Purple Pull Irlandais

Pattern: Pull Irlandais #063-T11-378 by Phildar Design Team
Yarn: Alize Cashmira 100% wool, 350 g
Needle: 3.5 mm rib, 4 mm body
Time to knit: 12 days

Modifications: Knit in the round up to the armholes, the sleeves were also knit in the round, tubular cast on and bind off.
A few words about Cashmira - it's definitely one of my favourite yarns now - great stitch definition and elasticity and contrary to common belief that wool is itchy, it is soft and pleasant to the skin.

It was so freezing cold when we took the pictures, that I kept pulling the sleeves to cover at least partially my cold hands. I also tried to smile but the frozen skin of my face wouldn't bulge :)))

This sweater turned out to be one of this year's projects I enjoyed most - easy yet intricate enough design, beautiful well balanced cables, pleasant yarn. My purple pull irlandais is going to get lots of wear this winter, I can promise you that :)
And I'm still searching for a similar pattern to repeat the knitting delight.

Random Thoughts and Pictures

Some sunny winter pictures I took a few days ago in the nearby park.
I know it's mostly because my knee hurts and I can't go on long walks that now I long for a walk in the snow on Vitosha:

I'm glad the world didn't finish today, because I've got just a little bit of knitting to finish and I'll have a whole new sweater to show - my purple Phildar sweater is wet blocking and I'm waiting for it to dry to sew the parts and knit the neck piece. But before I began the Phildar sweater, I intended to knit the yarn into the Point Gammon Pullover, I even had almost finished the first sleeve.

However in the course of knitting the sleeve I grew cold towards the pattern and decided that there was no point in continuing with it. And I do not regret my decision a bit, the Phildar sweater knitted quickly and was a very pleasant project. Actually I even feel a bit ... sad, now that it's almost done. I've spent quite a few hours today in search for my next project, I want to cast on a new wool sweater right away, I even bought the yarn. I've narrowed my choices to two lovely designs, but I'm still not sure, I don't feel exactly excited about knitting either of them and that is definitely a bad sign for a start. Hm.

Or probably I'm a bit sad, because I just finished watching the last of the Murdoch mysteries series and I can't wait for the new season :) At least season five finished promisingly ... :)

OK, I'm off to bed, it's a good hour after midnight. I'm sure I'll dream of Murdoch investigating which would be the best pattern for my new yarn :))))

Aegean Sea Evening

This week we finally opened one of the two puzzles we ordered from Amazon last month - a gorgeous Santorini view. The picture is so beautiful and colorful, that it was joy and delight to assemble it. However, I should confess that I've been so much engulfed in a Phildar cabled sweater I'm knitting lately, that even this so craved for puzzle could not arrest my attention for long - so while I was knitting away, my husband assembled a solid part of it :)

Puzzle: Aegean Sea Evening by Educa
Pieces: 1500
Time to assemble: 3 days

Cambridge Cardigan

Name: Cambridge Cardigan
Pattern: Cambridge Jacket by Ann Budd
Yarn: Nako Nakolen 700g, 50% wool 50% acrylic
Needle: 4 mm
Time to knit: 2 months

Modifications:
I love all of my modifications, although they definitely change the look of the original jacket.
1) Added k3p2 rib to body and sleeves
2) Deeper shaped neck and folded neckpiece
3) Added button bands and buttons
4) Sleeves are knit entirely following my own design.

Some of you may have guessed that this is the yarn from my failed ribbed sweater. I unraveled it all and reused it to make the cardigan. Of all the 700 g of this cardigan 500 g were knit twice.

Although my husband is modeling the cardigan, it is my Christmas present for my dad.
I hope he'll like it and that it will keep him warm during the upcoming cold months.

Meh

Couldn't resist the urge to try some fair isle knitting again - this time fingerless mitts. I like Mary Jane Mucklestone's fair isle mitts and after a survey of my scraps of yarn I settled for the Muckle mitts.

My yarn is Merino De Luxe, 50% wool 50% acrylic, DPNS 3.25 mm.
The project is fun and quick, but the initial drive left me after I finished the first mitt. I just don't like it. The yarn is kind of wrong, the combination of dark brown and beige is drab, but most of all the palm part is too tight. I love my mitts to fit, but this mitt is almost like a bandage :).
I also have to work on my needle transitions, because there are still small ladders between the stitches, held on different needles. I don't have this issue when knitting in only one color.

 

And I'm not crazy about the thumb. This kind of construction is not quite ergonomic, as the human palm is not constructed like that, with the thumb sticking out of the palm, so there's some pulling and stretching, and the fact, that the mitt is pretty narrow anyway doesn't help.

But fair isle mitts are so cute, that I might try them again in different yarn and color.