Bloomsbury Pullover - Finished!

I finished up my third Camp Loopy project this past weekend.  I ended up doing 11.5 repeats of the lace chart total on the arms and then finishing off the sleeves with a couple of rows of garter stitch to help prevent curling.  I did not do any increases or decreases on the sleeves.  I tried the pullover on last night and it fits like a dream and the yarn feels wonderful.  Of course the back of this pullover is more interesting than the front.

I cast on extra stitches at the beginning so I could make it more symmetric, centered the lace design on the sleeves and did the entire lace chart on the sleeves.


Pattern:  Bloomsbury by Svetlana Volkova
Yarn:  madelinetosh tosh vintage in Clematis
Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm)

Bloomsbury - Body Done

As I approached the bottom of the body, I was confronted with a couple of decisions:  how long to make it? and what to do about the ribbing?  I don't like sweaters that fit tightly across the hips, and the problem that I always have with ribbing is the bind off.  The only way I have every found to bind off in such a way as to not have the bottom too tight is to do an Elizabeth Zimmerman sewn bind off.  As I was getting close to a decision point I also was a little worried about using enough yarn.  It then occurred to me that one way to help ensure I used enough yarn would be to make it more of a tunic style, than the classic pullover with ribbing.  I was going to leave the body unfinished and do the sleeves and then finish up the body making sure I used 800 yards, but then I would have to deal with leaving the body stitches on one or more needles.  In the end I decided to split the front and back, keep the three edge stitches in garter stitch and do 1 more repeat of the chart on the back and 12 rows of stockinette on the front and finish up with a couple of garter stitch rows to help keep the bottom from curling.

Pattern:  Bloomsbury by Svetlana Volkova
Yarn:  madelinetosh tosh vintage in Clematis
Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm)

Bloomsbury - Ready to start the body

This is my 3rd Camp Loopy Project.  The requirements are pretty easy - just use 800 yards.  For the last two years I've done top down raglans in Fiesta Boomerang, a pattern I have down cold at this point.  This year I wanted to do something a little more challenging so I picked Bloomsbury by Svetlana Volkova, a top down raglan that has some lovely lace patterning on the sleeves and down the back.  I cast on August 1 after getting home from work, but it has taken me a couple of tries to get it to this point.  It took me two tries to get it to this point following the pattern, only to spot a missed increase.  I decided to rip back because there was no way that I could fix it, and while I was ripping I decided to modify the pattern.

The original pattern has you start out with just a few stitches for the front and do increases on every round, and the lace pattern on the sleeves is missing the column of eyelets on the side towards the front, so the scalloping from the center lace panel lies along the front increases.  It does create an interesting line, but I wanted more symmetry.

I cast on 108 stitches and did 8 rows of rib, but instead of starting with k2, I started with k1 (p2, k2) ending with a k1.  I always do this with k2, p2 ribbing when knitting in the round.  It splits one of the k2s across the round marker which I think makes the transition from the ribbing to stockinette look cleaner.  When I started the set up row I realized that I had messed up my math so I did some on the fly adjustments to keep the symmetry of the lace in relation to the ribbing.  This gave me 32 stitches for the back and 24 stitches for the sleeves, but only 28 stitches for the front.  Turns out I should have cast on 112 stitches - curse lace patterns that have varying stitch counts.  I really didn't feel like ripping back, yet again, so I increased 4 stitches evenly across the front.  Close enough.  Some things you have to rip back for, some things you don't.

When it comes to indie designers, I don't worry so much about matching their gauge.  I have found that with indie patterns you can really see the variation in how people knit.  I did a gauge swatch, got a fabric I liked and went from there.  The pattern calls for 4 stitches and 5 rows per inch, I ended up with 4.5 stitches and 6 rows per inch.  Based upon my gauge I figured I need to do 3 repeats of the lace pattern before I cast on the underarm stitches and started the body.  I did 9 sets of increases all the way around (on the even rows) and then reduced the frequency of the increases on the sleeve sections ( to every 4th row), but maintained the frequency of the increases on the front and the back until I finished the third repeat.  This gave me 18 increases on the front and back sections and 13 increases on the sleeves.  My stitch count at the end of all this was 68 stitches on the front and back and 50 stitches on the sleeves.
Front:

Back:

Pattern:  Bloomsbury by Svetlana Volkova
Yarn:  madelinetosh tosh vintage in Clematis
Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm)

Catkin - Finished!

I finally got some small flat buttons to use in attaching my buttons to the shawl so my Catkin is finally done and I've uploaded a picture to The Loopy Ewe.  I've already bought my yarn and pattern for the third Camp Loopy project.  I am doing a top down sweater, but not one of my super simple, super quick, top down raglans out of Fiesta Boomerang.  I've done that for the last two years, and wanted to do something different.  This time I am doing Bloomsbury in Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in Clematis.

Fred has become ambulatory.  He spent the morning snuggled on the day bed and when we went to take a shower I shut him up in his room.  He immediately started complaining about being shut up.  When I checked on him he was up on the bed.  After our shower we let him back out and he went right down the stairs and started exploring the first floor again.  After watching kitty TV (looking out the sliding glass doors) for a while he went back to the day bed and he is snuggled under the blanket taking another kitty nap.  Poor thing gets cold with no fur.

Pattern:  Catkin by Carina Spencer
Yarn:  Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Blue Skies Ahead and Rosy
Needles:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Catkin - Knitting Done and Shawl Blocked

I finished this up last weekend and blocked it Monday.  It took a couple of days to dry.  I still need to sew on the buttons.  I used up almost all of the blue, and 80% of the red.  I was actually getting nervous about having enough blue to finish and weighed my skein after each set of blue rows once I get into the final section.  I managed to get home early today, because I went in early this morning, so I was able to get some slightly better shots.

When I started this shawl I thought that I would do the blue as Color A and the red as Color B, but as I was swatching I realized they would look better the other way.  The reason?  The red is a warm color and tends to come forward, while the blue is a cool color that tends to recede.  When I had the colors switched in the swatch the shawl just felt unbalanced.  This is my first time knitting with Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere, and it is delightful to work with.  Definitely smooshy.

Pattern:  Catkin by Carina Spencer
Yarn:  Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Blue Skies Ahead and Rosy
Needles:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Catkin - Section 2 Done

I think I may be becoming a monogamous knitter.  This is the only project that I have worked on this month.  Of course, part of it may be the fact that I have a deadline, but I do find that I am less comfortable having lots of works in progress floating around.  As I was working on this section I wasn't sure if the colors were going to work, I even considered getting different yarn and went so far as to peruse The Loopy Ewe web site for possible alternatives.  In the end, though, I decided to stay the course and see where it took me.  Section 2 was not as hard as I thought it would be, once I got used to the pattern.  I don't usually use stitch markers, but I do have them marking the stitch that separates the four sections.

Pattern:  Catkin by Carina Spencer
Yarn:  Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Blue Skies Ahead and Rosy
Needles:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Catkin - Section 1 Done

The second Camp Loopy project is to do something that has been popular but you haven't done.  My friend and fellow camper Erin decided she wanted to do Catkin, so I decided to join her.  The funny thing is that this was going to be my very first Camp Loopy project back in 2011.  At that time I bought Dream in Color Smooshy in Lunar Zazzle and Night Watch.  I ended up knitting Over the Moon instead - a much easier project.  This time around I went for Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere, and I bought Blue Skies Ahead and Rosy.  Not only did I like the colors, I also like the positive attitude engendered by the color names.  They don't have as much contrast as most of the other color choices for this shawl, but I like them.  I usually agonize over color choices, but I'm getting better about not doing that.  Originally I was going to start with the blue, but when I was swatching I decided that the colors would look better the other way around.

Pattern:  Catkin by Carina Spencer
Yarn:  Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Blue Skies Ahead and Rosy
Needles:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Crushed Tart - Done!

I finished up my first Camp Loopy project this morning.  Overall an easy and quick knit.  I used up almost all of my yarn (116 grams of my 118 gram skein), which always makes me happy because I hate having leftovers.  I learned a new increase technique that creates a beautifully shaped shawl 9knit, yarn over, knit in same stitch instead of just doing a yarn over0, which makes me happy because I now have another trick in my bag of design techniques.  Once it comes off the blocking wires I'll get a beauty shot and upload it to the Loopy Ewe web site.  I've already decided on my second Camp Loopy Project and ordered the yarn and it has already shipped.  My friend, Erin, and I are both going to do Catkin in Dream in Color Smooshy.  We both did Crushed as well.

Pattern:  Crushed by Rachel Henry, from the Lovelorn Collection
Yarn: dragonfly fibers djinni sock in Queen of Tarts
Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Crushed Tart - Main Chart Done

I didn't get a whole lot of knitting done while I was at Bead & Button, but I did during my lay over in Yellow Springs at my folks after the show.  Once I got used to the lace pattern it was pretty easy.  It didn't seem like I was using much yarn until I got to the last repeat of the main chart.  I did a spreadsheet with the stitch count and I will have enough yarn to finish, and will also use enough yarn to qualify for the Camp Loopy challenge.  After finishing the main chart I have 26 grams of yarn left.  Based on my yarn usage I should use 112 grams of yarn (not including the bind off), my skein has 118 grams.  It will be close, but not doing the nupps (I am replacing them with beads) helps a lot.  Nupps eat yarn.

Pattern:  Crushed by Rachel Henry, from the Lovelorn Collection
Yarn: dragonfly fibers djinni sock in Queen of Tarts
Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Crushed Tart - Set up chart done

It is June 1, which means a couple of things.  It is the start of the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and it is the start of Camp Loopy Project 1.  The first project, if you recall, is a single skein project of at least 375 yards using a yarn you've not used before.  I picked dragonfly fibers djinni sock in Queen of Tarts.  The picture does not do the color justice.  It is a rich and juicy red.  For the pattern I picked Crushed by Rachel Henry, from the Lovelorn Collection, hence the project name - Crushed Tart.  This shawl uses a new to me increase to get the heart shape - a knit, yarn over, knit in the same stitch.  You do this stitch after and before the two edge stitches and in the center.  When you do this in the center you get a row of holes instead of a row of stitches for the central spine.

Tomorrow I head north and west on my annual trip to Milwaukee to work with my sister in her booth at the Bead & Button show so I probably won't be posting until I get back.

Pattern:  Crushed by Rachel Henry, from the Lovelorn Collection
Yarn: dragonfly fibers djinni sock in Queen of Tarts
Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Mariposa Tee - Done!

Once I got past clue 3 this top went very quickly.  I did have to make a couple of more adjustments to the pattern because of the changes that I had already made.  I had to recalculate where to do the yoke decreases, which was easy thanks to an app on my iPad.  Once I did the initial 3 sets of decreases that were common between the scoop neck and the high neck I tried it on to see how it was fitting.  I really liked the neckline so I decided to stay with the scoop neck, but I really didn't feel like figuring out how to do the short rows with my pattern adjustments, so I just skipped them.  Instead I did another set of decreases and then started the neck edge, working another set of decreases into the neck edging.

Pattern:  Maripos Tee by Michelle Miller
Yarn:  Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Worsted in Carnival
Needle:  US 8 (5 mm)

And the sun was out yesterday, so I got some beauty shots of my latest shawls.  First up, my Treasure Island Cape, front view.

 And my Ardent Spring Shawl

Have you heard?  It's time for Camp Loopy.  Camp week - the week you can get discounts on the yarn used in the camp challenge is this week.  I wasn't going to do it again this year, but I caved.  The first challenge is easy.  Knit or crochet something that uses only 1 skein (at least 375 yards), but it has to be a yarn that you haven't used before.  Well, that might be a bit of a challenge, but there is no harm in looking.  So I went to the Camp Loopy site and checked out the yarns, just looking, and found Dragonfly Fibers Djinni Sock, a yarn that I have never used before.  The first color that caught my eye was Queen of Tarts.  How can you resist that name.  Then I spotted Blue Morpho Butteryfly.  You have to understand, I have been haunted by the Blue Morpho ever since I listened to the ZBS radio play Dreams of the Blue Morpho.  I have been wanting to make something inspired by that radio play ever since I heard it.  Actually, I thought it would be cool to design a whole series inspired by the Adventures of Jack Flanders radio plays, starting with Blue Morpho.  And here is the yarn.  It was meant to be.

I'll use the Queen of Tarts for the challenge, and find a nice one skein shawl.  I have tons of patterns, and there are lots more on Ravelry if I don't have one in my library that suits.