Meanwhile

Hi everyone!

A little post with an old project so that this blog doesn't hibernate while I'm waiting for a day when I'll have time to take pictures and the weather will be fine enough to do so of  my ongoing projects.

So here is a hat I made around the time I was knitting my Heathering Height. It's an easy stranded hat using the remains of the Cascade skeins I used for the other hat.

yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers, personal pattern

I wanted to design a pattern for it but I saw that:


1- there was one exactly like that, for free, available on Ravelry
2- there was one better than this one knitted by Alex Tinsley

So, no pattern from me for this hat :)

That's all for today, I have quite a lot of projects to come (some KALs and other things) so I should add some posts in the following days!

Plum Rain

Today, I finally have time to blog about the great pattern by Yellowcosmo "Plum Rain".
I had the opportunity to test the design last October and I was (and still am) really happy with this sweater.

My Plum Rain in Ice Yarn Morbido Alpaca.

The sweater really knits up very fast (stockinette stitch in the round might be one of my favourite stitch ) and at the same time you have very interesting finitions with the sleeve pattern and the bottom of the sweater that is shaped with short rows.
You end up with a sweater that fits with almost everything and the details allow it to stand out very nicely.

The yarn was a first time for me. I wanted to order some alpaca from Ice Yarn for the Definitely Susan I'm knitting. At the same time, I thought that I would make the most of the shipping costs in ordering some more yarn.
First of all, I was a little surprised when I opened the parcel because the balls of morbido were all small and I had thought they would be big because they seemed so on the website picture. Apart from that, the yarn is quite good. It was very cheap so, to me, it is definitely worth it :) The yarn is very soft and I like the colour a lot.
I also have some left so I'll be able to knit up a little something with it (maybe fingerless gloves or a hat...).
If you ever feel like trying this brand, I would say go for it. And the staff was super nice and helpful because, as usual, I couldn't finalize my order without making a mistake choosing the shipping option...
We'll see how the yarn will live but so far so good.

So my Plum Rain is definitely a winner, I like everything about it and I'm very happy I had the possibility to test it :)  

Here it is!

My very first pattern!
It's called Heathering Heights and it's for free! It comes in three sizes and you can choose to knit it with one or two colours and to add a pompom to it.

Heathering Heights in size L and M.

I knitted the blue and orange hat first because I wanted to use up the wool I had left from my Audrey Cardigan and I liked it so much that I decided to order more wool and make another one for me (and write down the pattern).
The yarn I used both times is Cascade 220 Heathers and it's quite warm. I'm very happy with it.
I hope you'll like it too. I'm really looking forward to reading your comments. As it is a first time for me I guess there will be imperfections but I'm really eager to learn and hear what you have to say (or should I say "read what you have to write"?).

Apart from that, I am almost done with my Definitely Susan but I am currently working on a new test so it's on hold for the moment and this is not good as it was supposed to be a Christmas present...

It's everything for today and I hope I'll have things to show you all very quickly! Until then, I hope you'll take a look at my Heathering Heights :)

 

I wish you...

... A very happy new year everyone. After completely forgetting Christmas, I thought about New Year! Hope you had a nice end of 2014 and that you'll have a great 2015, all the best to all of you!

Revamp KAL, the end...

So as you already know, I participated to the Revamp Kal organised by Rililie. I had planned on knitting a sweater, but I still needed to finish my Got the Blue to use some of the remaining yarn as my main colour. As it took me quite some time, I decided that I would knit a pair of fingerless gloves in the meantime. And here is the final result!

My Mouton Mitts Revamp, my modifications can be found on my project page.

Afterwards, I finally made up my mind for a Revamped SpliTTop into a cardigan but couldn't finish in time and as I had Christmas gifts to knit, I decided to put the project on hold for now. You'll hear more about it later :)

But, the Revamp story doesn't end here! I had the great surprise to win one of the wonderful gifts Rililie offered at the end of the KAL. I received my parcel last week and could finally take pictures so here is my prize:

A beautiful skein of Shibui yarn in Poppy and some delicious caramels! What a treat! I already have plenty of ideas for this skein but for now, I have to get back to my Christmas knitting... (I know I know... I'm late but I only need to offer my gifts at the beginning of January, isn't an extra week enough to finish a couple of sweaters?)

So for now, that's all. Here's a progress pic of one of the gifts I'm knitting, Definitely Susan by Josée Paquin. More about it in another post!

New test

Yesterday Annamária released her new pattern, Got the blue. I had the chance to test this pattern last month and now that it is released, I can make a post about it.

This sweater is fairly easy though with an interesting construction. You begin with both shoulders before knitting the back and front (and eventually, joining in the round).

I didn't have any major problem except that I had to rip off a little bit of my sleeve in order to match the colours. I also had to deal with my gauge which was (as always) a little off (the joy of being a loose knitter). But at least, I've learned to adjust to that and usually go one needle size down. Here the effect of my gauge being a little more loose than it should makes the sweater a bit more large but it's fine by me, I like it this way!

A very nice project in fingering weight. I have to say that I was stunned by many of my fellow testers sweaters, lots of gorgeous colour combinations. Mine is in Holst Supersoft (for a change) in colourways Topaz, Kingfisher and Sage Blue (following their order on the body). The only modification I made was that I chose to knit the neckband in "reverse" ending with Sage Blue instead of Topaz.
I love my new sweater, I'll probably knit others with this pattern.

Apart from that, I finished my fingerless mitts for the Revamp KAL but couldn't take pictures yet (I found out that it wasn't that easy to take pictures of your hands and details on your hands without anybody helping you when you have a small camera and don't really know what you're doing. I really have to begin working on my photo-skills). I also have hats to show you but for the same reason, I keep on delaying the post. And other things but more of that next time (so now I'm forced to post soon :) ).

So I'll try to come back soon (and knit and take as much pictures as I can!)

A new KAL*

Sorry for the silence but with winter coming, days are getting shorter and I can't find the time to take pictures...
I still find the time to knit though and today, I'll show you the first part of my small contribution to the Revamp KAL hosted by the talented designer Rililie.
The idea is to take one of her patterns (at least) and modify it so that it becomes "truely" ours.
I wanted to knit a sweater that would mix several of her patterns, but as I was in two tests and I have a lot of Christmas knitting planned, I decided to begin with fingerless mitts. So I chose her Bisontine Mitts pattern and incorporated the broken seed stitch stripes from her other pattern Dessine-Moi un Mouton. And here is my progress!

Yes yes, I need to weave in the ends but, hey, isn't it why it's called a progress pic :)

I am using Holst Supersoft in Oatmeal, Sunrise, Burnt Orange and Bokhara. I had to modify the mitts pattern because it was waaay too big at first but now it fits ok. I'll post all about the modification when I'm done with the mitts (Which will hopefully be at the end of the week).

I hope to come back next week in order to show you a pair of mitts and at least, one new sweater (that is if the weather is ok and I can shoot correct pictures).
In the meantime, have a nice weekend!

* KAL stands for knit along, I know most of you will know that but who knows, somebody might just as well wonder about the meaning ;)