Thursday, September 16, 2010

Strawberry Tea Leaves Cardigan




Details:

Pattern: Tiny Tea Leaves Cardigan
Size: 2
Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino ( 3 skeins)
Needles: 4.0mm & 4.5mm

First time using this yarn and I absolutely loved it! Soft, squooshy, perfect stitch definition -- all of the superlatives. I'll definitely be looking for it again. It was on sale and looked a bit garish on the skein (as some variegated yarns can do) but I decided to chance it and was very pleasantly surprised how softly the colours blended.

The buttons were absolutely perfect -- hand carved -- sigh! They were found at a yarn store in Pt. Moody called Black Sheep Yarns. It's about a 1/2 hr. drive from my place in a beautiful spot and is filled with one treasure after another. Sometimes I go into places that are so crammed full of yarn that all I see is a blur and I walk out with nothing. Not so, here! I don't think I've ever left empty handed :)

The pattern was a joy and I've already made another larger, longer sleeved version in a different, equally fabulous yarn that I'll tell you all about later!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Beaded Annis





Pattern: Annis, Knitty.com
Needle: 5mm, 6mm knitting needles and 1mm crochet hook
Yarn: The Woolen Rabbit Lace Merino, Colourway "Arabian Nights" (1/3 of 1200 yd. skein)

I decided to use beads instead of the nupps designed for the pattern, simply because I don't like the look of nupps and had been dying to try something with beads.

I used a teeny, tiny crochet hook to work the beads -- so easy and very pretty!

This pattern doesn’t use as much yarn, so I have lots left to make another one or two :)

I definitely agree with other comments on Ravelry, that in future, I would prefer to do w&t and pick up on return side to avoid long ‘slash’ stitch. Thankfully, it doesn’t show too much on a yarn this dark, but you’d definitely see it on a lighter colour.

Found the suggested bind-off a bit loose, even after blocking, so am thinking I may take it out and re-do. Definitely would choose an alternate bind-off for my next one -- probably just a regular bind off, but use a larger needle.