Sunday, March 28, 2010

Bingo

My last post I was waffling about what to make from my Firefly yarn.

Today I grabbed the latest issue of interweaves on the way out the door with the vague notion of casting on the Wasabi Peas Socks (I didn't get around to that and considering how much I am not into knitting largely stockinette socks right now I may not for awhile but whatever). When I packed myself back up to come home the back of the magazine was facing me with the Gathered Cuff Cardi taking up the back panel. Its pretty much exactly what I was looking for - simple, open front cardigan with 3/4 set in sleeves and a drapey sort of silhouette. And the gauge is pretty damn close to my swatch - near enough I'm pretty confident going up a needle size will nail it.

Now I just have to find the pattern (Why, oh why, doesn't everyone just post their stuff in PDF's online? WHY? Also - individual pattern sales, people. I do not actually want anything else in that booklet).

Now the reason I was looking to cast on some new socks today is because on Friday I finished my Spring Forward Socks and so in one of those creepy "OMG what is wrong with this picture?" moments today I realized I DO NOT HAVE ANY SOCKS IN PROGRESS and seeing as they are my default grab and walk out the door project this was a major bit of a crisis.

There was frantic yarn winding and the grabbing of pattern books on the way out the door this morning, which ended up being both pointless and stressful because a) I ran out of time to get ready and then had to do a mad search for my suddenly missing keys and b) My geodesic cardi is still in that nice smallish mindless place where I can carry it around in lieu of my usual knitting and since I managed not to grab a pattern I really wanted to work on anyway I wound up knitting on that instead.

Anyway, morning knitting crisis aside, these are most awesome socks. They're knit from the cabled handspun I finished back last summer sometime (which is really funny because I wrote that post about how excited I was about not washing socks in the sink anymore and I am totally back to washing socks in the sink these days - I am at least using the washer to spin them out though). I probably could have lined up the color gradients exactly - I had the yardage left over for it - but I like that they are fraternal.

The upside to finishing these?

No, handspun cabled sock yarn is not awesome to knit and no I don't need to put myself through spinning it ever again. Ha. (I do however really need to get on with spinning more non-cabley sock yarn because now I am out of handspun sock yarn and that makes me twitchy).

I love handspun socks.

They are always my favorites to wear and super durable and super comphy and I just love them.

These are awesome. At least as much so as my previous ones. Maybe more because they're not just stockinette. They are pretty and they fit well and the pattern was fun and easy and satisfying to knit. I've already worn them twice and today was sock laundry day and I shall wear them again at least once this week even though its getting to be sandal weather.

Yay socks.

I also finished my red circle shrug a few weeks ago. I want to have a lot to say about it, but 2 days after it was finished it became too hot here to wear it.

I want to say that I really really love it. And I really do like the look and fit. It does, however, have an annoying habit of falling off my shoulders and I am back to my opinion that raglans do not make good cardigans for me. I shall file this under things I know about stuff that fits or does not fit me and will not forget it just because the pattern photo is pretty. I think maybe they are OK for pullovers or things I will wear buttoned up most of the time (the FLS has a habit of falling off me if I don't close it as well so this is not an isolated incident).

On the upside, it does fit and is very nice looking on and if I wear it and don't move around much its lovely. Someday when I have a job again and am back to working in an office meat locker I think I shall use it for an A/C buffer jacket.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Stumped


I received some really gorgeous linen blend yarn from my parents when they were down here recently. Its a Classic Elite Yarn called "Firefly" in a rich graphite color. It has a really lovely sheen and is very drapey knit up.

I've been getting a gauge in the neighborhood of 20-22sts/4in with row gauge in the low to mid 30s. Originally I'd thought to make a Buttercup from it, but this yarn doesn't full out as much as the hempathy seems to and I haven't been able to approach gauge without dropping down to size 2s. Even at gauge there is still a sort of gauzyness to the finished fabric that suggests to me it would be better as a light cardigan or wrap than a top (unless lining was involved or I wanted to resign myself to always wearing a cami underneath).

I'm having trouble finding a pattern that matches my idea of how this yarn should best be displayed however. I'd like something with a lot of drape and flow. Nothing with super structured shaping or stitches.

Things like the Pas de Valse or the Lily Cardigan seem to come closest but I'm on the fence. The former runs the risk of having too much fabric to be really wearable here (I'm wanting something light and summery to wear in the spring and fall and maybe in the cooler evenings). The later is a pretty basic raglan and I think I might have as good or better luck just punching up the raglan generator and going from there rather than fussing with it.

I'd honestly prefer to do a set in sleeve this go, which the Pas de Valse has, but not having done a (successful) sweater in this method makes me nervous to just jump in and hope for the best with modifying a pattern to fit gauge. Before I swatched I had considered doing the geodesic cardigan with this, but a full stitch off an inch is beyond my willingness to work out just now (also I've come into possession of some teal Wollmeise that would look really fantastic in that pattern...).

So I'm stuck. I want to knit this yarn NOW, but I can't decide what I want to knit it into.

Cardigan. Simple. In the 20-21 sts x 30-34 rows range.

Help.