Extravayarnza

First I want to say a big thank you for all the comments. Have I ever mentioned that I love comments? Fill my inbox anytime. I think I did get back to all of you...

Second. I pretty much finished up the Flannel Garden sweater. I decided to skip the embroidery for the time being. A couple dozen bullion stitch flowers just wasn't working out for me. I might try again with ribbon embroidery in the future... I actually know how to do that.
So without further ado~


This sweater may be the perfect sweater for me. I love the shaping, I love the neckline, the lace panels are very flattering, and the sizing fits me just right!
Several more of these may be in my future for this fall. Now that I know I can knit one in less than a week...
Vital Stats
Pattern: Flannel Garden from Knitters Summer 2006
***the chart has an error! please check the XRX site for corrections if you are going to knit this, I had to drop down each lace section 24 rows to correct them***
Yarn: Hempathy from Elsebeth Lavold
5 balls Color 09
34% Hemp, 41% Cotton, 25% Modal
50g= 153 yards
Needles: size 2 crystal palace bamboo circulars for the body
size 1 crystal palace bamboo circulars for the edging
Size C crochet hook for the dreaded crab stitch
Time Elapsed: Started Friday morning, knitting finished that Sunday!, finishing finished on Monday.

Pattern Changes:
~I knit the body in the round where possible. To do this knit to bottom sections to the last row of increases. When it tells you to cast-on 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows (end of bottom increasing) knit across the first bottom, cast-on 1, knit across second section, cast-on 1, join in round. I did a slip stitch every other row to help create a faux seam. This worked really well. Just remember when you start the arm shaping that you have 1 fewer stitches for each side (you only cast on 1 stitch between the front & back rather than 2).
~My row gauge was 8 rows per inch instead of 9. Since this pattern is written row by row (rather than knit to ____ inches then do this). I figured out key measurements and made sure all my shaping happened by the same point as the original.
~I added a total of 8 rows of short row shaping to the front just before the arm shaping. This helps the front and back look the same length when I wear the top. You can all figure out why...

Other comments:
I love this yarn. More enjoyable to knit with than 100% cotton. Once washed it is the most amazing fabric. It looks all hard and open/meshy even at this tight gauge. The water makes the yarn super soft and fills it in. Wash your gauge swatch in the washing machine... you'll see what I'm talking about. Yep, it's machine washable and dryable too. I've been washing and drying it in a mesh bag so it doesn't distort. Then pulling it out of the dryer when it's still damp and laying it flat to finish drying. This keeps it all nice the smooth, but easy to care for.
I just can't recommend this yarn enough.

Next up?
I celebrated by starting this sweater

In this yarn

100% Alpaca, super soft
I'm using color 111.
There will be lots of alterations to this pattern, so stay tuned!