Rectangular Birch and Jacket with Frilled Band

birch1
Originally uploaded by Frith.

Thank you so much for the lovely comments on the corset pullover.

Meet the latest projects, a rectangular version of the popular Birch shawl from Rowan 34 and the Jacket with Frilled Band from Rebecca 25.

I'm making Birch with Tsuki, a 40/60 silk/mohair blend from Artfibers. It's very similar to Kidsilk Haze (with a slightly greater silk content). I love it. It's like knitting fairy wings.

I'm going slowly to avoid errors. Stitch markers between each repeat help, too. I haven't had to tink back more than 3 stitches at a time.

I'm knitting on #7 Pony Pearls -- not exactly the pointiest tips, but I find the plastic too comfortable to switch.



The original Rebecca pattern calls for Safari, a leather-like yarn. I'm using R2 Paper, which I've been obsessed with for awhile.

I like the stiff, crunchy texture and the way light passes through it. My swatch softened after blocking, so I'm hoping the ruffle doesn't turn out to be too stiff. If I had it to do over again, I'd increase a bit more in the ruffle to make it longer (my row gauge differs from the pattern, making my ruffle less full, as I picked up the same relative number of stitches instead of the same number), but I'll see how this turns out. Redoing both ruffles would be a pain in the butt, but not the end of the world.

Oh -- and I've got the cutest little robot button to fasten it instead of the ties.

I'm planning to finish Birch first, because I may wear it to a wedding next month.

Socks, socks, socks

In other news, I've joined my first exchange -- Sockapalooza. I'm planning to knit the Giotta socks, as my recipient likes her socks on the shorter side. She likes "bright happy" colors in a superwash wool, so I'm still mulling over the yarn choice. I was considering Lorna's in Bittersweet, but I'm afraid it might obscure the design. Maybe a solid would be better. A shade of pink could be fun, and a nice break from all my recent colorless projects.

Update: I think it's between Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Bittersweet, and Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in Wild Cherry. Really, I'd prefer the latter, but it's proving tough to track a skein down.