Knit, purl, blog.

Monday, February 13, 2006

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.