Tres Chic Veronique

Yup, the Knitting Mojo is definitely back! I've been progressing on 2 projects.

Now that my yarn stash is displayed (mostly) in glass cases, I can hang out in my craft room and wonder which of these beauties will get knit up next, and what pattern I should marry them to. Two and a half ball of SWTC red bamboo yarn (a donation from Fig & Plum Jess, which she had been using to make a Razor Cami), called to me. The bamboo yarn is so unbelievably soft and drapy, and its color is glowing, and I really, really wanted to knit it. But what did it want to become?... I chose Kate Gilbert's Camellia pattern. The pattern is very well written (if you can figure out a lace pattern worked on both RS and WS rows, eep!), and I cruised through the back and the front. Except for one thing. One teeny, tiny problem.

See that little ball of yarn up there? That's all I have left. *gasp*
It was time to get scientific. I weighed the back: 126 g. (Oh, you knew I'd break down and buy a digital scale, right?). Before knitting the front, I weighed the amount of yarn I had left: 120g. Uh oh. And what about the sleeves?!
Ravelry to the rescue: wouldn't you know that one person is selling just one ball of this yarn in the same exact dye lot? Phew! And that Sharon (GimmeSanity) saw my Flickr photo and that she also has the same exact dyelot and she's up for a trade? The internet is a wonderful place, my friends :)
(Well, except when getting comments telling you that your crafting is "hideous", "poor ethetics" -sic- and that you have "dumb ideas". Wow. Really, you took time out of your day to let me know how much I suck? That's ridiculous! Also: you know you've made it as a blogger once you get hate mail).

Moving on: Project #2 to emerge form the craft room: Hyrna Herbogar.

Again, I've had both the yarn and the pattern for quite a while. This is 100% silk from Habu, the shinniest, splittiest, snaggiest yarn I have ever seen, and I love it. Not that you can tell, since it looks like a crumpled mess.

Labels: Camellia, Hyrna Herbogar

I'm sure you'll all be relieved to hear that the Knitting Mojo has returned! The trick to reviving a tired Knitting Mojo? Baby sweaters! Oh, they are so cute, and, most importantly, small.
I had Tora Froseth's Angle pattern in my Ravelry queue for a while now, and with 2 baby showers coming up, decided to take a crack at it. Well, it turns out that this pattern is so enjoyable that I knit it twice.

One in blue:

For: My friends Chad and Karen.
Yarn: ? Uh. I'm stumped. I went to Knit NY, near Union Sq, and their selection of yarns is somewhat ... eclectic. I found a fingering weight, machine washable yarn and got 2 balls of "ballpoint blue" and one ball of greenish yellow. I honestly cannot remember the brand!
It was only once I knit with it for a few inches that I realized that I was making an Ikea sweater. Damn.
Needles: US 4, could have gone down to US 3...
I love how stretchy this pattern is. Unstretched, the sweater looks all blue, but when stretched, the stripes pop out! Perfect for a growing baby.


And one in pink:

For: Schrodinger and family.
Yarns: 2 balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Baby in dark pink, one ball in light pink, and a bit of black Angora Merino by Sublime. The angora makes the sweater pet-worthy... I was hesitant to add black to a baby sweater, but I ran out of pink yarn for the edging. I seriously considered adding a copy of the book "Urban Babies Wear Black" (which I saw at the MoMA store) to make sure that the color choice was justified and wouldn't shock or offend anyone. Thankfully Cathy liked it! Phew.
Needles: US 3. Learned my lesson!

This sweater is worked all in one piece, without any seams. However, be warned, there is a lot of grafting... And quite a few ends to weave in. I learned pretty quickly that it is best to weave as you go along. If I hadn't, who knows?, my Knitting Mojo might have disappeared. *gasp*

Labels: angle, baby sweater

Did I ever tell you about the awesome Pride Marigold socks? Oh, yes. Yes, I did. In freaking February. Well, they've been done since April... But their insane brightness saturates my camera in a hideous way.

Deets:

• Pam's pattern.
• Regia Fun Nation yarn (which I used previously).
• Size 1 Addis, magic loop.

There is further evidence of my vanishing knitting mojo:

Exhibit A: The Lying Gauge Swatch.
I bought some Habu Shosenshi paper yarn about 3-4 years ago, with no specific project in mind. I thought it had an amazing texture, ok? I had no idea what to make with it until I saw the Chinese Style Pullover from Setsuko Torii's Habu book. *drool* Instead of wasting my newly purchased yarn on a swatch, I decided to swatch with the older yarn. It turns out that the new batch of yarn is *much* thinner than the older batch. I only figured this out when I had knit the entire front (or back, they're the same).

Swatch on the right, completed front on the left.

Exhibit B: Fiddly Finishing Failure.
The Flutter Sleeve cardi needs one button band (out of 2) and some finishing on one sleeve. Great pattern, meet impatient knitter.

Labels: flutter sleeve, pride marigold, socks