A month later, Lily and Dollheid are still hibernating in the naughty basket. I fell off the planet for a bit, as I am wont to do, but some knitting has been achieved!
My Camber cardi was started a while back. Back in March of 2011, in fact. I did the body, I did the icord edging, and started the first sleeve. There I stalled. She languished, unloved and ignored. It was all that laceweight black stocking stitch. B-o-r-i-n-g. I’d pick it up, do a row or two, get distracted by some other project that was prettier, more enticing, less intensive.
Then, when Lily took up residence in the naughty basket, I pulled Camber back out. I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that once I got back to work, it took less than a week to finish the first sleeve and complete the second. Oops.

Specs:
Pattern: Camber by Jessamyn Leib
Yarn: Wollmeise Lace-Garn in Schwarz, Just over half of a skein. (They’re gigantic skeins, 300g, 1740 yards.
Needles:3.5mm

Nineteen months. Embarrassing, especially when it came out so well! Perfect for Spring days when it’s still a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings, not too warm, just perfect.
And I seriously love the lace pattern around the yoke.
Only thing I don’t love is the way the fronts gape around the buttons. i’ve only been wearing it done up, so I might actually sew them together and have a faux cardi instead.
The whole thing was worked precisely to the pattern,except that I lengthened the sleeves – I’ve mentioned in the past that Im not really a fan of the three quarter sleeve.
I also finished up a sample for the shop that I seriously fell in love with!

The Honey cowl. Easy, easy , easy! And luscious in Debbie Bliss Andes.
Specs:
Pattern: Honey Cowl by Madelinetosh
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Andes, 4 skeins in 008, red.(Lush. Seriously)
Needles: 4.5mm

Mods: None, it’s perfect. I made the long version, and it can be worn long, or doubled over and short. And it’s super easy. nothing more difficult than a knit, purl or a slipped stitch. After convincing Emily to model it for me, she immediately started dropping hints for me to make her one exactly like it. Not happening.
At least. not until after I make one for myself!

Remember when I’d almost finished Olivia, and I ran out of yarn?
I was lucky, I went to work and there was one lonely skein in the right dyelot just waiting for me.
It’s becoming a habit, and I’ve not been quite so lucky again. I mentioned a couple of posts back that I’d started a Lily cardigan. It’s looking good, coming along nicely.

Awesome right? I thought so. Then I realised that I was using yarn at an alarming rate. I weighed the yarn, then did two rows and weighed the yarn again. It’s not going to happen.
I purchased it from the Wagtail Yarns farm, and I’m not sure if it’s 80/20 or 60/40 blend. I’ve emailed Wagtail and will have to wait and see if they can identify it so that I can get some more.
Into the naughty corner with Lily.
And so I cast on a Dollheid hat. It’s been a while since I did some colourwork, and I’d forgotten how much I enjoy it.
It uses a gorgeous icord cast on.

Followed by corrugated ribbing.

I’m using Jamiesons Shetland Spindrift in Natural White, Blossom and Raspberry. And I’m nearly done, only about 16 rounds to go!

But guess what?
Yup. I’m out of the Natural White. I got the yarn at Loop, and they’re out of stock for a few weeks.
Into the naughty corner with Dollheid, too! Things happen in threes, right? I’ll be all good if I start something else, surely!

I love it when an easy project flies off the needles, is wonderfully wearable and easy to boot. Love it.
Such was the Easy Lace Cowl. I decided I needed a cowl. Didn’t really find anything that was what I was looking for. So I made one up. Easy stitch pattern, rough guesstimate of numbers, off I went.

And I promise that it’s easy! a simple six stitch, four row repeat. And two of those rows are plain knit rows.
Specs:
Pattern: Easy Lace Cowl (by me!) You can get it for free from Ravelry here.
Yarn: Rowan Wool Cotton DK in “Misty” from Calico & Ivy, 3 balls.
Needles: I used 4mm, which means that everyone else should probably go with 4.5mm.
The finished cowl is 23cm wide and 130cm long. Goes twice around my neck nicely!

I’m really happy with this! The only stitches you’ll need to know are Knit, purl, yarn over and a centred double decrease, which is much easier than it sounds. It’s worked over three stitches, and you just slip 2 stitches together as if you’re going to do a knit-2-together, then K1, and then pass the two slipped stitches together over the Knit 1.
It makes a lovely pattern that looks harder than it is.

You can find the pattern for free on Ravelry – Easy Lace Cowl pattern

So now what am I working on now that Olivia is done and dusted?
I started a Lily cardigan, suing some mohair/wool blend I got from the Wagtail Yarns farm a few years back on one of our trips to see David’s family.

Coming along swimmingly! First sleeve is done, I’ve actually started the second.
But, oops! Shiny, shiny syndrome bit. I decided that I absolutely had to have a grey cowl. Like, yesterday. So I picked up some Rowan Wool Cotton in Misty and made some executive decisions. Couldn’t find a pattern that I really liked, so I made one up.

I picked up three balls, and I’m halfway through the second. Three looks to be about right.
But then, the new Kim Hargreaves book arrived. Trying to avoid the temptation, but theres some Kidsilk Haze and Rowan Fine Lace in my stash that is just begging to become Pippa….
Apologies if you haven’t received a reply to a comment. The web host has implemented a “fix” that has resulted in my not receiving comments by email, which makes it much harder to respond. The guru is on it, he tells me. This is after the blog software upgrade that went wonky and refused to accept any comments so it had to be downgraded. And not related, I’m told!

I was extremely nervous about the Felted Tweed I needed after I ran out six rows short of finishing the neckband on Olivia. I’d got it from Calico & Ivy quite a while back, and it’s a popular colour. I knew we were short of that particular colour, an I was sure I wouldn’t be able to match the dyelot.
We had two balls left when I got in on Monday, and one of those balls was the right dyelot. Oh, the relief! If worse had come to worst, I could’ve ripped out the neckband and done the neck and wristbands in the new dyelot, but thankfully it didn’t come to that!
And so she is done!

So happy with it, I love it!
Specs: Olivia by Kim Hargreaves from the sadly discontinued Thrown Together book.
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed DK in Rage
Needles: 2.75mm & 3mm Addi Turbos
Mods: I made the sleeves longer. Which is why I ran out of yarn! I’m not a fan of three quarter sleeves. The current fad for them perplexes me. If I’m cold enough for sleeves, I want long sleeves. The pattern also calls for you to do the sleeve cuffs before seaming. I did the seaming first, then did the cuffs in the round. I just think it gives a neater finish, but it wasn’t a huge mod.

I really like the pockets, a little too small to be really functional, but a fun detail. And I love the buttons I got! I got them from an etsy seller called Buttonalia . They’re ceramic and a little heavy, but so perfect!

Which just reminded me of one other mod. The buttons were pulling on the band a little, and I wasn’t 100% happy with the way it was sitting, so I sewed the band closed between the top and the second button. It’s not a cardigan I’d wear open anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal, but it is sitting much better now.
And I wore it three times this week – new favourite!