and the sticks are flyin'! its been a knitting frenzy around here!
i have completed four summer sweaters and a couple of shawls. a couple of these sweaters have been on my 'to do' list for longer than i'd like to admit and it gives me great pleasure to be able to say: "stick a fork in them, they are DONE!"
without further ado, here goes:
this is the 'bella cardigan' by helene rush from 'knit one, crochet two', knit in mission falls 1824 cotton, a delightful cotton yarn that glides off your needles. this sweater began life last summer as another pattern by helene but when i saw this pattern i knew it would be a much better match. after months of hunting for the pattern, i finally scored but had to order an additional two skeins of yarn - fortunately they were from the same dye lot - dumb luck really!!
was exploring a new yarn haunt in ptown called 'Happy Knits' when i spotted this top called 'Buttercup' (available on ravelry for 'free' - a very good price!). i used classic elite 'pebbles' yarn and miracles of miracles had yarn to spare (probably because i actually bought this yarn for this top hence i actually had enough!). i've used this yarn before and i liked it so when i found this color i was smitten. followed the pattern except for the end of the sleeves where i had to decrease many more times than the original pattern called for - i have skinny arms!
can't begin to tell you how happy i am to finally have this top out of my yarn stash and completed! i've been harboring this yarn for two summers - it's nashua ecological cotton in logwood, and the pattern is 'surplice lace top'. totally did not follow the pattern instructions or the suggestions on ravelry but did it my way! pattern called for the top to be knit in 7 pieces - utterly ridiculous! folks on ravelry were knitting it in 4 pieces - total front, total back and 2 sleeves. as i detest sewing seams, my goal was to knit it as seamless as possible so... i knit the bottom lace pattern as one piece, the top fronts and back as one piece, and the sleeves in the round. that left me with shoulder and sleeve seams and a seam between the top and the bottom!
and last, but certainly not least, is this wonderful and easy 'leaf lace top' i found in the 'knit 1' magazine from last summer. i knit this out of debbie bliss cathay - one of my favorite yarns. as seems to be my m.o. i had to order a couple of additional skeins but once again, i got lucky and was able to score the same dyelot! i varied this pattern some by adding some little cap sleeves by using short rows. like this top alot!
now, if we'd get some consistent warm weather around here, i could wear these goodies! argh!
