Wordless WIP Wednesday

WIP Wednesday – (too many?) Colors

Today’s WIP Wednesday is all about colors. Bright colors. Maybe too many bright colors.

The first thing to show you is my newest long-haul project, Featherweight Cardigan in Creatively Dyed Waterfall that I got at Rhinebeck.

The yarn is tiny and it’s going to take a million years. Fortunately I’ll be studying for the bar this summer and will crave some zombie knitting.

On Saturday I went to Webs with the gals. It was delightful as always, and I ran into Gudrun Johnson/The Shetland Trader and Melissa/Knitting School Dropout, neither of whom I’d met in person before.

I went to Webs on a mission: get more colors for Babette. You know me by now, does this look like my color scheme?

Of course not. There’s no green!

Ahh, much better.

Handspun Shalom

I finished Shalom! It used almost all of the handspun I had, so probably 425 or so yards.

It’s got an… interesting texture. Let’s call it rustic, rather than lumpy, ok? In all honesty though, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out considering what a disaster it could have been. In a fit of “go big or go home” spirit I bought a huge amount of green fiber at Rhinebeck (I think from Spinners Hill) without knowing how to spin AT ALL. Now that I’ve been doing some other spinning, I can tell that this fiber was nowhere near as easy to draft as some others.  But hey, I knit with it and the result is wearable!  Between the texture and the mottled green coloring, it sort of reminds me of moss.

I was concerned that the texture and color variations would obscure the twisted rib in the yoke to the point that it wouldn’t be worth doing, but I think you can totally see it. It’s recognizable as Shalom rather than a generic cap-sleeve cardigan.

The fit is very similar to the fit of my February Lady, which is a relief. The yarn was so lumpy that it made the whole concept of gauge pretty difficult to work with, so I had to try it on as I went and hope that it wouldn’t grow too much when I blocked it.

I basically followed the pattern, accounting for the fact that it was different yarn and I’m a lot bigger than the designer. The most noticeable modification is that I did a 9-stitch garter band for the fronts and am using the chunky pewter shawl pin I got at Stitches East as a closure, instead of a button at the top.

I also deviated from the pattern by making the arm holes quite a bit smaller than called for, and I think it worked out for the best. I’ve seen some of the sleeves on this pattern turn out like little wings (or Zapp Brannigan’s futuristic epaulets). Hmm, that was kind of mean, sorry. But I’m sure you know what I mean.

In my grand tradition of finishing items JUST as the changing weather renders them unsuitable, I finished this on Wednesday, when the temperature reached the 90s and broke an 80 year old record. Fortunately today was quite a bit cooler, especially in the evening. I’m glad I got to wear it once before putting it away for the summer!

Sophie Smith

My sister recently acquired a pet hedgehog named Sophie. So obviously, I had to make Ysolda’s Smith for her.

Coincidentally, Sophia Smith founded our alma mater.

The brown is leftover Lamb’s Pride Worsted from my Owls sweater, and the gray is Cascade 220. I would say I used about 1/4 to 1/3 of a skein of each, but I neglected to actually measure.

As with all knitted toys, it was a bit fiddly to make. I really have to hand it to Ysolda though, it was about as painless it could possibly be.   I’ve made Otto and Elijah as well, and Smith is definitely the easiest.  The spikes are knit on as you go, so the fiddly bits are distributed evenly through the project, and the actual finishing is very easy.

Another advantage to the construction method is that the spikes are very securely attached to the body.

I continue to be amazed at how much of a difference a tiny bit of embroidery makes.  In two minutes you go from basically a knit football with garter-stitch spikes to a cute little critter with personality.

Caroline seemed to love it and I made it over three sessions in one 24-hour period.   Success!

In case you missed it – March 2010

Hooray! It’s April!

If you’re not out enjoying the gorgeous spring weather, check out these great blog posts from March.

Best pairing of fashion and nickname

Coolest design story

Prettiest yarn

Most thoughtful post on sizing

Coolest embroidery

Most moving story

Most colorful

Most tinking (it was totally worth it)

Favorite fabric (and adorable dress)

Glow in the dark yarn?!

Prettiest purple

Most darling little sweater (and knit with a new technique!)