A Little Break

I needed a little break from glove knitting. Now, I did my best to make it interesting. I used different yarns. I challenged myself to use only the yarns I had in my stash. I even reduced the number of colors while still trying to create an attractive glove. See my brown version at left, using only 3 colors, for those with more conservative tastes in their outerwear.

It's been a lot of fun. But it is also a bit repetitive. Must...knit...something...else...

I really like the cover project from Creative Knitting Magazine May 2006. A simple top with a little bit of texture. Sleeveless, but the drop shoulder creates a little cap sleeve effect. The design is nice enough to wear alone in a casual workplace or under a jacket in a more formal one. The perfect summer top.

I bought some Knitting Fever King Tut cotton in soft green 8580 last summer to make a simple top for myself but hadn't chosen a pattern yet. When I saw this magazine I thought I'd found the perfect pattern.

Alas, I am one skein short of the yardage requirements for this top, and it's too late to find the same dye lot. That's ok, it gives me an excuse to buy more yarn. The search for the perfect cotton yarn with which to make this top should take me to every yarn shop within 100 miles. How fun!

Meanwhile, what to do with the King Tut?

I found a great free pattern at Garnstudio that I do have enough yarn for. I think I like it even better than the previous pattern. It calls for 2 strands of yarn, one cotton and one alpaca, but the gauge of the combined yarns is fairly close to my worsted weight cotton. So, I got out the calculator and converted the pattern to my slightly-finer gauge.

Here you see the beginnings of my top after knitting one skein. The lacy edge will need blocking to lie flat, but the sheen of the yarn sets it off well. I'm excited to see how it turns out. I just might knit this pattern again. There's a matching cardigan pattern too, so maybe a twinset? We'll see how it goes.