Knitting Successes and Failures

Here is a tank I designed using Blue Heron yarns. one side is crocheted with Blue Heron's Rayon Metallic, and the other side is knit using Blue Heron Cotton Rayon Woven ribbon. It was an excercise in combing knit and crochet. I took into consideration the fact that crochet is thicker than knitting and used a thinner yarn for the crochet side than the knit side.
Here is a close up of the two textures. THe only thing I forgot to take into consideration is that rayon is heavier than cotton. So since this tank is hanging up at colonial yarn shop the rayon crocheted side has started to grow more in length than the knit side. I think I have to do this experiment again, but with different yarns. Next I have to plan not only that crochet is thicker than knit but that it can be heavier.

This is the Black Sheep Dorothy Bag using Kureyon before it was felted.
Here it is after felting. Very easy pattern. Couldn't put it down. Too much fun.
THis is Tide cropped cardigan from Louisa Harding's Beachcomber collection. I used Schulana Merino Cotton 90 yarn and Louisa Harding's Glisten. I would definitely use the Schulana again. Schulana really gets ignored by the knitting mags. I was suprised at what a great yarn it is.

Here is the tide on me. Unforutnately I knit this as a shop sample for Colonial Yarn Shop. So I won't get it back to wear until next year. I made the size small and it fits! My surprise at it fitting isn't becuase of knitting or gauge issues. It is becuase this is the first size small I've ever knitted for myself. This is great motivation to keep my weight down. I can knit smaller sizes faster and cheaper than knitting the bigger sizes.

Trip Down memory Lane and Entrelac Scarf in Diadomina

Trip down memory lane.
These pictures are from the summer of 2005 when I Crocheted Suzannah a Martha Coming Home poncho in Lion Brand Landscapes yarn. Yes, I was caught up in the Martha Stewart Coming Home Poncho craze. I crocheted a total of three ponchos (of course bought enough yarn for 5 ponchos - but only completed three). One for Suzannah, one for Heidi and one for Zina. All in Lion Brand yarns.

This is the Lucy Neatby Garter Stitch Entrelac Scarf http://www.tradewindknits.com/threvgar.html done with Diakeito Diadomina yarn. Love, love love the yarn and the pattern.

The yarn had the same self patterning in wonderful colorways as Noro, but is much more polished. Diakeito is like a more refined version of Noro. I bought the yarn and the pattern at The Mannings in East Berlin, PA.

These pictures are of an unblocked scarf that has been worn everyday for two months and wrung and twisted every which way.

I started this scarf last summer after I signed up for the "Engineering in Entrelac" class at Stitches East. I signed up first then read the pre-requisit that you must have done entrelac before taking the class. After an exhaustive internet search for an appropriate first entrelac project I was at The Mannings "just looking" and this yarn and this pattern just grabbed my attention.

As with all of Lucy Neatby's patterns it was well written and there wasn't a thing I'd change about it.

Most Entrelac patterns I've seen look, well, yuck. Yuck colors, in unflattering cut. I never met an entrelac pattern that I wanted to knit until...........

Normally I'm not drawm to neutral colors. But this looks like it would be very flattering to my body type. One of these days I'm going to sit down and decipher this pattern and knit it (it is in Japanese, and contrary to popular belief American born Chinese aren't born with the ability to read Japanese).

Right after the 2,000+ other projects I want to knit and crochet.