Monday 11 June 2012

Weekend FOs

Two this weekend! You can tell I've just had a week off. 


Hello, Sailor!

Pattern: Amelia Hoodie by Fiddle Knits (via Interweave)
Yarn: Sublime Egyptian Cotton DK, 8 balls
Needles: 5mm, 4.5mm, 4mm
Mods: A few. Go and look at my Ravelry page where I appear to have written a tome. Mainly - I changed the way the colours worked together, I knitted the bottom third in a needle size up for a better fit, and I lengthened the sleeves using short rows.

This is a great pattern: I can thoroughly recommend it. Somewhere I saw the shaping called "dramatic" and it really is when you look at it flat - a real hourglass shape on the back - but it works really, really well. It was quick to knit: once I'd stitched the patches together (a job I put off) it was about two weeks from start to finish, and that's not knitting it every night.


If I did it again (and I might), I would knit an inch less of hood and I'd probably leave the patch stitches live instead of picking up. There was a LOT of picking up that needed to be done.

I love the yarn, too - great colour, feel and drape. I am gutted, though, that one ball is quite clearly a different colour to the others. This isn't too obvious when the garment is being worn but I think it's a bit sloppy of Sublime, because they were all the same dye lot (I checked at least three times, and the SA at Get Knitted checked too). I have emailed Sublime to let them know but it's not like they can do anything now.


Drop Stitch Mobius

Pattern: Echo Reversible Drop Stitch Mobius (Ravelry link: it's impossible to find this on the Interweave website as an individual pattern..it was in the Spring 2011 copy of the magazine but it's not listed in the contents on the website. Umm....)
Yarn: Colinette One Zero, two skeins
Needle: 9mm
Mods: None. I thought I might make it longer but, as it turned out, I had exactly two feet of yarn left at the end of the BO according to the pattern instructions, so it was just right!

This isn't a mobius, because it has a full twist; according to the comments on Ravelry it's not a drop stitch, either, because you unravel two stitches from the bind off row. But it is lovely, and my stashbust for May. I also used these amazing dichroic glass buttons I bought at Fibrefest in 2009.


They were made by the people at Crafts from the Dungeon, who unfortunately don't have them on their website. I remember a man at a dichroic glass stall in Wells scoffing at me when I asked if he made buttons (I already had these, but wanted more), on account of how it would be impossible to put holes in them. Think outside the box, scoffy man! And also I'm not buying any of your stuff now.

This yarn was a gift through a secret swap....in 2010. I vividly remember the day it arrived because I had been supervising students on a climbing day in Bristol and had a touch of sunstroke. It came in a red and white spotty box with some chocolates and some pretty stationery and I wanted to knit with it immediately. I am only sorry it took two years to get round to it!

P7080635 P7080638

See, I told you it was hot that day. I'm not naked though, promise: note the vest strap.
The lovely lady who sent me this has just finished her PGCE and will be a fully-fledged primary school teacher in September! Congratulations, Tina Spoons, and thanks for the yarn!

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