A Vegan in Tuscany

... might not fare all that well food-wise, I should think, what with all that beef and cheese. However, lace-wise it might be another story...


...because... *drum roll please*...

I have finished the Vegan Tuscany!!!


This was made for my coworker/friend, W. She saw this Tuscany

and decided she wanted one for herself.


It was a bit of a challenge finding the vegan yarn as there was nothing really close to the Silken used in the other Tuscany. However, we perservered and W. found this bamboo which, I think, has worked very well!

I like the little elements of lighter blue and pink in the grey/blue base - it looks almost like little neon lights!

Notes:

Pattern = Tuscany by Amy R. Singer (No Sheep for You)
Needles = 4.0mm Addi Turbo
Yarn = Rosario Bio Bamboo (100% bamboo), 110g approx (2 skeins plus part of a third)


Date Started = 18 March 2008
Date Finished = 22 March 2008
Size = 67" across by 24" deep (slightly larger than the first one)


Notes:

- I really liked working with this bamboo. It was very soft. However, please note that if you use this it will result in a slightly weightier shawl than with the Silken.

- pattern mod: I only did 9 of the 11 lace repetitions, partly because I was getting bored and partly because by that point it was as large as my other Tuscany (on which I did 10 reps, I think).

- the pattern is quite simple and (I think) suitable for any level of lace knitting.

I won't be able to give it to W. until next week as she is on holiday this week, though. Not quite sure why I rushed it, but she will be surprised because I told her it would take a couple or three weeks.

So, still loving the lace knitting... but starting to get in danger of not seeing the forest through the trees!

Well, that's all she wrote - happy Tuesday and happy Greek Independence Day!



(in honour of this fine day, I'll link you to some of my pasts posts on the wonderful world of Greek Heritage (those of you who have been reading for some time will likely have seen them already. Sorry. Too busy knitting to come up with any big brainflashes on what it means to be Greek-Canadian. I suspect you won't lie awake about this, though).

A greek-canadian cultural odyssey

A Modern Antiquity

Valuable Greek Antiquities

Knitextravaganza: intentional Moebius and Montego Bay tunic!

I guess one could say it's official: Brouhaha is back off the knitting wagon!

Here are some concoctions over the past two days:

1. Moebius Capelet


I bought the yarn for this while on an unsuccessful quest for Handmaiden Flaxen at the LYS - but this project seemed fated in light of a dramatic error I made in sewing together my last knitting project, the Brioche Man's Vest...
And here is the back of the Moebius:

As usual it looks far better on Aphrodite than me. This is likely because Aphrodite, although Greek like me, does not talk with her hands. After the first fifteen minutes it was on, here is how it looked:

Finally, halfway through the day I gave up on it and started wearing it like this:

Good perhaps for bad hair days - but as you can see it doesn't necessarily work to hide anything. All I wanted to become was a classy capelet-wearing doyenne (is that too much to ask?!?), but I guess it wasn't to be! So, it will be going to a better home very shortly.

Specs:

Yarn: Fleece Artist Grande Godiva, two 100g skeins (174 metres) - 50% silk, 50% wool
Pattern by: Cat Bordhi (sold with the yarn)
Needle Size: 9.0 mm with 47" cord
Time spent: 3 hours approx.

Notes: This was rather fun to knit - that is, after I got over the initial hurdle of casting on for the thing. This involved casting on 75 or so stitches over the coiled cable attaching the needles, then stretching them around enough to knit the first round. This took me about an hour to figure out and by the end of it I was just about ready either to wrap the addis around my neck or fling the whole thing over the balcony.

Patience won out though... and the rest of the knitting was surprisingly easy. It didn't hurt that the yarn. And I think I have finally exorcised my little "stupid, stupid knitter" voice by making an "on-purpose" moebius. Goddess knows I've made enough of them inadvertently when trying to knit in the round!

Highly recommended - and I will be picking up one of Cat Bordhi's books. I'd like to make a hat with a Moebius brim and hope she has a pattern!

2. Montego Bay Tunic

This is a reconfiguration of my first lace project, the Montego Bay Scarf by Amy Singer.

The scarf was beautiful - but I just have to face facts. I am scarf challenged and could not manage to wear this long slim scarf without it getting all tangled around my neck (I detest those who can carry it off - but they could make some money giving people like me a seminar).

This is how it used to look (damn and blast Aphrodite!):

...and this is what it morphed into.



From this:

...to this:
The original scarf was made out of Handmaiden Sea Silk (swoon...) on 4mm needles. To put it together, I measured it around and marked off 16 inch increments. I then crocheted two thirds of it together in a tube at the edges, then brought the end edge over the right shoulder and crocheted it into place with some raspberry sea silk I had lying around. The right shoulder strap was crocheted with some old Fleece Artist stuff I had hanging around.

I'm thinking of doing a trim all around - but got lazy last night and want to wear it today. (It looked fine last evening on me - even better than on Aphrodite for once, I would say! But I suspect it will stretch badly. Having said that, I like it.)

I should note that JJ is concerned that I am going to wear this to work (or, for that matter, the staff holiday party) without any undercovering. This, I intuit from him calling me Barbarella last night when I pranced around with it on. I reminded him that the average temperature is -4 C these days, but he didnae seem convinced. Oh well.

And, finally: here is my progress on the Tilted Duster - I managed to complete this much of one sleeve during my commute!

I will never dread sleeves again. I would never have thought I'd find anything that would make me stop abhorring slowdowns during rush hour on the TTC....

Happy Tuesday! And, any proud Canadians visiting should be happy to know that today marks the 76th anniversary of legislative freedom from (and equality with) the United Kingdom. Why anyone thinks it's a good idea to make laws from thousands of kilometres away, I have no idea (but then I guess half of Canada can say that about Ottawa...SIGH).

Cheers,

Kristina

Kristina's first lace!

And yet another new arrival... meet the Santorini Scarf!




Detail: Right Side



...and, last but not least... the Magical Upward Travelling Fringe!


Specs:

This was knitted as part of the August challenge on the Do Something New KAL. Thanks to Tina in Wonderland for setting it up and Natalie (Stitchay Woman) for pointing me in the right direction.

Pattern: Montego Bay Scarf, Amy Singer, IK Knits Summer 2007
Yarn: Handmaiden Sea Silk, Paris colourway (I think, anyway. They don't label the yarn), 1 skein, 100 g = 400 m
Needles: 5 mm Addi Turbo and 5.5 mm bamboo for castoff
Start Date: Monday 27 August
Finish Date: Thursday 30 August
Size: 74" long x 6.5" wide
Name Change: I do not have a burning desire to go to Montego Bay. I would, however, like to go to Santorini.

Notes: I would recommend this pattern for anyone who wants to try out lace knitting. I was a HUGE sceptic due to a long term hatred of yarnovers (I have converted afghan kits to log cabin blankets in past because of this).

The pattern was very simple and intuitive to follow. I only had to rip a couple of times and saw the mistakes right away - due to the larger needles it was easy to put the yarn back on the needles

My only modifications: smaller needles than the 5.5mm called for (I thought the openwork looked too big in the swatch); regular fringe instead of braided (because I'm lazy... er, innovative!).

My only problem: finding a plain white t-shirt to photograph it against (I do own white blouses, which are crumpled in the back of my closet together with the rest of my lawyer drag from business-dress days)!

Do go with this yarn if possible - it is a joy to work with! I will most certainly be making one or two of these for gifts in future...

Happy knitting! Next up for me: the Poofy Dress with Fitted Bodice from Knitting Lingerie-Style (that's not the real name, but I'm too lazy... er, innovative, to reach across the table and grab the pattern book!)