30 Day Challenge:: Blanket in Progress

I call knitting my fiber hobby. You wouldn't think that someone who sews and designs for a living would want to spend their free time engaged with more fiber, and, truth be told, I don't want to spend all my free time that way, but some of it is definitely devoted to knitting. Knitting also inspires some of the sewing and quilt designs I create. For instance this blanket. The pattern is Abby's Blanket by Kristin Kapur and and though it's not even close to done, I know that seeing it on Ravelry influenced this design. I like that idea of cross-pollination and would love to one day work in the opposite direction and design knitting patterns based on sewing designs.

Winners in Macro

Actually, I think the winners will be life size, but all my images, none of which have anything to do with the winners or their winnings are in macro. Why? Because my middle daughter went to San Francisco with her dad, asked to borrow the other DSLR and wanted my go-to lens. So, there you have it, it's magically become a week of macro images. This is especially poignant because I'm heading to the beach this weekend. So, I guess all my images will be really close up. We'll see how that goes.
Anyway, first let's annonce the winners of the Fancy Schmancy Tutorial giveaway.
They are:

Gill. She said:
Some great flowers!
I'd love to make some to decorate my bags!

Karen, who commented:
These flowers would work beautifully in colors to match a bride's colors. Nestled in the fabric of a reception tablescape or adorning shower gifts. They could also be used as favors at a shower.

Spontaneous Threads:
I'd put them on a simple wristlet. Then you could change them depending on how you were feeling or where you were going.

Debbie:
These flowers are super cute! I have five granddaughters that would wear these cute flowers in their hair. What a fabulous giveaway! Thank you!
I also think these would embellish candle stick holders, or maybe smaller ones for flip flops, gosh I ideas are endless!
I was wowed by all your creative suggestions and maybe Jeni will use some of them to style her flowers in the future. If you lucky four would kindly email me (malka@stitchindye.com), I'll pass that info on to Jeni and she will have your tutorials to you way faster than the mercury will dip below 100 degrees in these parts.

As for my images, they're a mishmash of pictures I've taken over the last couple days. I've been steadily working on projects with my new a stitch in color fabrics and, because apparently I don't have enough fiber-related activity in my life finishing up a shawl.
My latest project with the fabrics is a remake of my Tuesday pillow, featured on the cover of the Spring 2009 issue of Stitch.

I

I use that project as the one of the foundation projects for my Improvisational Piecing class and I'm off to Chicago in a couple weeks to teach that workshop, so voila, more sewing with my fabric combined with demo item for my class. I so love efficiency.

 The shawl I made is the Homin Shawl by Gudrun Johnston. I made it in a Shibui sock weight merino . The color way was called wasabi(great name and even better condiment). I can't say enough good things about this pattern. It wasn't easy to make, but not because of lack of clarity in the instructions. They really guided you every step of the way. It's just that this type of knitting requires your absolute attention, but the finished product is so worth it.
OK, that's it for now. I'll be back next week, hopefully with some finished beach knitting, sans the sand and full views of finished projects.

Three Times Makes a Tradition

Years ago, my husband and I were having dinner with some new friends. We'd actually met this couple in Lamaze class. That would be over 18 years ago because if we were all in Lamaze class we were definitely first time parents. I don't know anyone who takes a birthing class the second time around. Anyway, our new friends were not only new to our acquaintance, but to Austin in general, having just moved here from New York City. In our desire to show our new friends a uniquely Austin good time we took them to one of our favorite Tex-Mex restaurants. One of the couple asked how long the restaurant had been around and I replied that it was an Austin tradition. "Really," the husband commented in surprise,"How long has this place been open." "Ten years," I answered, " That's why it's an Austin tradition." Having come from the Northeast my friends had to laugh at the idea that an establishment just ten years old would be considered traditional. But, I stand by what I said back then. Sometimes, traditions are pretty quickly established.
Consider this example: two summers ago I made this top using this tutorial.
The following year I made the top again, but this time used my hand dyed fabric and altered the pattern a little by moving the location of the strap ties from the shoulder to the front chest.
Now summer's here, I have an inexplicable desire to make the pattern again. Actually, I just finished two new versions of this top. They're not from the same source and one is sewn while the other is knitted, but they're essentially the same idea.
Version #1 is a repeat of the tank from previous years, but with one significant addition.



I was inspired by Jennifer Casa's Undaunted pattern to add elasticized thread to the waist. Maybe it's because this version is the newest one, but it is definitely my favorite. Though, truth be told, I wear all three. They're so easy to wear and, though I'm of the belief that nothing is actually "perfect" for Texas summer weather(how do you dress for 100 degree temperatures), these little numbers come pretty darn close to ideal summer tops.

Version #2 is basically a knitted take on this tank. The pattern is the Summertime Tunic from the 2008 summer issue of Interweave Knits. My original inspiration to move the strap location came from this pattern. This despite the fact that I'd never made it.



I used Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy, a yarn that I've had sitting in my stash and giving me the hairy eyeball for a long time. It feels so good to use the yarn, but, as luck would have it, I still have more. Anyway, this hemp/cotton blend is also a qualified perfect weight for our summer weather and I love the ties almost as much as the top itself.



I made them from some leftover fabric I purchased from Bolt 44. Love that place.
So, it is with confidence that I declare the making of this summer top my personal Austin tradition.

As a postscript to the original story: The restaurant that I originally called an Austin tradition, Seis Salsas, closed down just a few years later. Some traditions apparently last longer than others.

On a totally unrelated topic, if you're interested in another opportunity to take my batik workshop, I've just listed a new date/class in my Etsy store. Check it out here.

Crafting My Ride

First off-- thanks to everyone who played along with the giveaway and to all of your concern and good wishes. They're truly appreciated.
Our winner is Daisy.

She wrote:

hello!
when i saw the pictures i didn't understand the "therapy theory" that lay underneath it all, but then i read the post and i was like:

- what? oh my god! broken? oh no ortopedic boot, ok. what? surgery in the thumb? wow. what more? what? an accident? phewwww that was close...

LOL

the skirt is amazing and so is the print. but i'm not so sure about the ric-rac myself, i think it tinkles :)

and just to imagine a patchwork dress... i'm sure i would have had a car accident if it had been me hehehe

So, Daisy, please email me at malka@stitchindye.com and I'll get your tutorial and fabric to you ASAP.

I've previously mentioned that I was participating in the Commuter Challenge during the month of May. I'm not new to riding my bike and, years ago, my main form of transportation was a bike, but the idea of relying on a bike to run errands was a long ago concept until last month. I'd come to view bike riding as something I did strictly for exercise, so I wasn't expecting the strange sense of empowerment that using pedal power to help navigate my daily routine would bring. What's perhaps even odder is that my sense of being in control seemed to change depending on the task being accomplished. For instance, I felt great about riding my bike to the bank or the farmer's market or a coffee shop, but I felt amazing about biking to my knitting group. There was something just a little more special about riding rather than driving there. I started to view riding my bike to knit the way I see knitting or sewing--that of having a real hand in crafting the things that I need or use. Somehow, riding made me feel like I was crafting that need as well.
Mind you, I really enjoyed loads of technological advances while I was busy crafting my transportation. I love my insulated water bottle, filled to the brim with ice water and I'm not going to deny that my first response when I walked into knitting group was, "aah...thank goodness someone though to invent air conditioning." But, I am enjoying the paradigm shift that this past month's biking has brought about and, despite getting soaked in the rain yesterday on the way home from the gym, am planning to continue relying on my bike to get around.
While at knitting group, I worked on probably my new favorite project.



This is a free pattern available here. I used the recommended yarn, Classic Elite's Sprout. It's part of their new line, Verde, and is a wonderfully soft, slightly nubby, organic cotton. Best of all, it's bulky weight, so it knits up super quick.



It's a fast knit and the top down pattern is easy to follow. Unlike many top down knits though you don't place the sleeve stitches on waste yarn and come back to them after the body is finished. Rather you knit the sleeves as you come to them. I was a little suspicious of this concept but decided to let the pattern lead me and it turned out great. I'm so jazzed about this top that I ordered yarn for a second. This time in this color way.
The color is called "Summer Rain". I think it's supposed to sound refreshing. Around here though summer rain is usually preceded by a goodly amount of summer humidity. So, I think I'll call the color pale gray instead. Either way, I'm set for next week's knitting group.

Knits in the City

Seeing as this is knitting related, and today's post deals with knitting, I'll include this little bit of knowledge I've gained lately. I've begun knitting the bicycle basket and in general the knitting is going quickly. The only thing that slows the process, other than the guilt of knowing that I should be doing other things, is working with the Jute twine called for in the instructions. A couple of you wrote to me warning that knitting with this "yarn" can be hard on your hands. I'm here to confirm that. I can't work on this project for more than two hours in a row without needing to take a break. I even considered abandoning the twine(it was only $2.50 a skein) and switching to a bulky cotton yarn. I decided against that because I think it would lose that rustic charm that the original basket has. Anyway, the moral here is "knit in short bursts, knot(cute,huh?) long stretches.
OK. On to what this post is really about.
This:



Are you wondering what that is? It's an urban art knitted cozie, of course. Several years ago artist Carl Trominski installed a series of "paintings" along both sides of an underpass. At the time of their unveiling, I didn't think very much of them and I still don't. Underneath the knitted cozies, they're just blue fields painted with reflective paint. At first I honestly thought they were installed as a safety measure. They didn't read as visually interesting at all. Sorry, Carl.
Now, I love them.



Local artist, Magda Sayeg, was commissioned to knit cozies for the paintings/traffic signs.



I'm especially appreciative of the fact that the designs she selected for the cozies are very identifiable as traditional knitting patterns. There's a variety of ripple patterns, stripes and granny squares. She's not using knitting as an expedient way to encase these paintings, but using the paintings as a canvas to celebrate knitting.
I think it's inspired and inspiring.
I rode my bike, sans soon-to-be-finished knitting basket, down to the site of the underpass to take these pictures. When I got there, I couldn't help but feel happy that I lived in a place where textiles would be so publicly and proudly displayed.

I might need a 12-step program

For perfectionism. I know the first step in solving my problem is admitting that it exists. I've never actually denied it, but I may be powerless before it. My latest bout of perfectionism has reared it's head because of this.



The pattern is Bias Blanket by the very talented Jennifer Casa and there are currently 4 versions of this pattern being knitted by various folks in this house. Honestly though, I'll probably be the only one who finishes any sort of blanket. My girls don't always have staying power when it comes to knitting projects. No matter, once they officially throw in the towel, I'll tear back the 1/3, 5/8, or whatever fraction of a completed blanket they have and reclaim the yarn. More for me.
I'm afraid though that before I rip back their blankets, I'll rip back mine. I love so much about this blanket, the easy, carefree knitting, the bold diagonal stripes, and the soft cotton yarn. What I'm not loving has more to do with my own excessive sense of perfectionism than the pattern. My blanket is not turning out square, but more diamond shaped. Most likely I made some mistake along the way or the fact that the blanket combines garter along the edges and stockinette in the center doesn't work for me because my tensions vary too much. Whatever the reason I'm not crafting the polygon I want and I'm starting to obsess about it.



When I first started knitting the blanket I didn't have a recipient in mind, just a lot of worsted weight cotton yarn. Now, however, I not only have an intended giftee, but a deadline. It's not next week, but April, so I've got plenty of time to re-knit the blanket, but only if I act decisively now. No hemming and hawing and trying to convince myself that diamonds really are a girl's best friend. After all my the soon-to-be born recipient is a boy. So, though I should stand in front of you all and declare, "Hi, my name is Malka and I am a perfectionaholic," I'm going to give in to my addiction just one more time and make this blanket exactly like the semi-compulsive me envisioned it.
After that I'll quit. Because I can. Anytime I want.

Howdy, Rick. Do you like my Tea Leaves cardigan?

Before I show you all my Tea Leaves cardigan complete and modeled I want to digress for a moment.

I don't know how many of you happened to listen to NPR's Morning Edition this morning and hear the story about the contested Republican nomination for governor here in Texas. The segment began with an clip of a speech that current governor, Republican Rick Perry gave to a crowd of supporters. He was discussing the state of the economy in Texas and, though I don't remember exactly what he said, I do recall that he used the non-existent contraction mightn't in place of the words might not. My guess is that his word choice was an attempt to sound folksy. Well, I'm here to dispel any notion you all or y'all might have that folks in Texas talk like that. Even Rick Perry doesn't really talk like that.

OK. Back to the cardigan.





Ain't it purty? It mightn't be my last crack at this pattern.

Green, Tea Leaves

I'm happy to announce that my Tea Leaves Cardigan, at one point so close to the discard bin, is now finished and blocking.



I did end up with 3/4 length sleeves but found that I preferred them, so all is well. For those of you not familiar with this pattern, the Tea Leaves Cardigan was designed by Melissa LaBarre for Madelinetosh yarns. It's simple and fun to knit and, best of all, knit from the top down.
This is not the first time I've knit one of Melissa's patterns. Last summer I made her Leaf Tee...twice.



The green version I wrote about here, but the blue one which I knit in the exact same yarn, I never mentioned. Not because I didn't love it. I did. I've worn both versions numerous times. I didn't talk about Leaf Tee, version 2.0 because I made it right after the first one. I was so enamored of the pattern that when I finished the first tee, I immediately wanted to make another one. As this was summer in Texas, having a second cotton/bamboo short sleeved tee was very useful, but taking and posting pictures of the same top only a few weeks after the first seemed silly.
It is, however, not quite as silly as what I'm planning to do post my current Melissa knit.



I'm going to knit another one. I will have to delay the start by a few weeks as I've already promised and purchased yarn for a summer tank for my youngest, but I'm still planning a second Tea Leaves. This is a testament to how much I love this pattern and the process of knitting it. Both because I'm prepared to repeat something I've just done and because this is Texas and by the first of March I'll be hard pressed to find many days where the temperature will be conducive to wearing wool cardigans. If all goes according to my plan, I'll be knitting my Green Tea Leaves while mopping sweat off my brow. Good times, huh?
While I wait for my first Tea Leaves version to dry, I'm auditioning buttons for the cardigan.




Maybe I'll save the Frank Sinatra buttons for my Green Tea Leaves.

Thanks Winston

I want to personally thank Winston Churchill for giving me the courage to say, "I will never surrender." I realize that Churchill was vowing to never yield to invasion and occupation by the Nazis during World War II and I'm talking about not giving up on a project, but you get the picture.
The other day I lamented discovering that I didn't have enough yarn to finish my Tea Leaves Cardigan, at least not the way I had envisioned it. You all responded with much encouragement and a few suggestions. Several recommended that I consider making the cardigan short sleeved, an option I considered and decided to pursue. Luckily, despite how disheartened I felt by not getting to make exactly the cardigan I wanted I hadn't as yet ripped back my work. That was mostly because I had spit spliced my yarn together and I didn't want to have to deal with the mega ball of yarn that ripping back would produce.
Once I'd come to terms with short sleeves, I picked up where I left off and continued knitting the body of the sweater. The instructions called for 13" to be knitted in stockinette from the armhole and a final 18 rows of garter stitch as an edging. I did as I was told. I even added the left buttonhole band. And then I tried on the sweater. I liked the fit, but it was too long, at least for me. The bottom of the sweater hit well below my hip. I figured that once it was blocked it would be even longer. The length reminded me of those 70's sweaters with the matching knitted belts.
This time, though I was disappointed that I wasn't as close to finishing as I thought, I felt strangely energized by having to rip back and rework the sweater.



Dammit, I wasn't going to be defeated.



I marked the spot I wanted to rip back to so I could pick up the stitches and add the garter stitch band. I undid the cast off edge and began to unravel. Then, as I collected the yarn into a ball I realized something wonderful. All the yarn that was not going into the body of the sweater would now be available for another purpose-making longer sleeves. I can't promise long sleeves, but elbow length are almost guaranteed and 3/4 length is not outside the realm of possibilities. Maybe, just maybe, I'll have enough for long sleeves. No matter how much additional sleeve length I gain from shortening the body, this redo is most decidedly the silver lining to my struggle with this silver yarn.

The fish seem happy...

...but I'm a wee bit bummed. It's not their fault, but my own. They're actually not involved and I only mention them because I previously claimed that happiness is a tank full of fish. Now I'd like to amend that statement to say that happiness is a tank full of fish and a enough yarn to finish the Tea Leaves Cardigan (Ravelry link).
I'm a basically optimistic person, so by tomorrow I should be ready to move on, but right now....
I have no one to blame but myself. In my zeal to start knitting the Tea Leaves Cardigan RIGHT NOW, I decided to use some yarn I'd reclaimed not once, but twice. The yarn is a wonderful blend of silk and merino, but didn't work in two different projects. I should note here that in both those previous projects I had knitted to near completion before it dawned on me that things were not going as I had envisioned. That probably should have clued me in not to try to use this yarn, but the my thrifty/controlling inner voice was so excited at the prospect of finally making this yarn submit to my will. Also, I reasoned that since the Tea Leaves Cardigan is knit from the top down and I've knit several successful projects that way, everything was going to be OK.
So, I cast on.



And I knit and knit. I was so happy and making such progress.



Today I realized that I would be finishing the body in the next day or so and that I should probably check to see if I had enough yarn for the sleeves. I didn't think there would be a problem, but it just seemed the sensible thing to do.
The horror! There's no way I have enough and, like salt in an open wound, the store where I bought the yarn at least a year ago doesn't have any more. I checked online too. I have been defeated by an incredibly soft and lustrous merino-silk blend.
I have other projects and they'll get me through this rough patch, but for now I'm going to have to mourn for the Tea Leaves Cardigan that never was.

Tomorrow though I think I'll start working on this:

A Week of Finishing :: Leaf Tee

Sometimes you can spend weeks working and feel like you have nothing to show for it and then other times you come into a veritable smorgasbord of finished objects. Well, I'm happy to say that it looks like I'm at the buffet table this week. I'm hopefully coming to the end of several projects and I'm planning on sharing them here this week.
My first completed item is not a sewn item, but a knitted one. If you all knew how hot it has been here the past few weeks, you would laugh at why I felt compelled to work on my knitting. In my own defense I will say that this item was made out of an amazing bamboo/cotton blend, so it is cool,with cool being a relative term when human beings are forced to endure 100+ degree temperatures day after day.
But I bet you all don't want to hear me go on and on and on about how freaking hot it is here and how, despite the fact that I have a pretty high tolerance for heat, I can't take this particular inferno,right?
I thought so.
Here's my finished object instead:


Try to ignore that string that is in every single one of the shots I took and instead focus on this really cute and easy to knit top. It's the Leaf T-Shirt, a free pattern on Ravelry. It's knitted from the top down. Oh, how I love knitting from the top down. It's so civilized.


Here's a detail shot of the tee. Or maybe it's a shot of me passed out from the unbearable heat. Either way, you can see the pretty lace pattern. It's just a 6 row repeat with plain knitting in between, but I like the interest it added to the top.


I've got a second Leaf T-Shirt in my future as well as more cotton/bamboo yarn. I picked this batch up today at a lovely local(air conditioned) store .
I'll be back tomorrow with another finished item.

Winners and More

Wow! There are a lot of you interested in Stitch. I had a lot of fun reading your comments and was frankly kind of surprised by how many of you couldn't find the magazine locally.
Anyway, courtesy of www.random.org, we have two winners:

Jeni said...

Me, me, pick me! Love your blog and that mag looks great. :-)

November 14, 2008 2:37:00 PM CST

Micheala said...

Beautiful sweater! I once started knitting myself a vest (I was probably 11 or 12, by the time I finished it was too small already. Here goes my knitting.

November 14, 2008 4:31:00 PM CST

Jeni and Michaela: Email me your addresses and I'll get your magazines to you ASAP. My email is malka@stitchindye.com

Other than reading your comments, or should I say in between reading your comments, I've been finishing up a few projects.
I finished knitting the second sleeve on my February Lady Sweater and it's now blocking. I hope to attach the buttons tomorrow and have pictures of the completed cardigan in a few days. I also made some pillow covers for a wonderful customer. I've mentioned before that she has quite the amazing collection of Oillily fabrics and I've made several items from that collection before. These are the latest.


I especially like the pieced backs on these pillow covers and the little embroidered Oillily ladybug.

Sweater Update and Giveaway

I don't write a lot about knitting. That's primarily because I don't do all that much knitting. But I like to knit and I like wearing and giving knitted items and I like to use knitting as a distraction from what I really should be doing. So, there's been some knitting going on here.
In the heat of the summer I bought some yarn to make the February Lady Sweater and oftentimes that's where the project ends. This time though things seem( I say cautiously) different. Hey, don't take my word for it. I have evidence.


I have one sleeve to finish and then it's ready to be blocked. I've already bought the buttons.


If you live in Austin or are visiting and want to be amazed, startled, brought to your knees by beautiful buttons(and who doesn't want to be brought to their knees by buttons), then you've got to stop by Silk Road . They have these amazing antique display cases filled with buttons unlike any you've ever seen. Seriously, you're not going to run into buttons like these at Joann's. Go ahead, buy a plane ticket and come into to town to eat Tex-Mex at Guerro's and buy buttons at Silk Road.
Before you do either of those things though, leave a comment and I'll enter you in my giveaway of these:


I got three complimentary copies of Stitch. Impatience led me to buy a copy at the store and my Mom only needs one to add to her collection of everything I've done since second grade, so that leaves me with two extra. And who better to share them with than you. Any comments between now(11:33 CST) and Sunday at 6:00pm CST will be entered in the drawing. I'll announce the winners on Monday.
Happy Weekending!

Current Temperature:: 95 Degrees

Perfect winter knitting weather, huh? I think so.


Actually, if you live in Texas and you wait until the weather gets cold to knit for winter, you won't finish the project in time to wear it. The season is just too short. Also, having made quite a few summer tops and dresses this year, I'm ready to sew and knit for the other season we have here. The saying is that in Texas we only have two seasons: summer and winter.
I'm itching to get started on two patterns in particular, a new hat design by brooklyntweed author Jared Flood and the February Lady Sweater. In fact when I drove to my LYS, air conditioning blasting because, hey, it's hot here, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they had already knit up a sample version of this cardigan. And, the owner is currently working on her own version. Wonderful examples of this sweater have been turning up on flickr lately, but it looks like I'll be spying it in the streets of my very own hometown as well. That is, once the mercury reads below 90.

So much to say, so little time...

I do have a lot to say. Though, according to my kids, most of it is just a repetition of something I've already said but forgotten about. I don't agree, but that's neither here nor there. I do have a lot of things I'd like to write about, but not always as much time to write as I'd like.
For instance, about six months ago I was commissioned to recreate a kite. Yes, a kite. I'd never made one before and actually could probably count on my fingers the number of times I've flown a kite, but there I was remaking a much loved but worn out kite. The original kite belonged to my client's father. He had purchased it in the fifties in Vietnam. She had vivid memories of flying the kite with her dad when she was a kid. Unfortunately the kite had seen better days. The woman wanted to have the original copied and give it to her dad. The entire thing was supposed to be a surprise. And apparently it was a very successful and emotional one at that. A few days ago the woman sent me these pictures of it soaring through the air.

I've also been doing a lot of knitting lately, but, like the kite haven't had an opportunity to post about it. I'm almost completely done with the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and I'm making one of Fiona Ellis' heavily cabled sweaters from her book, Inspired Cable Knits. The thermometer dipped below 60 here, so that means it's sweater time.


And... I've got a slew of new items going into my shop tomorrow. More coasters, baby items and lots more fabric.


And... I bought two new textile stamps at the quilt festival and have been making lots of new fabric with them.
And...today I ordered another new stamp from this etsy store .
And...I'm finally back at work on this .
And... I actually had more, but I forgot. That's all for now.

Mistakes are part of the process.

But they're not the best part. Sometimes I feel like before I can move forward, I've got to step backwards or at least just sideways. The other day, I posted about my newest knitting project. Well, I was tearing back a couple rows to fix a mistake and I discovered that I must have made an error when I calculated the gauge. Anyway, it's too damn big. So I had to frog the entire thing and start from the beginning.
When I was taking the knitting apart, my eldest said she couldn't believe I was doing that. I responded that there wasn't any point in going on if it wasn't going to turn out well. I could be somewhat disappointed now, recast my stitches and start again, or make a tank 3 sizes too big. Not a great choice, but the decision seemed pretty obvious.
Episode two in the two steps back, one step forward drama is this:
I was so excited about making this top. I've had quite a bit of clothes sewing success, so I was expecting more of the same. Nope. The pattern as I cut it out is just a hair too small, but enough to need adjusting. I don't like the side zipper, so I'm going to redraft the pattern to place the zipper in back. In other words, I'm going to need to make a muslin of this pattern before I can try it out on any more decent fabric. Wait! What's that I hear? Could it be the sound of my feet shuffling backwards?
OK. It's not all frustration. I do have these pictures of a new work in progress and some new coasters for my shop , so I guess I'm not seeing everything in the rear view mirror.
But, when you spend hours, precious hours, working on something and it ends up in experience, but no product....

New Knitting

As if I didn't have enough projects in the works, I've decided to take on another one. I posted last week about some new clothes I've sewn for myself and since then I've made another top using some repurposed fabric. This week, I thought it would be fun to knit myself a summer tank as well.
For some unknown reason, I selected a project out of the Spring rather than Summer issue. There are several things I'd like to knit out of the Summer issue, but I'm tackling this one first.
This being Texas and despite the torrential rain we've had here lately, I never considered making anything other than a tank. I'm not using the exact yarn called for, but Rowan's all season's cotton. I really love this yarn. It's soft and very washable(50/50 cotton/acrylic).
And I totally love this blue. It seems so fresh.
The stitch pattern is particularly lovely. It's a lace stitch, but knitted, at least partly over large needles. The combination creates a beautifully airy fabric. I am super excited about wearing this top, so, hopefully, that will keep me motivated to finish this project quickly. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't start other projects in the next few days. My hope is that I'll be able to balance them and move them all forward to completion. Keep your fingers crossed.