Desert Sky Hourglass

I do believe that sometimes there is something special about a project. Not necessarily that it comes out perfect, just that the process is effortless. This has been more than the case with my Hourglass Sweater.

The combination of lovely yarn, a need for something simple and a nice straight forward pattern came together just right to make this sweater pour off the needles. I am still in shock at how quickly it all happened, even in the midst of holiday knitting! And with a week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, I had a nice new sweater for what is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays of the year. :-)

From the beginning, the colors (blues, purples, yellows and browns) reminded me of sunset in the southwest deserts so it was a nice surprise when we were able to sneak away from the turkey for a few moments at sunset for a quick photo shoot.

As for details, I knit the main body on 7 needles in Brooks Farm Solana (s45) that I picked up at Stitches West earlier this year. The yarn is rich, smooth and so soft to knit. It's a superwash wool but other than that there is no specific wool type mentioned on the ball band. It is very merino-like so that wouldn't surprise me. I just hope it ends up wearing a little better than some merinos do. When I first did a Ravelry search the yardage used for my size (34) was all over the place. Because there was pretty much no way I could get more, I decided to be proactive and conserve the yarn by knitting the hems in something else.

Through some knit-group consultation, I ended up using a complementary shade of Mission Falls 1824 in Curry. I also decided to knit the hems using a smaller needles size (5) and allow the hem color so show during the turning row. In total, I probably used close to 860 yards of the Solana and about 60ish yards of the Mission Falls, so there was clearly enough Solana. And while it would have been really satisfying to use almost all of the Solana, I'm glad I didn't have to sweat it. That would have really messed with the whole 'effortlessness' of this project!

I didn't make many modifications to the pattern. I did regauge my stitch count a bit to account for the growth of the yarn after washing. (Thank you little swatch!). I also lengthened the sleeves by about an inch and a half or so and added an additional increase round towards the top of my sleeves. And although I am long-wasted, I didn't want this to be a tunic, so I left the body length alone this time.

This was the first time I knit a sweater in the round from the bottom up and while I was initially skeptical about the ease of the joining process, I decided this is a really great way to make a sweater. For me and the way my brain works, I liked doing the pieces and then once it's all together, zooming through the rapidly decreasing yoke. It was everything I like about pieced sweaters and sweaters knit in the round, but without the things I don't like. Plus I got a chance to practice my kitchener!

As for finishing, the sweater didn't require much blocking and I don't think I used one pin in the process. However, now that it is on, it does pull the stitches around my upper arms open just a bit, so I do plan on blocking that portion of the sweater next time it needs a wash. The unfortunately thing about this project is that because I can wear this sweater next to my skin, it will need much more frequent washings that most of my handknits.

All in all, I give this one a big thumbs up!

WIP Catch Up!

First of all, thank you for your nice comments about my capelet and Silk Garden Lite socks! I'd probably already be well on my way to a finished second sock except that knitting these socks is killing my hands! That when combined with A LOT of typing at the office has made for a seriously sore right hand. So sore, that I've had to forgo knitting in the evenings a couple times this week. :-(

Anyway, I wanted to follow up my FO Catch Up post with an equally enthralling ( :-P ) update of my current projects. First of all, I've FINALLY started my Icarus. I had been going back and forth on what yarn to use for this project since it was first published and nothing I had in my stash seemed to be right. Then on our way to this year's retreat, we made a quick stop in at A Mano where Nonnahs and I found their stash of Malabrigo lace. I fell head over heels for the Pearl colorway. It's a lovely, subtly variegated combination of soft grays, purples, pinks and white. I knew instantly it was destined to become my Icarus! And so, as soon as I got home from the retreat, I cast on.

I am now almost done with the third repeat of the repeat portion of the first chart. I've been working on the shawl fairly consistently and it has served as my break-from-the-killer-socks project.

I am also test knitting these lovely stitch markers. A friend of mine at the office is in the process of opening an Etsy shop and plans to carry stitch markers. I'm test knitting with them to make sure they are aren't too heavy and don't snag. I really like them and will let you all know once they are available for purchase.

I have also started a new wool project. I've been itching for a 'real' sweater to work on, but also I know that wool is easier on my hands than cotton and except for my shawl and socks, everything I have on the needles is cotton. I have several sweaters in my queue, but I don't quite feel like reading a cable chart, so I decided to knit my Hourglass from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

I'm using the Brooks Farm Solana that I got at Stitches in February. It reminded me a lot of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted, which I really liked in the version Knitzalot knit. So, I swatched and ended up casting on last night.

I'm a bit concerned about the quantity of yarn I have, so I decided to knit the hems in a different yarn. Cora had a ball of a dark gold Mission Falls that matches perfectly. It should be exactly what I need to stretch the yardage of my Solana. But of course I didn't manage to take a photo!

Finally, I have made a little more progress on my Britannia. I still really like the looks of this top, but I hate knitting the twisted rib. I picked out some Kona Bay Cotton I had in my stash for this project because I thought that the pattern could work with the way I know the cotton is going to end up flopping. However, part way through the ribbing on the front, I began to question the ability of this yarn to hold up the ribbed waste band at all.

I contemplated just stopping now and riping it out completely, but the idea of knitting all of that twisted ribbing again in a different yarn killed me. So, once I finished the ribbing for the front, I pinned it together and tried on the complete waste band portion. It actually fit better than I expected, at least well enough to continue with the stockinette portion of the front. I will seam it together once the front is done and try it on again before I knit the sleeves and all the collar twisted ribbing. I do want this top, but I DO NOT want to knit any more of that ribbing if it isn't going to work out.

(Incidentally, don't look too close at this WIP photo, after I took it, I discovered that I had made a MASSIVE mistake on the front portion when I divided it for the front and back. I have no idea what I was thinking (or not, in this case) but, I'm just glad I discovered the mistake when I did or I KNOW Britannia would have never, ever seen the light of day again.)