FO: Marion KAL

Done! I finished with about 10 days left in the KAL, but it took about four days for my sweater to dry after blocking. Last Friday was finally supposed to be pretty chilly, so I sewed my buttons on first thing in the morning and wore it all day. Then again all day Saturday (Sunday it warmed up again, but otherwise I would have worn it again-I get a little obsessive over new FOs).

Mods! Because there are always mods: I never keep track of how many stitches I pick up for the neckband, so that certainly isn't worked how it's written. Other than that, I shortened the sleeves by about 20 rounds because I thought they might get too long. It worked out perfectly, and they ended up just the right length.

Ravelry Page: Marion KAL

Pattern: Marion, by Andi Satterlund

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, Indigo Heather

FO: Ella

Ella my darling, Ella my love, you are everything I wanted in a summer cardigan and more. You are light enough to wear even on warmer days, and you go with almost everything I own.

We ran into some troubles along the way. My inability to read patterns through and my proclivity for knitting with dark beverages at hand definitely gave us a run for our money. But through everything you were a joy to knit.

Ravelry Page: Ella

Pattern: Ella

Yarn: Red Heart Classic Crochet Thread, Size 10 "Natural"


**Reminder: get either (or both!) of my for-sale patterns for 20% off with coupon code "HB24" through  September 9 in my Ravelry Shop**

WIP: Ella

You're just going to have to believe me when I tell you that Ella is beautiful.  (Sorry for the lack of photos.  I really need to get better about getting photos on my computer.)

This knit is so much fun.  I'm liking the yarn a lot more than I thought I would-it's just Red Heart Classic Cotton Crochet Thread, so I didn't have high expectations.  I run into a lot of trouble with cotton yarn shedding, and it drives me crazy.  This stuff is pretty tightly plied, and so far it's not shedding at all.  It's also got a nice crunch to it that I wasn't quite expecting. And it's shiny-it almost reminds me of pearls.

I love the double seed stitch.  I was a bit worried early on, because it took a couple inches for it to start looking like something and not a pile of tangled string, but now I can see it's going to be absolutely charming.  This stitch pattern plays so well in the light-especially with this yarn.

I just finished the body to the underarms today, and started sleeve one.  Then it's sleeve two, attaching the sleeves to the body, some raglan decreases, and the neckband.  I wish I was a bit further along, but hopefully I'll still be able to get this finished in time for my friend's wedding.  I am trying to remain optimistic and not yet develop a backup plan for what to wear.

(I am however struggling with the fact that Heartmate needs to be done before the wedding, too, and that it technically ranks higher on the list than Ella.)