Odds and ends

This week's blog post is going to be a bit of a mish-mash of things. Life is busy lately with finery goodness, and I'm combining all of that into one update for you.

FINISHED
First of all, last weekend I finished my Lowry Pullover, almost two whole weeks early! It took me about five weeks to knit this, and I think my strategy of doing the sleeves first really paid off in terms of speeding up the whole process.



My thoughts on the pattern:
--I don't normally make patterns exactly as written, but in this case I loved the pattern so much that I didn't modify anything. Weird for me, but a credit to the designer for such a fantastically shaped sweater.
--That said, if I ever make this again, I will need to modify the lower sleeves. For some reason they're uncomfortably tight on my forearms, which is not usually a place I have issues with fit. I think I would just start with the next size up, and do fewer increases.
--Sportweight yarn makes this sweater warm but not too warm, so I might be able to wear it more often here in Los Angeles (vs. some of my worsted or bulky weigh sweaters).

My thoughts on the yarn, Madelinetosh Pashmina in the Tart colorway:
--This yarn is deliciously soft, and is wonderful to wear against the skin. This is thanks to the merino and cashmere content, which unfortunately also means that the sweater is pilling already, and today is the first day I've worn the sweater.
--The color is an amazing semi-solid red, and I got very little pooling on the garment. However, there are no dye lots listed on the skeins, and I found very noticeable differences between skeins. I think I managed to arrange the transitions so if anyone notices it will look intentional, but just be aware of this if you're going to use this yarn.
--A sweater's quantity of this yarn is not cheap. I felt it was worth the investment, but this isn't going to work for all budgets. It's a wonderful indulgence, and I highly recommend at least trying one skein of this yarn for a smaller project.

VOGUE KNITTING LIVE


As some of you may know, Vogue Knitting LIVE! was here in L.A. for the weekend. I didn't have time to take classes all weekend, but I did manage to take two incredible classes, "Teaching Classes that Rock" with Trisha Malcolm, and "Photography for Knitters" with Amy Swenson (of Indigirl designing fame). Both classes were amazing, and hopefully I'll at least be able to take much better pictures for this blog in the future.

MY NEW IPAD
Because I have the most wonderful husband in the world, I now am the proud owner of a brand new iPad! He gave it to me as an early present for our upcoming fifth wedding anniversary, and despite some initial learning the hard way (like backing up before you update the iPad software) it's been awesome so far.

Anyway, I am looking for suggestions on fantastic iPad knitting apps, so please leave a comment if you have a favorite. And I apologize for the lack of links here, I'm still getting used to my iPad blogging app!

UPCOMING EVENTS
I will be attending SOAR in Manchester, New Hampshire during the first week of October. I'll be taking classes on how to spin sock yarn, how to handcard wool, and others. I'm really excited about this, and can't wait to get there!

Also, I will be at Rhinebeck in NY on the third weekend of October. This will be my first time ever attending, so I am prepared to be overwhelmed by all the fibery goodness.

In short, I've got a lot of great stuff coming up, and will be posting here on how it all goes.

Until next time, happy knitting and spinning to everyone. Enjoy the start of fall, and all the knitting goodness that comes with it!



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