FO: Gil Ain't No Holla Back Girl

I have been knitting garments with some measure of success for about two years.  For a while everything I made was amazing, but then I found myself in a bit of a hit-or-miss patch where nothing seemed to turn out quite as planned.  So when I decided to make some changes in needle size and stitch count on the Holla Back Tank I was really nervous.

I went down to a size US 4 needle and knit the front per the size 36 directions.  This gave me a fabric with a density that I liked.  Not too tight, but not see-through either.

After I finished the front I looked at it for quite some time, trying to decide if it was too big.  It wasn't but when paired with a similar size back it would be more sack-like than sexy.  And for once I wanted to knit something that would turn out the way I imagined.  So I took a deep breath and cast on for the size 32 back.

It took me several times to get the first few inches of chart correct, but I finally vowed that I would not rip back again and stopped second guessing myself.  Emma Welford wrote up excellent directions and even though I found myself yelling "Is this what you mean by stretched?  That's going to be too tight to be anything other than a medieval binding!" it worked out perfectly.

Some designers you have to second guess, but Emma is not one of them.  She does not hand-hold through the pattern, but she does give you all the information you need and trust you the knitter to be intelligent enough to put it into practice.  The pattern, like all of the Holla Knits collections, is absolutely lovely.  Even without the KAL the support is superb.  When I was first deliberating over what size and needles word somehow got back to Emma, who left a comment on the blog offering her assistance if needed.  I highly recommend it and am really looking forward to wearing it to celebrate my birthday tonight.

For more FOs, check out Tami's Amis!

A Lack of Tangible Progress

One of the things I love about participating in WIP Wednesday is that it gives me a chance every week to take a hard look at my knitting and see how I have spent my time in the past week.  Generally I come away with some sense of accomplishment and a reaffirmed sense that I am doing something meaningful and worthwhile.  This is not one of those weeks.  This is one of those other weeks in which I look at my knitting with sad eyes and try to forget the way we have treated one another.

As I mentioned on Monday I have become a two project girl.  I have several things on the needles and I really want to finish something.  I am becoming antsy about the number of projects I have planned and thus really want to free up some space in my mental queue.  In the past few days, however, I have become largely monogamous to my Holla Back Tank.  Which is a development you can blame on Nathan Fillion.

Despite its progress while under the influence of cold medicine, I have discovered that when it comes to colowork I have to draw the line at reading.  Not even I can multi-task that well.

You may have noticed that I am not really that far along for the amount of time I have claimed to be working on this piece.  That is because, dear readers, what you see is the fourth attempt.  Unlike colorwork, it appears that lace knitting and cold medicine do not work -- for me at least.  I had to rip it back to the cast on three times because I ended up with such a snarl at the end of my row.  But the good news is that yesterday Chris was sworn in as a lawyer, a ceremony that is done in open court and takes a really long time.  I got a good three inches done on the back during all of the speaking and other new lawyers.

So there you have it.  Minimal progress for a minimal week.  Hopefully someone else has more inspiring bits of news, which you can find over at Tami's Amis.

Attemptive Focus

Welcome back to WIP Wednesday where there really is not much to report.  I am still knitting away on the front of the Holla Back Tank.  I've just finished the bust increases and now have a bit to go before I can start armhole shaping.

It is quite a bit of progress, but it feels like I am getting nowhere.  Ideally I will finish the front this week and cast on the back for our Labor Day excursion to visit Chris' parents and some of my family.  The lace back just screams entertainment for the long and boring car ride.

I am actually right on pace with the Sweatshop of Love KAL for this pattern.  For this one I am knitting concurrently, but not actually participating.  For some reason if I say it is a knit-a-long suddenly it becomes like work and I no longer find it fun.  So I am reading the blog posts and setting goals for myself, but not actually joining in on the conversation.  Lame, I know, but after the Cowl KAL + sample knit of doom I'm just burnt out.  I am easing myself back in with the Stockinette Zombies KALs, so maybe I will join in on the next one.

Socks On A Plane are also still going, but they have been demoted to social knitting, which means I mostly pull them out on Pretty Little Liars nights to keep me from throwing things at the tv (did you watch the betrAyal? I KNOW!).  I anticipate giving them a lot of love during our stay with the in-laws.

But of course, all of this hinges on my commitment to only two projects.  Which, considering I bought the latest Knit Scene and immediately cast on for the Purslane beret and cowl set last night (I have the perfect skein in the perfect shade of blue), might be a bit of a stretch.

For more WIP Wednesday goodness, check out Tami's Amis!

More Holla Swatching

Thank you to everyone who left such kind comments about my Umbre Lovre.  I have not had an occasion to actually wear it out yet, but it is sitting in the closet anxiously awaiting its turn about the town.

Now that I have that off the needles, it is time to turn to the other sweater I have planned for this summer, also from Holla Knits -- the Holla Back Tank by Emma Welford.

I am using Knit Picks Gloss Fingering in Bordeaux, which knit up beautifully in the swatch.  I once again ran into the problem of falling between sizes, but my stitch gauge on the recommended needles was a little small, so I am hoping to achieve the preferred amount of ease on the size 36.  I'm excited to see how it turns out as I have not knit a seamed garment in a long time.  Hopefully my skills have progressed enough to avoid some of my early sweater failures.

I was planning to have this to wear for the honeymoon as well, but now it is starting to look like it will be something I actually knit on the honeymoon as I keep adding more and more secret wedding crafting to my plate.  Hopefully someone will stop me soon.  It is becoming insane!

Side note -- everytime I read Holla Back Tank I think of this (starts at 1:50)



Hep Alien is the greatest.

Indecisions

Alright folks, we have survived what I call the "week of crazy".  The Avengers opened with great success -- a new box office record and an absolutely incredible film.  If you have not seen it yet, you must go check it out.  My love of Jeremy Renner has only grown (really, who's surprised by that)  Just have some patience with the staff of the theater -- we've been run ragged by the huge crowds.  I don't know about elsewhere, but my theater was sold out all weekend.

So today, as a respite from work, I have the urge to do some swatching.  Over the weekend I received a box from Knit Picks with some yarn for two patterns from the new Holla Knits collection -- the Holla Back Tank and Umbre Lovre.  Both of these are gorgeous patterns and I would like to knit up both of them to take on my honeymoon in *gulp* three months.  But I can't decide which to knit first!

The thing I love about the Holla Knits collection is that there is a Knit Picks sample for everything.  Allyson seems to really want an affordable product, and Knit Picks is a great option for affordable without that summer camp arts and crafts feeling.  To that end, I bought a fantastic quantity of yarn for very little.

First up, Gloss in the Bordeaux colorway for the Holla Back Tank.  I love the interest of this piece and the purpley-wine color is one I know will work on my very pale skin (I've decided not to go the traditional route and am not bothering to try to get a tan for the wedding.  Too much work).

Door number two is the Comfy Sport for Umbre Lovre.  I wrote about this during Knitting and Crochet Blog Week and it really is a pattern that appeals to my fantasy wardrobe aesthetic (the one where all my geeky tshirts are paired with flattering shorts or skirts and everyone admires my fashion forward style).  And yes, I bought the exact yarn in the pattern sample. The colors are perfect and since I've never done a colorwork sweater it's great to just let someone else do the work.

So here's my question, dear readers -- Which one do I knit first?  I have a bucket of yarn and am overwhelmed by my choices.  Help a girl out?