OhSewCrafty

New Berroco yarns swatch report

I ordered 3 of the new Berroco fall pattern books from Kyarns, and as a promotion, they included samples of each of the new yarns.  I swatched with the suggested needle sizes, soaked, and dried flat with no pins.  

I was most excited to try "Lustra", a wool/tencel blend.  My yarn was a dark royal blue, perhaps the "Provence" color (color identification was not included).  The yarn is soft with a subtle sheen, but I'm not crazy about single-ply yarns and the swatch looked a bit uneven; my gauge was 20 st/24 rows on US 7.  I expected some growth after wet blocking, and got 19st/26r/4" after soaking and drying flat.  Blocking improved my swatch; it bloomed and evened.  The patterns in the Lustra booklet are written at 18 st/24 rows/4".  If my experience with Colrain (another wool/tencel blend) applies, then the yarn's tendency for growth will be much more apparent in the whole garment, as opposed to a small swatch.  I would probably knit this yarn on US 7's, and trust blocking to resolve the gauge.  I don't want to go up a needle size, as I like the fabric density on 7's.  

I love tweed, and "Blackstone Tweed" is soft and lofty.  This is a lightweight blend, 65% wool with 25% mohair and 10% angora.  The yarn is dark bluish brown, with red, gray, and green flecks, I think this is the "Atlantic" colorway.  The ball band gauge is 18 st/25 rows on US 7, but the sweater patterns in the booklet are written at 19 st/24 rows on US 7.... well, I got 19 st/25 rows preblock, and after a soak and drying flat, my postblock gauge was 18.5 st/24 rows... I think.  Though blocking did not change the gauge (much), the yarn bloomed and the swatch became cohesive to the point where it's hard to identify the individual stitches.  The fabric is soft, drapey, and lovely.  

"Vintage Wool" is wool blended with 50% acrylic and 10% nylon.  I couldn't feel the synthetics in the yarn, it's soft and bouncy like a fine merino, but feels more durable.  I think this is the "Sunny" color.  Following the suggestion on "Ready Set Knit", I decided to swatch this on US 7's for worsted gauge (20 st/ 26 rows/4").  The ball band says 20 st/27 rows.... close enough.  The yarn didn't bloom, grow or shrink, after blocking.  The fabric is soft, with nice body, and I'd definitely recommend it for people who don't/can't hand wash (ball band says to machine wash cold inside out, dry flat).  For me, I'll probably stick with 100% wool, but this does come in a number of lovely heathered colors....

Last but not least, "Sundae", a bulky wool/acrylic.  On size 15 needles, I got the suggested gauge, 10 st/12 rows/4", both before and after blocking.   I'm not generally one for bulky yarns, but I love this stuff, it's soft with gorgeous heathered color and the knitting is practically instant gratification.  I think this is the "Jam" colorway.  The single ply bloomed and evened out after its soak.  The fabric is soft and lofty, and would be quite warm, I'm sure.

 

As for the patterns, I think they are fabulous.  The Lustra book is awesome, I could wear every garment in there.  My favorite is Listeme, leftmost above.   I liked the Blackstone Tweed book a lot too, my fave is Nonpareil, second from left.  From Norah Gaughan Vol. 5, I love Anhinga, second from right.  I don't have the Sundae book yet, but I'm definitely going to get it as I want to make Rickie, rightmost above.

Knitting FO (+ Cake!)

• Pattern: #17 Gilet from Phildar Tendances Printemps 2003
• Yarn: Phildar Plaisance (cotton/acrylic), ~ 7 balls
• Gauge/needles: 5.75 spi on US 4 (maybe, can't remember)
• Time to knit: Well, the finishing took years

 

I started this project in 2004, probably finished the bulk of the work within a few months, but the finishing took years.  I just didn't feel like knitting a 1x1 ribbed narrow band for 135 cm, and then seaming it all around the fronts and around the neck.  I also had grave reservations about the style... let's face it, who over the age of 21 or so needs extra fabric around the stomach?  Last summer, I finished it off, decided I could wear it with a cute sundress, but never did.

Enter my gorgeous little sister, whose chest is about the same size as mine, but she's shorter, has a smaller frame, and most importantly, not quite 15 years old.  She liked the sweater, and she can rock the style, so it's hers.  I hope she gets some use of it, but even if the sweater only gets worn once, that would be better than aging quietly in a drawer, I suppose.

So the occasion for the family meetup was Father's Day.  My dad is possibly even more crazy about chocolate than I am, and I was dying for an excuse to try this cake I found on Smitten Kitchen.  The recipe was easy, if time consuming (requires a lot of time cooling/chilling, otherwise, it would be near impossible to work with).  The cake is perfectly moist and quite light for a chocolate cake- there's no butter in it, the primary liquids/oils were water, canola oil, and sour cream.  Then there's a cream cheese-peanut butter frosting.  I'm not a huge fan of cream cheese icing, but you couldn't even distinguish the flavor, really, it was only salty-sweet, fluffy, and peanut-buttery!  I went pretty light on the frosting and had some leftover- did a crumb coat, which worked great and allowed me to use less overall.  On top is the peanut butter chocolate ganache- that was the most fun, dumping warm ganache on a cool cake.... Well, the cake was a success, judging by the complete silence from my dad's end of the table as he devoured his slice in short order.  Honestly, if you like the chocolate/peanut butter combo you have to try this recipe.  Follow it to the letter and you will not be disappointed.

WIP Update: Primrose Path

First off, sorry for the lackluster photo.  Feeling too lazy to set up the tripod, I got a mirror shot... but you get the idea.

I've knitted the body up to the arms and split between the front and back.  I really love the fit on this, there's definitely negative ease but it's not tight.  My gauge is compressed, plus I wanted it a bit longer than 13", so I worked another 12 rows beyond the pattern directions to get to the length I needed.  So the lace pattern is worked a bit further around the back.  I think this will be ok, but if not, I'll just end the lace and work the remaining rows in the 2x3 rib.   I confess that I'm getting a bit bored with this project and toyed with the idea of making the sleeveless version.  But I have enough yarn for the sleeves, so I may as well use it!   

The FO that wasn't

Why did this: return to this?

Well it grew from 35" to 37" after a day of wearing, and I have decided, definitively, that negative to zero ease is the way to go for tank tops.  I'm not posting the worst photos here (they're on Rav), but trust me- there was lots of extra material pooled around my lower back, and the view from the side was particularly scary- so much volume.  Also, with 3" of positive ease, I was in danger of flashing my chest every time I leaned forward.   

When I think about it, there were little hints all along the way.  I knew the size 6 needles were too big for this, since I was knitting the yarn tighter (5.75 spi) than its intended gauge (5.5 spi), and besides, I tend to knit loosely, but I persisted because I chose to believe my swatches.  I knew the front scoop was a bit too low but I figured it would be ok since I wasn't planning to wear this to work or anything.  The truth is, a low neckline+ positive ease = gaping.

Fortunately, this was a quick knit- just 10 days and I will reknit it once I've gotten over the frogging- because it's a beautiful design and I love the yarn, too.  My plan of attack:

• Swatch with US 4, and US 5, wash, block, wear swatches all day under my shirt and then measure gauge
• Decide what size needles are best, and cast on an appropriate number of stitches to obtain zero ease
• Work the neck 1" higher in the front

New WIP: Primrose and update on Deb No. 3

Here's the first side piece of Deb #3.  The crescent shape at the top is the bottom portion of the armscye.  This piece involves ribbing, lace, and 1 over 1 cables.  The cotton fine yarn worked nicely for these tasks. At some point this week, I'll force myself to cast on for the front piece (can you tell I'm not looking forward to the slog that is stockinette on size 3 needles?)  The second side will be knit last.   The good news is, this thing is over half done, and color is growing on me.

After finishing Chartres (of which I need some photos), I was in the mood for more lace, so I started Primrose Path with Classic Elite Premiere, in meadow grass.   The color is proving difficult to photograph (the photo at right is doctored), but it's a bright saturated green and aptly named. I got gauge in stockinette on US 6 needles, but had to go down to US 5 so the ribbing would look neat.   Knit in one piece in the round, it doesn't feel very fast, but I'm definitely enjoying it and I'm already halfway to the point where I'll split the body between front and back.  In sewing news, Joann was having a massive sale today and I scored- 4 simplicity patterns for $2/each and a few yards of charcoal gray stretch cotton sateen for pants, at 60% off!  I spent some time at my machine this weekend, working on the Mccalls dress.  The dress is nearly done (still needs hemming), however it needs alteration to stop gaping at the top of the center back zipper, a point about 8" up from my waist.  I've never needed a swayback adjustment before... eh, I have time, as I want to wear the dress to a wedding at the end of August.    

FO: Elijah

• Pattern: Elijah, by Ysolda Teague
• Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease (50 cotton/50 acrylic), most of one ball
• Needles: US 5
• Time to knit: About 2 weeks in May/June 09, off and on  

The many moods of Elijah.... at ease, kicking back, channel surfing, taking those first steps.  So I made this little toy for my friend's baby.  I used Cotton Ease, because I wanted something washable and my options were limited to what was available at Michaels, on sunday afternoon.  The pattern is written for dk, and Cotton Ease is aran-weight, so the toy is a little bigger and I had to use bigger needles.  Even so, knitting this yarn on Size 5s bothered my hands, so I paced myself.  The pattern is great, clever, clear, and easy.  Well, the circular cast on gave me some trouble, but I eventually figured it out.  The other hard part was picking up stitches off the already stuffed body; I had to use an extra needle to manipulate the fabric.  Also, using the dpns was just generally fiddly; it would have been easier with shorter dpns.  I embroidered the eyes, as I wanted them to be safe for an infant, and I ripped them out twice before I found this tutorial.  Very helpful!  I hope Baby Z will like the toy. 

FO: Karma

• Pattern: Karma Tank by Wendy Bernard, from Custom Knits
• Yarn: Cascade Pima Tencel, color #9366, Malachite, 4.25 balls
• Needles/Size Gauge: US 6 for 5.5 spi in st st, 32" chest (2" neg ease)
• Time to knit: Just shy of 2 weeks in May 2009

Here's my Karma, for the SKC's 2nd quarter knitalong.  It's cool, comfortable and a most lovely shade of green; I could wear green every day.  The yarn is from Webs' annual sale- the second phase (May).  I ordered from the Webs sale, um, several times, and have been exceedingly pleased with all the yarn.  

Pattern mods were numerous to obtain my "custom size".  First I didn't like the yarn knit at 5 spi, I went down a needle size to get 5.5 spi.  My row gauge, especially in the herringbone patt, was terribly compressed.  I cast on the size S and followed the directions, more or less.  I knit 11 rep of the herringbone patt, which reached 9" at my gauge.  I increased 11 stitches for the bust, the idea was to have a 32" chest (2" neg ease).  I did six short rows, after comparing my bust height at underarm to bust height at front (1" difference, 6 rows= a bit under 1").  I stopped the stockinette a bit sooner than the pattern, as I wanted a fairly low neck.  To obtain an open, lacy look in the herringbone patt, I did all my M1s without twisting.  Hey, summertime in DC is hot, ventilation is key, and I figured I'd dial up the s*xy factor a bit!

The yarn was lovely, soft like silk, and I used only about 450 yds.  I think the yarn requirements in the pattern are significantly overstated.  I was pleasantly suprised to find that, despite the saturated color, there was no dye runoff after soaking.  My only complaint is that the yarn had no resilence and my short rows looked kind of bad, only on the left side of the bust.  I wrapped all the stitches (and picked up the wraps) consistently, so I don't understand what was going on there.   I suspect it had something to do with working in the round, bah, I much prefer knitting garments flat!

Last summer I knit several tops that were work-appropriate.  This little top is decidely not and I find myself drawn to bare, lacy tanks this summer, so expect more of the same!     

New WIP: Chartres, also an old wip sees the light of day

I was so happy to see Twist Collective's summer issue when it launched Sunday night.  Uhura caught my eye immediately, but I liked Chartres too, and actually found some stash yarn that would work for it, 6 balls of Valley Yarns Longmeadow in color 15 (dark blue, royal blue actually)  I got perfect stitch gauge on US 6 needles, but my row gauge is a little bit too big... pattern gauge is 7.5 rpi, and I'm getting about 7.25.  This is ok, as I am tall and don't mind if the top is a bit longer than the schematic length.  I'm making the second size 35", which is 1" positive ease on me.  It looked sort of big so I decided to add waist shaping to nip it in a bit.  I'm decreasing 1 st per side on 3 rows, for 12 st dec in all (front and back) ~ 2" dec.  Increasing the same for the bust.   So far, I've knitted about 8.5" on the back.  I am loving the pattern, pretty, fast, and the chart is intuitive, easy enough to memorize.  The yarn is perfect, soft, with a slight sheen and a wonderful deep color... I'll feel like a princess wearing this! 

Here's my Debadeur #3 (don't you love that creative naming?) from Phildar No. 469 "Special Twenty", Spring 2007.  I started this last summer and worked on it one day, during a long car trip.  I've set a new goal: finishing this summer.  The gauge is 6.5 spi, 9 rpi on US 3 and the back piece is straight stockinette, no shaping.  This project is making me wish I had a knitting machine.  Knitting a relatively large piece of stockinette with fingering weight yarn (brown sheep cotton fine) just isn't that fun; progress is glacially slow.  I'm not sure about the color, it looks yellow in some light and I can't wear yellow, it washes out my skin and makes me look sickly!  The yarn feels rather stringy and my stockinette looks uneven, I'm hoping it will bloom and even out after a good soak.  I liked my swatch on US 2 needles better, at a gauge of 7 spi.  Now for the good: 1. this garment is going to be feather light   2. the back is the worst (biggest) piece and it's about 1/2 done  3.  the yarn's yardage is fantastic and there won't be many ends to weave in  4.  all the other pieces of the garment incorporate lace and that should be fun.

Happy Birthday my dear! + Sewing (his and hers!)

Today is C's birthday but we celebrated last night as it was a holiday.  My parents graciously provided a fabulous meal, while I baked the Strawberry Chiffon Cake.  Though I typically bake a red velvet cake, this year he wanted to mix it up.  He loves strawberry shortcake, and when I saw Smitten Kitchen's cake, the tall height said "celebration" to me.  And I love to celebrate birthdays in high style!  The cake was pretty and C thought it tasted better than it looked.  The layers even held together well while cutting and serving; it was light and delicious.  My only mod was adding less than half an envelope of gelatin to the whipped cream, to stabilize it as I wanted it to hold together overnight.  I don't have a layer cutter, nor a knife long enough for the purpose, so I used dental floss to cut the layers crosswise.  It wasn't the easiest method, but it worked.  

We both happened to be wearing linen shirts that I sewed up, eh, let's say years ago.  I'm thinking 2003-ish.  C's shirt is Mccalls 8409, in brick red lightweight linen.  I used flat fell seams throughout, for comfort and durability.  It's an easy, straight forward men's shirt pattern, TNT for me.  Only the collar and cuffs require much skill, and of course the short sleeved version doesn't include cuffs.  

Mine is Vogue 2677 View B (OOP), made from navy handkerchief linen.  As I recall, I obtained the fabric crazy cheap from fabric.com.  I cut the 12, lots of pieces but the sewing was fun.  No mods, quick project.  Vogue rates this pattern "average"; challenging elements include the fact that every piece is cut on the bias, and the patience required to sew MANY narrow hems, but an adventurous beginner could handle it.  I love this shirt for its featherweight, perfect for hot summer nights, the deep vneck and flirty ruffles.  It requires a thorough pressing before each wear, as the ruffles tend to go awry, but no big deal.   This would be less of issue if I'd used a fabric with less "body", like chiffon.  The dark linen has the advantage of being opaque, a good thing when it's beastly hot and muggy outside and I do not feel like layering. 

WIPS Galore

I'm usually a one project-at-a-time sort of girl, but I've got a bit off the rails lately.  I blame my retro jac, which apparently does not want to be finished.  But I plan do so this weekend when I'll be riding in the car for several hours.

The knitting is finished on Camellia; here are the cute fluttery sleeves.  I was almost certain I would run out of yarn, but somehow I managed to eke out two sleeves plus the neck trim from less than 1.5 balls.  Camellia was a superfast knit, clocking in at 10 days.  I've already started the seaming and finishing it up won't take long.  This is a great pattern and I highly recommend it.   

 

I'm nearly done with gift for my friend's baby.  It's turning out supercute but it hurts my hands to knit on it for very long (I'm using cotton ease on size 5 needles).  I'm not a huge fan of cotton ease (I used it for my first sweater project, which was a huge disaster!), but I wanted something washable and my options were limited at 5 pm Sunday afternoon.  The weird photo is to make identification difficult, on the off chance she's reading this!

I cast on Karma tank, for the SKC's 2nd quarter knitalong.  I am enjoying the pattern, and I think the yarn, cascade pima tencel, will feel divine against the skin, so I'm excited about this one.   I did do a lot of swatching, and plenty of math, to try to obtain the fit I want for this.  Lately it seems like my knitting patterns are SO long!  I'm not a small person, 5'8", but anything longer than 15 or 16" from underarm is going to bisect the fullest part of my rear and that is just not a good look for me. 

I'm also working on a dress, McCalls 5802, using a semi sheer floral georgette and rayon for the lining.  Last night I cut out all the fabric, which was a pain, lots of large pieces on single layers.  I'm going to try to sew it up tonight (I have a wedding to attend tomorrow), but no pressure.  C suggested that he'd like to see me in the black floral printed Vogue dress again, and this wedding will be an entirely different set of people from the one a few weeks ago.