FO: Athyrie

Pattern: Athyrie

Yarn: Mirasol Nuna in 'Royal Purple"

Needles: 3.5 mm (US 4)

Mods: Eliminated two of the hexagon repeats, as I was concerned that the silk in the yarn would already yield a much longer garment, post-blocking.

Notes: I fell in love with this pattern, and I have a soft spot for convertible items of clothing and accessories (perfect for travelling!) but this was just a bit off the mark. Some of it was the pattern being a bit too general in it's sizing, and some of it was my fault. The 'my fault' part: buttons. I was so excited to use a bunch of the vintage shell buttons I had, but I find that the results a bit too much of a gypsy sort of look. Not that it's bad (it isn't) but it's not my style. I wish I had gone for more subtle, nearly invisible, buttons.


The pattern: the sizing is waaaaay to big for my arms (the photos hide how flappy the sleeves are. I don't understand why fit issues never seem to show up in the photos- I swear it's not all in my head!). I understand that the width is meant to give it the option of being a wrap, but I don't think it then converts easily into a shrug for those with skinny toothpick arms. If I were to make this again (and I very well might, I love the idea of it so much) I would eliminate about 15-20 stitches of the stockinette in the middle.I also would probably eliminate another 2 hexagon repeats, so that it could still be worn as a vest (see the Flickr photos for better shots of when worn  as a vest) but with less fabric volume.

Otherwise, this was a fun knit. It's a good thing that I'm determined to give lots of knitted gifts this year! I believe this lovely thing will go to someone who fits it better.

Also, I never gave an update on the  Agathe colour combo voting!! Option 3 won out, but not by much. And there were some excellent suggestions about possibly mixing it up based on some of the colours in that post- using pink stripes in with the black or brown, for example. So- I've placed my order for  option 3 colours, and when they arrive I'll begin watching!!

What I'm in to Now: the Alchemy of an Attitude Adjustment

This is the beginning of a new semi-regular feature on Knitted Bliss- What I'm in to Now. The idea is to pull together books, music, movies, and who-knows-what-else into a lovely mood-collage on some unifying idea. For example, today's is the alchemy of an attitude adjustment. I re-watched one of my favourite films recently, Enchanted April.

It was made in 1992, and I hope one day they digitally remaster it for HD or whatever they do these days, because it deserves it. The film follows 4 women who are dissatisfied with their lives in different ways, and they take a transformative holiday in Portofino, Italy. The holiday helps them think about their lives differently, and in their reframing, they find happiness. Next up is this soon-to-be-everywhere-if-it-isn't-already book:

I've been reading The Happiness Project, and all I can say is- WOW. I'm pretty confident that every woman I know over the age of 28 would find that this book speaks right to the very core of everything they think about themselves. This is the chronology of one woman's odyssey to improve herself, her life, and her relationships with those she cares about most. It's fascinating- the way that women take on so much, and then feel guilty or somehow dissatisfied with what they feel they aren't doing. Isn't that so typical of us, though? We do so well, but yet we want to do just a bit better.

While I've been reading, I've been steadily working away on the Athyrie pattern from St. Denis 2- It is the perfect knitting sidekick that keeps my fingers busy while I'm reading.

One of my favourite bands is The National. There is something about the lead singer's voice, it's just... velvet. Let me leave you with a couple videos from their most recent album, High Violet, which has pretty much been playing non stop in my ipod for over a month now.
The National - "Bloodbuzz Ohio" (official video) from The National on Vimeo.

FO: Blackberry Cowl

 Pattern: #12 Cabled Cowl

Yarn: Knitpicks Gloss HW in Blackberry

Needles: 5 mm/ US 8 circular

Mods: none.

Notes:  I loved knitting this. The cables and stitches made for an interesting project to knit, and the size of it meant it was done pretty quickly. I love the final result! The yarn was really lovely- it has great sheen, and holds up really well.

Over the long weekend, I also got a chance to indulge in many of the things I said I wanted to do. I did a bit of gardening, drank gin & tonic (and wine...), ate lots of delicious things (including radishes, one of my favourite vegetables) and had a lovely picnic with friends. It is this very picnic that the above photos were taken! After all, why not get some FO shots when you're doing something fun, right? It was delicious. Erica made a wonderful chickpea salad and lemon tassies, and I made couscous salad and coconut macaroons from Lunch in Paris (I don't recommend the recipe, they ooze everywhere and were not fun to make. I ended up making them in muffin tins just to corral the oozing.)

You may have noticed that we are drinking (well, I'm drinking) wine out of wine glasses. Just because you're outdoors is no reason to drink out of plastic cups! Hey, it's important to class up your picnic be environmentally friendly.

The empty plates pretty much say it all!

I'm also working on Athyrie at the moment... I'm loving the pattern so far. It's straightforward, and simple enough for a bit of mindless knitting. I'm really looking forward to the convertible end result: