Recently in vk ruffle trim top Category

I sized the VK Ruffle Trim Top top to be just about the same width as my Somewhat Cowl (which still fits really well). The two yarns have a similar hand so I opted to make it a bit smaller than I would if it was wool because the yarn is less resilient and will tend to stretch out more.

Every time I'd look at it on the needles though I'd think "think is *so* small!".

So as soon as I finished the third repeat I put it on some waste yarn to try on.

phew

It's perfect! It's not too loose, it's not too tight. It's tight enough to show off the eyelets, but still loose enough to not look stretched out.

The top is knitting up rather slowly. It's partly because it's in the round so I'm knitting twice as much for each row. But I think it also is the stitch pattern combined with the yarn. Usually I can knit by sight, but this yarn is making it more difficult. Its tweediness makes it hard to tell if I'm coming to column of 3 sts or 5 sts so there's lots of extra moments of pulling at what I'm knitting to better see what's going on. I also changed a single column of knit stitches to ktbl to keep it tighter. Sometimes I have trouble making a single column of knits look really good, and this yarn was about as bad as I've seen it in my knitting. The ktbl's are looking nice and tidy so it's worth the extra effort.

Still, I'm enjoying this a lot -- and I'm hoping for an FO before my birthday in mid-April.

If I do finish it by then this will be the third year out of 4 that I've finished a sweater in late March or early April. Something about the weather warming up a little and the longer daylight during the week that just motivates me and keeps me focused. It's funny -- if it wasn't for the blog I don't think I would have noticed that.

I go away for a week and there's so much to be seen! I'm still not all caught up, but there are a few things that have already gotten my attention.

• First up, Marnie's new stocking pattern -- Bellocq. I can't wait for the pattern to be released.
• You have to see SPIN | KNIT's self-designed fair isle (link courtesy of Saartje). It's one of the more extraordinary knits I've seen in a long time. I love the modern styling and fit.
• Then, knitty's Spring issue comes out with Clessidra knee highs. There's NO CHANCE they'd fit my calves as designed, but they look really easy to modify (and the designer even included suggestions on how to do so).
• And finally, Terhi's Scottish Highland Kilt Hose done in an updated shade of black. I never would have gone so untraditional but they're so wearable this way.

A little bit of ugly

I've decided to rip the nightie. I've known about this for a good week but I just admitted it yesterday. The yarn is pooling in weird ways, making it look like an animal print. It's so not what I wanted for the nightie. I still love the pattern though -- I'll just have to make it in something that's not from the stash.

Something New

I decided to treat myself to some new yarn (my first purchase for myself since January 10th!). It's Classic Elite Classic Silk to make the Ruffle Trim Top from VK Spring/Summer 2005. I have a big complaint about this pattern -- it's only written for one size (bust size 36"). From what I can tell there's no real difficulty in sizing this pattern. Since I'm way off on gauge I'm sizing it myself and it looks like it's going to be really easy. In case you're wondering about all those ruffles on me, I'm only planning on doing the one around the neckline. That's way too much ruffle and fabric for my shape.

Oh, and everything you read about this yarn from grumperina and Lauren is true. I washed and dried a swatch and it came out nicer than when it went into the laundry. It softened up (and it was soft to start) and fluffed up too.

I did a trial mostly because I was concerned about shrinkage (a lot of knitted fabric will shrink considerably in the length when dried), but it shrank a little less than I expected. A 2-1/2 inch swatch shrank to 2-1/4 inches after being fully dried in the dryer -- that's a 10% loss in length. Width was virtually the same, although I was happy to see that the ribbing in the swatch scrunched up nicely and seemed to have a decent memory (very decent for a non-wool).

Still, I'm knitting this one a bit snugger with the expectation that it will stretch out. I'm hoping that my calculations work out. Since I've only knit less than 2 inches it's too soon to tell if I'm right, so I'm doing this thing where every few rows I stretch it out and measure a repeat and ponder if I should keep knitting, put it on some waist yarn, or ditch it all together.

you do that too, right?

At this rate it'll be grandma's ruffle trim top.