Monterey the Beautiful

We were in Monterey this past weekend for a family wedding and I was able to wear my Fiery Bolero. It was perfect for the cool evening wedding.

A seagull outside the Duck Club Grill at the Monterey Plaza Hotel (picture taken from inside through the window - not bad!!)

"Flora & Fauna": Monterey, along 17 Mile Drive

The gorgeous but grey Monterey, along 17 Mile Drive

The infamous LONE CYPRESS (over 250 years old): Monterey, along 17 Mile Drive

Monterey, along 17 Mile Drive

Blocking Bolero

My Fiery Bolero is finished and now blocking. I really enjoyed this knit and will probably make another one. I didn't even mind all the picking up of stitches.

Big Bad Bolero

I'm going to a wedding in August so decided to knit a cute little bolero for my "little black dress" that I am going to wear. I chose Fiery Bolero from the Summer 2005 issue of Interweave Knits. It's a pattern by Debbie Bliss.

I was really, really good and swatched, swatched, swatched. The pattern calls for size 5 US needles & DK weight yarn. I am knitting this with Crystal Palace Yarns Panda Silk DK in black. Well, this so called DK weight yarn is more like sport weight, so I couldn't get gauge until I went up to size 7 US. This made the fabric a little too loose for my taste, but I decided to go ahead with it anyway.

I knit the entire thing except for the ribbed border. As I was knitting this, I could not help but notice that the sleeves looked too wide. I kept going anyway. I finished it and pinned it together to try it on. Yup - sleeves are way toooooo big. The fit itself is good (without the border), but, once I add the ribbed border, well, can we say FROG POND????????.

Needless to say, I have begun this all over again on size 5 needles. I'm not sure if this will now be a little too small, but I really liked the fabric knit on size 5's. And, if it is a little small, I can always block it to the right dimensions (I hope). So, here we go again. It's a good thing I'm a process knitter, because I don't mind at all that I have to start over, even though I was almost finished with the first attempt.

Here are some pictures of the first go round. I'll post new pics with the new & improved smaller size once it's complete. I just hope I can complete this by the wedding which is August 8...

Ribbed Lace Bolero

I finished my Ribbed Lace Bolero. It was an easy, quick knit and I absolutely loved working with the Lion Brand Cotton Ease. I was amazed at how so soft & silky it feels! I'm going to use it again to make this (pattern link) - the Voyager Lace Stole (ravelry link).







Ravelry Link: Ribbed Lace Bolero

THE STATS
Pattern: Ribbed Lace Bolero by Kelly Maher
Source: Kelly Maher - 10 Feet High
Date: Cast On 03.22.08 // Cast Off 03.29.08
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease, 1.5 skeins; Snow
Needles #1: Size 8 US (5.0mm) for ribbing; KnitPicks Harmony Options
Needles #2: Size 10.5 US (6.5mm) for lace; KnitPicks Harmony Options
Note #1: Ribbing: 3"
Note #2: Lace: 15.5"

Call a doctor....

I've got a bad case of START-ITIS. I found another project I want to start, the Ribbed Lace Bolero.

Photo & Pattern courtesy of Kelly Maher

I had cast on for Endless Summer Tuesday night but had to start over last night because I was knitting it in the round and I discovered I had twisted the join. It was the first time I have ever done that. You'd think that after all of the socks that I have knit that I would know better. Go figure. I'm working with Patons Grace, not the easiest yarn to work with, so I've decided to just knit the back & front separately as the instructions call for and deal with the dreaded seaming when the time comes. My first ES was knit in the round. I had used Lion Brand Micro Spun - a much easier yarn to work with.

I want to start the HoneyBee Stole NOW. And I want to start the Ribbed Lace Bolero. The bolero will be an extremely quick project. I just fell in love with it. And of course, where did I find it, but on Ravelry!