A Somewhat Quiet Knitting Weekend

I'm finally getting over a week-long cold. I thought I had the allergies and couldn't figure out why the allergy meds weren't working. That's because I had a head cold. Makes more sense as I haven't had a Spring allergy for years. After being duped up for two nights on NyQuil, I'm feeling better. Feeling like my ole knitting self.

The weather here is going back and forth between 60 to 80 degrees during the day. I'm starting to wear my sandals and starting to feel like knitting for summer weather...like sleeveless tops.

Sometime last week, I started knitting Prosperous Plum Tank which I renamed "Sierra Prosperous Tank" because I'm using Cascade Sierra yarn. BTW, this is a free pattern on Ravelry. The yarn is moss colored and a joy to knit with. It's 80% Pima cotton with 20% wool.

This Prosperous Tank is an interesting knit for me. First, it's knit in the round (way cool). Second, I did my first provisional cast on. Third, I learned to knit a hem (e.g. picot hem). Really, way cool! I had way too much fun at the beginning of this project.

The instructions includes two charts (A and B) for the pattern which has a bit of a cable pattern along with a squiggly lace pattern. As I was looking at what others knitted on Ravelry, I noticed I disliked the dominant continuous squiggly line which is in chart A. I ended up modifying the pattern a bit by reversing one of the cables in the pattern. In chart A, instead of doing a C6F, I changed it to a C6B.

Here's what I have done so far for the front with the pattern going up the center:



One thing is for sure, I'm having a blast knitting this top. Here's the back with the pattern going up along each side:



My Sofia is still waiting to be finished. I spent a few minutes here and there sewing up the seams of my cardi. It didn't take too long and I actually enjoyed my quiet moments joining the pieces. Taking the refresher class late last year probably helped with the overall enjoyment process. I confirmed I was doing the seaming process correct and I learned to take my time and just enjoy it. It worked.

I'm still knitting the eyelet border to go around the fronts, sides, and back. I'm past the halfway point, but still have a few inches to go.




I'll be back later this week to post (with pictures) about my provisional cast on method and the picot hem I learned.

Happy Easter!

Blocking Sofia

I have finished knitting the main pieces of Sofia (my cropped cardi).  I’m now knitting the garter and eyelet edging as a separate piece.  After knitting several inches of the edging, I thought it would be a good idea to block the main pieces and then figure out how many inches I need to knit. 

Here the two fronts and one sleeve:

And the back and the remaining sleeve:

I’m blocking these pieces based on the diagram with the finished measurements.  There were only two diagram measurements provided: length and width.  For the sleeves, I’m using my personal measurements taken from my sewing days. 

I used a lot of lace and T-pins to shape and pin the pieces in place.  I sprayed water over the knitted pieces and will let it dry for the next few days. 

After I sew my cardi, I should have a better idea of how long I need to knit the garter and eyelet edging.  Yes, I will have a lot of seaming to do next weekend.

In the meantime, I’m thinking about my next project.  I found some neat projects in the latest Spring/Summer Vogue Knitting magazine as well as the new Tahki Yarns City Tweed pattern booklet. 

I will be back to post about my new project as well as how Sofia is coming along.

Happy Knitting!

Knitting Louisa Harding’s Sofia

My knitting plans that I laid out back in January are no longer valid.  My vision has gone from cold weather to warm weather knitting.  I’ve shifted gears and decided to start knitting lightweight/short sleeved garments.  This includes knitting Sofia by Louisa Harding. 

So far, Sofia is knitting up nicely.  The instructions are very good and are given line by line.  I’m knitting the back section working my way up along the armholes.  There are front left and right sections to knit. The front edges are knit as a separate piece and then hand stitched along the fronts, bottoms and back edges.  This will be time consuming for me, but I’m sure it will be worth my efforts. 

I’m using a beautiful teal yarn called Revue by Reynolds.  The yarn has a bit more green than the picture shows.  It’s 100% merino and it’s soooo soft and squishy.  I got gauge with 20 sts using size 7 needles.  The twist in this yarn is exceptional.  I anticipate using less than half a bag of this yarn…somewhere around 500-600 yards.  Did I say bag?  Yes, I ended up buying 3 bags of this yarn in 3 different colors.  The other two bags contains aubergine and navy.  The bags were on sale and I couldn’t pass up the potential of making future  cardigans from this lovely yarn. 

The Sofia cardigan is from the Cardigans by Louisa Harding book I purchased last year.  This book was a wonderful find as there were many cardis that caught my attention and would love to knit. 

Kitty is beautiful lace and cable cardi design.  I think this would be a fun knitting project that would definitely keep my attention. 

Here’s Minnie also from the Cardigan book.  This cardigan can be knit with short or long sleeves and with lace or cable trims. 

I’m back to knitting garments in pieces versus in the round.  That means more seams and keeping my knitting skills in check. 

If you get a chance, check out the this wonderful book by Louisa Harding.