Winter Wonderland Dress - Take Two

Yesterday my yarn told me that it didn’t want to be a Lahja dress, so I went in search of another pattern and decided on the Githa by Linda Marveng.  This is a simple sleeveless tunic with a matching cowl/capelet/shoulder warmer. The original is knit in a sport weight yarn, and this is definitely a fingering weight, so my gauge is tighter.  Instead of 24 stitches and 32 rows for 4 inches, I get 24 stitches and 32 rows for 3.5 inches, but the design is simple enough that it is easy to adjust for my gauge by knitting a larger size and adjusting lengths appropriately.  It is bottom up so I am starting with skein 24, and whatever I don’t use in the tunic I will use in the cowl/capelet/shoulder warmer.  It is also a simple enough pattern that I can take it to work.  I still want to make the Lahja Dress, and I have another yarn set that I may use for it, but I will still have to do math to adjust for my gauge, so that one is going back in to the queue.  I do love the red that I am currently working with.  In the picture above I have finished skein 24 and almost finished skein 23.  I am simply joining the next skein as each one runs out.

Pattern:  Githa by Linda Marveng

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep 4 Ply SW Merino Fingering

Needle:  US 2.5 (3.0 mm)

Guava Vest - Body Done!

I worked the two front pieces at the same time, from both ends of the cake.  For the back I used a new skein.  I had to figure out the back neck shaping, as that was one place where the translation didn’t work so well, but I managed to do something that looks good.  The pattern has you slip the first stitch of the rows, but I worked the body in the round, so no slipped stitches there, and when I separated for the front and back I did not slip any stitches there either.  The only place I slipped stitches was on the decreases at the beginning of the rows for the back neck shaping to avoid the stair step effect of bound off stitches, which worked quite well.  All I have left is the ribbing on the arm and neck edges.  I did have to knit about half of the upper back over again.  When I got to the point where I needed to start the back neck shaping, I placed my markers and discovered that I was short a stitch.  Turns out I had done an extra decrease back on row 27 (of 62).  Sigh.  I ripped back, picked up the stitches again and worked it over.  I knew that I could have fudged it, but I didn’t want to.

Pattern:  Goiaba by Svetlana  Zholobova

Yarn:  Purl Soho Plenty

Needles:  US 7 (4.5 mm), US 6 (4.0 mm)
 

Guava Vest - Lower Body Done!

Knitting round and round with no shaping goes quickly.  And I quickly knit up the two skeins (raveling from my previous effort).  I am going with a slightly cropped length.  This should come to just the top of my hip.  I have tried it on and the size appears to be good.  I have been using Google Translate to interpret the pattern instructions, which are in Portuguese, but I really wanted to upload the PDF and get a full translation.  Unfortunately the file size was bigger than Google Translate would take, so I emailed it to myself at work (where I have full up Adobe Acrobat), saved it as a reduced file size, and then uploaded it to Google Translate and got a translated file back.  It was pretty slick.  There are a few terms that don’t translate quite right, so still some interpretation for me to do, but way better than the piecemeal manner I was going about before.  One of the things that I learned from the translated copy is that Goiaba is Guava, which is much easier for me to pronounce and does not trigger the spell check (and the occasional auto-correct).

Pattern:  Guava Vest by Svetlana Zholobava

Yarn:  Purl Soho Plenty

Needles:  US 7 (4.5 mm), US 6 (4.0 mm)

Ramea - Right Sleeve Done!

After finishing the right front sleeve I started working the right back sleeve using the stitches on the other needle.  I had some issues with the knitting rowing out using the Addi needle that I used for the cast on, so I switched to another Knit Picks needle identical to the one that I had used to work the right front sleeve and that seemed to fix the issue.

I probably should have blocked before I did the Kitchener stitch to join the sleeve as I think it would have made it easier, but I still managed to complete it and it looks okay.

After I finished joining the two edges I did give it a quick block just to see how it would fit.  The top is close fitting, but I was a little concerned after trying on the unblocked sleeve.  It did, however, relax a little after blocking and fit fine.  I then tackled the edging on the sleeve cuff.  The pattern calls for picking up stitches, knitting one row and then working an I-cord bind off.  I picked up the stitches with a 2.5 mm needle, and worked one row, but the I-cord bind off just didn’t look good with this yarn, so I did a simple bind off with 2.25 mm needles.  It does flair a little, but I think that will block out and, in any event, I did not want the cuff to be tight, so I’m okay with a little flair there.

Winter Wonderland Dress - Cast On!

Last year I knitted up a sport weight Advent set from the Unique Sheep into a dress, I dubbed it Mermaid, as that was the colorway of the set.  I have worn it and like it very much.  The pattern for that one was done with a sweater app based upon my stitch gauge.  Since then I have been keeping an eye out for dress patterns, either knit or crochet, and this past summer Meiju (MeijuKP on Ravelry) from Helsinki published the Lahja Dress.  It is a bit like a sweatshirt dress, raglan sleeves, ribbing on all the edges, but it is a marvelous blank canvas for me to work with.  This is the Advent set that I’m using:

The first half of the set is called “ Walking in a Winter Wonderland” and the last half is called “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”.  It is an Advent set I have had sitting around for several years.

Pattern:  Lahja Dress by Meiju K-P

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep 4 Ply SW Merino Fingering

Needles:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm), US 2.5 (3.0 mm)

Ramea - Right Front Sleeve Done!

The construction of Ramea is quite interesting, a trademark of Jennifer Beale.  It is constructed sideways starting with the right sleeve, beginning with a provisional cast on.  I used Judy Becker’s magic figure 8 cast on, which is the same one that I use for toe up socks.  You then start working on one of the needles, knitting across and then casting on steek stitches and joining in the round for the colorwork panel.  After the colorwork panel is completed you bind off the steek stitches, reinforce the steek, and cut it.  From there you continue in stockinette using short rows to shape the raglan for the shoulders.

My only slight confusion was on the short row shaping, when it stated to work to 3 stitches from the end I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to work that stitch (so there would be 2 stitches left) or not.  Similarly when it said to work to 1 stitch (or 4 stitches) before the double stitch.  After reading ahead I decided that I needed to work that stitch, otherwise the short row shaping would extend too far into the sleeve.  I have started working the back of the right sleeve.  That part of the knitting will include the underarm portion of the sleeve.  Then I will graft the sleeve stitches together and work another colorwork band for the body.  I’m thinking about going ahead and doing the finishing work on the sleeve edge after I do the grafting, just to get it done and also to see how it will look.

Pattern:  Ramea by Jennifer Beale

Yarn: Karabella Aurora 4

Needles:  US 1 (2.25 mm), US 1.5 (2.5 mm), US 2.5 (3.0 mm)

Ramea - Cast On!

I fell in love with this pattern when I saw it on Fleece & Harmony while I was binge watching old episodes.  I bought the pattern, and several others, and then went stash diving.  I found a yarn that I thought would work for the main color, but I didn’t have any other colors for the colorwork, so I bought a selection of colors that I thought would work, and happily they have.  I swatched for it back in the summer, and got gauge with the recommended needles and, more importantly, I really like the fabric I’m getting. The colorwork band was pretty fiddly to work, with the provisional cast on (I used Judy Becker’s figure 8 cast on), and the sewing reinforcing my steek is not the prettiest, but not bad for having to work in a constricted space while trying to keep knitting needles out of the way.

Pattern:  Ramea by Jennifer Beale

Yarn:  Karabella Yarns Aurora 4

Needles:  US 1 (2.25 mm), US 1.5 (2.5 mm), US 2.5 (3.0 mm)

Goiaba Vest - Ribbing Finished!

I have actually started this vest twice.  I started out knitting one size larger, but after getting through almost two skeins I realized that it was going to be too big.  Not the fault of my gauge swatch, but of my interpretation of the pattern measurements and how much ease I wanted.  So I started over with the other end of the second skein that I had almost completely knitted, and then knitted off of the first attempt.

Pattern:  Goiaba by Sventlana Zholobova

Yarn:  Purl Soho Plenty

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm), US 7 (4.5 mm)

Multivalence - Clue 10 Done!

Over the long weekend I decided to focus on Advertence and Multivalence, finishing up Clue 10 on both.  I had decided on the color a while back, using the rest of the skein from my original Zodiac Hues set, as well as almost all of the skein from the second set that I bought.  The yarn amount was just about perfect, a few grams left.  I’ve already started Clue 11, with the purple.  Finally, the purple.  I’ve been saving the purple.

Pattern:  Multivalence by Janica York Carter

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Luster Superwash Merino Sport

Hook:  3.5 mm (E)

 

Advertence - Clue 10 Done!

I finished up Clue 10 this morning.  I actually finished it up yesterday in the early afternoon, but when I took a photo of it I noticed a mistake about half way through the clue, so I ripped it back and reknit it.  I would start on Clue 11, but my cat Jezebel has just settled herself on it.

She often photo bombs my knitting, but this time she arrived just a little too late.  I had taken the photo and folded the piece up and had just gathered it up when I heard a little “mrr” behind me.  She looked a little disappointed, so when she saw an opportunity to curl up on it on the daybed she took it.  She does like my knitted, and crocheted, objects, and all folded up like this it is especially cushy.

Pattern:  Advertence by Janica York Carter

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Mirage Sport

Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Goiaba Vest - Cast On!

Well, the Llif didn’t last long.  I frogged my start on it this morning and cast on Goiaba by Svetlana Zholobova.  The pattern is in Portuguese, but I have Google Translate on my phone, so I’m giving it a go.  It is a basic pullover v-neck vest with 2x2 ribbing.  No cables, just stockinette stitch, and my stitch gauge matches the patterns, and my row gauge is just one off (28 instead of 27), so as long as I can interpret the directions I think I’ll be good.

Pattern:  Goiaba by Svetlana Zholobova

Yarn:  Purl Soho Plenty

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm), US 7 (4.5 mm)

Advertence - Clue 9 Done!

I finally finished up Clue 9 yesterday, but not in time for the drawings for clues 7, 8 and 9.  But that’s okay.  I am a tad behind.  Clue 10 dropped last month, and Clue 11 will be dropping this week.  The biggest challenge on the knitting at this point is that the colors on the charts are the reverse of mine - the light color is my dark yarn and the dark color is my light yarn - and the human brain just has a hard time with that.  It does make a very nice lap blanket while I’m working on it.  The multi-color ones are very pretty, but I really like my two tone one.  The dark color is actually a very subtle gradient, which will be seen when it is all laid out.

Pattern:  Advertence by Janica York Carter

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Mirage Sport in Dramatic Hues and Purple Chive

Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Iris Hues Lampy - Finished!

I finished this up last weekend.  I like how it came out, but am still contemplating if I want to add an I-cord edging all the way around, just to polish it up a little.

The original pattern calls for an I-cord tie, but I don’t really need that to keep it on, given the pattern modifications that I made.

I only knit one repeat of the Speckles section (the slipped stitches between the garter sections) so I would have enough yarn to work four repeats of the colors.  On the second half I reversed the color order and also the short row shaping.

Pattern:  Lampy by Janica York Carter

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Luster Superwash Merino Sport

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Llif - Cast On!

Back in July I had cast on the Ribline Vest by Purl Soho, but I really was not loving the pattern with this yarn, so in September I frogged it and went looking for another pattern to knit.  I quickly settled on a cabled vest pattern:  Llif by Theresa Shingler.  I finally cast on the new pattern this past week.  I have completed the ribbing and have started the cabling.  My only complaint is that the cabling does not grow organically from the ribbing, but I think there would have to be some pretty major changes to make that happen.  I might play around with it before I go further.  I think you might even want to start by changing the ribbing.

Pattern:  Llif by Theresa Shingler

Yarn:  Purl Soho Plenty

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Mackintosh Socks - Finished!

I finished up the second sock on Halloween, while we were watching The Abominable Dr. Phibes with Vincent Price.  It is a very campy movie, but I love Vincent Price.  I haven’t cast on my next pair of socks, but I do have the yarn caked up and I have the pattern mostly set up in knitCompanion.

Pattern:  Mackintosh by Janel Laidman

Yarn:  Cascade Yarns Heritage Sock

Needle:  US 1.5 (2.5 mm)