Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Two Wrongs Make a Right

I've never believed that two wrongs make a right. I'm not sure where that expression came from, but it always felt kind of dumb. Until now that is. I just finished (finally) my Rocky Coast Cardigan. And it turned out perfectly! But I think the reason it did so, is because of 'Two Wrongs'. Both 'Wrongs' happened at the beginning of knitting this sweater, and I kind of liked how it looked, so I just went with it. The first wrong was casting on for the wrong size. Initially, I cast on for my bust size and knit several inches. Then I check out the finished objects on Ravelry and found that since this pattern is meant to be worn with several inches of positive ease, you should cast on for a size that is several inches larger than your bust size. Rather than tink back, I decided to keep the cast on as I originally had done, but increase up to the size to give me the easement I wanted. This turned out to be perfect because the other thing that I read about the FOs was that the neckline tended to run large and hence slipped off people's shoulders. The second wrong, was miss crossing my cables. My cables are lined up - snake like - meandering down the length of the garment. I knew I had made a mistake right from the get go, but I kind of liked it and decided to keep going. Since the yarn I chose is sort of self striping these cable lines help to break up the self striping. So, here it is. I love it. The yarn is Cascade Eco Duo - a blend of wool and alpaca. Its a single and its oh so soft and squishy.
I'm sure it'll pill like nobody's business, but I don't really care. I have a good sweater shaver. I predict this sweater will get lots of wear. It is so comfy and the amount of ease is perfect. Its not falling off my shoulders. And I like the little clasp that I've used too.
So, in this case, I think two wrongs did make a right....well, a right sweater in any case. Next up....I've got some Madelinetosh chunky I've been dieing to try!!

Sunday, May 06, 2012

Some Good Mail

I got both of these things in the mail recently and I couldn't help but share them. First up, some fiber. I love this so much. This fiber is prepared for spinning socks. I think the seller is brilliant. Its from etsy seller Cupcake Fiber Company. Notice that there are six batts of fiber. 3 plies for each sock for a total of 6 batts. All the weighing work is done for you. See! Brilliant!! And not only that....its superwash BFL so no felting of the socks aaaannnd....there is 12% nylon in the batts for added strength so the socks won't wear out. Genius! I love them so much. I've already started spinning this stuff up and it is great. Batts by nature is a woolen prep, but sock wear better if spun worsted, so I'm spinning worsted. The resulting yarn will not be a true worsted spun yarn because of the fiber prep, but I'm spinning it hard and tight. I'm hoping for some decent yardage since I don't want anklets. I'm aiming for a fingering weight yarn. We'll see. I've never spun yarn for socks before, and I realize a lot of special consideration has to be given to it, due to the hard wearing nature of socks - I think Cupcake Fibers takes care of a lot of it. Plus....its so darned cute!! Go check out her store. She usually has lots of great stuff....sometimes gradients even!
And speaking of gradients....look at this! Its from etsy seller Colorshift Yarns. She does such beautiful work. The change in colour from one skein to the next is very slight and the result is so gradual. I'm crazy about gradations lately. I immediately bought a pattern called Aranami Shawl to showcase this beautiful yarn. But now, I'm worried about yardage. Most FOs on Ravelry have used 500-600 yards and my colorshift set is 480 yards only. So, I'll have to either alter the pattern or come up with more yarn. Not sure what I'll do yet. I'm not casting on until I get something off the needles.