Bulky Lace? Why Not?

Back lace section in progress...

As anyone who knows me is well aware, New England Knits is one of my most very favorite books… I love nearly every pattern in the book, and have made four of them at this point. One that caught my immediate attention was the Montague Bulky Lace Vest.

I know that a lot of people don’t care for bulky weight yarn when used in garments. I, however, am super tiny and can get away with it. Quite honestly, it kind of helps me look a little less tiny and more normal sized! I found this particular yarn at a stash sale at Urban Fiber Arts in downtown Portland a few months ago. I passed on it at first, thinking, okay, well, we don’t really have a random $40 to spend on yarn that I don’t necessarily NEED. But, when I met back up with Todd, he asked how much it was versus how much it would normally be. That’s when I kind of realized how good of a deal it truly was! (And that Todd is awfully understanding when it comes to yarn sales!)

Front view, shawl pin from Twisted PDX

Out of the stash sale, I snagged five balls of Rowan’s Big Wool, which, though the pattern called for more, I really only used about four and a half balls. My gauge was spot on, too… Hmmmm. I guess I used less for seaming than was planned by the designer. I had even gone and purchased an extra ball of baby alpaca for the front banding, just in case I didn’t have enough. So, now, I have a half a ball of the Big Wool left, as well as a whole ball of chunky baby alpaca… hellooooo pretty cowl!

One change I did make though, the pattern calls for changing needle size for the front banding. Instead of changing to a 10(US), I felt this would be a little small for the scale of the rest of the vest, so I went down to an 11(US) instead. I think that this turned out perfectly. It made the front banding tighter, yet doesn’t pull up on the bottom. I also did about half an inch less on the banding, as I didn’t want the back of the neck as high as it was in the pattern image.

An unexpected outcome was that (again, because I am tiny) I was able to wear it without needing to block it! Since I am the impatient type, this is always a good thing for me. Usually I will make the next size up, specifically so that I don’t have to block it, or worry about having to block it when I wash it. I don’t know if this gets me bonus points for foresight or negative points for being lazy…

A Sweater? In June? Welcome to Portland!

One of my most favorite books that I've found (well, in terms of knitting books, anyway) is New England Knits, put out by Interweave.  I love almost every single pattern in this book, and chances are I will be making pretty much all of them. 

The first one that I selected was the Augusta Cardigan... yep.  I started it the last week of June. JUNE!!  We have had a really wet, chilly, and yucky spring here in Portland, and quite honestly, I know I will still get wear out of this sweater this summer.

I chose the Aslan Trends Artesanal cotton/mohair blend for this project, first, well, because it was on sale; but also because (shhhhh) I like cotton.  I know that many of my fellow knitty types don't, because of it's drying effect on the hands, but I like that it dries in half the time, and has a similar worsted-ness as many wools.  I just make sure to keep a bottle of lotion nearby. :)

This was an easy pattern to knit, although, the button banding... I didn't pick up the right number of stitches, and it was fine.  Were I to do it again, I would slip the first stitch, even though it isn't specified to.  I also used 7/8" buttons, as opposed to the 1" buttons that were called for, and I would recommend this.  The buttonholes used are just a YO, and even blocking doesn't make them THAT big. 

I would absolutely knit this again... it would sure be pretty in a dark wine or a forest green color!