OAL Finishline!

What do you know? I have two, TWO, finished outfits for the Outfit-along hosted by Andi Satterlund of Untangling Knots and Lauren of Lladybird. I finished both outfits in plenty of time but had a hard time getting pictures. My bestie is visiting from Indiana so I drafted her for an impromptu photo shoot and what do you know? it's way easier to have someone else take pictures!

 The cardigan is Myrna by Andi Satterlund and I knit it in Cascade 220 in color #2409. I lengthened the body and mirrored the decreases to make the cardigan more wearable with the rest of my wardrobe.

The dress is Simplicity 1803 with the notched neckline option and soft pleats instead of a gathered waist. I love a dress with pockets and I decided to move them to the side seams a la Ladybird's suggestion. The fabric is a rayon/linen blend from the folks at JoAnn's.

 My second cardigan is Sylph by Louisa Harding from her book, Cardigans. The cardigan is knit in pieces and seamed and the only modification I made was to lengthen the body by about an inch. Since my fabric was a little crazy I wanted a simple, classic shape in a solid color. I used Miss Babs Yowza! Whatta Skein in the Ironweed color. The yarn was kicking around in my stash since the first Sock Summit and I was super happy to have the perfect use for it.

 I used Simplicity 1803 (again) with the plain vee neckline for my second dress which I'm calling my Zebra Fruit Stripes dress. The fabric is the same rayon/linen blend from JoAnn's since I like working with it so much. Really. It has excellent drape, is easy to sew, and is easy to launder.

This challenge really lit a fire under me to do more sewing and to think about my existing wardrobe and how to make new things that work with it. Both of my dresses work with store-bought cardigans I already own and both cardigans look cute paired with jeans, pants, and skirts that I already own. 

Did you participate in the OAL? How did your outfit turn out? Did you finish in time?

Vacation!

I'm on vacation while my friend is in town. I'll have two (yes! two!) OAL posts ready soon as well as oodles of knitting. Stay tuned!

Music Monday

Jackie DeShannon singing "When You Walk Into The Room".

WIP: Zombie Hello Kitty Socks

Last week was rough, wasn't it? I never got the feeling that things were going as they should and it was all I could do to get through the day and collapse into some knitting. To celebrate the end of the work week I cast on these vanilla socks in Canon Hand Dyes Charles Self Striping Sock in Zombie Hello Kitty. The little red stitch toward the bottom of the picture is my scrap yarn for an afterthought heel. I'm thinking about trying an alternate afterthought heel - maybe the Fish Lips Kiss Heel? 

Let me know if you've tried any of the variations on an afterthought heel and how they vary from the usual afterthought heel. I've got the rest of this sock to knit and the second one before I have to decide!

Music Monday

"Blitzkrieg Bop" from the Ramones 1976 debut single. The last of the original Ramones, Tommy Ramone, passed away on Friday at the age of 65.

FO: Kenzie Tayberry Hat

Pattern: Kenzie Tayberry Hat by Cirilia Rose (free)

Yarn: Kenzie in Beetroot (#1004) and Bayberry (#1005) one skein of each

Needles: US #6 (4.0 mm) & US #7 (4.5 mm) Clover Bamboo Circulars

Mods: I stopped the pattern section early by about an inch or so, did a three needle bind off, and then stitched the corners together to make kind of a folded top. Hard to explain but easy to do. I'm not sure if the pattern is written this way since I didn't have it with me when I finished the hat and haven't gone back to check (sorry!) since I'm kind of a lazy knitter that way. Kenzie is an amazing yarn to work with; the blend of New Zealand merino, alpaca, nylon, and angora are soft on the hands and make for an amazingly soft and warm knitted piece. The yarn is also heathered, with nice little blips of lighter, brighter, or contrasting colors of noils which lend a nice depth to the color and interest for the knitter. It really does deserve a nice soak to let the texture and drape of the yarn shine through - I tried to give it a steam and pretty much nothing happened to the fibers - so I highly recommend a yarn bath to get ultimate softness and drape out of the your finished project.

FO: Happy Street

 I finally blocked my Happy Street Shawl.

 The garter stitch is squishy and lovely.

 I love the short rows and they're easy peasy to do since you don't have to pick up the wraps.

 

Pattern: Happy Street by Veera Valimaki

Yarn: Hazel Knits Entice in Queen of the Night (purple), Hazel Knits Piquant Lite in Lichen (yellow) and Colorful Yarn Merino Sock Yarn in Steel (gray)

Needles: US #6 (4.0 mm) Hiya Hiya Sharp Interchangeables (42" cable)

Mods: None! I knit this exactly as the pattern specifies and couldn't be happier with the result. All of the yarns came from my stash and I have very little yarn left over - probably enough to make a stripey hat of some sort but not enough to knit extra stripes. I won't lie, the 500+ stitches at the end take quite a while to get through but if you have enough bus commute time (I do) and enough social knitting time (check, check) the garter stitch practically flies off the needles. This thing turned out to be over 6 feet long!

I like big shawls and I cannot lie. 

You other knitters can't deny

That when a girl walks in with a smile on her face

And a big blocked thang (not only in lace)

You get sprung...

I leave it to you to puzzle out the rest of those lyrics!

Music Monday

"Good Vibrations" by the Beach Boys from the 1967 album, Smiley Smile.