Swatching, Swatching...

The Cherie is blocked, sewn (and altered) and it now looks wonderful.

See:

I had to sew the neckline closed about 3" because it was so deep that I kept having to adjust it. Now it is perfect and I love the feel of the Manos. The pattern is perfect for this yarn because it is warm without being too hot to wear indoors.

I am still working on my current WIPs including the sweater for my boyfriend, but there has been some major stash enhancement and today I will begin swatching for two new projects.

The first is the Soap Bubble Wrap available free if you sign up for Knitting Daily emails from Interweave Knits. The yarn I chose for this project is Silk Bamboo from Patons in the Sapphire colourway:

I bought it from Yarn Forward and Sew On on Bank S. This yarn is sooo soft, but it has the reputation of being very slippery so we will see how it goes.

The next yarn is Sublime Kid Mohair in the Fancy colourway:

Purchased at Wool-Tyme on Colonnade. This yarn is also extremeally soft, which is a good thing since it is destined to become the Grecian Plait, a sweater designed to be worn next to the skin (with perhaps a cami underneath since it seems to be see through).

So I will be swatching for both of those today.

TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!

The Many Lives of Manos

Rejoice, for I have a finished object!
Well...almost finished...the knitting part is done, it is currently blocking, and then I have to sew in the sleeves.
But it is off the needles and until it dries I can work on something else.

Here's a pic:

I love the pooling on the sleeves:

The pattern: Cherie Amour (why yes I did end up humming Stevie Wonder the whole time I was knitting it, why do you ask?)
The Yarn: Manos Del Uruguay, and thus begins the story of The Many Lives of Manos...

Once upon a time I walked into Wool-Tyme with the intent to purchase some Patons Divine to make the Divine Throw. I was disappointed to discover that they did not have enough balls in my colourway to make the throw (they had tons of every other colour, but only 2 balls of the one I needed). I really wanted to make a throw, so I started hunting for something else I could use. I wandered the aisles...mushing skeins and petting yarns...all the while hunting for the perfect colour. Then I saw it. Long skeins of glorious reds, rusts, oranges, and browns. I rushed forward, hoping the yarn was a soft as it looked...it was. The only downside was the price. In order to make a large throw I would need quite a few of the 138 yard skeins, and at $19.99 a ball, I couldn't justify the expense.
Since I loved the yarn I decided I would get enough to make a small lap rug. I happily purchased 5 skeins and took my bounty home.

I cast on immediately and started to make a lap rug in a cable lace pattern:

But the colours called to me and said that they needed to become a sweater. The lap rug died a noble death, and the second life of Manos began.

I found the pattern for a custom fit raglan sweater. I took my measurements, did the math and cast on for the neck:

I happily knitted away, excited about my new sweater, but the yarn had other ideas...

As I stitched a little voice kept speaking in my ear, reminding me of a sweater that I had put in my Ravelry queue some time before. A pretty sweater that called for a bulky yarn. So the raglan sweater died a noble death and the final incarnation of Manos began.

My cherie amour, pretty little one that I adore...

I have a feeling that is what I really bought the yarn for in the first place, since I had exactly enough to finish the sweater.

What's next? Well aside from all the other unfinished projects (I'm picking up the sweater for my boyfriend again), I'm waiting for yarn and a pattern.

The yarn is this:

Flock of Feathers DK from Robyn's Nest (the photo was taken by Robyn). The yarn is 95% wool, 5% cashmere, the colourway is Ibis. It will become Evangeline.
I can't wait to start!

OOOOHHHH!!!! My yarn just arrived!!! Thank you Robyn! Now I just have to wait for the pattern.

Well, I'm going to do a few rounds of my boyfriend's sweater before work.

TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!

Yea...Goodies!

My mailbox had goodies in it yesterday. My order from Robyn's Nest arrived:

It consists of:

A skein of One of a Kind Yarn from Infiknits. Which is a laceweight wool/angora/nylon blend hand-dyed in gorgeous vibrant colours:

A pair of really cool yarn ball earrings:

A 2.0mm circular needle (Robyn's Nest Brand), that has a stainless steel cord that doesn't curl up on itself and requires no relaxing:

and finally a 60" measuring tape:

Of course these goodies don't help with the startitis because now I'm searching on Ravelry for a pattern to go with the yarn...

Sigh, I suppose I'll finish a project eventually...

TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!

Severe Startitis...

I keep telling myself I'll post as soon as I have something finished. However, given that I seem to be suffering from a case of startitis, I'll post a few pics of the WIPs.

First:

These are the Baroque Socks from the Fall issue of Knitty. The yarn is from Lotus Yarns. It was the skein from the September kit of the Robyn's Nest Sock Club. I started them and then got distracted by this:

This is the Spincycle Thirdwave Harf, done in the Dream in Colour Classy left over from my Mr. Greenjeans. It's almost done, or it would be if I hadn't started this:

and this:

The pattern for both is The Incredible Custom-fit Raglan. The first is made from Dream in Colour Classy and it will be a sweater for my boyfriend. The second is Manos Del Uruguay and it will be for me. They have been set aside for some lacework:

It's the Leaf Pattern for Half-Square Shawl. I found it in a knitting exercise book from the 1840's by Cornelia Mee. It's available as a free ebook at Manybooks.net.

However, I did manage to get two projects done:

One is a tree skirt I crocheted:

and the other is an Ipod Cozy for the Ipod Nano my boyfriend got me for Christmas:

So that brings you up to speed with what has been happening on the knitting front.

TTFN and KEEP KNITTING!