What's on my needles (week 15)

At The Knitting Garage 

Kitty

As predicted I finished knitting Kitty ,added the crochet edging last Saturday and left it to block.
The only change I made to the pattern was when binding off the stitches from the sleeves I bound off on the purl side purl-wise and then continued right away with the crochet edging.  This eliminated sewing in two additional yarn ends on both sides.
It looks very sweet with the blue ribbon and Barbara commented:  "I wish I was four years old" ;)

At Home

Tank Top Take One and Two

I finished with re-knitting the tank top and tried it on.  I like it a lot better than it was before.  I think in the five years since I knitted it originally I have learned more about gauge and fit.

• To lessen the color difference between the original knit and the more faded re-knit portions I simmered the tank top in a solution of RIT at 180F.  Originally I was going to keep stirring on simmer for 30 minutes, but ended up taking it out after 10 minutes as I could see how the colors faded in unison.  There is still a little difference detectable, but I could always go through this process again.
  
  
  
  
  

• To make the stitches look more uniform I blocked it.

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  The final result: Remember how it looked before?  Check last week's blog.
  
  For more detailed information on this refurbished piece you can click on this link to view my notes on ravelry: Tank Top

Bluest Blue Tank Top

With re-knitting the 2009 tank top done, I felt free to start on a new one right away.  I choose a lovely simple design "Tempting II" by Jenna Adorno, a pattern which is available for free on ravelry.  The worsted weight cotton/ acrylic mix yarn which we just got in from Cascade in many beautiful colors seems an ideal choice.  As it is a little heavier I am using US #7 needles, I also CO 170 sts for a fit in between S and M.  I don't want this to fit snugly, but I also don't want this to be too baggy, so there is a fine line.  The fact that the entire piece is knitted in a k1, p1 rib should help. I am thinking to offer a class on this this summer to help you get started on your own "Tempting II".

 

Matt's all in One

For mindless knitting I have been working on the above tank top and also Matt's all in one and got the scarf section of the project done over 1/3 of the desired length of 60".  One skein knitted up to a length of 24".

Summer flies

Remember the beautiful yarn I bought for this pattern while on Pawleys Island last October?
Here is a link to the post:  checking out yarn shops in the Carolinas
I finally started on the shawl, because with all the ribbing to knit with the other two pieces I needed something more interesting and engaging.  This is coming along nicely.  I love the color and feel like summer is just about here when working on this.  This picture does not quite reflect how far I have already knitted this as I just started my second butterfly section last night :)