As I mentioned in my last post I had quite a few projects on the go. The Simplicity blouse turned out a disaster. Instead of an airy summer blouse I realized what I had was an airy summer pajama top. But when life hands you lemons (or in this case an err in judgement when choosing fabric) you make lemon aid. Or pajama bottoms. I made the bottoms. They're simple cotton capris length with inseam pockets and a contrast band at the bottom to match the top. I also added some shirring at the bottom of the top to practice for my upcoming Washi tunic.
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| Pjs - unmodeled because posting a pic of my self in my jammies is just too weird |
A quick word about shirring. Save yourself a whole lot of anxiety, hair pulling and gnashing of teeth. Go buy Gutterman elastic thread before you begin. Heed my advice. I have learned the hard way.
So blouse/pajamas aside I've been motoring along on my knitting. My vest is currently in time out for bad behaviour, my Augusta Cardi is coming along quite nicely, I'm 11 1/2" into my Gemini (and nervously playing yardage chicken with yarn that is so full of knots that I'm quite certain is losing me precious yards with each ball) and my Amerind Cowl is finished!
I knit Amerind for the Sexy Knitter KAL. I have known of designer Sarah Wilson for years (I've had her Stargazer printed off since forever!). A few months ago she came back on my radar when she had a pattern giveaway on Ravelry. I ended up with my freebie and then bought two more of her patterns with the coupon code she offered along with the free pattern.
She has some stunning patterns and a great philosophy on women and self image. I highly recommend checking her site and group out. I finally decided to join her group, then I saw she was hosting a knit along. My yarn had just come in from Little Knits so I cast on right then. I really enjoyed the pattern. It was simple enough that I could easily keep track, but interesting enough to keep me going. I even learned another new trick! I have shied away from provisional cast ons in the past because the instructions left me confused, but this one, Judy's Magic Cast On, is so easy to learn!
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| Amerind Cowl |
The yarn is the now discontinued Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran, which is a merino, silk, cashmere blend. As I mentioned, I ordered it from Little Knits. It was a ridiculously inexpensive price and the colour jumped off the screen at me. I knew I wanted it for my cowl. After ordering I checked out the comments on Ravelry and was dismayed that there were so many negative reviews of it. I consoled myself that at least it hadn't been expensive. But then I got my yarn and it was beautiful. A lot of the complaints were that it was too rustic - scratchy and full of vegetable matter. What I experienced was quite the opposite, luxurious colour, with a soft hand, no veggie matter at all and great stitch definition. I wish I'd ordered more.
I really love my cowl. And if this darn chilly weather doesn't head on out I may be getting some use of it over the next few days!
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| So cozy! |
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