On a roll!

My poor, sad little neglected blog! Here I am now to provide some little updates before the blog closes down on me from a prolonged period of inactivity!

I finished knitting my Belle wrap, by Louisa Harding (Source: Knitting little luxuries), tonight! I didn't keep track of how long it took me to make it, as I started it last month-ish and did little bit every now and then between other things. I even took it with me when I went interstate for a little holiday, and did manage to squeeze in a few rows of knitting there! I'm sure, altogether, it wouldn't have taken that much time though.

I knitted this using Classic Elite Duchess (a bulky weight yarn) in the colourway, Blue Blood. I have used this yarn to knit 3 previous garments and love it to pieces, because a) it knits up fast, and b) it's so thick, soft and warm, and well spun, without having any 'halos' or splitty-ness. I normally like to use the yarn recommended in the pattern, but Louisa Harding yarns are so hard to source outside of the States, and even online! I did manage to buy some of her yarn on an online store for another project in one of her other books, so I'm looking forward to knitting with that.

Back to this garment. It is a lovely little design, and although I'm not the biggest fan of cables, probably more due to the fact that I manage to always get gaping holes in my cables, than because of their look, they just *work* as main design elements, and I simply adore the cable edgings! They add tactile as well as visual impact. If there is anything I'm not 100% happy about, they are the 2 rows of double yarn-overs running alongside the central panel. They create HUGE, somewhat uneven, holes, and the twisted yarn that forms the holes aren't very neat and 'clean'. I used circulars to knit this piece, so maybe the holes would be more even had I used straight needles? I didn't think it would matter though, since people knit whole sweaters on circulars, with lace patterns and what not.

The fit was also something that I wasn't totally happy about. At first, I thought the fit would be a bit restrictive, as it's a pretty short length, but it ended up being loose (in the picture in the book it fits snuggly around the model). As it's a 'one-size-fits-all' type of garment, I suppose it was designed for the average American woman, but, unfortunately, I do not fit in that category. When I find a 6th M-O-P button at Spotlight/Lincraft, I might untack all the buttons and attach them further in. I might actually attach another button or two on the reverse side of the buttonhole band, so that I could wear the wrap in different ways, using the buttons and yo holes to secure it. hummm it is Spring now though, so I probably won't get to wear it until next Autumn anyway...

Now that I'm on a roll, I thought I should start another knitting project, before I get lazy. I know I really should be commiting more time to finishing off my other WIPs and UFOs, but my stash is really getting out of control, and projects which I haven't start, but have bought yarn for, are taking up wayyy too much storage space. Hence, I have decided that I will start working on the Great Gatsby Dress by Mari Lynn Patrick, to coincide with the movie adaptation of the book that is coming out soon! I have a funny feeling that I have already posted something about this design before, but I suppose that just gives you an indication of how slack I am with my knitting projects. For this dress, I am using the recommended yarn of Rowan Yarn Classic Silk Wool DK in Denime.


It's almost 1am now and I have decided to knit a tension square (well, before getting distracted by this blog post!).

and can I just say, this yarn is smooth to handle, feels so wondrously soft, and, as you can see, it has a beautiful, lustrous sheen, due to the 50% silk component. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy knitting with this yarn!