Presenting Klaralund...

The finishing went like a dream yesterday evening and in the end I didn't think she really needed a blocking. I crocheted the body to the sleeves, going in through the front of the body just underneath the top garter ridge, then through the sleeve, picking up the yarn loop at the back and bringing it through again. This way there is a tiny row of crochet stitches hidden under the top garter ridge.



The details:
Pattern - my own copying a picture of Klaralund by Cornelia Tuttle-Hamilton
Yarn - Rowanspun 4 ply held double in shades Midnight, Jade and Holly (708, 709 and 712, not necessarily in that order). 12 skeins.
Needles - 5mm circular for body, 4.5mm DPN's and straights for arms.
3.5mm crochet hook for finishing.

The dark blue-green panels are midnight and holly held together, the light blue-green panels are midnight and jade and the green edges are jade and holly together.

The darker panels have come out well colour-wise in the photos, but the paler sections are not so pale as they look and the variation between the colour sections is really quite subtle.

I'm definitely going to knit this again - maybe in Noro for next winter. Two things I would definitely change (possibly the only things), are that I would knit the shoulder saddles a bit broader so that the join sits lower on the body. I think that would give this jumper slightly better proportions. I would also knit the sleeves a bit longer. They were down over my hands when I knitted them, but once I joined them to the body, they were pulled up about 2 inches. Otherwise, I love her!

Wheeee

It's knitting night tonight. I love knitting night - all that coffee and those scones and the gossip... oh and of course the knitting. Now that I'm finished with the major project I promised not to mention again, I've been a lean, mean, knitting machine and finished Klaralund too. I pinned her up and tried her on last night - looked very Armani what with all the safety pins holding her together - and she fits beautifully. All that is left is the sewing up (crocheting up to be picky - have developed a definite preference for this lately) and a light blocking.

This means that I'm flat out of WIPs (how exciting).

I have a little list though... really a whopping great big list when I consider all the knitting involved... of all the patterns I've seen and want to knit, several of which I even have the yarn for.

These include:
Gloves for my sister to match her scarf and hat,
Betty from Rowan 38.
Cactus Flower from Knitty.
Tank top from Freedom Spirit.
Nantucket Jacket from Interweave.
Basil from Rowan Summer Tweed.

I'd also really like to knit or crochet a lightweight summer cardi for going over dresses (any pattern suggestions welcome!) and I need to rip back a pair of socks I knit in January and reknit the feet with smaller needles to get a better fit.

Obviously, I can prioritise some of this list: my sister won't be needing gloves again until late Autumn so they can wait, and I don't have the yarn for the Nantucket jacket so that can wait (it also looks like a lovely autumn project), but Betty, Basil and Cactus Flower are all vying for my attention. I think Betty might be first up, but she looks pretty tricky, so I might revise this idea soon...

Just because...

...it's a beautiful day. The sun is shining, my laundry can dry outside, and I'll get Lizard Ridge blocked today.

Here are some pictures of my cat (she's called Splat - we took her in after she'd been hit by a car, fixed up by the Resident Radiologist back when he was a plain old vet, and then not claimed by anyone) just looking like her usual cute self.


And here is the finished version of the tweed corsage I showed a few posts ago. I finished it off with some french knots in embroidery thread, some with beads incorporated, and sewed a safety pin on the back.


Klaralund is well in hand again. I'm past the elbow on the first sleeve (after much ripping and resizing) and things are looking good. I think it's going to be too warm to wear her by the time I get her sewn up, but she's one of those timeless jumpers that will be with me year after year.

No Broken Bones...

... and not even any stiff muscles or sore joints. The Resident Radiologist and I had a fantastic time in la Plagne, skied many tens of miles (some of them uphill which wasn't supposed to be part of the plan, but never mind) and improved our technique. The weather was OK - snowing most days so the light was a bit flat and the definition on the snow wasn't great, but the snow conditions were the best I've ever skied in.

Above are a couple of photos of the view from the balcony of our apartment and below is a photo of the most beautiful run through the woods - the aforementioned uphill skiing.

It was a bit too much for the Resident Radiologist at times!



On a knitting front, no progress has been made on anything except a few inches of stocking stitch on Klaralund since my last post. However, I have tracked down the last few balls of Kureyon I need to finish Lizard Ridge from here. Only 5 blocks to go, then the finishing (which at the moment I'm kind of looking forward to, but I'm sure once I start, my perspective will change). The downside is that the yarn has to come from the States, so may take some time - I'm getting jittery waiting!

Rip it!

I was working on Klaralund last night when I started to get the nagging feeling that it was going to be too big - very much too big... To be honest, I've been having this feeling all week, but couldn't muster the energy to spread it onto enough needles to measure. When I did this last night, my feeling turned out to be right, she was over 40 stitches too large (in the round). There was no other option but to rip and start again. I've been consoling myself that at least it will be quicker to get to the same point this time as there are fewer stitches in each round now!

While I had the camera out, I took the oportunity to get pictures of two of my most recent finished objects:

The jumper is Kepler, knitted in Rowanspun aran on 5.5mm needles. I love the way the neck is finished with the applied I-cord and will definitely use this technique again. I adapted the pattern to knit the body in the round up to the armholes, and the sleeves in the round too. I was going to knit the whole of the body in the round and steek the armholes, but when it came down to it, I just didn't have the confidence... next time...

The hat is my own design to match the Irish Hiking Scarf, also in the picture. The yarn is Orkney St Magnus Angora. The cable band was knitted on 4mm needles, then I picked up stitches and crocheted the crown. I'm really pleased with the way this turned out and aparently the resident radiologist has his eye on it too as he has requested something similar (in a 'man' colour) for our upcoming ski trip. The only problem with that request is that it might require a departure from the current 'knit from stash' mantra!