Clapotis Appears!

Doesn't Bob look elegant in my new clapotis? This is five balls of a blue-faced Leicester wool, worsted weight, 132 yards each. The yarn is very soft, similar to a merino. It was also sold at a discount (from Paradise Fibers), so the whole thing only cost $20. I made no changes to the pattern. In fact, I love the pattern. It's simple, but very clever and easy to remember.

I'll be making more of these (I'm already planning one in Blue Sky Organic Cotton).

Why start only one project?

Instead, start two. I'm about 1/3 of the way through my clapotis and I've just casted on for the corset sweater. The clapotis is good relatively mindless knitting (although the pattern is genious), and the sweater requires thinking. So there's a little something for any mood. These days, I'm much more likely to opt for mindless, so I suspect the clapotis will be finished well before the other.

But I'm so excited to wear the sweater that I bought a skirt in anticipation last weekend. It has little buckles that I think will set off the cinch straps on the sweater quite nicely.

Somebody get this woman some help.

Anyhoo, the cotton (Filatura Elena) for the sweater has a firmness about it that I like. And blue-faced Leicester wool for clapotis is pretty soft. And I love the crazy candy colors.

Finito!

I'm pleased with how it turned out. The only changes I made to the pattern were moving the opening for the tie down about 9 cm, leaving off the crochet edge on cast-on edges in favor of leaving my cable cast-on alone, and picking up the stitches for the ties off the chain selvage (I liked the open lacey look I got this way).

If I were making this again, I'd probably add a few centimeters to the length, even though it's cute this way, too.

I'd also spend more time picking up the stitches across the front. There are a few inconsistencies in the way I did it, though they're probably only noticable to me.

Update: less blurry picture
It's not really this transparent. Blame the camera flash.

Neverending sleeves

Theory: The shorter the sleeves, the longer it takes to finish them.
Evidence: Usually I'll finish a sleeve in a night. But I've been working on these teeny Rebecca sleeves for days.

Then again, I do have an infant. This changes things. I went to bed at 8:30 p.m. the other night.

Sigh...

Future Projects

As one project draws closer to its conclusion, a girl's thoughts naturally turn to future projects. Here are the possibilities:

The Beloved Clapotis
Yarn Status: Purchased an inexpensive wool (fairly similar colorway, actually), although the Lion and Lamb used here is sooooo nice. Maybe one day...

Lovely French Market Bag (and I NEED a decent project bag)
Yarn Status: Have some Cascade 220 around, would need to buy more; Would like to do a red and orange one.


Fair Isle Sweater from winter 2004/2005 Vogue Knitting
Yarn Status; Have inexpensive alpaca in similar colorway (although I'm feeling a little iffy about my purple replacement for their eggplant color).


Corset Sweater from Interweave Spring 2003
Yarn Status: Have exact original yarn (bought close-out)


Featherweight Stole from Exquisite Little Knits
Yarn Status: Have fairly inexpensive substitution for Kidsilk Haze


Cardigan from Rebecca 25
Yarn Status: Need 8 balls of GGH Safari in dark brown


Jacket from Rebecca 27
Yarn Status: Have Rowan All Seasons Cotton (love eBay) in a dark gray


Angelina Jacket from White Lies Designs
Yarn Status: Got it


Estonian Lace Stole (individual Fiber Trends pattern)
Yarn Status: Have 2 balls of lace-weight mohair in light jade green


Nordic Baby Sweater (12 months - 2 year size) from Knitting for Baby
Yarn Satus: Have Manos in greenish blue and gray


Nordic Baby Hat from Knitting for Baby
Yarn Status: Have Manos in pretty green


Sparkly Scarf from Exquisite Little Knits
Yarn Status: Have it in blue colorway


Elizabeth I Sweater from Tudor Roses (this model freaks me out)
Yarn Status: Bought it (and started it, like, 4 years ago *hangs head in shame*)

Assorted Baby Sweaters in do-it-yourself raglan pattern
Yarn Status: Have some wool superwash in various colors

Barely Mentionable Poncho: This is an inspired-by-Jay-McCarroll knit (instead of his crocheted) poncho, but I need to do some serious math to work out a pattern.
Yarn Status: Have 4 balls of gorgeous Kyoto in a similar color. Need sequins.

Okay, so that's a pretty good summary of my stash, too (nearly, anyway).
So what's next? Good question. I think the corset sweater would be fun, and it's cotton, so it's good for spring/summer.

she progresses

knit0310
Originally uploaded by Frith.

So the back of the sweater is in the background. I've got the two fronts on the needle. Working them at the same time is going well. I figure I'm over halfway done. Yay!

Blocking should even everything out (cross fingers).

netting, netting, netting

bag0310
Originally uploaded by Frith.

So these are about the dimensions I'd like to achieve. But the bulk at the top is due to the fact that I've just folded it over a couple times to cut down the length. I'll have to do some cutting and sewing to get it looking decent. Hopefully this will work. I'll also need to rip the seams of the lining and re-sew to deal with the new dimensions. Gaaaaaa!

Look, little netting bag, I will kick your a**. Bring it on.

progress

I'm 1/4 done with the rebecca sweater. Or at least I've used up 1/4 of my yarn for it. I'm nearly done with the back.

I may try doing the front sides at the same time. We'll see how that goes.

The great bag o' netting has caused me some frustration. I have no idea how the author wound up with those dimensions. Mine was way too long. I may have to sew the edge to stabilize and then cut. And then hem. Ugh.

fingerless glove thing

I finished one:



This was after I ripped the original one out (it looked too bulky worked vertically and the cable pattern I put going up the center just wasn't showing up very well). This new pattern is from "Weekend Knitting."

I should have follwed my gut and cast on an extra ten stitches or so as I'd like them longer. At any rate, I think these will be helpful with my RSI. Maybe I'll make gloves with little half-fingers to provide a little more warmth to the joints.

Made some progress on the Rebecca sweater last night:


I'm enjoying it -- it's so light and fluffy.

rebecca in da house

I have the pattern and the yarn in light blue. I've swatched and am ready to go (moved up to size 8 needles).

I also completed the knitting portion of the little pink purse last night. But there's lots of finishing to go. At least I'm done cutting strips of netting. I saw in the yarn store that Debbie Bliss makes a netting yarn. At $11 per ball, my way is a lot cheaper, at least.

In other news, I knit about 4 inches of a gauntlet in a mint microfiber. It's so soft, but the gauntlet is turning out much thicker than I imagined when I conceived the project. I think I'll have to just see how it looks when it's done.