Midnight Rose - Second Lace Section Done!

Once again I pulled the stitch markers when I reached the single color rows in the Mosaic section and reinserted them when I worked the first lace patterning row.  As I was working that first lace patterning row I did discover that I had not paid enough attention to the pattern and worked decreases on the last wrong side row of the Mosaic pattern when I was not supposed to, so I had to tink back and fix that.  I cheated and just did not work decreases on the first wrong side row of the lace chart.

Pattern:  Knit Love Shawl by Ambah O’Brien

Yarn:  Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 in Midnight Rose & Harvest Pear

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Midnight Rose - First Mosaic Section Done!

I do really enjoy Mosaic knitting, and I am very happy with my color choice for this one.  I am glad that I decided to change from the solids that I had picked out.  I pulled the stitch markers out at the end of the lace section and put them back in on the first row of Mosaic patterning.  I have a marker on the center stitch that I shift up periodically just to make sure I don’t lose it in all of the patterning.

Pattern:  Knit Love Shawl by Ambah O’Brien

Yarn:  Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 in Midnight Rose & Harvest Pear

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm) 

Hearthside Crochet Along - Clue 4 Done!

My yarn for clue 4 arrived this past week so I immediately wound it and started work.  This one didn’t take me too long, but definitely took me longer than it should have.  First I came up short on the stitch count on one of the sides after the first row.  Turns out I had missed working a stitch on the last row for the previous clue.  Fortunately it was towards the end of the last row of that clue, so it was an easy fix.  Then I got the entire first round done and did not like the join of the first round when I came around to start the next round, so I ripped back and started over.  Then I got the first round finished again and discovered I had missed a chain one, right at the beginning, after the first two stitches.  So I ripped back again.  Sigh.  I do like the fact that ripping is so easy in crochet, because I tend to do a fair bit.  But now it is all done and I love it.  The Luster Worsted is very soft and it drapes beautifully.  Now I just have to wait for the next color and the next clue.

Pattern:  Hearthside by Jane Vanselous

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Luster Worsted

Hook:  5.0 mm (H)

Midnight Rose - First Lace Section Done!

This one has been languishing in my WIPs pile for a while now.  I cast it on back on February 23 and I only knit a few rows before I had to set it aside to focus on a test knit.  But now the test knit is done I can focus on finishing some of my WIPs (before I start casting on more!).  The first lace section actually knit up pretty easily.  I have markers to keep me on track - I rarely use markers but they are definitely useful on this pattern - and the yarn is a real joy to work with.  The yarn is Serenity 20 from Zen Yarn Garden and at one point (based on the amount in my stash) it was my favorite fingering weight yarn.  It still is one of my favorites.

As I approached the first mosaic section I realized that I did not want to use one of the Dream in Color yarns that I had picked out.  I really wanted to use another Serenity 20 yarn.  So back I went to my stash.  Actually, I just looked at my stash of Serenity 20 on Ravelry, came up with a couple of possibilities, and then went to my stash.  I ended up picking Harvest Pear.  Despite the name and color inspiration it reminds me of a rose garden.  I am a few rows in to the first mosaic section and am very happy with how the colors are playing together.

Pattern:  Knit Love Shawl by Ambah O’Brien

Yarn:  Serenity 20 by Zen Yarn Garden

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

 

Nature’s Cathedral Vest - Finished!

My sister Liz’s birthday was last month, and I wanted to make her something.  We don’t usually do much for birthdays in my family, but I wanted to this year.  I had this yarn in my stash and had been thinking of making her a vest for a while.  Like me she gets cold easily.  So I cast this on last month and finished it up last weekend.  I would have finished it sooner but I had to finish up a test knit.  Now I just need to box it up and get it in the mail to her.

The yarn is Vega by SpaceCadet and the colorway is Nature’s Cathedral from the Space Monster Club.  I really like how this one blocked, the fabric is very soft and drapes nicely.  I have now made 10 of these vests.

Pattern:  Practically by Kelly Herdrich

Yarn:  Vega by SpaceCadet Yarns

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm)  

Hearthside Crochet Along - Clue 3 Done!

I finished clue 3 on April 9.  It was pretty easy after working clue 2.  The only tricky part was the joins, and that wasn’t too bad.  I was a little worried about my edges on clue 2 - wondering if they were too tight, but I stretched them and compared them to the center corner and they seemed pretty good.  I am really enjoying the crocheting, and I love the colors.

Colors:

Clue 1 - Leaves

Clue 2 - Monarch

Clue 3 - Red Flame

Pattern:  Hearthside by Jane Vanselous

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Luster Worsted

Hook:  5.0 mm (H)

 

Perseverance Knit Along - Clue 3 Done!

I finished up Clue 3 on April 5.  I will confess that I did not work a gauge swatch.  I started out on the same needles that I had knit clues 1 and 2 on, but quickly realized that it would be too loose.  So I put in one of my afterthought lifelines and ripped back and started over with a needle two sizes smaller.  It worked perfectly.  It was a pretty straightforward knit, except for a couple of rows - the ones with the increases and decreases.  I put in markers at the end of each repeat as I worked the row across so I always knew where I was and it worked great.  I did screw up and did not work enough rows so I did the decrease row and came up short, but I just tinked back and did the extra rows and then everything was good.  I switched to a US 7 when I started the transition rows and ended the transition rows with a US 8.

Colors:

Clue 1 - Unshaken

Clue 2 - Nightlife

Clue 3 - Caricia

Pattern:  Perseverance by Jane Vanselous

Yarn:  Expression Fiber Arts Enduring Worsted

Needle:  US 8 (5.0 mm), US 6 (4.0 mm)