How About That? Reid Does Fit

I'm modeling my New Tweed Reid. Finally. I had finished this project back in September of last year. This tunic was meant to be worn sometime in the Fall. It took me only 3 weeks to knit and it took me 4 months to get it blocked. What can I say? Hand washing is a chore for me. I tend to wait until I have several things that need hand washing. Then I do it all at once.

I will end up wearing this with a black long sleeve t-shirt underneath. After all, it's cold now.

After blocking, I finally got the chance to model this tunic. It fits beautifully I must add. When I blocked this top, I just laid it out on my blocking mats and gently reshaped the garment. No pins were used. I think that was the key for me. I had tried this top on right off the needles last year and it was quite loose. Maybe that's why it took me so long to hand wash and block. I think I lost interest in it.



Now, I'm back to loving this top.

A Work in Progress

My New Tweed Reid is still a work in progress. I have the last decrease in the yoke to work and then maybe another inch of knitting after that. I'm still undecided on how I want the neckline to look. The pattern instructions have "bobbles" around the neck. I'm not sure if that's the look I want. I am contemplating an I-cord finish for the neckline. Something simple.

I managed to try on Reid while still on the needles and the fit seems to be right in line with what I was looking for. Not too flared at the hip area and not too long in length.












In the meantime, I've cast on for a man's scarf in basket weave pattern. Yes, it's time to start knitting Christmas gifts. Hope to knit a few of these in between my huge knitting projects. I'm using Berroco Comfort yarn in a really nice brown/bronze color.




I've also cast on for a top-down cardi from Plymouth Yarns. I found the most beautiful black tweed yarn for this project. It's Encore by Plymouth Yarns. The yarn is so beautiful, that I'm overlooking that it's an acrylic-wool blend yarn. I had to get used to having acrylic run through my fingers. This cardi is similar to the Shrug This! cardi from the One Skein Wonder book. BUT...there are a lot of differences. One...this Plymouth cardi comes in different sizes. Two...knits up in worsted weight yarn. Three...instructions are slightly different as to working the sleeves and then joining.

So far, the cardi is knitting up beautifully in the black tweed yarn. There is something about black tweed yarn that makes a garment stand out.

Moving Right Along with Reid

My New Tweed Reid is coming along nicely. Here's the lace body. I still need to knit about another inch before I join the sleeves and work on the yoke.





Here's one of the sleeves I've started. I'm using a #9 in 16" circs.





I'm curious to hear from my fellow knitters...what do you use to wash your hand knit wool garments?

Started New Tweed Reid

Now that we're getting close to the end of August, I decided to start thinking about knitting for cool weather. I found this beautiful wool blend yarn called New Tweed by Tahki Yarns. It's a blend of merino, rayon, and silk. Has a lovely tweed/nibs and the knitted fabric is beautiful. At first I thought the yarn was a bit scratchy, but I think it won't be too bad.



As you can see, Reid has a lovely feather and fan lace pattern in the main part of the body. I really like the scalloped edging that's created. I've made some modifications to the pattern. First I'm shortening the top by 2 inches. Next, the pattern calls for 3 needle sizes for the lace patterned body...starting with #10-1/2 for 4 inches, #10 or 5 inches, and #9 for 5.5 inches which comes out to 14-1/2 inches of an A-Line shaped body. I've gone ahead and started knitting with #10 needles and will knit for about 7 inches. Then, I will switch to #9s for about 5.5 inches. This should narrow the wide shape at the bottom. Personal preference.

I've actually knitted several more inches than the picture shows here, but you can see how the bottom is taking shape:




Here's what the top will look like when I'm done. This is a Berroco pattern from their #298 booklet called "Blackstone Tweed and Blackstone Tweed Chunky".



This pattern comes in size XS-2X. It's knitted in the round from the bottom up. Once I finish the body, I then knit the two sleeves in the round separately. I join the 3 sections and start knitting the yoke in the round. Sounds like a pretty cool project.

This will make a great transitional garment as we approach the Fall season.

Happy Knitting!