Draped Vest - take 2 - Left Front Done

I managed to get a fair bit of knitting done this week during telecons.  I probably would have finished this last night, but this past Tuesday I pulled out this project only to discover that I had not put in another ball of yarn and I was almost finished with the one that I was working with.  Calamity!  I ended up doodling jewelry designs instead, which actually wasn't a good idea as it requires far more brain cells than this kind of knitting.  On the other hand I do have some jewelry designs to explore this weekend.

When I was working on this last night (while watching Fistful of Dollars on TCM) I realized that I had made a mistake when I was knitting the first version of the left front.  For some reason I had only done the armhole decreases on right side rows, instead of both right and wrong side rows, resulting in 14 more rows than I should have had.  This got me thinking about my first attempt at this vest and wondering if I would have enough yarn to finish if I went back and fixed that mistake (I didn't frog the project, just bundled it in a bag).  So this morning I pulled out that first attemp, but after working with the Karabella Aurora 8 I just couldn't bring myself to work with the Naturally Vienna yarn.  It is scratchy, and the variegation hides the patterning of the stitches and the cable work, so I bundled it back into its bag and will toss it back onto a high shelf in my studio.The Karabella Aurora 8 is a wonderful yarn to work with, and comes in so many beautiful colors.  The picture is actually far more blue than it should be, the color is actually a deep purple.

I have been using my blocking mats for so long that I had sort of forgotten that I had another blocking board that was gridded, so I pulled it out this morning when I went to block this to make it easier to get the dimensions (the ones that I knew, anyway) correct.  This yarn is interesting.  It knits up into a denser fabric, cushy and textured, but when you wet block it the yarn really relaxes (I haven't tried steam blocking it yet, but I have another project waiting in the wings that will probably require that method).  Most of the effort of blocking is smooshing it back from a stretched out shape with the palm of my hand, and I noticed after I took the photo (photos are great for spotting imperfections in your blocking) that I had missed some spots, which I went back and fixed.

Pattern:  Naturally Vienna Draped Vest - FC 56
Yarn:  Karabella Aurora 8
Needles:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Knitterati Mystery 5 - Clue 2 Done!

It has been a while since I knit any lace, not since I finished the Triffid shawl (October 20), and I haven't touched this project since I whipped out Clue 1 (October 16).  Mostly it is because my knitting mojo has been a bit low lately, but I gotta say, it was nice to be knitting lace again, and it is always great to be knitting with Zen Yarn Garden yarn.  I am actually really looking forward to next year's club because it will be pattern only, and all shawls knit in fingering weight yarn.  It will be the perfect opportunity to use up my Art Walk Sock Yarn Club shipments.  I am definitely cutting back on my clubs next year, and going for the pattern only option on those that I do join - I really need to use up some of my stash.  My only exceptions will be Zen Yarn Garden Mystery Knit Alongs, and just about anything from The Unique Sheep.  There are a few of The Unique Sheep Clubs that I don't sign up for, but not many.  I have even been contemplating weaving with a gradience set.

Pattern:  Knitterati Mystery 5 by Janel Laidman
Yarn:  Zen Yarn Garden Squooshy in Horne Creek Fall (September 2012 Art Walk Club)
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Rose Bolero

I finished up the basic body of the bolero last night.  I used my Knitting Math Wizard program for figuring out the increase spacing for the increase rows and then marked the last increase stitch with a split ring marker and incremented a counter.  I did my increases on rows 5, 7 and 9 because I needed a row that was entirely double crochet.  I stopped after row 11.  That makes this section only 11 centimeters deep - the pattern calls for 12 centimeters - but the pattern also says to adjust so that you stop after a double crochet row.  I have enough yarn to add two more rows, if I want to.  I'll wait and see how the dimensions work out when I get the blocks done.  And speaking of blocks, here is the first one finished and blocked.

I will probably crochet the blocks together rather than sewing them, and also crochet them to the body of the bolero.  And here is a shot of the front of the bolero.

Project:  DROPS 126-8 by DROPS Design
Yarn:  Fiesta Yarns La Luz Multi in Rose (June Flower of the Month colorway)
Hook:  D (3.25 mm)

Twills in Silk

I did a fair bit of weaving during our days off due to Sandy.  I am in a long section of twill where the pattern calls for weaving 36 inches with the red silk.  I needed a good way to keep track of how much I had woven and the method that I have used on my floor loom of simply measuring whenever I changed a bobbin wasn't really working for this loom or this piece.  Fortunately I had picked up some of those paper tape measures that the Ikea store gives away.  I picked them up because I thought they were cool, even though I had no need for them at the time.  So, I tucked the paper tape measure under the weaving as it was wrapping itself around the cloth beam and taped the tape to the beam to keep it from slipping out.  Then I continued weaving.  The tape gets taken up on the cloth beam with the cloth, and it is easy to hold it against the weaving and see how far I have gone (almost 18 inches at this point).

Project:  Twills in Silk
Sett:  15 ends per inch
Materials:  1 - 3.5 ounce skein Gemstone 2/12 silk in #103 red, 1 mini-cone Gemstone 2/12 silk each #116 rose, #105 Copenhagen, #106 gold
Source:  Yarn Barn of Kansas kit
Loom:  24  harness Margaret from Woolhouse Tools

Rose Bolero

My Rose Bolero is actually starting to look like...a bolero.  I finished up the back and forth rows of the main section of the back and am now going round and round, extending the back and also working the front.  The pooling is...interesting, and the red and yellow really dominate in this picture.  Working in the round is affecting the pooling, in a good way, breaking up the red and yellow a bit so they aren't quite so prominent and letting some of the other colors come out more.  I am almost half way done with this section and then I get to make a bunch of squares.

Project:  DROPS 126-8 by DROPS Design
Yarn:  Fiesta Yarns La Luz Multi in Rose (June Flower of the Month colorway)
Hook:  D (3.25 mm)

Storm Clouds

Yesterday, despite the weather, I received the book "Beautiful Beaded Ropes" by Jill Wiseman and was inspired to pull out the beads.  Originally I was going to make a spiral bead rope for this focal bead using the semi-precious stones that I had selected, and I really liked the colors that I selected and the look of the spiral beaded rope, but I also discovered that with a focal bead of this weight, you need more than beading thread to support it and make everything hang right, so I defaulted to the old faithful string some gemstones and call it good.  I added the silver bangle on a whim, but am not sure that I am going to keep it.

Lamp work beads by Larry Scott

Fresh Ink Pullover - Done!

I finished this on Saturday, but was waiting for it to dry, and the weather to clear a little so I could get a decent photo of it.  We survived the storm just fine, rain, some wind, but no power loss.

Pattern:  Top-down raglan from Sweater Wizard
Yarn:  Zen Yarn Garden Serenity DK in Fresh Ink (Quasi Yarn Club February 2012 color)
Needles:  US 4 & 5 (3.5 & 3.75 mm)