MMM'13 - Second Week

The first week of MMM'13 was the easy choices - the most recent knits and some of the most favourite. However, the weather during the second week was so varied - from cold and windy days for wool cardigans to pretty warm days, suitable for short sleeved cotton blouses.

Day 08 - Cadence sweater by Jordana Paige, cashmere and bamboo
Some chill was felt in the air and I took out a 7/8 sleeved cashmere sweater. This is one of my most favourite sweaters and I definitely must knit something else from this expensive but  very soft and pleasant to the skin yarn.

Day 09 - Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky, merino and acrylic
Cold and windy with some rain.Time for the heavy artillery - a warm wooly hoodie. Probably my most favourite wooly cardigan, excellent pattern. This one I wear a lot, challenge or no challenge.

Day 10 - Green Gable sweater by Rachel Bishop, cotton and viscose
After the two cold days - two hot days. On Day 10 I had a pleasant lunch date with a dear friend in the centre of the city and then a stroll to my favourite LYS. The Green Gable sweater is one of those I love to wear in spring, when it is still not too hot for knits. The color is gorgeous.

Day 11- Arielle by Kim Hargreaves, cotton and acrylic
This is a very beautiful design, which I knit with the wrong yarn (cotton and acrylic, I should have used 100% cotton). It took a lot of effort on 2 mm and 2.5 mm needle, but I don't wear it much, as it keeps me too warm. However the weather was OK even for 50% acrylic, still only spring.

Day 12 - Cabled Bolero by Norah Gaughan, Vogue Knitting 2006/07, with a self-drafted short skirt and a refashioned top.
The bolero is a very unusual knit, something like art for art's sake. I almost never wear it, but it always draws attention when I do. The construction is uncomfortable and the combination of mohair and short sleeves - unpractical, so it will probably have to wait for another me-made challenge to be worn again. However this day I discovered the combination of leggings with a short skirt and I liked it a lot. This is an outfit I intend to explore this summer.

Day 13 - Mohair shrug, improvised design and modified Burda '90s top
This shrug was made for my daughter almost five years ago and she wore it a lot with a favourite tunic. The shrug is now a bit small on her, with 7/8 sleeves and she rejected it. But I have a soft spot for shrugs - they keep my back and arms warm and unlike cardigans and sweaters leave the front free for movement, so I appropriated it. It's great for the evening, when the temperatures drop.
The top is also me-made eons ago from a Burda pattern and still worn, as I like this form. The neckline was too broad, so before attaching the neckband I made something like a small triangular internal pleat and sewed the row of buttons on top - turned the defect into effect :)

Day 14 - Tailored cardigan by DROPS Design, wool and acrylic
Another of those knits, worn only for the me-made sake - on a cold day like today I would have probably put on my Central Park Hoodie instead.
This cardigan was quite a  challenge with its programmed yarn. I knit it almost entirely twice. The first time fronts and back separately without color coordination and the result was a disastrous mess, then fronts and back together and the sleeves with pre-planned stripes and cutting the yarn - I had almost a 100 g ball of scraps left. What I don't like about it - the loud color combination and most of all - the sleeves. I saw that the upper part of the sleeves was turning too wide for me but in my inexperience followed the instructions instead of my body measures. I hope at least that now I know better :)))