Thursday, April 15, 2004

New Project and a Cool Book

Over the weekend, as part of my (ahem) knitting rehabilitation program, I started a new project - the ”Bella” sweater from the Winter 2002 issue of Knitty.  I had tried this sweater some time ago but gave up in frustration when I couldn’t keep the seed stitch border from folding up over the body of the garment.  Taking an idea from another sweater pattern, this time I did the border in a smaller needle, switching to the larger one for the body.  Presto - a nice well-behaved border that stays where it’s supposed to!

Plummy Perfection

I’m using stash Red Heart for the sweater.  I am unwilling to commit more expensive yarn to the project until I know whether I’m actually going to finish this :)

Surprisingly, it’s a nice yarn to work with - soft and even a little plushy.  It’s an acrylic/rayon blend and the fabric has an almost chenille appearance.  For cheap stuff (and it was cheap - I bought it on clearance months ago), it’s fairly impressive.  And the frosted plum color really trips my trigger :)

Jewel toned accent

This is what I plan to use for the ruffles and trim - just to give the thing a little visual pop and funkiness.  Yes, it’s also Red Heart and has been sitting in the stash as long as the Plum has :)

Born to make sparks!

Don’t you think these look nice together?

I have finished one front and am aproaching the halfway mark on the other.  The plan is to do the sleeves next and then the back.

I’m not going to post any pictures just yet because I’m being superstitious and am afraid to jinx the whole thing.  But please note, there is shaping to this garment.  Not a whole lot, admittedly, but there’s the V-neck and a little 5 stitch indent for the sleeves.  And, so far, I seem to be managing it reasonably well.

Any crossed fingers will be greatly appreciated!

Yesterday afternoon, I picked this book up in Barnes and Noble:

Grammar Gods of the world, unite!

It’s all about proper punctuation and it’s a very amusing read.  The book isn’t the least bit pompous and can be very funny.  I’m not always a stickler about such things, but having been a student of literature and language, I get a bit huffy when a publication that should know better (books, magazines, etc.) makes an egregious breach.

It’s fun, honest!

No trackbacks yet.

1. Funny, I always eyeball that EXACT color of Red Heart when I go into our local five & dime. Project, yarns, yarn combo--v. pretty, Robbyn!

   Posted by Ryan  on  04/15  at  11:46 AM
   Location :



2. I love plum/purple anytime anywhere.  Those are nice colors and I use RH sometimes, too.  I’d keep my fingers crossed, but then I couldn’t knit!  I will be thinking good thoughts for you and your project.  Thanks for your comments on my posting today.

   Posted by Chery  on  04/15  at  11:51 AM
   Location :



3. Ryan - A truly yummy color.  I knew we had a lot in common :)

   Chery - Many thanks; I appreciate the good thoughts!

   Posted by Robbyn  on  04/15  at  12:43 PM
   Location :



4. Mmmm, those are gorgeous colours.  Do you have a pic of the pattern?

   Posted by Pamela  on  04/15  at  02:04 PM
   Location :



5. Hi Pam - There’s a link in the post to the pattern.  Click on “Bella”.  It’s working fine for me, but let me know if it’s not going through for you!

   Posted by Robbyn  on  04/15  at  02:09 PM
   Location :



6. Boy, does that look LUCIOUS ;-)
   I’m going to take a second look at Red Heart yarn from now on.  The acrylic yarn companies should hire you to take digital pics of their yarn for promotional purposes.

   Posted by cheryl  on  04/15  at  08:18 PM
   Location :



7. Wow - thanks :) I managed to get the pictures in the sunlight, rather than via the flash - that’s why they look nice.

   Posted by Robbyn  on  04/15  at  08:59 PM
   Location :

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.