This might just be my fastest garment knit ever. I started it on May 13th (well, other than getting the provisional cast on - an annoyingly tedious but immensely useful start to knitting - over with the night before), and finished blocking it on the 25th. Twelve days? Not to shabby Heather!
Pattern:
Avana, by Annie Rowden
Yarn: Juniper Moon Farms - Zooey, a lovely cotton/linen blend in dk weight
Mods: Knit the initial section at 11.5" instead of 10" to increase the armholes. 10" would've been too narrow.
Things I liked about this pattern:
- simple and unique construction
- easy fit
- icelandic bindoff made a really clean finish!
- the beautiful drape of the finished fabric
Things I didn't like about this pattern:
Things I didn't like about this pattern, but dealt with because it was worth it:
I did not enjoy doing the lace section, and considered swapping it out for something else. I'm glad I plugged on though, because it turned out really lovely and was worth the headache that was the k3tog (knit three stitches together) and YOs (yarn overs). Ugh.
I really loved working with this yarn. It has a slight thick/thin texture, and while I had a hard time keeping my tension and gauge
consistent, I love how much texture it added to the knit. In fact, I knew this was the perfect pattern for the yarn, since the stockinette would let the yarn shine!
I hand-washed this before blocking, because after two weekends of knitting this next to camp fires, it smelled of smoke and sunscreen. But uh, the fabric didn't soften up as much as the swatch did. I know that linen does with use and washings though, so I think the garment will only get softer and drapier with time! Plus this yarn is machine washable, which will probably help.
I've been wearing this sucker all day, and let me tell you, it's incredibly comfortable and wearable! It dresses up a plain t-shirt without making it over-dressy (a bit faux-pas here in the Yukon), and makes a cool and comfortable layer for the summer. This is going to be wonderful for
Mexico!
And because I was sick of the stiff photos and I had a few kids laugh at me, here's some fun photos!
NOM.
Soo pretty, I love linen sliver, before it is spun, it is like hair. It is such a fascinating fibre. It sure does soften over time too. I sometimes wash linen fabrics several times before cutting out a garment in it. And such a glorious colour too!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I love the sheen of the silvery linen. It was a really nice yarn to work with, especially with the thicker softer and muted white cotton sections. I think I'm really going to love wearing it, especially with time.
DeleteI need to track down linen fabric now, I think.
I reckon this is my favourite knitted garment I've seen you make, so delicate looking and pretty.
ReplyDeleteAw thanks! I sort of feel for all my sewist readers, especially when I'm exclusively knitting for long tracks of time. I'm glad you liked this one! (I think it's one of my favourites too)
DeleteI love it and now I have to make one! The Zooey yarn sounds like a wise choice. I didn't realize it was thick and thin, which I love in a yarn. It's amazing how something as simple as a repeated lace stitch for just a few rows can throw me off. I'm terrible about zoning out while I knit and losing track of where I am in my lace. But you're right, this was very worth it. It seems like the best of everything rolled into one knit: great yarn, some texture, light fabric, delicate lace details without being over-the-top Lacey.
ReplyDeleteThe thick/thin nature adds so much pretty texture to the garment without being too in your face about it, you know? It's a bit splitty, and now I finally understand what people mean when they say that, but that only occasionally tripped me up.
DeleteThe lace isn't quite that bad, it's pretty simple. Out of the 8 row repeat, there's 6 rest rows and only 2 lace rows. It's just that the lace rows are *k3tog, yo, p1, yo*, so that's annoying. :)
Oh, and I'm loving your photos! I mean you can only stare off into the distance, in reverie, for a knitting photo for so long, right?
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks! I'm not good at doing photos - I hate staring off into the distance, I feel so dumb doing that in the middle of my yard. So I stand stiff and look at the camera until something snaps and I need to make stupid faces or eat the background.
DeleteBeautiful job! I want to make one now!
ReplyDeleteYou might reeeeeeeeeeeally hate Estonian lace then. When you're working nupps you're often doing k8tog or p8tog. Yech. I often replace the nupps with beads instead (a nupp is like an elegant bobble, you cast on a bunch of stitches then ktog/ptog on the next row).
Aha you should've seen the horrified expression on my face when I saw "k8tog" and worse, "p8tog". WTF!?! O_o
DeleteIt''s lovely - lace is not too bad once you get the hang of it (only by then you usually find that you are 10 rows on from the rows where you didn't get the hang of it- which means undoing!!). It is just right for a dressed down town. Hope it softens for you - it probably will. For scratchy mohair I use hair conditioner as a rinse!
ReplyDeleteWhoops, sorry for the late response here.
DeleteHeh, if I'm 10 rows past a mistake, I'll contemplate either dropping down to fix the mistake or, more likely, saying 'screw it' and move on. :D
And it's already softened up. I tossed it through the washer and dryer (practically holding my breath the entire time) and not only did it survive, it thrived! So much softer, and it shrunk in width just enough to make it perfect. Of course, it's stretched out again with wear, but that was only after A LOT of wear! I'm so happy with this yarn, and I think I need to go buy more of it.