Layout Summer Top

Hubby said that I need more "balance" in my life. He's got a good point. Since I picked up crocheting and knitting, I've been obsessed with it. I thought this phase would pass pretty quickly but it hasn't. Lately, I have not been spending every minute knitting/crocheting. My projects will get done, just a bit longer.

My latest finished project is called the Layout Summer Top. It's a free pattern from the Berroco website. What appealed to me about this top is the neckline. I didn't like the stripes because I don't think it would be flattering on me! I opted for a solid color with another color for the neckline. Using a size 5 needle, this project actually worked up pretty quickly. I added waist shaping after reading some of the comments on this top. I'm really glad I did! I had to redo the front arm/neck area because the top was too short. I also added 2 rows of sc in an attempt to tame the (rolling) hem!

I really wasn't sure how this top would turn out. Honestly, I was worried that it would not come together after my 1st try on. After sewing the straps on, I tried it on. It's a perfect fit! I may end up making another one of these tops in the future.

Crochet ~ Swingy Summer Skirt

After a long hiatus from crocheting (a whole project), I did a CAL with Krystal, crochetferretlvr. I pretty much been knitting, except for adding crochet for the finishing. I received my Crochet Today! magazine in the mail earlier in the week. While I waited to pick up my daughter, I browsed through the magazine. The Swingy Summer Skirt caught my eye because it looked like it would be a quick project and I could easily buy the yarn at the local discount store. I wouldn't have to travel over a hour to buy the yarn!

I must admit though, I've always been intimidated by Doris Chan's pattern. Maybe it is her foundation chain, (which I had no problem this time) or those intimidating intricate lace patterns. I remember starting a few of her projects from her book but never quite getting that far before I gave up!

I picked up 4 skeins/balls of the Peaches and Cream yarn. The last skein was of a different dye lot, a darker red. I was not really worried, I figure I'd make it work! I used a size "I" hook to get gauge and I started crocheting. I found the pattern to be really confusing. After a couple of false start and getting almost 1/2 through the skirt, I started over. Honestly, I was getting frustrated and realized this is why I don't crochet. I wanted to just scratch the pattern but I couldn't because I'm doing a CAL with Krystal. She was helpful in giving me some insight into the pattern and keeping me motivated! This time, starting from row 2, I followed mainly the chart and ditched the directions, for the most part. I spent a good 4? hours crocheting and realize I was making good progress and it looked right! I was trying to finish this as quick as possible and the following day, it seemed to be coming together. That afternoon, I was able to finish up the skirt! Hurray!

The 3 skeins of yarn was just enough for me to crochet most of the skirt. I used the last skein (darker red) for the final shell row and the waist band. I didn't make any modification to the chart.

When I started out making this skirt, I didn't think I would ever wear it. I figure it would just hang in my closet. The more I look at the skirt, the more pleased I am with it. It's really growing on me! Hubby said it was really nice too. I'm thrilled to have finished this skirt. It's got me wanting to crochet again! I actually started the Avalon Top, another Doris Chan design! But...I'm not giving up on knitting, I have the Layout Tank (from berroco website) to finish. Now I just have more options and an excuse to have more than 1 project going at the time...one crochet and one knit!

Prosperous Plum Tank

Lately, I've been totally obsessed with my knitting. I think it's because I'm addicted to knitting! Hubby has been nice enough to watch our daughter yesterday while I finished my project.

I started the Prosperous Plum Tank by Joanna Cohen (a download from Ravelry) last week. I used 6 skeins of Shine Worsted in terra cotta (yes, orange) from Knit Picks. I had originally bought this yarn for my hey, teach! cardigan but frogged it after knitting the sleeves and body. I was worried that I would not have enough yarn to finish my tank but in the end I had more than enough! I have 2 skeins left and I have 2 more on order. This yarn was easy to work with and it had a nice sheen to it.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the pattern easy to do! There were some cables, which I had never done before. The cable and lace pattern were very easy to follow. Knitting with the worsted weight yarn made the pattern work up pretty quickly, which I love!

The tank was made in a size 28" bust. I had originally wanted to make the 30" bust because of suggested 4" negative ease. When I discovered I had made the xxs size, I decided to proceed and have a "try on" later. As it turned out, even at this size, the tank is still very big. Maybe the yarn gave it too much drape and there's too much stretch to it. I'm not sure. I'm glad that I did another fitting around the bust increase. Instead of the 5 increases suggested in the pattern, I only needed to do 3. For the front and back straps, I made them 7" long. I opted to skip the crab stitch on the sleeves because they made the arm feel awkward and tight. I did a single row of crochet around the neckline and hem. I forgot to mention that for the hem, I did not do the picot edging per pattern and I added a few inches to the length.

Overall, another great pattern. Easy to follow and understand. I did my first "cable" project and it turned out good. I think that if I were to do this again, I would make the pattern mirror itself on both sides though. Other than that, I'm thrilled with this tank!

Front :

Back:

Feather Weight Cardigan

I'm happy to report that darling daughter is over her flu! I was really worried. I'm getting over my eye infections (in both eyes). They've been burning, itching and watery. I'm happy to say that no one else has got the eye infection...and I hope they don't! Through it all, I was still able to get a lot of knitting done. Nothing was going to stop a woman on a mission...and that was to get my Feather Weight Cardigan done!

I started on the Feather Weight Cardigan sometime this month. Pattern here: http://knitbot.com/knitbot-patterns/. I had purchased those 2 skeins of malabrigo lace weight yarn for a different project but when I saw this cardi, I knew that this was the one I was going to knit. At first, I thought I was crazy knitting a project with such a "thin" yarn. After the first initial row, it was okay. I knew it would be slow going but it really wasn't that bad. The raglan increases went quite smoothly. I put the sleeve stitches on scrap yarn. The body of the cardi went well and I did the last 2" in a moss stitch. I really like the look of the moss stitch and I had never used it before. I thought the sleeves would go quickly but I was wrong. It turned into a big headache and I almost gave up on this project!

Metal DPNs and lace weight yarn are not a good combination! It took me quite a few days just to do a few inches. My stitches were falling off the needle! The needles were awkward to maneuver and my stitches looked so sloppy! If only I had a LYS or even a craft store near by where I could buy a size 6 needle, 12" needle. I did find one in my stash but it was 16". I was going to use it because I was at my wit's end! I figure if the sleeves turned out big it would be okay. Once I slipped the stitches off the DPNs and onto the 6" circular needle I was so much happier. It was a relief because now the knitting was going so much faster and I was back on the right track. I actually finished both of my sleeves in 2-3 days.

The final piece of the cardi was the collar. I always knew I wanted to do something different. I wasn't sure what. At first, I was going to do an all lace pattern but I decided against it. I saw this stitch, Fagoting Rib in the August issue of Knit n' Style. It reminds me kind of like an "eyelet" pattern. It was simple enough ~ K, yo, K2together for pattern. After picking up the stitches (which was easy enough), and working 2 rows, I started the fagoting rib. I then added 3 pattern repeats of the garter stitch with stockingnette stitch in between and ended it with the fargoting rib. At first, I was going to just do stockingnette stitch after the fagoting rib but I needed to add some contrast to it. It just didn't seem to flow! I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but there was no turning back. I hoped for the best! Finally, knitting done! I have the 3" (instead of the 3 1/2") for the collar. I bind off "very loose" especially around the 2 front edges so it can be stretched during blocking. After a light blocking, the cardi is a good fit. As an afterthought, I made a crochet i-cord to tie in front. Finished!!!!!

I enjoyed this cardi. The pattern was excellent, easy to follow and understand. It's so nice to not have to struggle through a pattern!!!!! The yarn was nice to work with and my first lace weight project is now complete! :)

Stress

Today, I feel out of sorts. Perhaps, it's my daughter's last day of preschool (which she missed) or that she's been sick since last Thursday with a fever on and off or lack of (extended) family relations/support or a stupid crochet magazine that promised me a free subscription to another magazine if I renewed but they don't have a record of it or that I may be coming down with the flu myself! I know, most of it sounds petty but I'm feeling kind of blue and everything that normally is just an ant hill turns into a hugh mountain! It doesn't help that for the most part I've been cooped up alot and I finally went out today for a short while. Sometimes I just feel blue...

On a positive note, I have had more time to knit. I started on the Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig last week. I bought 2 skeins of the malabrigo lace yarn that I've been saving for a project and finally decided this was the perfect project for the yarn. I was hesitant on knitting with such a "thin" yarn but after the initial cast on, it went okay. The yarn is soft and lovely to work with. The progress is slower than I like because the stitches are so small! Honestly, I've been thinking about starting my next project in a worsted weight yarn already!

I've completed the raglan increases on the cardi and I'm about 7" into the body, so a few more inches to go before I end it with 2" of either ribbing, seed stitch or some type of lace? I'm still undecided, it may come down to what ever is easiest to do! When that's done, I can start the sleeves and finally the collar. It's a good design and the pattern is easy and clear to follow. So for now, I'll just keep plugging away at it and eventually I'll have this whole thing done. I can't wait. My first lace weight cardi! Thank goodness for knitting AND (best of all...) hugs from my daughter! I feel better already :-)

Here's my progress so far:

Mother's Day & Molly Ringwald Top

I had a GREAT Mother's Day. Hubby took us out to one of my favorite restaurant. I got a nice card and present (so I can buy more yarn). I was treated to ice cream afterwards from Dairy Queen, I love their dip cones! I also got to purchase 3 skeins of wool yarn at .99 each and I bought 3 yards of some nice fabric. (I'm going to try sewing again and see if I can sew up a couple of shirts for myself). It was really a terrific day. I must not forget that the best part of all is that I have a beautiful and HEALTHY little girl.




I finished my Molly Ringwald today. I decided NOT to start the another project until I was finished with this! This was an overall easy knit. The issue I had with this top is the sizing. Even though I was able to get gauge on a size 5 knitting needle, the top still turned out about 4" too big on top. I had to do a lot of (crochet) decreases to get it to fit right. It's a good thing I can crochet, thanks to my mother in law! I used 6 skeins of Elann Sonata in Jade. This pattern was purchased through Ravelry byMichelle Rose Orne.





I love the length of this top and the overall design. The pattern was fairly easy to follow and I'm glad that I finally made it. If I was to make this top again, I would make it in a smaller size and really keep my stitches super tight around the ruffles.




I'm undecided on which project to do next. I'm a bit reluctant to start the feather cardigan. I'm worried that it's going to be a hard knit because it's done with a lace yarn. I have never knitted anything with lace and I'm worried that it will take forever! I like projects that are quick and that uses a worsted or bulky yarn. In the Spring/Summer, it gets so hot here so it's not really feasible for me to make a sweater or else I'd be making sweaters all year round! Anyways, I'm sure that I will probably start a project tonight if not tomorrow. I just love to knit!

My Knitting Adventures Continues

After 5 long months, hubby's finally off his crazy, insane work schedule. 7 days a week/12 hour days with maybe 5 days off total for my daughter's doctor appointments and company! Whew, it's been a long time! Hopefully, my life can get back to normal. I can sleep normal (no more getting up at 3:45am) and more time to knitting!

Looking through my yarn stash, I realize that most of my cotton yarn were green, various shades of green. Don't get my wrong, I really like green but 75% of my stash is green! For my next project, I am knitting the Molly Ringwald top by Michele Rose Orne. I'm about 70% done with the front. I have to say that I am not really enthused with it. It's not the pattern but rather the color of the yarn. I'm not thrilled with the green (jade) I'm using. I like the color but I think a different color would be a better choice for this top. So, I've been looking around for another project. (I know that in the past I would not start a project until I've finished the current one but for a while now, I've decided to abandon that idea)! I purchased the Day Flower Cardigan/Dress by Angela Hahn, which I LOVE. Unfortunately, I have not been able to download the pattern! I really wanted to start on this but I'll just have to wait patiently to hear back from the designer on why the file cannot be downloaded. I then decided to purchase the Featherweight Cardigan by Hannah Fettig. I'll be using the 2 skein of Malabrigo Lace Yarn I purchased a month ago.

I spent this morning trying to unravel the Malabrigo yarn ~ almost there! Note to self, buy a yarn winder! This will be an interesting experience since I have never knitted with a lace weight yarn. (I have crocheted with a size 3 thread but not knitting). I think the finish cardigan will be nice and soft! It's always good to try something new, to keep me interested in knitting! Wish me luck. ;)