Rowan Earn Part 1

I fell in love with Fly Designs' yarn when I visited the Little Knits store in West Seattle. I had only shopped online before but, if you live in the area, then I recommend you visit. They have plenty of amazing yarns that they do not post online.

I am knitting the first 17" of the pattern in the round since they call for the same st in the front and back. In general, the pattern is pretty straight forward if you speak Rowanese. If not, you can find helpful translations online of UK vs. US pattern instructions. One that stumped me - when you get to the "Shape Neck" portion, "Dec 1 st...on foll 4[4:4:5:5:5] alt rows." Translation: for a small, Dec 1 every 4th row, x-large every 5th row etc.

Twinkle's Balthazar Vest

I re-purposed yarn from the Marilyn jacket to make the vest. The pattern isn’t exactly clear. At the “Divide for Neck”, be sure to keep in mind the yarn over pattern. Rows 1 and 3 are purl instead of knit before and after the pattern section (K2tog, yo right side OR yo, ssk left side). Be sure to modify the pattern based on the fact that you are no longer working in rounds. It worked out so that I patterned on the pearl side (WS) and knit back. I decreased for the neck on every 4th knit row (pattern says 8) and this worked for me. Also, the patterns are small so it helped to know my measurements instead of following the pattern all the way. Lastly, I capped the sleeves shorter than the pattern.

DB Cashmerino Vest

This is a design that Tricoter designed for me. I got the yarn on sale from Little Knits (love them!) and wanted to make a chic sweater vest to wear either under a winter suit or with a casual outfit.

This is simply a st st with k3 p3 rib on the bottom (10 rows), neck (5 rows after PU & st), and shoulder (short row shaping).

It is very warm!!!

Twinkle's BF Cardigan

I modified the pattern because I don’t like how short the ribbing is on the bottom and the arm and I didn’t want a button on the neck portion. I knit 5 additional rows of the rib. I also did not switch to garter stitch in the rib section - I just thought that looked strange.

I’m knitting a size large because in the normal world I’m a small but in Twinkle’s world I’m apparently a large. I think she must design for lilliputians! After the first increase, I increased two additional rows at 7” and at 10” due to my measurements. I recommend doing this if you are bigger than a 32” chest (or size B). I also adjusted the divide for body (started at 13” instead of 11.5” Basically, knit and go by your measurements and where you want the garment to fall on your waist vs. following the pattern - unless you are really tiny. I made the mistake of following the pattern on the armholes so they are a little tight but it is still wearable. I did only one knit row on the neck edge - the original collar didn’t look right on me.

After it was finished, I didn’t like the way the buttons pulled in front. So, I decided to put in a zipper instead and some invisible buttons. The only downside - it closes like a men’s garment since I had already knit with the button holes. If you are bigger than a size 2, I recommend knitting it with a zipper so that it lays flat in front and doesn’t pull. Just plan for it in advance and don’t knit button holes :) This was my first zipper and it way much easier than I thought. There is a great instructional guide available online at www.knitsimplemag.com

Rowan Magazine #42 Iceland

Current mood: adventurous

I started knitting this January and I have been hooked ever since! My husband was on a medical rotation in Fairbanks, Alaska recently so I decided to take on a CHALLENGE. I think if I had known what I was getting my self into, I would have never started! But, ignorance is bliss. However, this pattern has taught me so much more than any knitting class.

I'm halfway finished and it is coming along quite nicely. Check out my pics. The pattern portion took about 2.5 weeks. I'm using Rowan Cocoon yarn in Tundra and 10.5 needles as suggested for this project. It is soo soft and lovely! I can't wait to wear it.

A big THANKS to the Memories and More knitting group in Fairbanks for helping me along!

My confidence is building - I discovered Twinkle's Big City Knits by Wenlan Chia. I was told by the lady in the bookstore (who is also a knitter and who was wearing an amazing Twinkle sweater) that I have now joined the cult of Twinkle. My mom would be proud! He he... I'm going to start with an easier pattern - the Princess Capelet cape. A shout out to the other Twinkle cult members - right now, Twinkle yarn is on sale at Fabulousyarn.com!!! But you probably already know that ;)

I'm 2098 in line at Ravelry and I can't wait to see all the cool project ideas there.