Thursday, June 28, 2012

A Quick Summer Cardie!




I can't believe I totally forgot to Blog this little number!  We whipped up a quick little Cotton Summer Cardie with our Instant Gratification Cardie Jacket pattern.  We used 6.5mm needles and Berroco Weekend Chunky, but I think you can also use 7mm for a slightly more relaxed weave. 

We tried making a larger size since the yarn was slightly smaller, but that didn't actually work out, our sweater was way bigger than expected (the first experiment is not always the successful one).  If I did it again (and I probably will) I'll make the normal size, use 7mm needles, and keep an eye on my row gauge - just in case I need to throw in an extra row in the yoke. The pattern is written top-down, so it's easy enough to try it on as you go. 

The yarn is lovely (I love this colour!) and we only used 4 skeins - pretty economical, it's only $6.97 per skein. 




Monday, June 25, 2012

Finished! Bermuda Shawl





Here's a finished object I am very, very happy with!  It is the Bermuda Scarf by Ilga Leja. I used 2.25 skeins of Noro Silk Garden Sock, but I think it would look equally good made with 2 skeins of Noro Taiyo Sock. I've also seen some gorgeous versions on Ravelry using 2 skeins of Schoppel Wolle Zauberball.

The pattern was a very nice  summer knit. The shawl is light and airy, so not too heavy to lug around or work on. The pattern is a low-brainer, probably suitable for an intermediate to advanced-beginner. knitter. I say that because the design is based on short rows and it might overwhelm someone in the beginner range. The pattern is long but not complex. Just about everything is written out for you. You might  want to have on hand a row counter, a pencil, and some locking stitch markers (to mark your wrapped stitches). The only hitch you might have is blocking - this thing's got quite the wingspan and I had to use 2 boxes of Knit Picks blocking pads for full coverage. That said, you might not feel like being a stickler for blocking and just stretch it out on the floor. 

As for the finished product, it's a really comfortable shape!  the Back isn't too deep, and while the sides look long, they actually wrap around your shoulders extremely comfortably.  Bermuda makes are really great shoulder wrap, and I'm looking forward to wearing it (when it isn't 30 Celsius outside). 






Saturday, June 23, 2012

Finished: Knit Market Bag & Survey Results






Wow, did the Ilene Market Bag ever come out great! We used just over 1 skein of Super 10 Cotton, and it looks amazing and is just the right tension to actually hold stuff! I think I want to make another in yellow, but I'll just make the strap shorter and forgo the extra skein. 

Remember our little market bag survey to help us decide which colour to make ours? Thanks to those of you who took part, it was really fun checking in to see the results. 
Tangerine Tango (orange) was an early leader, and that's what we went with. Personally, I like Solar Power (yellow), but I just like the idea of having a slightly mustardy yellow purse. I also really like Sodalite Blue (you probably already figured that out, based on the sweater sharing the spotlight. 






Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Noro Tunisian Blanket Experiment No.1






Hi, my name is Haley and I LOVE Tunisian Crochet! Following on the heels of the Stitch Diva Online Class I took, my experiments continue and I made a blanket in Tunisian Simple Stitch. I used one colourway of Noro Odori (colour 1), but employed the 3 colour technique and 3 balls, all started in different parts of the colourway. 

I started with 90 sts and am using a 12mm tunisian crochet hook. This colourway has a lot of black in it and I've been breaking the yarn and playing with colour to avoid pooling. I started by weaving in the ends, but on an off chance I tried a spit felt and it held! 

Things I LOVE:
  1. Tunisian goes soooo fast!  I've made almost half a blanket in one week!  And that's just off and on work, I haven't been going at it aggressively.
  2. It looks really impressive. The texture is really cool, it looks woven.
  3. It's so easy and incredibly mindless. I don't have to think about anything except which colour I want where. 




The  Noro Odori is nothing to sneeze at either. It's really soft, has a nice single ply texture, and is easy to work with.  In fact, I'm so happy with this project that when it is done I am going to make another with the same yarn, but I'll play with 3 different colourways. 


Addenda:
I wrote the above blog post a week ago. I finished the blanket yesterday, brought it home for photography, and tried it out. It's is super comfortable and looks great on my sofa, so it is staying here.  


BTW, the fabric is very elastic, which is nice when sharing in front of the TV. 




As always, you can find  us at Knitomatic.com!