FO: Pretty in Pink

Happy Friday!  Once again you are spared any Vampire Diaries talk because the show is still on hiatus until next week, leaving me to do what we fangirls do best -- forget absolutely everything that happened until right before the new episode when suddenly we feel every emotion possible.  It's the only coping mechanism I know.  Last night instead of watching tv I got myself almost stranded on the way home from zumba when my car came *thiiiiiis* close to running out of gas.  There was lots of yelling.  And wondering if I had enough yarn to survive the wait until Chris left work (he's not allowed a phone) and could come find me.  But I made it to a gas station, and then there was a Bowie album review on NPR and all was right with the world.

This week's FO took me about a month to knit and is currently (of course) my most favorite knit item ever.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Pretty in Pink.

Pretty in Pink modeled over Jaded Milkmaid

This is the Merging Ripples Shawl from Knitscene, Winter 2012.  My entire concept going into this project was to focus attention on the orangey color, Duckie from Unwind Yarn Company on her Journey Sock base.  I know I have mentioned it several times, but in case you missed it this yarn was dyed to match Duckie's outfit when he is singing -- my favorite moment from any John Hughes movie.

The pink contrast stripes are Seacoast Handpainted Panda in the color Berry, which I received in a swap from a very lovely person.  I have worn the shawl to work almost every day since its completion and have had loads of compliments that start out with "I wouldn't think those colors would work together but . . ."  Which means I have succeeded in my goal to stretch my color limits.

The pattern itself is quite lovely.  It is worked bottom up, so the cast-on is a ridiculous number of stitches, but then the repeats gradually get shorter and the short rows more addictive.  I really enjoyed this variation on the two-color shawl, giving each color more depth and room to play out in texture and tonality.  Plus I am really in love with large shawls and this is a great way to get one without losing your mind in either stitch patterns or repetitive stripes.  Every stripe is just a little different, but not so different that I could not read while I knit, which is a big plus these days when reading time is at a premium for me.

If you would like to see some more finished knitting, please check out the links over at Tami's Amis.  There is always great fun to be had.

FO: Lightening Shrug

Did you watch last night's Vampire Diaries?  There's no better way to spend Valentine's Day than to sit on the couch screaming at the television completely incapable of knitting.  Luckily I had already finished what I am now referring to as my Valentine's sweater -- the Lightening Shrug.

I wore this to dinner the other night because that is how much I love it.  Chris and I never go out so when we do I like to look hot.  This shrug paired with a tank top and a pair of wide leg black pants for a really fun outfit for a night at a nice sports bar.  Shrugs are not really my go-to, I usually like to have the option of covering my stomach, but this one may just change my mind.

The pattern calls for Lorna's Laces Honor, which is a DK apaca and silk blend.  I used Knitting Notions Classic Merino Sport out of my stash, which does not have the same amount of drape.  I already tried to use this yarn for the Abalone before I realized the pattern was not for me, so I already had a bit of an idea as to how it knits up.  I went up to a US size 9 for the body, did the ribbing on 7s, and did the bind off with 10s.

I think this knitted up perfectly.  The pattern is genius.  I only had two complaints.  One, I think the seaming should be done on the sleeves before the ribbing, but that's a personal choice based on how my seams failed the first time around.  Two, that ribbing goes on forever!  The finished look is worth it, but be prepared to spend an entire day off knitting the body ribbing.

Over all?  Another win!  I am really starting to learn what I love in garment knitting.  Which means I am so setting myself up for a major disaster in the next few projects.  Stay tuned!

And for more FOs, check out the gang over at Tami's Amis!

FO: Lodi Cardi

It's finally here!  My Lodi Cardigan is finally done!  Actually, it was done on Sunday but I wanted to save it for Friday to share with the Tami's Amis group because you were there for all the WIP posts (see what I did there. Excellent insertion of blog linkage!)

Lodi Cardigan from Knitscene Summer 2011 in Cascade Sierra

I finally got the yarn to photograph in the bright red it truly is.  Isn't it a lovely color?  Just made me feel like a superhero or something.

In all seriousness though I am enjoying this.  It may be obscenely hot outside but this is quickly becoming my go-to cardigan for overly air-conditioned buildings.  I highly recommend the pattern which is very well written.  This was my first sweater with a button band and the instructions actually made a lot of sense.  I chose these awesome sparkly buttons that seemed just wild enough to fit the bold personality of the yarn.  They're sewn on with navy thread that matches the grosgrain ribbon that I used per the Knitmore Girls' Couture Button Tutorial (took me two nights but the results are totally worth it).

While I honestly am enjoying this cardigan it did provide some learning moments.  When it was all finished and the buttons were sewn on I ran into my bathroom to try it on.  It looked great until I buttoned it and found that while it buttoned the fabric gaped.  It seems I had a momentary loss of brain function and made the same size as my bust measurements.  In a cotton yarn.  I blame the fact that I generally knit with a bit of negative ease and that I'm still new to this whole sweater knitting thing.  I seemed to forget that cotton yarn does not stretch the way wool and wool blends do.

But it looks great unbuttoned, and it was from my early knitting stash so overall I'm happy.