Reasons for Neglect, Part Two

As alluded to last entry, I did actually do a little bit of knitting during my absence from the blog. Not as much as I would have liked though - there are more demands on my time this semester than there have been in a very long time, so I really haven't had the opportunity to do as many things on the craft front as I would have liked.

Exhibit A: my Sylvi is still not finished. I think I've pretty much abandoned the hope of getting a lot of wear out of it before it gets retired for spring/summer weather - I'll have to be satisfied with one or two. Oh well - I'll live. Actually, I'm just looking forward to finishing it. While it's coming along nicely enough, and behaving itself perfectly well, I'm just not used to undertaking such large scale projects. It will feel really, really good to have it finished so I can move onto all of the other things that I want to do - right now it feels like they're all standing restless in a queue behind this bloody coat! Sigh. Little by little, I shall get it done.

At any rate, there have been side projects slotting in around the Sylvi - one can't work elaborate cables and moss stitch all day long without going insane, after all. Here is one such diversion:




First thing's first: Pattern: Cinnamon Grace, by Katie Harris. Yarn: Eki Riva Natal (alpaca/silk/nylon blend). 4mm circular stainless steel needles.

The stuff what I thought: This was the pattern that kept me sane while I waited endless hours in Hobart Airport (or some of it anyway, as I had to stow it away in my checked luggage - stupid Australian air travel with its stupid knitting ban). I originally started it as an antidote to Sylvi, as it's a very simple knit. This is a great pattern - it was undemanding without being too repetitive (until you got to the bind off anyway). Since I used to have a bit of a phobia of picking up stitches, I can't say that I really enjoyed picking up a few hundred (I didn't actually count - I figured that I'd get too depressed) for the ruffle. At least I had the Tassie SnB ladies to keep me company while I did it... Also, this project has the longest cast-off ever. Or it definitely felt like it anyway. Stupid picot bind off - we are talking hours here.

My juvenile whinging aside, this is a great pattern. The only mod I made to it was to use a slightly thicker yarn (DK - pattern called for a sport weight) and to make the ruffle slightly shorter as I was running out of yarn. I was worried that the pattern might be lost in the slightly thick/thin yarn I was using, but it ended up coming out just fine.




As it's sort of a shawl/scarf hybrid, you can wear it in a couple of different ways too, which is always good. I suspect that this pattern will turn out to be quite popular - I'm actually surprised that more people haven't made it, since it's been around for a few months now. Anyway, I'm very happy with how it came out, for all that I had a few moments of doubt while I was actually knitting it. I'd definitely recommend it, at any rate (note: pattern also seems to be blissfully error free - hurrah!).

Anyway, and that's about all I have to show for the last month, knitting wise. I've also started a hat for Richard, which will unfortunately have to be mailed to him, as he departed for Canada last weekend, before I had a chance to finish. And I've been swatching for a self-designed hat project using some of the yarn I acquired at the Bendigo show a while back. I don't normally do a lot of stripey things, so it's fun to experiement. I was amazed at how much difference a change in stitch can make to stripes - look it:




I was worried that the stripes wouldn't be obvious enough in stocking stitch, so I tried adding garter ridges as well - definitely the way to go, I think! Gives it a different look, anyway...

And now it's time for Anna to be off - she needs to get in a couple more rows on her Sylvi before heading off for uni and tai chi. Wish her luck... *sigh*...