Blog Celebration!

Well it was roughly about a year ago that I began this wee blog and I truly can't believe what a great outlet it has been during a year of living far from friends and family. I've connected with so many fiber loving folks out there and come across some wonderful sources of knitting related reading. Thanks to all who stop by ......

The thing that got this blog going was having a design accepted by Amy Singer over at Knitty.com.....well guess what....to add to the excitement of reaching a year of blogging here on the Shetland Trader she has accepted another of my designs for the Summer 08 issue....couldn't ask for a better gift than that!

Modifying One's Own Pattern

Well here she is, "Slipped Hours", a short-sleeved, cowl-less version of her former self!
I realized a good way into knitting this that I didn't infact have as much yarn as I had thought. So mods needed to be made. After a quick eyeball of my quantities in relation to what was left to knit, it was apparent that I'd need to shorten the sleeves and do without the cowl.
Turns out my estimation was spot on and I have a teensy ball of yarn left!

I'm really happy with how it came out and I even got to finally use one of my lovely tagua nut buttons (they've been wanting to adorn something for a while now)

Pattern: Slipped Hours- By me!
Yarn: Dance, from the Sanguine Gryphon (in Merengue)
Needles: US #4

Mods: Shortened the sleeves. I cast on the number of stitches needed at the top of the sleeve thus eliminating any shaping and knit for approx 5 inches before joining to body. I also worked 4 repeats of the cording stitch pattern for the collar/neck with 12 extra stitches cast on to create a flap for a button. Button hole shaping from Maggie Righetti's book "Knitting in Plain English"- This was the first time using the directions from her book and it really does produce a superior button hole, you must try it!

Other things: I discovered an error in the pattern and got to practice using my camera's self timer!