Reverb update !

 

Well my Reverb is just without its button bands. The photo above was taken before wet blocking.

You can see my waist shaping there. The reason I decided to block it before attaching the button bands is to see if slight details I was unhappy with ,were improved as a result of the blocking.

 

 

I have thin arms so when starting on the sleeves I've decreased few stitches around the arm circumference. I often do that . But this fabric is very stiff so there was a sharp and unsightly 'valley' between the shoulder area and the start of the sleeves 'arms'. when blocking,I pulled out the offending areas so all look more or less continuous.

I'm also struggling with my button choice. Should I go with rustic- horn, wood? green or brown? should the buttons pop out or disguise in??  decisions ,decisions..

Do you want to see what projects were pushed aside in favour of reverb?

Can you guess what they are? :-)

 

Reverb fever !

As soon as Wool People 5 came out and I saw this crisp cardigan everything else I was working on was shoved unceremoniously to the further side of the sofa , my hands were shaking and a fever took hold to cast on. I did not even want to wait and order yarn. The only supplier of Jared Flood's yarn- Loop yarn in London does not have in stock much of that beautiful dirty yellow.

I wanted instant gratification so the only suitable yarn I found in my stash was a bright green discontinued Rowan Scottish tweed DK in apple. I have only 7 balls and I know I'm somewhat short on yardage but with a blind knitter faith I dived in. I'm trusting that designers increase the yarn requirement by about 10 percent, I have short arms and I'm going to make waist shaping- surely this is going to work ... :-))

The yarn is awful, I never have had so many knots concentrated in one spot. The yarn at times is not even plied . Look at the photo below -it is like knitting with two strands together- absolutely appalling. It is as scratchy as you expect as well..

 

 

 

 But the fact is that I'm enjoying the pattern immensely, it is easily memorised . Look at those crisp waves  and excellent definition,. A wonderful design by Tanis Lavallee .

 

will keep you updated ! x

Pop spots photoshoot !

 

Last Saturday I went for another London knitting tour with my wonderful Wendy. Our first stop was the best yarn store in London- loop. Not too far for Angel underground stop, we arrived when the store opened at 11:00 am and stayed there way over couple of hours. This was my first time in Loop new premises and I appreciated the bigger space, range of yarn- all lace and 4 ply are on ground floor , chunkier is up a level. who is thinking about recession?? nobody in loop I can assure you.. Those yarn fumes, I swear ..
We also stopped at Liberty (for the buttons, fabrics and oh to die for silk scarves..) and John Lewis haberdashery department to examine the new yarns for Kim Hargreaves new book- Spirit.
Another stop was at good old dear Patricia Roberts, I wore her snow flake cardigan and she absolutely adored it !

That is Loop sample of pop spots you can see hanging there in the background - a lovely version knitted in Isager with three different colours- just love the lilac with the brown and grey..

 

 

 

Well my Pop Spots shawl is finished, that edging took forever but is well worth the effort. I made sure it was thoroughly dry after blocking because those alpaca fibers shrink dramatically.

It is just the perfect shawl for spring. Yellow to bring those warm rays of sunshine we all missed in the winter. Its woolly enough for the early morning and late evenings. I love the subtle combination of the yellow and beige- elegant and cheerful.

Yes all those logs are for next winter..:)

Super, super pleased !!