Finished Pictures of Leaf Yoke and Chevron

A quick post with pictures of my finished tops....

Leaf Yoke:




Chevron:



Happy Knitting!

Another Top Completed and More Knitting

I got around to finishing my Leaf Yoke top the other day and wore it to work on my special day. I received a lot of complements. The top is very comfortable to wear and the Pebble yarn made the garment feel lightweight. I actually like the two color contrast yarns I used, but I plan on knitting another top in a single color.



I resolved the long armhole issue on my Leaf Yoke. First, when I was getting ready to do the I-cord BO, I picked up less stitches in the underarm area...about 44 stitches versus the 50 recommended in the pattern. It was a slight improvement, but the armhole area was still a bit "loosey-goosey" for me. I dove into my sewing notions stash and found fine elastic thread. I took my darning needle and threaded the fine elastic through my I-cord BO edge, making sure the thread didn't show on the right side. I pulled the elastic until the armhole area was slightly gathered and I knotted the elastic. I tried on the top again and the fit was perfect.

I'm still weaving in the ends of my Chevron top. Though I loved using 3 different colors for this top, the ends are a pain in my side to weave in. I have a few more strands left and I should be done.



I've been looking through Ravelry (my queue) and through my pattern books and magazines to find a new knitting project to start. I found a lot of sleeveless tops, but can't seem to find one that jumps out at me. I've also grown my yarn stash to include more cotton and cotton-blended yarns in light worsted and DK weights. I actually enjoy knitting with the thinner yarns.

In the meantime, I've resurrected a WIP from last year...my Lace Panel cardigan. I stopped knitting it last August which I regret now. It's taken me awhile to figure out where I left off and I've noticed my knitting skills have vastly improved since last year. My right front I'm working on now looks a bit better than the left front from last year. LOL!!! I'm glad I had documented this garment on Ravelry. Let's face it, my mind can only remember so much from last year.



So, I'm working my way towards the shoulder and I'm not looking at my notes from last year. See that vast improvement of my knitting skills? I can now look at what I knitted and figure out when I need to do my next decreases. Wonders never cease for me.

I'm still debating as to knit the short sleeves for this cardi or just knit an I-cord binding around the armholes and make this cardi into a vest. My "Simple is Better" motto keeps coming to mind as I really need to change this WIP into a finished garment and check if off my Ravelry list. I'll be back to post the results.

Happy Knitting!

Knitting Updates & Learning Another Technique

I've finished my Chevron Lace Top. Now, I need to weave in all those loose ends. My gosh, there are a lot. I feel proud of finishing this top as I made some modifications to the original pattern and it's been quite a few months since I have knitted a garment. I've had to take out my Knitter's Companion reference book to review techniques that I used to know. I had a huge "knitting high" over the last few weeks. Enjoyed it immensely. The top is done (minus the loose ends) and it fits. I ended up finishing the armholes using the I-cord BO. It was a last minute decision and my first attempt at this BO method. I spent time researching different I-cord techniques over the Internet. The technique I chose is from Knit Picks. Simple is better. That seems to be my knitting motto of late.

I ended up finishing the neckline with 1x1 ribbing. Would have preferred to finish with the same I-cord binding used on the armholes, but wanted to make sure I could get the top over my head. Ribbing finished made more sense.

I'm still knitting my Leaf Yoke top. I have about 4 more inches to knit in the body. My armholes came out really deep and I plan on using the I-cord BO as it will tighten the armhole space quite a bit. To match the armholes, I plan on knitting the same I-cord BO for the bottom hem. Again, simple is better. I also plan on finishing the neckline with the same BO method. I'm looking forward to finishing this top this weekend, if possible.

I enjoy knitting the I-cord BO method and like the finished/polished look. My knitting mojo is moving right along. Knitting is fun. Life is good.

Happy July!

I can't believe it's already July. This week, we've been having beautiful weather. No humidity and in the 80s. I've been out enjoying the weather when I can. This can only mean that not much knitting has been done.

Here's a status check on my two garments. I've got another 2 inches to go on the back section of my Chevron shell. After that is completed, I can finish the front.




I'm knitting my Leaf Yoke top when I happen to be sitting in front of the TV. Mindless knitting in the round.



My plan is to finish these two tops over my 3-day Holiday weekend. Plus, make two necklaces. Plus, re-organize my yarn stash. Plus, look for new knitting projects to start soon.

More Garment Knitting

I'm back to garment knitting. It's only taken 7 months to get the garment-itch, again. Now that Summer is in full swing, I'm thinking "sleeveless" tops. I found a cute chevron top in one of my Tahki Yarns booklet. I'm doing some major omissions/modifications to the pattern...no sleeves and no front button placket. Oh, and no seams(!)...just knit in the round. Make it simple.

Here's the body of the shell. I really do like the colors I picked out. I'm using Tahki Yarns Cotton Classic. I believe this is the first garment I'm knitting with smaller than #8 needles. I'm using #6 needles! This knitting project is going fast. I've already separated the front and back section and now knitting the back.



Also on my needles (size 7), is the Leaf Yoke top that's from last year's Knit.1 magazine. As you can see, I'm using two colors for this top. Just wanted to knit something different. I've learned how to do short row wraps (shaping). Something new for me to learn.



I'm alternating my time between these two projects. I hope to have both completed by the end of our upcoming holiday weekend.

Happy Knitting!

Why Settle for One, When I Can Knit Another

Yep, I did it again. Once I find a really good TNT pattern, I can't seem to stop thinking about different versions. After I finished my Blue Liesl, I was itching to cast on for another. This one is called Linen Liesl. I found this gorgeous Plymouth Fantasy Linen (linen, cotton, rayon) yarn in my stash. I purchased this yarn on sale last year with no idea of what I was going make.







Here I am, trying it on after sleeve separation. Gotta love top down knitting and the ability to try on the garment while it's still being knitted.



Since this yarn has no give, I ended up knitting a size 42 or a Large. I normally knit a size Small. I started out with a size Small and found that the front edges wouldn't meet (for a wide neckline). I frogged my first attempt and made a conscious decision to try size 42 and see what happens. I cast on and knitted the yoke with #10.5 needles and then switched to #10s one row before sleeve separation. I was worried that the body of the lace cardi would be too roomy for me that's why I went down a needle size.

As I'm coming down from my knitting high with Liesl, I'm now looking for another garment to knit. I've pulled my warm weather magazines and stacked them into a neat pile. I'm off to do some searching....

Back to Garment Knitting

I needed a break from shawl knitting. I've put Panache on hold for a few days so I could crank this beautiful Liesl lace cardigan. I went yarn shopping over the holidays and came across this beautiful Stacy Charles Victoria Print yarn. After knitting a test sample, the knitted fabric had a loose slinky feel to it. I knew this would be a perfect match.



I knitted a size 34" and got gauge with a size 11 needle. I did a picot bind off on the sleeves and at the bottom of the cardi. The pattern comes with both charts and written instructions. This is definitely a TNT pattern for me.

I went searching in my stash for more yarn to make another version. I did find a lovely linen/silk/rayon blend yarn. I knitted a sample and got gauge. I'm ready to go again.

I missed knitting garments and I think this was the lovely break that I needed.

Panache Shawl...Making Progress

I'm somewhere around row 97 of my Panache shawl. I think I have close to 370 stitches on my needles. It sure feels like it. Knitting the lace pattern across one single row is slow going, especially for a slow knitter like me. Still...it's a beautiful shawl and a joy to be knitting such a creation.

Notice how it drapes beautifully in the front?



Like how the side profile is looking.



I'm spending about 2 hours a day on this shawl. Knitting during my lunch break at work and then knitting at home in the evening. Nothing else is getting done (except maybe getting groceries and fixing a quick dinner). Fellow knitters...I think you know the feeling.

Happy Knitting!

Panache Shawl Started

I've started another shawl called Panache. I'm knitting the lace stitches and watching a cool pattern evolve. I'm using LB Cotton-Ease in Berry. A happy color to go with a happy pattern. I'm loving it!





It looks like this will take awhile to knit. There is no chart involved, just line by line instructions. I'm hoping I can get this done in two weeks with a couple of hours of weekend knitting.

Be Still My Shawls

I'm still in a shawl mood. I have a funny feeling that I will be knitting shawls well into June/July. I'm still working on my 400 yards of Cotton-Ease Heaven Shawl. I've decided to knit a 4-1/2 lace repeat pattern. I hope to get it done by the end of this month. I have to. That's my two-month mark/anniversary of working on this baby. Way too long.

So, here's what a 4 lace pattern repeat looks like. I think I left off on row #8. A few more rows, I can start the finishing the edge. I will more than likely nix the lace border pattern from the instructions. That's what I did for my first version. I had a problem lining up the border with my shawl (only because I added an extra lace pattern repeat).



As you can see, it's a beautiful lace pattern knitted in a solid color.




I took my mother to Needles in the Haymarket yarn shop and found another gorgeous shawl to work on. It's called Panache. I saw the finished product in purple and it was just gorgeous! Most of you know, when I say something is gorgeous...well, it just is. The ladies at the yarn shop told me this is an easy shawl to knit. I have to take their word. Can I use the word "gorgeous" again?

So, here I am doing some research on Ravelry for Panache. It looks very intricate, delicate, and feminine. The instructions do look easy. I've added it to the top of my queue. I have no idea what yarn I'll be using...it will most likely be worsted weight. A half circle version of this shawl should take roughly 700 yards of yarn. The 3/4 version would take roughly 900 yards.


I will leave you with a picture of Panache from Ulla's site. Isn't it gorgeous?



BTW...Ravelry has the free English version of this pattern.

Happy Knitting!