Friday, November 02, 2012

R & R ......

..... that's my 2 recent FOs !

First R - Ravi which I finally finished after 4 months since joining the KAL. It took so long as it was sitting in the basket for 2 months - I finished the body but had a problem with the sleeves.

The sleeves are knitted in garter stitch in the round and I just realised that I have not done that before. I thought I can speed it up by knitting both sleeves together using magic loop ..... but it was not working for me as the tension became very loose. I searched for a different way of knitting garter stitch in the round but none of the techniques worked. So in the end, I was back to my dpns and knitting one sleeve at a time. It went fast and within a few days, the sleeves were done.

The next hurdle was sewing on the 8 buttons and that took me 1.5 hours. I never enjoy sewing and this clearly reinforced the fact that I should not have any buttons on my next cardigan.

Anyway, here's Ravi ......

It fits perfectly and the yarn is so soft and nice to wear. It's Zen Yarn Garden Serenity (merino/cashmere). Unfortunately, it's too warm to wear it now and will have to wait till next winter.

The 2nd R - Rikke ! I was inspired when I read this post as I have been thinking of knitting a beanie for myself. I know that I look horrible with hats/beanies/berets, etc but I know that I will need one when I go to Seoul in January next year. It will be winter there and snowing and I am all prepared with my knitwear but don't have a beanie. 


Rikke is a quick project and again it is knitted in garter stitch in the round. After my experience with Ravi, I was all prepared and just picked up my dpns and cast on. I used the 2 skeins of Malabrigo Silky Merino which I had in my stash for years and have been looking for the right project. The yarn is gorgeous to knit with and also feels so good on the head. 

The only change that I made to the pattern is to create a seam at the start of the round. When knitting garter stitch in the round, the stitches do not align properly, so by knitting the 1st and last stitch of every round, a well defined seam is created .....
..... and it looks good. This is not my creation but from a good and clever friend, Melita who used it on the sleeves of her Ravi.

Well, I love the hat as it looks great, but not on me. I do not care how I look as long as I am warm !

7 comments:

Roseann said...

Your Ravi is stunningly beautiful!!! The texture and colors work gorgeously together. I know what you mean about sewing on buttons, not my favorite thing to do either.
I love the clever seam in your Rikke hat. Getting rid of the jog (neatly) in garter stitch is impossible. The striping is so pretty, too!

Rachel said...

Both knits are beautiful! I hate sewing on buttons too but I seem to gravitate toward the cardigan more than the sweater so I see many in my future!

Thanks for the tip on making a seam when doing garter...I certainly never would have thought of that and it looks great!

Rose Red said...

That garter seam idea is fabulous. Must remember that next time I do garter in the round!
I found when I was in NY in winter that people wore all sorts of unflattering or funny hats - it really is about keeping warm! But I am sure this hat looks great on you!
I always leave sewing on buttons for ages after I've finished a garment. My least favourite job!

2paw said...

R&R, two really great knits!!

Bogie said...

Lovely FO's! And yes, Rikke will come in handy in Seoul in January. I'm sure you look great in it, it's a cute hat.

Soyun Park said...

i absolutely adore your jacket!! the design is so cute and the color you chose is so pretty!! lovely work!!

Torhild Reidardatter said...

Clever solution on the hat. I like it ;)