Alhambra

Pattern: Alhambra by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Posh Yarn Eva 2ply shade Rhyme
Yardage: just under 40g of a 55g skein
Size: 39" x 12.5" after blocking - 15 pattern repeats
Needles: 3.25mm bamboo straights

Very pleased with the finished result! The scrolls are such a striking design, and well worth the lace pattern on both sides (no purl "rest" rows!).

The KSH knitting is going well (thanks for asking CA!), and I've also started a more summery cardi in Rowan Wool Cotton. This is yarn that I've had in stash for a couple of years so again, nice to use it. The pattern is Tea Time from the RYC Classic Summer book.

Progress

Alhambra is the next project to finish, and the only one left over from 2008. I've completed 10 pattern repeats so far, and based on the yardage of the Eva, I should be able to do 20.



It's amazing the difference time makes. When I started this, I'd not really knit with any form of laceweight yarn before, and found it a little difficult to use. The project was soon put to one side, as I was increasingly busy at work and didn't have the patience or concentration to knit the lace pattern.

Recently I've been knitting with KSH, which is a much finer laceweight than the Eva. Having got to grips with that, and knitting away at more-or-less my normal speed with it, I switched back to Alhambra. The practice with the KSH has really paid off. Even the p2togtbl moves are flowing very easily. At one point I had really thought I couldn't cope with fine laceweight, so I'm counting it as a definite achievement.

Yesterday I received a nice surprise in the post. When I was knitting the latest Clapotis, I started off with Brittany 5mm straights. One evening I suddenly found the yarn catching on every stitch on one of the needle tips. Closer inspection revealed what looked like a small chip out of the wood, which we believe to be one of those natural "flaws" in the wood grain. It certainly wasn't anything that you could see beforehand, and probably just revealed itself after much use. I was reminded that Brittany operate a guarantee scheme and sent off an email explaining the problem, and asking for one replacement needle. Yesterday I received a whole new pair of 5mm straights from Artesano UK! I certainly didn't expect a complete pair and am most impressed with the customer service from Brittany/Artesano.

Traversa beret

Pattern: Traversa by Woolly Wormhead
Size made: M
Yarn: Cascade 220
Yardage: 0.8 of a skein
Needles: 4.5mm 16" Addi circ & bamboo DPNs

This took me a little longer to complete than most berets, as it involves 1-stitch cables on almost every row before the crown decreases. I've not yet practised the art of cabling without a cable needle, something I will do on a piece of "scrap" knitting, not a proper project! The original design is for a silk/wool blend, giving the finished item more drape/slouch. As I had the Cascade in stash, it seemed daft not to use it, and I'm very pleased with the end result. It holds its shape well while still allowing enough slouchiness - it was blocked over a dinner plate and you can still see that "fold line" at the moment. The stitch definition is also great, I definitely foresee more 220 in my future. This hat is part of the February Vertical KAL on the Wormhead's Hats group on Ravelry, if you are interested in making one.

If you're thinking of making a donation to help those affected by the Victorian bushfires, please do visit serendipity.

I've also added a widget to the sidebar for p/hop, raising funds in aid of Medecins Sans Frontieres. There is a Ravelry group where you can also get involved if you have anything you'd like to "hop" and generally add your support. MSF are also now on Twitter and are aiming to reach 500 followers as their next target.

Finally, I am making progress on my KSH knit, Tender. Since the picture below was taken yesterday I've added another few inches of st st, and also found that wearing my glasses helped quite a bit with the night-time knitting. I normally only wear them when I'm working on a computer, and don't need them otherwise, but for close knitting work with fine yarn they are a big help.

Melinda cardigan

Pattern: Melinda from Colinette "Wayfarer"
Size made: 36
Yarn: Colinette Prism shade "Monet"
Yardage: a little under 6 skeins
Needles: 6mm + 5mm for edgings

I'm very pleased with this cardigan, it fits a treat. I went down a size after checking the schematic and am glad I did so. I added 3/4" to the overall length though. Skeins were alternated every 2 rows, which seems to have given a pretty even distribution of colour. Three of the skeins were from the mill shop sale room and were mis-dyes as far as I could tell, but they seem to have blended in very well with the others.

I've now taken the plunge and cast on for Tender in Kidsilk Haze. Previous encounters with this yarn have not ended happily. This time, I'm using metal needles as recommended by various people on Ravelry. Top notch advice, as the yarn moves freely on them. The cardigan is basically plain stockinette too, which seems a sensible approach given previous problems with lace. I'm now a few rows in to the back piece and am finding the actual knitting surprisingly speedy. This after the rather tortuous cast-on of 316 stitches (I used stitch markers every 20 to keep count) then the next row decreasing by half.

This week I also joined Twitter, which seems fun, especially the tweetings of Sir Stephen of Fry. ETA - I've changed my account to "protected" updates, which means you have to request to "follow" them. I've left it public until now to see how it went, but decided I'd rather have a little more control over it. I'm happy to approve folks I "know" from knitblogging, Ravelry and elsewhere :-)