It has been a gazillion years that I have bought a Rowan magazine/book. Actually, the last Rowan book I've bought was Rowan 39, and while that was in itself a shocker, I bought it for the sole reason that was Rambling Rose (yes, $35 for one pattern does seem a bit much now...). As much as I've liked a few classics here and there, there just wasn't enough in each book to warrant my buying it.
The latest offering however, seems to have revived a bit of love in the Rowan series. In their 30th anniversary edition, Rowan appears to have gone back to the style they've been famous for, and true to each pattern's namesakes (each one is named after a classic hollywood star), they are classically styled, very wearable, timeless, and with a bout of vintage nostalgia. Here's a sneak peak of it:
Preview: Rowan 44
WIP: Rosemary's Swing Jacket
Exciting news! Well, not exactly for you, but for me, definitely. I think I might be getting my knitting mojo back, and as such, feeling muchly revived and excited about the (very good) possibility of finishing off a successful knit.
The work in progress is Rosemary's Swing Jacket, by Cathy Caron. The project itself is coming along at a very steady pace (although those 300+ stitches before dividing for the sleeves was turning me a little impatient), and as it is a raglan top down knit, should end up fitting very nicely. I do love the colour of it, and even more so, I adore the way the moss/seed stitch is coming up on the merino yarn. *Love* A little WIP shot for you:
And what else have I been doing in my spare time? Eating lots of pancakes and crepes - that's what!
Unfortunately I've also been told off for how much sugar i've been eating (for fear of getting diabetes as I get older), so from today onwards, I'll only be indulging once a week at most.. *sobs*
New knits
Following months of missing my knitting mojo, I'm determined to set about correcting it. And what better way than a raglan style knit, where I can size and knit as I go?? (surely that's guaranteed to give me at least halfway decent results right... right!?).
Knit in question... Rosemary's (soon to be mine hopefully) Swing Jacket from Interweave Knits Spring 2007.
Yarn in question... Heirloom Merino Magic in a deep plum/purple colour (yes i do love this colour). I actually wanted this is a dark charcoal, or an olive colour, but Kalgoorlie's yarn selection is rather lacking...
The pattern calls for seed stitch all the way, and although I do love this stitch design (it's so uniform and textured and creates a nice sturdy fabric), it takes uber long to get anywhere. After 1 whole day's work, this is as far as I've gotten to:
But in keeping with my end goal of completing a successful knitted garment, I'm happy to forgo speed if only my mojo comes back.
Please mr. mojo. I miss you.
Bula Bula!
Bula! (hello as they say in Fiji, the country of beautiful sunshine and lovely people).
As regular readers know, I have a fairly hectic life, basing myself in two towns and working away offshore. When I'm not flying to and from work, I'm flying to and from my two home bases. Consequently, my love for flying has dissipated quite rapidly, but my love for travelling still remains.
Recently, six of my girlfriends and I decided it was time to ditch the boys and have ourselves a bit of girly fun, and what better way than to ship ourselves off to a little island and sip away at cocktails and get ourselves tans?? For your viewing pleasure:
On knitting news, I haven't tried to fix my Hexacomb cardigan as yet, but I did swatch for the Sylph Cardigan with a bit of Bendigo Woollen Mills Alpaca. While I managed to get gauge on all three stitch/swatch patterns, the faggotting and twisted rib texture got lost in the grey alpaca. So i'm looking at getting another colour, or trying something else but that will have to wait another two days until I get back to Perth..
All work and no reward
Contrary to popular belief, there has actually been knitting going on! Unfortunately, it hasn't been successful knitting. I seem to have hit a bad patch where everything I knit either comes out wrong, looks awful, or doesn't fit. Because of that, I have restrained from sharing my disappointments with you all, but at the end of the day, my blog is supposed to be a journal of my knitting journey so here we go... (apologies for short details - trying to keep the post short, and am not entirely excited about any of these projects!! hehe)
FO 1: Bubble Scarf
Using some stashed unidentified yarn, and a website pattern (which I've forgotten since then), I decided to start a quick easy project for instant gratification and was pleased with the result.
The scarf used up one skein of mystery yarn (approximately 350metres) and took just over a week worths of bit part knitting to complete. It was a very simple pattern that allowed for mindless knitting, but the end bubble scarf is quite cute.
FO 2 : Socks again
Another instant gratification knit, due to my lack of inspiration and knitting mojo. I used Silver's Sock Class once again but by now I had pretty much memorised it and so the project was pretty smooth sailing. The yarn is Moda Vera Socks yarn in a grey self-patterning style, which I picked up on sale at Spotlight for about $3.00. Surprisingly, the yarn is actually quite warm and soft but tended to pill when frogged.
FO 3: Lush and Lacy Cardigan
A very fun to knit pattern by Sweaterbabe,the pattern calls for a "lush and lacy" style yarn such as one with angora in it. Unfortunately, I didnt see any angora that I liked - there was only two choices at my LYS and both much too fluffy for my liking - so I decided to try plain Bendigo Rustic Wool in a beautiful red colour.
The knitting went off without a hitch, and I sewed it all up only to realise that the thing weighed an absolute tonne, and was by far more frumpy and granny like than cute and vintage. I'm now thinking of using the yarn for the Central Park Hoody, or I might just be lazy and keep the sweater to wear at home on the couch while knitting new projects...
KIP: Hexacomb Cardigan 2
So i restarted the Katie Himmelberg's Hexacomb Cardigan again in another yarn after the crunchy corn incident. And while the pattern was more successful this time round, it has ended up a tad too big for me. It's all loose just under my bust, and doesn't fit the upper part of me properly. See?
It's a cute cardigan, so I don't want to have to frog it and am thinking of taking a sewing machine to the sides or even hand sewing in some "darts" or seams to take it all in. Has anyone had any experience with this sort of post-knitting alteration and can give some tips??
And oh boy, am I not looking forward to weaving in the many ends.
Popping corns
I love food. All kinds of delicious, yummy foods. I love appetizers, mains, and desserts. I love condiments, seasoning and sauces. There are also some foods which I just love to smell - coffee being freshly brewed in the morning, the smell of baked bread straight out of the oven, and buttered popcorn as you walk into the cinemas. As much I love these scents in my kitchen, I (and most people) would hold firm that food is to be eaten, not worn. And that's where my latest cardigan unravelled.
Soysilk and cotton
went into my LYS yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to see that they were stocking more diverse and interesting types of yarns. In the past, they had always stocked items from Jo Sharp, Patons, Filatura Zara and Zarina, Naturally NZ, Patons, and Heirloom. However, on entering yesterday, I was delighted to see some Rowan Tapestry, Rowan Summer Tweed, more cottons, and some odds and ends here and there. Despite the fact that the Rowan stuff looked a bit out of place (did someone decide to sell some stash yarn perhaps?), and the fact that the entire yarn store needs to be revamped, I was happy to just fondle things in there!
I was quite restrained this time, and only came out with two things yesterday. And even better, they were for a specific purpose in mind - Katie Himmelberg's Hexacomb cardigan which knits up at approximately 20st per 4".
In my little bag was some Twilleys Freedom Cotton for use as my contrast colours - it doesn't feel very soft, but it was the perfect cream colour to offset the main colour:
And some South West Trading Company Oasis, made entirely of soysilk which is remnants of corn and soy.
It wasn't at all cheap ($18.50 for 100gm) but I do hope it turns out nicely as I found it immediately intriguing, and really loved the colour. Additionally, on touching it, it doesn't feel at all soft right now, but from the various reviews i've read about this yarn, I've heard it turns out otherwise when washed and has a very nice drape. So here's hoping!
Snippets
Boy it sure has been awhile! I had originally planned a short two week complete house makeover (painting, removing tiles/carpets, reflooring, decorating etc), however, the lazy bones in me took over and the two week house makeover has now extended . Luckily, while I have been offshore, my boyfriend has been busy at work removing the tiles and putting in the floors on his R&R days. Bless his soul!
Anyways, I do have FOs, but before I posted an FO, I felt it obligatory to post an in-between "progress" shot, just for the sake of it! I haven't blogged about this particular project yet, but it certainly has been fun to knit and even more fun watching the ruffles and the lace take form. No prizes for guessing what it is though, as this project seems to be making it into everyone's ravelry queues!
I also went yarn shopping recently, and in addition to my normal Bendigo purchases, picked up a pack of Rowan All Seasons Cotton in a teal sort of colour. I had originally planned on making Phildar's Assymetrical Cardigan with it, but am now thinking of putting it towards Phildar's little blazer jacket cardigan.
And lastly, having received my Interweave Knits Spring 2008 edition, I am now in the hunt for yarn for the Sylph Cardigan, and the Hexacomb cardigan which I am absolutely lusting after and hope to start on today as soon as I've picked up some yarn...
So with that, I'm off to the LYS, and stay tuned for some FOs!
Moving along
Just a quick note to let you know that I wont be updating for a shortwhile as I am in the process of house settlement, buying furniture, moving and renovating a bit! But there is knitting being done, and FOs to be shown :) Stay tuned!
New inspirations...
Feeling a little in need of knitting love? Here's a few that caught my attention (from a variety of Knit.1 and Phildar) :
Spot the mistake
I got snooty last night.
I was working on a little neck hugger, and while following the cable chart I decided that I didnt need it anymore because it was fairly self-explanatory and the cable wouldn't be too hard to continue on with. luckily, I didn't get too far because I realized that snooty knitting does not agree with me. Spot the mistake?
Anyway, the yarn used is the same yarn I used for my little hearts vest, and my little bolero and I still have about 150gm left of the stuff. Talk about stretching its use!! =D
Hope you are all enjoying your Easter break, and enjoying the chocolates :) Have a great one!
Ribbit-Ribbit
Don't you just hate when something doesn't turn out as you wish? All those hours of knitting, the efforts spent into seaming and measuring and late night "just one more rows"?All that money spent on yarn , needles and notions, when all the while you could have been out and about, or working on something tres fabulous?
Progress: James Coviello Lace Top
Because girly details makes me happy, here are a few progress shots on the James Coviello Lace Top so far:
I do love the girly details of this one - a little bit of a lace edge, with some ruffle detail and in a very girly (but not too girly) colour.
I'm up to the front, and because it's a top rather than a sweater or cardigan (yay for quick knitting), I only need to cast on for the ruffles on the sleeves, and do some finishing and voila!
On a similar note, I think my mind is trying to sabotage my cardigan knitting mojo. For some reason, it seems to think that knitting a project with only fronts and backs to it (as per the top and sweaters in general) as opposed to "left front" and "right front" (as per cardigans) is a much more soothing and calming task.
And while I do love cardigans, I just haven't really felt up to knitting them... something in my mind keeps telling me that extra "left front" or "right front" effort is extra work not required in knitting (nevermind about having to knit more stitches on a sweater front than a cardigan front). I do admit then, that I am feeling a little cardigan lost at the moment, but I do hope my cardigan mojo comes back though - I would be absolutely lost without these lovely staples in my wardrobe! *sigh*
A room just for knitting
For the past few months, I have been toying with the idea of buying a house. It's just one of those things that "you do" as part of growing up, and I felt that it was about time I bought one.. something along the lines of "growing up, investing for your future ra ra ra".
So anyways, last week I saw a house that I liked, made and offer and got it! I now have to just organise finance and settlement and it's all mine.
While I was looking at houses, there were a few criteria that I really wanted, with those being a 3x2 , nice kitchen, and nice bathroom. My significant other was puzzled though, given that it would just be the two of us in the house (and me only being there 1/3 of the year given I work away), he wasn't sure why I wanted three bedrooms.
I pulled him aside and told him nicely.. 1 for us.. 2 for a guestroom or study.. and 3 for my knitting room. hehe. He was somewhat amused by my need to have a knitting room, but he was very obliging on the basis that it would create less mess for the house (my knitting stuff is everywhere), and that it would be my little retreat. I'm so happy to have an SO that is happy to indulge my knitting wants and needs - no matter how silly they seem!
But anyways, settlement isn't for awhile and I'm planning on doing a bit of work on the house, but i'm definitely looking forward to it!
On knitting notes, I had an urge to start a new project today. Thermal is going well - I have to just do the sleeves and finishing and it will be done, but I was flicking through my old VKs and rediscovered this:
While I won't be wearing it the way the model is, I do love the quirkiness of it! I'll be doing it in this yarn (the colour is a bit off in the photo.. ) and it should be a quick knit:
In happy news, I've also discovered my local newsagent stocks VK, Knit1 and KnitSimple so I no longer have to trek out to Borders or my LYS to specifically buy my knitting mags. I haven't seen IK there , but the new one isn't due to arrive in Australia for a week I believe.. *fingers crossed*
Jumping on the bandwagon
So I cast on for it yesterday and my, it has grown quite a bit! I'm taking a 7 hour train journey tomorrow so I should also make good progress on the sweater.
Besides that, I've just been hectic crazy with Chinese New Year and enjoying my R&R week. At the moment, there's a cyclone up where I work so I'm here in Perth until the cyclone danger dissipates - and one of my workmates reckons it won't be till Monday or Tuesday at the earliest!
Anyways, short post this one as I have to pack for my short trip :) Have a good weekend!
FO: Noro Cashmere Island Scarf
Everyone knows the ubiquitous Noro Scarf that has been done by hundreds of people and still counting, so I won't go into too much depth for this post. However, after I finished my last project, I was a bit stuck on what I should knit considering that my only condition was that it had to be knit from stash. After getting some great and useful comments about the seahorse cami, I decided to leave that for another day and rummaged a bit.
Alas! I had two skeins of Noro Cashmere Island in my stash, which had been gifted to me by my secretpal 11, Genevieve. Now I must admit that I've never understood the fascination with Noro Yarns. To me, the colours were garish, the yarn (Iroha that is) a little wanting, and overpriced for what I thought it was.
However, armed with not much confidence, two skeins in hand and not much time to decide on a pattern, I went for that noro scarf. The result was a surprise, and the end FO was a very soft scarf, made from a pattern which utilises Noro's colour schemes very well.