February 2007 Archives

I sure am catching up on my reading! Did you notice the Vogue Knitting preview is out?

I'm intrigued by the cover's design -- a little lacy number great for layering over a tank. The details are nice -- a square neckline, the bell sleeves, and the band of lace around the arm marking the start of the bell sleeve's curve.

I think it would be equally cute if you converted it to a cropped cardi and stopped it just below the band that goes around the waist. How pretty would that be over a strappy sundress with a single button at the top?

In addition to a focus on lace, they're on the nautical bandwagon too (who isn't?). In their Land Ahoy! story they've featured previews of 6 nautical designs, versus 3 previews for the other design stories.

The designs entitled Paper Chase seem to be more work-appropriate with a tunic, dress and a feminine cardi.

They also have a section called Baby Couture, although the previews don't seem all that special -- maybe it will be more obvious in the magazine itself.

In classic VK style they also have a section entitled "The Easy Life" with some of the largest and more unusual garments you could make -- full lenth halter style dress, very loose and unconstructed jacket, and a huge beach cover up. Easy life? Not for the knitter who has to drudge through hundreds and hundreds of yards of yarn just to make one of these!

I'm most interested in the Grace of Lace, Paper Chase and Land Ahoy! stories. Good thing it doesn't come out until the end of March -- I might just have time to finish the nightie first.

BTW, thank you for your nice wishes and thoughtful comments about my wrist. It is indeed a ganglion cyst and fortunately the swelling has gone down considerably. I should be back to knitting in a day or two.

I'm not quite sure what caused that bump on my outer wrist, but it's there and it hurts like hell. See how it's really white compared to the rest of the wrist? That's because the swelling has made the skin extra taught.

I can't close my hand to hold a knitting needle. Looks like I'll be taking a few days off of knitting.

Knit a row for me, will ya?

While I like both of the projects I wrote about, the nightie won. I really wanted to knit a little lace.

The yarn is MilleFilli Fine -- in my stash for almost 3 years. It's very different from the called for Alchemy Bamboo -- in color and texture -- but I think it will work out nicely.

I made one mod so far -- I've included side slits since I plan on wearing this as a top versus as a nightie. I used Annie Modesitt's i-cord edging. Here's the right and wrong sides.

It's nice and neat, and although I was worried it might be bulky -- it's not at all. You might be able to see that I overlapped the i-cord edgings when I merged the front and back to start knitting in the round. I added a few extra stitches to each piece so I could do that when I merged them -- I thought it would be stronger that way, and I think it's a pretty (albeit subtle) design feature.

I used a knitted (lace) cast-on. It's stretchy and decorative, although I'm concerned the edge might not block out straight. I noticed the pictured nightie has a slight roll to the edge.

I have a couple more mods planned -- placement of decreases and modified depth of the back scoop. Both are straightforward and shouldn't slow me down. I'll have this done in plenty of time for MDSW, although the style is a gamble and I might not want to wear it. Still, it's a fairly quick knit so I'm willing to give it a try. Plus, lace knitting is a nice diversion.

When I first wrote about this top I thought I'd wear it over a top with short sleeves. Now I'm thinking it might be nice to knit some attached cap sleeves instead (maybe out of kid silk haze?). I'm still undecided and since I'd like it to look layered I won't have to decide until I'm done (I'd still want it to look like a strappy sleeveless tank over a short-sleeved top).

Once I get started it's hard for me to stop. I've been obsessing over 2 of the projects I featured earlier.

Lace Nightie from IK Spring 2007 It's such a simple design and yet I love it. I see myself wearing it as a layer -- maybe with a lacy, slightly ruffled cap sleeved T underneath. I could go for black and have the option to layer various shirts underneath it. Or I could get out of my black/brown/dark blue rut and go for a real color. I'm always afraid to knit with color -- not because I don't like color (although that's a bit true) but mostly because I'm afraid that I won't be able to wear it much if it's a memorable color. I need to get over that. It's knit in Alchemy Bamboo. I've just learned to love bamboo yarn but I'm not sure I like the sheen or weight of bamboo for this project. A mercerized cotton might have a little less sheen. I have some Milli Fille Fine that I played with a while back that might work out nicely. And bonus -- it's a stash yarn.

Page 10 from Phildar 468 It's a deceptively simple top but the details are really attractive to me -- the slight gathers at the tip of the V, the graduated depth of the ribbing, and the way the neckline curves inward the last couple of inches. It's a very flattering top. The yarn choice enhances the design too, and that's where I get hung up. Phil Eponge is a boucle made of Cotton, Acrylic, Polyamid and Elasthanne (which I believe is a Lycra-like elastic). I'm not sure if I'd like the way the yarn feels, but I bet the top is lightweight, holds its shape well, and even has a little give. The yarn probably enhances those little gathers so I need to think carefully about what to use.

Any thoughts or ideas about either of these? I'm not a big warm weather knitter but I'd like to change that. Now that it's my fourth MDSW I'm thinking ahead. And damnit I WILL wear something handknit.

The same thing happens every February. All the new spring designs come out, and I go in new project overload. It's still plenty cold out, but I'm thinking of cotton and bamboo, cap sleeves and tanks. Even lingerie.

I've always thought Spring knows what it's doing with its patterns. They come out in the depths of winter, just when we're at our must vulnerable. Today we're having an ice storm on top of snow. How could I not be taunted by a flirty little top?

Here are the ones I like the most, although I'm sure I'll find a few that I never noticed once the FOs start popping up on the blogs. Do you ever do that? Skip right past a pattern and then a blogger makes it and you swear you've never seen it before.

Sassoon from RYC Nature	Nerissa from Rowan 41	Glade from RYC Nature
Lace Nightie from IK Spring 2007	Cable Down Raglan from IK Spring 2007	Ruffled Surplice from IK Spring 2007
Orford from Rowan 41		Page 10 from Phildar 468

There are also several books I'm really excited to see.

	Stephanie Japel's Fitted Knits I've only seen a few of the projects so far but it looks like a great book AND with great schematics.
	Lace Style by Pam Allen If this book lives up to its "style" counterparts it should be a good one.
	Knitting Lingerie Style by Joan Michael-McGowen I was already interested in this, but after reading the article on Joan in IK Spring 2007 I'm more excited than ever about it. I don't see myself knitting lingerie as lingerie, but a little girliness can go a long way in a layered outfit for spring and summer -- and sometimes even fall.

sunrise in the North Atlantic

I'm back from the Caribbean. We took a cruise to the Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. It was my favorite vacation ever. I am well-rested, well-fed and even a little bit tan.

And of course I fit in some knitting.

A few cruise highlights:

• Drinking in Nassau at 10:30 am in an outdoor bar with the Atlantic washing under the deck.
• Formal night -- it's so much fun to get dressed up!
• Surviving a crazy open air taxi tour in St. Thomas.
• Drinking Ti Punch from Boo Boo Jam on Orient Beach.
• Boning up on my geography. I now know where Mauritius can be found, and that Burma is also known as Myanmar.
• Knitting -- on the balcony, on the deck while the sun rises, on a lounge chair while the sun sets.

I didn't expect to get much knitting done -- I thought it would be too humid. But the weather was perfect, and other than a 2 hour rain storm that opened up during our walk back to the ship, the sun was shining the entire 7 days we were away.

I finished the back of Norah Gaughan's Shell Tank before realizing I left the cable pattern at home. No pics -- it's just a big black blob right now.

I also started Aranmor by Alice Starmore. I'm using Mission Falls Wool in a natural color. I've never used MF wool and am impressed with how soft it feels. An aran weight sweater grows quickly.

This will be a long-term project and I've given myself until October 2007 to finish it -- before Rhinebeck would be great.

While I was away a lot of the warm weather patterns were released -- IK Spring 2007, and Rowan 41. I have several that I really like and I'm not sure what to start first. I usually say I don't like to knit for the warm weather, but after the cruise I feel a new-found interest in knitting warm weather garments (which is a good thing since I have a lot more summer weight yarn in my stash than I realized).

sunset in St. Maarten