This is Spirit from Rowan 43.

Yarn: 14.5 balls of Rowan Bamboo Tape in 710-Amethyst
Needles: Knitpicks Options US 8
Size knit: M
Start: 6/29/08
Finish: 8/9/08
Notes: I'm not happy with the length of this sweater. It's too long. This yarn makes a very heavy fabric and stretches downward. I wish I knit the smaller size and added some waist shaping. Also, the belt is so thick and ropey - I need to re-do it. This yarn just about drove me crazy. It kept twisting and I would have to stop and untwist after a few rows of knitting. I used 15 balls of yarn for this sweater and 10 out of the 15 had knots in the yarn left in by the manufacturer. So annoying. Especially since this yarn costs about $10 per ball. I'm not too thrilled about the knitted belt. I think it needs a flat belt. The gray belt is a simple ribbon one that came with a skirt I bought from H&M.

I'm trying to summon up the energy to shorten the length. I think it needs to be 3" shorter.

It needs waist shaping:

The back yoke construction was interesting:

Posted by Sandy at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I finally finished Spook from Rowan 43!

Yarn: 5 balls of Rowan Kid Silk Haze in a light blue
Needles: Knitpicks Options US 4 (the pattern calls for US 6 needles)
Start: May 10, 2008
Finish: July 5, 2008
Notes: I had to use a US 4 needle to get gauge. Once I finished knitting, I wet blocked the pieces before seaming. The sweater ended up being too long. I had to cut off about 3 inches of the hem before seaming. I put the needles back on the hem and re-knit the garter edging. It turned out pretty good. I'm glad I put in the extra work because it turned out to be a more wearable length.

Continue reading "FO: Spook" »

Posted by Sandy at 09:11 AM | Permalink

Pattern: Nancy Bush's pattern in Lace Style
Needle: Addi turbo Lace US6
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Lace, 2 skeins
Finished size: 65" x 30" (I knit one extra pattern repeat)
I'm really happy how it turned out.

Posted by Sandy at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I've been working on Enid. I have the sleeves waiting for me and the body is more than half way completed. I'm scared of the colorwork part of the yoke -- I've never done it before and I'm scared of the steeking.

Yesterday, I found this cute ornament at Anthropologie -- I know Halloween isn't even over yet and they had Christmas ornaments out! But I had to get it. Isn't she cute?

Posted by Sandy at 10:18 AM | Permalink

I really enjoyed knitting this shawl. It took my whole summer!
Pattern: Frost Flowers and Leaves by Eugen Buegler from "A Gathering of Lace"
Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr in Sable (from my stash)
Needles: Addi Natura Circular US3 3.25mm, US 3 dpns
Size after blocking: 52" square, 68" at the diagonal (measured 36" square before blocking)
Start: June 14, 2007
Finished: Sep 15, 2007
Notes: I only repeated chart 2 five times not the seven repeats called for in the pattern. The circular beginning and lace grafting are two new techniques for me. See entry on grafting here. It really helped to join the Knit-Along.

See some blocking pics and comments in the extended entry:

Continue reading "FO: Frost Flowers & Leaves" »

Posted by Sandy at 08:59 AM | Permalink

I still have to weave in ends and dress the shawl, but the grafting of the edging is DONE! I read all the advice on the web I could find here and here and all the advice on the knit-along, but I really struggled with this bit. I also studied the good advice from Robert Powell in A Gathering of Lace. I knit a repeat of the edge pattern, using waste yarn in contrasting color I knit the first row of the edging before re-joining the edge to the body of the shawl with the main color. The row knit in the contrasting color is the path to follow as you graft. I also knit a swatch with US 8 needles to help me visualize the join and pinned it out.

Even with all the reading and re-reading all the advice, poking, prodding, turning the edging over to see how it all comes together, it took trial and error over three nights to finally get it.

Posted by Sandy at 09:40 AM | Permalink

I finished a sewing project a couple of weeks ago. It's the A-line Barcelona Skirt by Amy Butler -- I love her patterns.

Here's a detail of the invisible zipper. The lining is cotton muslin and gives the skirt some weight.

I bought this dress from H&M for about $35. I never wore it (see price tag) and the 30 days return date had passed.
I felt like this dress made me look like a British prison matron.

I changed it into a skirt! I think I will get more use out of it. (Sorry it's so wrinkled - I had it just laying around waiting for the photo shoot.)

Posted by Sandy at 10:31 AM | Permalink