Tuesday, August 05, 2008

The "would you rather" game

"Would I rather do endless applied i-cord?"


Or "Would I rather seam a fingering weight sweater?"


The applied i-cord won out & the Tulip was finished first on Sunday.

I promise modelled shots in the daylight later. I just need to Mr Sun to wake up and for the Monkeys to be in a less recalcitrant mood as it's unusual for them to not want to ham it up for the digi cam. For now, the deets:

First up:
Tulip "Baby" Sweater
Dream in Color Classy - various gorgeous colors (Cool Fire, Giant Peach, Strange Harvest, Spring Trickle, Happy Forest, Blue Lagoon - also the trim color, Some Summer Sky, and Visual Purple)
pattern size 6
needle size - KnitPicks US 9 circs
mod: Sleeves are 1" shorter than pattern to fit Monkey2's current arm length
comments:
1) When the designer up-sized the pattern, she/they kept the proportionally "oversized" width. It doesn't seem too wide for Monkey2, but Monkey1 can conceivably wear it as a 3/4 sleeve bolero. Believe me, she's negotiating heavily on this idea.
2) I didn't need the emergency yardage Nathania kinding spotted me from the shop. I had gotten paranoid I wouldn't have enough after reading Ravelry comments of various knitters running out of the border color given in their kits, but I didn't have to worry after all.

And finally!
Lindy Hop from the Colinette Jitterbug book
Colinette Jitterbug in Alizarine (aka Safety Pink as it's known at Purlescence Yarns where I bought both patterns & yarns/kits)
3rd pattern size
approximately 3 1/2 skeins (the remaining half skein + 1 extra may be knee highs for Monkey2. Maybe.)
needle size - KnitPicks US3 circs
mods:
1) Short row, 3-needle shoulder bind off which meant that the collar was knit in the round as opposed to the pattern's direction to only seam one shoulder, knit the collar back & forth, then seam it with the other shoulder.
2) Monkey1 didn't want the funnel neck, so it's just a plain 1x1 rib crew neck. Actually she wanted a boat neck finish, but I refused to undo the 3-needle shoulder bind off and re-knit the top portion of the front & back, especially when I re-knit part of the back due to my inability to remember which decrease is right and which is left leaning.

So now that I'm done with all the sweaters I've had on my needles, I'm ready to cast on for my Mochaberry Luscious Single Silk (LSS) Shetland Triangle for Ravelympics on Friday. That's some seriously sized yarn cake my LSS wound into:


And as tapmouse noted, I've signed up for the Secret of the Stole iii KAL. Ironic as she got me to join Secret of the Stole ii KAL metaphorically kicking & screaming a good way through.

Due to a rather expensive idle control valve replacement project for the car, I am not buying new yarn for the KAL, but rather using stash yarn. I bought Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud in Moss when it went on clearance a few months ago. It's a bit dark to be considered pastel, but it's still muted. The BMFA Laci Rare Gems I got at Sock Camp are too dark for SotSiii, but should be fine for the Mystery Stole KAL 4. One's a Ravenish colorway and the other, while totally me, is quite the bright blue (uh, yeah, pics later). I have a skein of Dream in Color Baby in Pansy Go Lightly that would be better colorwise, but I've learned my lesson about starting a lace KAL with not enough of one dyelot to start with.


I probably won't cast on for SotSiii 'til after Ravelympics, but I will probably begin the swatch so I can check out some beads which I'm debating on adding in even though it's recommended for the pattern. Who knows when I'll cast on for MS4, but I'll really need beads for that one.

'Til Friday, I'll be working on my second Cleo, but there's absolutely no guarantee I'll be done by then.

6 comments:

IrishGirlieKnits said...

Wow!! Both done in the same week!! Fabulous :) Definately need some modeled shots of the monkeys!! Lucky girls they are that mom knits them such cute things :)

Good girl to go stash diving! Its fun once in awhile, huh?! :)

Discoknits said...

Your Tulip is gorgeous. Sometimes I wish I had girls!!!

And the mochaberry silk just sounds like my dream yarn. Yum.

adrienne said...

you've been busy.

i love the tulip cardigan! think i would pick icord over seaming anything, let alone a fingering weight sweater.

pullover is cute too. can't wait to see some action shots.

you are a good mommy.

Tan said...

Endless I-cord (snore)

I think I have knitted five of those things, but I put regular bands on the one for a 7-year-old.

Nautical Knitter said...

Your Secret of the Stole will be beautiful in the Alpaca Cloud. Good choice. Welcome to the group.

Unknown said...

That alpaca cloud is gorgeous! Sotsii will be lovely.