservered and seamed it together this week. I love it! Now I'm ready for the cool weather to get here.

I made few modifications to the pattern. I knitted the size 40 which I had tried on while at PJ back in June. That one fit well and hit the hips at a good spot so I didn't really change the length on the overall sweater. On the sleeves I only knitted 4" on the cuffs rather than the 5" in the pattern. I must say the the sleeves are plenty long if the cuff is down and fit perfectly when rolled back. Everyone commented about the sleeves being tight and they are right to a point. The fit is fine for my arms...I don't think I can wear more than one layer underneath, but then I tend to just wear a long sleeve tshit most of the time so it's not a problem. When I do this one again...and I will...I may move the whole sweather up a size to have a bigger looser fit to the whole thing.

I also did short rows at the shoulders on the back and fronts so I could do a three needle bind off for a more neat appearance. The short rows always sound so intimidating, but I find them easy and just look so much better than the stair step bind off. Another change was in the way I did the button band...picked up and knitted all in one piece from the right to the left side including the hood. I then knitted a 2 1/2" band rather than the 1" 1/2" called for in the pattern. Since I didn't want to add buttons anyway I figured the extra width would look better in the end. The only other "change' was the seaming for the hood ended up being more three needle bindoff...looks terrific!

Check out the seaming...it worked out very well for the most part. I had a bit of fudging going on around the sleeves, but most of the ugly part could be hidden in the pit area. I was surprised at how long the seaming took...mattress stitch for the whole project took over 4 hours. Not that I wasn't doing other stuff in between, but it was a time sucking thing to do. Rather than use the Lamb's Pride I used for the sweater to seam I used DMC Cotton Pearl in a chocolate brown which matched the sweater perfectly. So happy with that decision...no grabbing or sticking like the mohair would have done & it could be removed easily it if the seam didn't quite work without cussing. Perfection.

The details:
Pattern: Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky

Needles: Knit Picks Options, size 6 and 8 circulars, 36" & 48" cables

Yarn: Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride Worsted in Cafe Au Lait, 85% wool/15% mohair, 190 yds/skein, 5 3/4 skeins used

Size Knitted: 40

Gauge: 17 sts/26 rows per 4 inches

Front view...notice I chose not to add buttons.

Side view with the hood up

New Day, New Month and Another Plan

Today I went to visit my LYS...The Yarn Lounge. Since I was close to the shop running some errands I decided to pop in on them. I have 2 projects, both needing a needle size of US6, so it seemed like a good idea to go ahead and get the Addi's for my Nichole Jacket by Jane Ellison. I love using my other Addi's, but I only have lace sized needles.

While I was there I looked thrrough their yarn selection for a replacement yarn for the Mosaic Maniac's Central Park Hoodie KAL. As I said a day or so ago the Kathmandu DK Tweed wasn't going to work for the CPH. After looking at my choices...the Jo Sharp SilkRoad Aran, the Louet Riverstone, and the Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted... I chose the Lamb's Pride. The Lounge had a color I had not seen before called Cafe-au-Lait...think varigated browns. The shades vary from a dark rich brown to a lighter shade of milk chocolate. No really light tones mostly a pleasing brown that once I knitted the swatch has a mottled kind of tone. I like the look of the fabric and best of all I got gauge with the US8's....even the row gauge. A true first for me...I NEVER have been able to get the allusive row gauge in any other project.

Now we will have to wait to see what other things develop as I knit this sweater. The cast on date is set for July 12th so in the meantime I'm going to cast on for the Nichole Jacket that has been on the "To Do List" for over 2 years. The Kathmandu DK Tweed will be used for this one...it hasn't been in the stash a week, but it's actually the yarn called for in the pattern so I may as well use it. I'm thinking this weekend I should be far enough ahead on other projects to start this one. Now we shall see if I can knit 2 sweaters over the same time without going crazy.

It's Done and so am I

I've finished the Lace Ribbon Wrap for the Mosaic Maniacs KAL... Whoo Hoo! The last stitch was stitched on May 27...today is June 3rd. Yeah alot of a lag in completion time and write up, but the other part of my life kept interrupting me. I knitted until I had about 1 gram of yarn left...worked out so well it was almost like I planned it. I stopped right at the end of the 24th row of the pattern with enought yarn to knit 2 rows plain. Perfect! I figured I could go on for a few more rows, but what was the point? The patterning would have looked all wonky ending on any other row so I'm done. Did I mention how pleased I am with the result?

Very happy...so happy that I was able to get a decent length with the one skein of Blue Heron Merc. Egyptian Cotton. That worried me a little as the ball got smaller and smaller, but the length was nowhere long enough for my taste. In the end after it was blocked I have a decent sized wrap...or scarf if I choose to double up the width.

The Details:

Pattern: Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery

Yarn: Blue Heron Merc. Egyptian Cotton

Needles: Clover Bamboo, size 3, 24" circular

Size: Blocked- 23" wide, 72" length

Modifications: Cast on 116 sts. was the only modification and knitted until I was almost out of yarn

18 Repeats and Still Going

I have now completed a total of 18 pattern repeats on my Lace Ribbon Wrap and still have a good bit of yarn left. My plan is to continue knitting until I've used all the Blue Heron. I see no good reason to stop until then. The wrap is now 58 inches unblocked and I'm hoping to get another 12 inches or more out of what I have left. This last bit of yarn doesn't seem to getting any smaller...my DH keeps asking if I'm knitting because the yarn doesn't appear to be getting any smaller.

I still have no idea how many more repeats it will take to finish, but I'm still enjoying the knitting on this project. This should be done by the Purl Jam Event next month. I cannot wait to see everyone else's scarves/wraps...the Mosaic Maniacs should be a site to see if everyone can get them done for the big event.

Boring...No Way!

Still knitting my evenings away on the Lace Ribbon "Wrap" that I've been involved with since the April 19th knit off with the Mosaic Maniacs from Raverly. I'm getting through the repeats faster as I go...can now knit through a whole pattern repeat (24 rows) before bedtime. If I make bedtime after 11:30 PM...I'm usually so close to finishing that I stay up past my usual time so it can be finished.

Today I weighed the yarn to see how much further it will go...about half way or so at the moment. Out of a total weight of 227 grams I still have one unused ball of about 84 grams, working ball of 50 grams and 93 grams of knitted yarn. So all that checking on how much yarn is left to knit means is that I think I will have enough yarn to get this to a minimum of 60"...maybe. It's now measuring out to about 26 inches unblocked.

Loving how this is coming along so far...I've been able to catch errors pretty quickly without ripping out or even tinking back. Yeah, I know that the Knitting Gods are going to smite me down any day now, but I'm feeling pretty happy about this project. I'd like to get this thing done in the next couple of weeks so I can start on a few summer tops. Finding it difficult to focus on those with the KAL going on too...pressure is a good thing in one's life right?

Still Knitting...Always

Still knitting away on the Lace Ribbon Scarf for the Mosaic Maniacs KAL project...love, love love it! A total of 4 pattern repeats and still going strong. I seem to be averaging one pattern repeat a evening (24 rows) which considering how big I've modified the "scarf" is a good thing. The wrap is 116 stitches wide so I have 12 sets of the pattern going on. Amazingly fast I think to be this far along...helps that I've had some time during the day to knit this week. The all day rains and waiting for Verizon to set up our new service has aided in getting so much completed.

Next week will be a different story with the pretty weather I have several outdoor projects that will start up. Let's hope I'm able to knit during the evening. I'm also still playing with swatches for a couple of tank tops that I should start soon. My gauge has been awful...don't have a clue as to why that is. I may throw caution to the wind and knit as I have done before and cast on anyway. The Etrusca tank is on hold for a few weeks to allow for anymore pattern errors to show up. Angela emailed me with one this past week so I think I'll hold off for another couple of weeks before starting this one.

Progress

I'm making good progress on the Lace Ribbon Scarf (wrap in my case) that I'm doing as part of the Mosaic Maniacs KAL. I have modified the cast on from 53 sts. up to 108 stitches so that it will be wide enough to use as a wrap. At least it looks wide enough on the needles...so now I only have to worry if I'll have enough yarn for a nice length wrap. I have a backup plan if the worse happens...either buy more Blue Heron Egyptian Merc. Cotton or use my leftover stash of Handmaiden Sea Silk in Storm to edge both ends.

So far I've completed the 2 pattern repeats the KAL Moderator suggested we have done by the end of this week. My hope is to be several repeats into the wrap by the weekend. The pattern has been very easy to memorize and read as I work so it's going pretty quickly. I have not used a lifeline yet, but probably should add one now...better safe than sorry.