Cranberry Rose.. errr.. vine?

I finally finished my Rambling Rose cardigan yesterday.. which I have since come to dub "Cranberry Vine".. errr.. why? Well, I didn't actually put any of the roses on there. It came out too nubbly for my liking, and the colour of my yarn is cranberry so it made sense =D


Project Details:

Pattern: Rambling Rose, by Martin Storey in Rowan #39. This was the only pattern I liked in the entire Rowan 39, and while I tried so hard to fight the urge not to spend $30 on a book for one pattern, in the end, my love for the cardigan won out. I figured that if I knitted at least 3 of these cardigans, it would pay off (haha somewhere in my deluded mind, i felt that knitting three of the same pattern was somewhat achievable!)

Yarn: The yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills 5 ply Classic in Cranberry. The required yarn in the project is a fingering weight yarn, but I wasn't able to find one in a colour I liked so I bought the 5 ply instead. Also, the yarn I used is wool and not cotton, so the FO didn't have the same sort of drape it should have. As mentioned, I didn't enjoy knitting with this yarn. The crepe construction wasn't the softest, but I do like the colour a lot.

Needles: US 2 / 2.75mm for the ribbing, and then US 3/3.25mm for the main part. I knitted it a little larger to gauge because I wasn't convinced I was as skinny as the model in the picture. I shouldn't have done so, because there is a bit of "air" in the waist area where I am considering taking it in for a better fit.

Comments and Modifications: Not a lot. The pattern is easy to follow and written very clearly. The most obvious modification I made was omit the roses. When I had knitted them up and sewn them on, they looked okay front on, but when turned to the side, it looked as if I had 5 very large red nipply things on one side of my body. NOT a good look. In the end I just made it without. I think it still looks nice :)

I also didnt do all the buttons. Because I had chosen to put pink buttons on a red cardigan, I felt that having 8 little buttons in a contrast colour made it stand out a bit too much. In the end I sewed on 3 buttons, and I put a little snap on the inside where the waist tie is to keep it shut (you might be able to see it in the below picture).

In the end, quite a nice little cardigan, but as mentioned there is a bit of excess at the waist area. I might just take it to my sewing machine and try and sew it up.

If I were to make this again , I'd do it in a cotton and not a wool :p

Finishing touches

I finally got off my lazy bum and managed to get to the local sewing store to buy some finishings for Rambling Rose. I had in mind some beautiful crystal buttons similar to the ones on my beloved Alannah Hill "Puff the Magic Dragon" Cardi, but they were not to be found.

A little desperate, I picked out a couple of different buttons. Plain red ones, patterned ones, and some pearl ones. Taking them home, the pearl ones made me look about 85 years old and aging, the plain red ones just didnt cut it , and the patterned ones made me look like an old lady gone senile. I finally settled for some pearlised pink ones.


Pink i hear you say? Yeah I know.. my cardigan is red. But I'm hoping that when matched with some pinkie ribbon, it'll look alright. The buttons aren't as pink as in the picture ( a little more mute) but there is a little bit of glitter and pearl in it. And it's two tone, meaning the back of the button is red.

Unfortunately, I didn't count how many buttons I'd need and only bought 6, which happened to be all that was left. Taking it home, I found out I need 8 so I'll have to figure something out.

I'm also handsewing the lovely woven labels my Secret Pal got me for that personal touch:

Besides that, I'm having a bit of a crazy moment in my head, debating whether I should put the roses on or not. You see, they look like gigantic warts. And when I turn to the side, they look like nipples. I'll try and knit smaller roses, but we'll see how it goes!

WIP: Rambling Rose

Thank you for the help/comments left about my yarn winding problem. I have stuck some clay on my winder hoping it will airdry and make my thin wiry loopy thing stay up. I'm still waiting for it to dry, but fingers crossed!

I had hoped to finish Rambling Rose this weekend, but was sidetracked because my boyfriend came up for the weekend and we went off to see the fabulousssss Snow Patrol concert (Gosh, I love those irish boys!).

I did however manage to sneak in a little knitting and am pleased to say that rambling rose is .. well.. err.. rambling along (haha yes terrible wasn't it?). I have knitted up all the pieces, and am now doing the button bands, roses, and finishing.

I haven't really enjoyed the process of making Rambling Rose so far, in part because it hasn't been the most exciting knitting pattern, and in part because of the yarn. As I have eluded to previously, rambling rose is a whole lot of 1x1 ribbing (15cm worth to be precise), awhole lot of stockinette and a tiny bit of rambling and rosing.

(I couldn't find my pins, so am using scrapbooking pegs to mark my button placements. Cute huh?)

The only other issue I had is with the yarn. Admittedly, I decided to go for a 5ply yarn simply because I didn't like the colour choices that were available in the 4ply cotton at the time.. but I may be regretting it. The yarn itself is from Bendigo Woollen Mills, and I must admit, the crepe construction leaves me a bit wanting.

I don't enjoy knitting with the crepe yarn, and I dont actually think it knits up as nicely as plied yarn. BUt that might just be my imagination. I also wind yarn strangely on my fingers, and the crepe has a tendency to become un-creped, a problem that I don't usually have with plied yarn.

But.. what's done is done, so i'm going to have to forge ahead with the yarn and see how it goes at the end.. which is of course, oh so close!

Socks Part II

Maybe it's the fact that I'm on crutches at the moment and all I'm doing is concentrating on my feet. Maybe it's the fact that my trusty "first socks" were the only pair of really colourful socks that I had in my wardrobe, that were actually suitable for hobbling around in my office (except of course, that nice pair of Little Miss Naughty socks I have). Or maybe it's the fact that knitting two sweaters (one which is predominantly stockinette) on fingering weight yarn is neither fun nor fast.


But, I've had to start myself another sock. Yes, after the "first sock encounter" I had vowed never to knit a pair again. Done, ticked, moving on was my mantra. But, my fabulous Secret Pal 10 had bought me one more skein of sock yarn, so it was a perfect way to start something from my stash without needing to go to the LYS (not convenient when on crutches).

I've started them on Hot Socks Four Season Jacquard yarn, on 3.25mm dpns. I'm still refusing to be a "sock knitter" just because I never found it practical to put so much effort and time into something so basic and so available, so it'll be a project on the side ;)

Also, I've finished the body part of my Rambling Rose Cardi and only have two sleeves, and the finishing to do. I'm hoping we'll have an FO by next week ;) *woot*

Rambling Rose Progress

I was looking over the past few posts and noticed that there wasn't actually anything on *my* knitting, only things on books and magazines and more drool worthy knits. So , just a little progress shot on Rambling Rose Cardigan by Martin Storey (Rowan #39).

I confess, I bought this particular Rowan magazine just for the Rambling Rose Cardigan. I figured the cost of buying the magazine just for one cardigan would even out if I made say... 3 of these cardigans. Afterall , this particular cardigan reminds me very much of one of my favourite designers, Alannah Hill - very whimsical, very girly, and very lovely.

Unfortunately, I don't think that justification is going to come (but we are still in early stages). I have completed the back, and am now about 1/3 through the front left where the roses will go. And I must admit, I hate bobbles. I think they will definitely add a touch to the cardigan, but actually making the bobbles is driving me insane - all those k,p,k,p,k into one stitch and then back again. It's not very fun :(

But anyways, above is a progress shot of where i'm at. The vine and edging is a bit knobbly, but i'm hoping when I attach the button band it'll fix itself. Anyways, not much else being knitted at the moment - these knits requiring small gauges are taking their sweet time.

New jobs and new experiences

I don't really have any exciting knitting news, but I do have some news which is at least exciting for me! After about 2 months of lots of stress, I have been offered two new jobs plus a counteroffer/opportunity within my own organisation to take a transfer.

Company 1 offered me a Perth based role, with the opportunity to visit sites as required. The package was not so great, so I turned it down.

Company 2 offered my a Fly In / Fly Out role, with the opportunity to rotate sites if I don't like where I am. The package was FANTASTIC to say the least, and at this stage, the one I am likely to tick off on.

Company 3 (mine) offered to transfer me to the same town as my significant other, with the opportunity to fly back to Perth fully paid as often as required. Very tempting and the subject of some serious thought but I think company 2 might just pip the post.

I'm awfully excited because it will mean I will eventually get to work on site (some might go 'why on earth would you do that') , and it will also mean that with all offers, I have the opportunity to spend more time with my significant other. At this point in both our careers and lives, I think that's just what we need.

Anyways, the news is probably only very exciting to me, but I thought i'd share anyways.

On the knitting front, Rambling Rose is coming along nicely. I have finished the back and am starting the left front where the roses will be. The product so far however does not make for exciting photography - 15cm of 1x1 ribbing and all stockinette. So, when I have something more exciting, I'll put them up.

Yarn and tiny knitting

I'm not much of a stasher. In fact, knitters may look at my little shelf and wonder whether I even knit. There's a few packets of yarn where the selected yarn wasn't successful in its desired project, and a few oddballs, but besides that, I don't really stash.

In fact, I often only buy yarn when I need to. When I finished Patti, I had nothing to knit. I was itching to go to my SnB on Monday night, but without anything in my hands, I felt a bit useless.

Anyways, it has since arrived, and I can start knitting again!

[ Cranberry coloured yarn from Rambling Rose, Rowan 39]

While I usually knit projects on at least DK weight, my next two projects are all in finger weight yarn so it'll be interesting ;) I can already see the menace that 15cm of 1x1 ribbing will do on my hands. Regardless, I'm excited because I think the next two projects will be dreamy romantic types!

[ Bendigo Woollen Mills Baby Wool 4ply in Lilac for Julia sweater below]

[ Julia Sweater from Rowan Classic Summer]

In other news, I'm feeling better but I definitely don't sound better or look any better. I do however, have the snuffles but given that the weekend is so precious, I'm not going to resign myself to bed. I'm off to Ikea and Lunch with my bestie, and hope you have a great day ;)