knitting lemonade

Well, Green Gables is finished, and I am in LOVE! This pattern is so easy and oh so darling. It made ALL those rows of stockinette in the round worth while. And c'mon no seaming needed! Because, i cannot leave well enough alone, I made a couple of modifications as I went along...some on purpose, some not so much.

1)First off, I mistakenly cast-on using the long-tail method when I should have used backloop method. The pattern itself did not indicate a method, but the clever gals from the KAL asked the zephyr girls and they clarified that the back-loop was the way to go. This might have been the reason why my neckline looked smaller than it did in the pattern pictures. (Through the course of trying it on, though, the neckline got bigger and looked a lot better.)

2)I had added a purl ridge by mistake. The pattern indicates that after you cast on, you purl a row of stitches, then join the stitiches in the round. Apparently, this purl row would have been on the wrong side of the knit so it would show up as a knit row on the RS. But mine somehow didn't work out that way. The purl row is on the RS creating a purl ridge around the neckline. The perfectionist in me is a little bothered by it, but by the time i had realized my mistake, I was too far into the body to go back and rip it out.

3) I added additional shaping to the body of the sweater. I knitted the large size and added two decrease rows around the bust and one increase row around the hips. Just slight tweaks, but i think it made a huge difference.

4) I lengthened the body and sleeves of the top. For the large size, you were supposed to knit 12.5 inches from the underarm, I ended up knitting 14 inches plus the ribbing at the bottom. For the sleeves, the pattern says to start ribbing imediately after picking up the sleeve stitches, I instead added three rows of stockinette (decreasing 1 stitch per row for a more fitted sleeve) and then started the ribbing.

I think that Green Gables is a hit. I am already trying to decide on a what color to do next...Brown Gables sounds lovely, or maybe Ruby Gables, what about a Teal Gables...

More shots from the photo shoot...

Green Gables is coming along. I just seperated the sleeves from the body, so that means I have a lot of stockinette rounds ahead...wahoo! (Can you just feel my enthusiasm...) I am really loving how it's turning out. So Kara girl, keep on truckin'!

Edited to add: It seems like there is a lot of discussion about the size of my neckline on the Green Gables KAL. I have no idea why my neck is so small. And the more I think about it, the more it bothers me that mine is drastically smaller than the picture in the pattern. What did I do wrong? I am even knitting the large, so it's not a matter of the number of cast-on stitches. Maybe it is my cast-on technique (I used the long-tail method), or I cast on too tight, or the fact that it is not blocked yet. Ideally, I would like the neck to be a little wider than it shows in the pic. Any ideas what may have happened?

Thanks for all the compliments on Rosie. I am little nervous about the final shape of the cardigan. I told the girl that designed the pattern over and over that I wanted this to be a fitted cardigan. I guess all I can do is knit and see if my nagging was effective. I want Rosie to be a sweater that I'll actually wear, you know? Wouldn't it be dreadful if Rosie just turned out to be a frumpy disaster?

In other knitting news, I cast on for Green Gable. A comment by HPNY Knits got me thinking about whether or not alpaca was the best choice for this project. After some research and talking with the ladies at my LYS, I have to agree that alpaca would is not be ideal. (I think that my sister/roommate Erin was secretly glad my alpaca didn't work out since I didn't ask her opinion during yarn selection process. She is very spiteful, you know...)

So while at my LYS, I picked up the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece the pattern calls for. Still keeping within the green theme, I decided on this:

It is shade CW-365 Peridot (the yarn is not as light as it looks in the pictures). Perfect for spring, no? So far I am really loving this project. The pattern is simple and I am digging the yarn.

Planned alterations to the pattern: I am pretty sure I am going to make the sleeves longer. A girl just can't feel pretty if arm chub is hanging out. I might also add an inch or so to the overall length as well. And I need to decide if I want to add some more decreases to the body to create more shape. I mean, wouldn't it be dreadful if Green Gable just turned out to be a frumpy disaster?

The back of Rosie the Cardigan is done. On to the fronts and the sleeves...We can do it!

"It's so easy to be wicked without knowing it, isn't it?" says Anne in Anne of Green Gables. How right you are, Anne! I have no business putting a new knitting project on my plate, but I am wicked girl and did it anyway. But really, how can one resist when the project is titled Green Gable. How lovely is that?! It is from zephyr style. They have some fun patterns, but this one really captured my imagination.

Instead of the Lambs Pride Cotton Fleece the pattern calls for, I decided to knit it up in Peruvian Collection Pure Alpaca in Cedar from elann.com. I mean, a girl has to keep the green in Green Gable, am I right? Plus, I love the idea of using soft alpaca instead of cotton. The price wasn't too shabby either.

I am especially excited about this project because...I AM GOING TO GREEN GABLES!!! My friend Meredith and I just booked a cruise to Nova Scotia in May. We leave from Boston and head north and stop in fab places such as Quebec, Montreal, and of course Prince Edward Island (PEI for those in the know). I am trying to decide whether to knit Green Gable now so I can wear it when I visit Anne's house, or hold off and make it my knitting project for the cruise. I just LOVE a good theme, can you tell??

So I started a new pair of socks with the fab Cherry Blossom yarn I showcased in my last entry. I decided to go with a basic toe-up sock pattern...but of course we can't just do a "basic" sock. So I searched and searched my Vogue Knitting Stitchionary and found this stitch pattern:

It is stitch pattern 79 titled "lace rib."

So far, I like starting with toe. We'll see if I still feel that way when I reach the short-row heel...

Look at my pretty new yarn...

This is Cherry Blossom sock yarn from Sundara Yarns. Sundara just might be a sock dying genius. I mean look at it...Look at it! So gorgey. Okay, stop looking...it's mine!

And yes I picked up this Lovely a couple of weeks ago...



This is Schaefer Handpainted Yarn called "Anne." I love the blue and browns. Very pleasing.

I am in L-O-V-E with my new purchases! I know what you are saying, "Kara, more sock yarn? What is the deal with your sock fixation?" My answer is simple, "I am sick, sick person. I...just...can't...stop." Now I am on a mission for fab sock patterns. Any suggestions?

Last year in June, when Erin and I went to New York to visit our younger sister, we were on a mission...The mission was to get the yarn to knit a fab graphic sweater inspired by Raw 7 cashmere sweaters.

So thinking about what "edgy" graphic I wanted to put on my sweater I came across this from Domiknitrix.

I love me some Rosie the Riveter. She is THE edgiest of icons. So that was it...I knew she was meant to be on my sweater. While Erin and I were in New York, we headed to The Yarn Co. It was so thrilling to be in the big city buying big city yarn but what was most exciting was they could design a sweater using a gauge I knit on the spot and my unique body measurements...and believe you me, my measurements are unique! I had decided on Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino for my sweater. I then did a gauge swatch and they created a v-neck cardigan pattern according my specifications. All I had left to do was re-construct my Rosie chart according to my new gauge and I was good to go.

Here is my chart:

After some false starts and distractions by other projects, this is where my cardigan stands (this is the back):





Can you see Rosie starting to come through? I hope soon she will come through loud and clear.

Woke up this morning to a Winter Wonderland. Translation: Woke up this morning to a driveway stacked with snow.

Growing up in Hawaii, I never got to experience a "snow day." To me they seemed almost magical. I mean, you get to stay home AND play in the snow. How great is that? In Hawaii, we only got to stay home from school once due to nature. It was for a hurricane. Somehow not as magical. Anyway, I was kinda wishing work would have called a snow day. I mean, being a knitter, nothing seems more dreamy than to get my knitting and watch the snow...

Check out my little snow-dumped cottage...

I knitting news, I finished my Gauntlets last night. Hurrah! I am really pleased with how they turned out, especially with their fit. V. v. sleek.

Love the yarn.



Love the fit.



Love my new FO!

With two pairs of socks down for 2006, I thought I would do a complete 180...Gauntlets. Okay, when I actually think about it they are not THAT different. They are basically socks for your hands. I am knitting them in Koigu KPPM in P505. This is my first time knitting with Koigu and I LURVE it. I mean look how fun the colors knit up...

So the outlook for 2006? Apprently, I will be very well accessorized.