So gentle readers, I’m plugging away slowly but surely on my Phildar Stripey, and I’ve finally reached the shoulder/neck shaping instructions:

Keeping pattern correct, cast off at beg of next and every foll alt row 7 sts 4 times and 0 sts 0 times AT THE SAME TIME cast off at beg of foll every alt row 12 sts once and 11 sts once.

Okay, so the blue part of the instructions I get, but what the hell is the red part trying to tell me? My brain just about farted right there and decided that it would not decipher any French-glish. WTF? Oh for those who possess higher intelligence, please help a girl out. I’ve already knitted 185 rows at 127 sts/row..which comes out to 23495 sts total.. but who’s counting?
And for helping me decipher the above French-glish, I hereby present to you, OSW #3 in GGH Samoa in delicious light red. Yes, light red, not pink..says the closet pink-lover.

This is OSW#2. And as luck would have it, I ran out of freakin’ yarn again. I only had the 1″ edging to knit, so I used some velour type yarn (cheapo) and it looks nasty — as in no stitch definition. Will frog that and use a proper cotton yarn. The purplish main body is knitted up with Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, and it deserves better than the cheapo acrylic blah yarn.

Next up is my progress shot of the Phildar Stripey Top. Phildar calls it “Pull Manches Courtes”..um yea, whatever that is. It is being knit up on Sz 1 and 4 needles, and since my mom is here, knitting progress is s~l~o~w~~… this sweater will be growing very very minimally over the next few weeks. But I have one more picture to show you all, and…..

TADA!!!…. The no-sew knitted hem. Hee hee…that’s my biggest accomplishment with this sweater yet. So, I have a question for y’all. Is it just me or does Summer knitting progress slower than winter knitting? Maybe it’s just me.

So I hopped on the bandwagon for this one. The infamous One Skein Wonder by Glampyre. Like Diana and Andrea mentioned, this was a quick knit. I had two balls of Rowan Wool/Cotton lying around (123 yds/50g) and I was determined to stash-bust. I knew that with the 17 sts/4″ gauge (double-stranding) that I had, this was not going to fit me even if I were to use up every last yard of the yarn. Nevertheless, it’s instant gratification, and it will make a wonderful gift for my friend (yes Naily, that’s you. Stop giggling.)
Carolyn and Tara made bee-you-tiful Tivoli-tees.. Go check them out. I am tempted by their fabulous knits, both custom-designed by Grumperina. That gal’s relentless pursuits with The Maths amaze me.
So not much else has been going on. I finally received my cheapo knitting needles for the Phildar Stripey. Haven’t been motivated to knit much these days, this could be my first official slump. But that’s ok.. nothing wrong with taking a short break..since everything else in life is totally kicking my ass now. Adieu for now~

Project: Bella Paquita (Small) by Marnie Maclean
Materials: Baruffa Maratona (6 balls at 121 yds/ball), US 7 circular needles
Techniques Learned: 2×2 tubular cast-on and off
Notes: waist shaping inc/dec still looked a little wonky. Marnie recommended lifted increases for the shaping. Did not complete all the rows as specified in the pattern (5-6 rows short). Just kept on trying until it is the right length for me. Increased sleeve length by 2″. Provisional CO for body, tubular BO for body, 2×2 tubular CO for sleeves.

Close up for the lace pattern along the neck-line (8 repeats total..I think). This is probably the truest representation of the color of the yarn. It’s a deep mauve/purplish worsted weight merino. Overall this could be considered an easy knit, but I was just too anal. In the end, I compromised with the wonkiness because I had to move on to a new project. Bella is still considered as a learning sweater because the shoulder seaming isn’t perfect too. Next….

**It’s an overcast day outside I know, but my shades just look too good with my new hat..**

And now, for a little stash-busting. This is the Amelia Earhart hat pattern that’s been around for some time. I wanted some instant-gratification, and with the pink Wool-Ease I had lying around plus a few hours of vigorous knitting, here are the results. Me thinks me needs more stashbusting projects like these.. very tempted by the One-Skein Wonder by Glampyre…hm.