More on the Drops jacket.

Got a little further on the Drops Jacket. See pictures below.
Not as much progress as I'd like though. I want to finish it soon so I can wear it before it gets too cold. At least Francis (see previous post) is ready for the cooler weather.

Internship + Assistantship + Classes (time spent in them, not so much the workload) is sucking up all of my perfectly good knitting time! And needing to get up at 6am means I should probably go to bed by 11 if I want my brain to work. Doesn't leave much time for fun stuff when I'm at grad school til 10 one night, and 7:30 on two other nights. On the plus side, I am really liking my internship despite it being unpaid (I just try to forget about that part).
Anyway:



Also finally finished ONE of the convertible fingerless gloves I'm making for the husband. But no picture of that yet.

My Francis is Finished!

So, I am quite happy to announce that my Francis is finished. 9 days, and 14 skeins of Mirasol Sulka later... here it is. This picture is kinda dark, I will have to try to take a picture outside during daylight, when it's not 80 degrees out (in NJ... in October!?) Anyway... this is such a warm and cozy sweater and i can't wait to wear it for real in a couple weeks when it cools off. Next up is my Drops Jacket in Olive Malabrigo Worsted. No, I'm not throwing gang signs, I needed a way to hold the front closed for the picture. I'm quite proud of myself here... This is my first time using a provisional cast on. With the help of Wendy Bernard's Custom Knits directions for top down non-raglan sweaters, I converted the Drops pattern from button up, needing to be seamed all over the place - to a top down with set in sleeves. So I had a provisional cast on for the shoulder... knit down to just below the arm shaping, put the stitches on a spare needle, unraveled the provisional cast on, and knit the front down, past the arm shaping, then connected to knit in one piece. I'll post all my modifications once I know if it works out ok!

I <3 Francis

So, I jumped right on the Francis Revisited pattern Friday night with my Mirasol Sulka. I decided this one was easier to start, because I'll have to play around with the Drops Jacket pattern a bit to make it as seamless as possible.
Here's my swatch:And by Saturday evening I had this much:Later Saturday night:And Sunday before bed I bound off the body! (Nice PJ pants, eh?)
I love it so far, and I can't wait to finish it. I love how it fits so far, it's slim-ish fitting, yet loose enough to wear a tank or a t-shirt underneath. It's going to be an awesome cozy warm sweater. Now I just need size 10 dpns... I found a set from someone who was destashing them on Ravelry this past weekend. (I thought I had 10s, but only have 10.5s...boo). But I may decide today that I am too impatient to wait, and go check out Michaels or JoAnns for a size 10 small circ. needle so I can get a start on the sleeves sooner...

Best Friday Ever.

I love getting mail!

Despite always having a couple works-in-progress, I'm planning my next few. And here they are.

1. Drops Jacket. (ravelry link).
2. Francis Revisited. (ravelry link).

After finishing Wicked, I've decided I'm in love with Malabrigo. So I ordered 5 skeins of Malabrigo Worsted in Olive for the Drops Jacket. Long sleeves. Buttons all the way down the front (not just the top). Not so much of the A-line shape, a little more fitted at the bottom.

And, from a Ravelry swap about 2 months ago, I received a fantastic little skein of Mirasol Sulka yarn (merino/alpaca/silk) in Cocoa. And also love it. But was having trouble figuring out what to make with 1 skein. (and that 1 skein is only 55 yards). I basically decided I'd have to buy more. And I don't need another shrug at the moment. Nor do I need a plain scarf. But a big squishy warm sweater in this yarn would be fantastic for the winter. So I decided to splurge and get enough for a big sweater. So Tuesday, I saw that Verra Yarns (www.verrayarns.com) carries both Sulka and Malabrigo Worsted. And I happened to have a 15% off coupon from my previous label kit order that expired ON Tuesday. So I made up my mind and ordered it. at 10pm Tuesday night. And free shipping with $75 order. Also, I had some difficulties with getting my coupon code to work, emailed them (at 10pm EST) and got a response back in about 10 minutes with a functional code. The next day I got an email that it had shipped to me - I love it!

And so the package was on my porch waiting for me when I got home 15 minutes ago. And now I can't decide which to start first. Also I got another skein of Malabrigo in Pearl Ten to make some fingerless mitts for my sister for Christmas. (Pearl Ten on the left).
In other knitting news...
The textured tunic is no longer. Well, it is taking a nap while I figure out what to do with it. With the weight of the rest of the sweater (I knit all the way to the bottom, bound off) - the box stitch section starts at the fullest part of my chest. It looks funny, and doesn't even deserve a picture. I'm bummed because I got the shaping just right! I'm just not sure what to do with that box stitch section...

But my Somewhat Cowl is going strong-I've finished the second skein- as is the Hemlock Ring Throw -- but I've ordered a 40" cable from Knitpicks to accommodate the ever growing number of stitches - and the Harmony 10.5 tips (I figure this is a good way to try out those needles so I can determine if I want to ask for the Harmony Interchangeable Set for Christmas).