My Maxfield !

Maxfield cardigan by the talented Amy Christoffers from Savoury knitting was my last project of 2012. It did not start well at all. First was the yarn issue . I really liked the combination of the original main color in dark blue with the glowing bright stripes but the original colors in lorna's laces Honor could not be found. Instead of waiting for new supplies I decided to sub it with blue sky alpacas- alpaca silk color 140 (blueberry ?) which is a bright  navy blue as the main color. For the stripes I liked the malabrigo silky merino 850 archangel . I bought all the archangels I could find in the UK but had to import one from the states. Unfortunately dye lots did not match at all  :(
The other annoying issue is some pattern erratas and the fact that the pattern instructions appeared to be different from the photo on the model. So I made a few mods mainly to lengthen the body. I got slim arms but still felt the sleeves could benefit from some extra width..

Once I got to the yoke all my grudges disappeared and I started to enjoy the pattern immensely. This is a fantastic fluid open cardigan to throw on. The silk and the aplaca give that fluidity.Those stripes are really eye catching and I love how it all joins together with more intense part at the fronts.
The color is not that electric blue as it appears below but a bit darker like a blueberry.

I also love the extra warmth for the back neck created by grafting the fronts at the back. Its almost like wearing a scarf. I was thinking perhaps to add buttons but it looks much better opened.

A bit of a tip- when picking up stitches for the ribbed band on the fronts try to pick up bit more stitches at the bottom as there is some extra gathering of fabric and you don't want it to pucker.

Choices of colors are endless and there are some pretty combination out there on ravelry. Go on and make a Maxfield !

Happy new 2013 everyone !!

Plisse Jacket

Two things attracted me to this piece when first seeing it in this book- its texture and swingy floaty way it hangs on the body. I still find the texture appealing - two different yarns are being used with the same size  knitting needle, the yarns are a good match in colour both darkish forest green that I like. The thicker *(sport weight I'd say ) one is lamb's wool of Patricia Roberts in olive tweedy green-really nice bouncy wool and the other yarn is Rowan kidsilk haze in Drab (discontinued colour). The Patricia Roberts yarn was gifted to me by my dear knitting fanatic friend :), not enough to make a big garment but perfect quantity for this design. The stripes are interesting to look at and I'm on purpose did not used blocking as I wished to maintain the texture.

Now that all is done I'm not sure at all about the swinginess  and this flapping about of the collar and hems. The weather is still cold so I need to be snug , my shoulders are narrow and the armholes tend to move and slide down my upper arms . So yes I'm afraid Plisse is going for a long nap in the green woolly department. Mental note to myself -there are other colours beside green ..