Sunday, July 29, 2007

Cozy V-Neck Pullover











It is FINISHED! My first sweater. I'm mostly glad with it, but I might go back and do some things over so I'll like it more.






Pattern : Cozy V-Neck Pullover from Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel



Yarn : Cascade Pastazza colorway 007



Needles : Size 5.5 and 4.5 KnitPicks Options




Modifications : Removed deep ribbing from sleeves, knit the sleeves on DPNs




Comments : Up until I finished it I was not sure how much I would wear this. Thankfully, now that I've worn it once, I'm sure I'll wear this a lot. The yarn is beautiful, but it sheds and it is itchy (note that I'm sensitive to wool). The yarn is heavy and warm, I like that. Since the yarn is on the bulky side, the ribbing really stands out and adds some bulk. It might be great for some people but not so much for me. I don't have a well-defined waist and tend to hold fat on my belly : the ribbing accentuates that. I'm thinking of frogging back and make a less deep ribbing there and remove some length too. I didn't do the deep ribbing on the forearms because it gave me gigantic forearms.




Anyway, I'm happy mostly with my first sweater. There were a few mistakes in the pattern (sleeves part), but nothing gigantic. I enjoyed this experience a lot and will knit other patterns from Fitted Knits. I've started the Drop Stitch Lace tank that I really did not like in the book but grew to like from other people"s FOs. Then, maybe the Puff Sleeves Cardigan (already bought the yarn but cannot get gauge at all!) or the Textured tunic.



Thursday, July 26, 2007

Fat Bottomed Bag


Yarn : Red Heart

Pattern : Fat Bottom Bag from SnB Happy Hooker
Hook : 5mm
I love looking at this bag, yet I've never really used it. It was an easy pattern to do, took only a few days. It was done in January.

Introducing Croquette and me!

Hi! I'm Valerie, and croquette is my cat. I know if she only had opposable thumps, she'd be knitting all the time. As things are now, she helps me by eating my yarn, unraveling skeins I've just rolled into balls and sleeping on my pattern books. I adore that little pest!

As for me, I've been knitting and crocheting for about 5 or 6 years but only got real serious about it in the last year. At first I was mostly doing baby blankets for friends, now I'm starting to enjoy making clothes. As for the rest of my life, I'm self-employed in the natural healthcare field, I love reading and love watching TV (Battlestar Galactica rocks my world). I plan to use this mostly as a knitting blog. Let the fun begin!