WIP: Aibrean

Patterns designed by Isabell Kraemer are wonderful to knit. You are guaranteed directions that are easy to follow and an FO that will be comfortable to wear and that will look great.  I was so happy to finally get one of her patterns called Aibrean on my needles as it had been in my queue for some time. I knew that my Madelinetosh 80/10/10 Sport in the colourway Tannenbaum would be a great match for it.

Madelinetosh 80/10/10 Sport

Colourway:  Tannenbaum

What I didn't expect was that after working on the pattern for one week, I would be ripping it out and starting over.  Not because I made any knitting errors.  No, I had no issues following this well written pattern.  As I knit this sweater, mostly in the evenings, I did not notice how different the skeins were from each other.  What I stupidly did was decide not to alternate skeins until I got to the part in the pattern where I put the sleeve stitches on hold.  MISTAKE.  I had reasoned in my head that since I bought all the skeins at the same time that they would be from the same dye lot and would look very similar.  Nope.  Wrong.  What I should have done before I grabbed the first skein was to lay out all the skeins in the daylight, side by side, and look to see if they were the same. When I finally had a closer look I noticed that each skein was slightly different. I don't know if you can see where I started alternating in the picture below but the section in the lower part of the sweater is definitely darker.  If I hadn't started over, the sleeves especially would look weird once I start knitting them because no other skein is as light as the first skein I used.

First attempt.  Notice the darker section when I finally started alternating skeins

So I ripped it out and started over.  Seriously I would think by now I would know better and alternate from the beginning.  Another lesson learned.  They say you will keep repeating lessons until you learn them.  I don't know who 'they' are but 'they' are right!

Well here is my progress a couple weeks after I started over.  I am almost at the ribbing section.

Second attempt alternating three skeins

It is very hard for me to capture the exact colours in this yarn.  It is a beautiful combination of a rich forest green, a lighter green and brown.  I will be very interested to see how this sweater blocks out and how much it grows as I have never knit this patterned stitch before.

While I was on my holiday a few weeks ago I managed to finish the beautiful Pebble Beach Shawl by Helen Stewart.  This is the second one I have knitted. The first Pebble Beach Shawl I knit was gifted so I had wanted to make another one for some time.  It is the perfect size and shape to wear around your neck.  This is a very popular pattern with good reason.  There are no charts.  Instead it is written line by line giving you an indication of how far along you are in the pattern.  So, for example, it will tell you when you are 50% along.  This is extremely helpful if you want to use a whole skein of yarn, or if you want to make sure you do not run out.  

Pebble Beach Shawl

Colourway:  Blue Bell

I knit this shawl in Madelinetosh 80/10/10 fingering in the colourway Blue Bell, a lovely soft combination of merino, cashmere and nylon.  This is a great pattern to showcase a special skein of yarn.  The revised pattern also comes in two other larger sizes.

Now off I go to work on Aibrean.  Enjoy what's left of your weekend and don't make the mistake I made..ripping out is not fun.

Swatching: The Art of Picking a Pattern

A couple of weeks ago I was able to quickly decide what I wanted to knit with my Brooklyn Tweed Shelter yarn.  Everything just clicked together without any effort at all on my part - it took under five minutes to make a decision.  I chose to make the Farmhouse Shawl by cabinfour and I ended up with a shawl that I love and will be worn frequently.

Swatching for a sweater

Now I am looking for my next project.  I know I want to knit a cardigan or sweater but it is taking me so long to decide.  There are just so many options on Ravelry that it can be overwhelming. Plus, knitting a sweater is a huge investment of my time and I don't want to put all that effort in and not be happy with the result. It seems that the more I know about knitting, the more particular I am about which pattern I will knit. 

Madelinetosh Pashmina:  Baroque Violet

 I knew I needed a strategic plan to figure it out. I decided to focus on four different yarns that I was interested in knitting with.  I then went through my Ravelry queue and Favourites list.  I wrote down the names, kind of yarn, gauge, and needle size that would work with those yarns.  I then knit some swatches, and from there I am going to see if any of the swatches will work with any of the patterns.  This way, I will have figured out not only the next sweater I will knit but hopefully the next two or three.

Tanis Fiber Arts Blue Label:  Painted Jeans

v

West Yorkshire Spinners DK

Madelinetosh 80/10/10 Sport:  Tannenbaum

So what's a girl to do while figuring this all out?  Knit socks is what I highly recommend!  I've had this beauty waiting it's turn for some time.  Julie Asselin's Piccolo, a 80% merino, 20% nylon yarn.  It is incredibly squishy yarn, so I can imagine how lovely the socks will be to wear.  A recent convert to sock knitting, I have to admit that I choose handknit socks to wear everyday over all my commercially made ones.  They are so comfortable and breathable. I never used to see what the big deal was about sock knitting, but now I totally do.

Julie Asselin Piccolo: Plume

The pattern I chose was Business Casual by Tanis Fiber Arts.  It is a cuff down construction with a simple cable running through.  As I knit through these socks, I will continue to swatch and look through my sweater pattern options.   I find sock patterns so much easier to choose than sweater patterns despite there being so many to chose from.  

Hopefully no more new and amazing patterns will be published that will divert my attention from my final decision.  That won't happen, will it?

Sweet Fiber Accessories e-book

I had so much fun test knitting some patterns for Melissa Thomson's e-book just released last week called Sweet Fiber Accessories.  The patterns are gorgeous as is the photography for this e-book.   I am also a huge fan of her beautifully dyed yarn.  Although I would have loved to knit these pieces in Sweet Fiber Yarn I decided to do some stashbusting with yarn I had on hand.

First up was Dockside, a hat with some cabling and double seed stitch making a very warm slouchy hat.  My daughter loved it.  I knit this in some Madelinetosh 80/10/10 MCN, a merino, cashmere, nylon blend, a favourite of mine.

Dockside in Madelinetosh 80/10/10 in Sand Dune

The second pattern was a pattern called York a lovely cabled hat that I knit with some Malabrigo Merino Worsted, a 100% merino yarn.  This was the first time I knit with this yarn and I have to say I was impressed.  This is a beautiful yarn, incredibly soft and warm and available in so many beautiful colours. I will definitely be knitting with it again in the future.  I really think it is the perfect hat yarn.  

York in Malabrigo Worsted in Jade

The third pattern I knit was the Bedford Cowl, a beautiful cabled cowl using 600 yards (550 m) of yarn which created a substantial cowl for those very cold days. For this project I used Manos del Uruguay Maxima, a 100% Merino yarn in a beautiful shade of turquoise.  This was also the first time I have used this yarn and I have to say I was disappointed.  As I knit my hands were constantly turning blue and when I went to block it the dye that came out in the water was incredible.  The final colour once the cowl was dry was considerably less vibrant.

Bedford Cowl in Manos del Uruguay Maxima

Besides the shawl, Endsleigh, which I featured in my last blog, there are also two more hats and another cowl.  If you are looking for a fun project for the upcoming winter months you should really check out this e-book.