skip to main |
skip to sidebar
This pattern almost drove me crazy when I first started. The lace alternates rows, with one odd row having a YO and a K2tog, and the next odd row having a
SSK followed by the YO.
I kept on getting them mixed up until I started hanging a stitch marker to keep me on track, and then I was able to zip along. I just love this yarn, it reminds me of my favorite Mandalay that has been discontinued. I'm chagrined to admit I haven't been able to do much stash reduction; instead it has all been stash enhancement. I have even more bags of yarn begging to be knit up, and I just ordered some Quince and Co Tern...
I'm resurrecting my blog. I want to chronicle my attempts to knit down my embarrassingly huge stash. I began last week with an inventory. It has taken me 3 days to do this, and I am stunned at how much yarn I have accumulated. It would be even larger, but over the years I have sent some to the Prison Project at Knitter's and XRX. And to embarrass my conscience even more, I still have two batches of sock yarn and one batch of Mandalay still to arrive.
The Corset Pullover, by Robin Melanson from Interweave Knits Summer 2003. I finally made this when Sandi Wiseheart did the Gallery on Knitting Daily. Thanks to the tips from the Gallery, the Corset fits perfectly. I narrowed the central panel and the shoulders, and shortened the torso a bit. I made only one set of waist ties. I love the yarn I made it in, Rowan Calmer. I may add the little sleeve ties later. It's cool like cotton but stretchy at the same time. I'm thinking about the Ingenue Blouse by Phoenix Bess in this yarn...but the weight is a bit different.
My Picnic in the Park, from Knitter's Summer 2007; in Rowan Calmer. I made the sleeves longer since I always freeze from the air conditioning vent over my head in the office. The Calmer feels so luxurious and for a mainly cotton yarn is nice and stretchy.
Earth Stripe Tunic, by Kaffe Fassett from Rowan 42, in Kid Silk Haze, many colors. I modified the pattern to make the sweater in the round, so I wouldn't have to match the stripes on the front and back. I also shorted the length and abbreviated the ribbing. I fiddled with the collar a bit. I finally went with rolling in over in thirds and tacking it down. After I was done, when I tried it on, the sleeves were huge, almost batwing-like. They got into everything. I ran them in on my sewing machine and trimmed off about half the width. They are still big. I should have looked at the picture more closely!
Lady Eleanor Shawl, by Kathleen Powers Johnson in Scarf Style. I used Noro Silk Garden in two colorways, a subtle one in beiges and brown (267) and a brighter one for accent (204). I placed the accents where I wanted them instead of letting the repeat determine where they would fall. I gave it to my best friend for her birthday. It was so much fun that I'm remaking it in just the quiet 267 colorway for myself. Randy made the grandfather clock in the photo, from a kit that we bought in Alabama when he was an ophthalmology resident. It came by UPS in 18 boxes, and took 9 months. He sanded and stained the cherry wood, and assembled it. It works great, has chimes and even a moon dial that shows the current phases of the moon. That was 27 years ago! The project I was working on when we were driving through Alabama was a Schjepieswool summer pullover in stripes in a slubbed cotton yarn. In a moment of idiocy I threw it out when it didn't fit after I had the two babies. It would fit now.
This pattern almost drove me crazy when I first started. The lace alternates rows, with one odd row having a YO and a K2tog, and the next odd row having a SSK followed by the YO. I kept on getting them mixed up until I started hanging a stitch marker to keep me on track, and then I was able to zip along. I just love this yarn, it reminds me of my favorite Mandalay that has been discontinued. 
