Splitstone

Posted on April 6, 2013 by CelticCastOn

Pattern: Splitstone by Alicia Plummer

Yarn: Cascade 220 in colourway 9456

I finished my test knit for Alicia and I couldn’t be happier with this.

I’ve been hoarding this colour of Cascade for something special. It’s such a beautiful blue with a bit of a purple undertone. I assumed it would eventually become something for T but when I saw Alicia’s vest I just knew it would have to be a Splitstone for me.

One thing I enjoy so much about Alicia’s patterns is that I never have to lengthen ANYTHING. She has the long torso down to a science!

We took these pictures during a snowmobiling trip through the woods. We had a little bonfire on the trail and toasted marshmallows before I striped off the snow pants to get a couple of quick shots.

Splitstone has already been getting lots of wear but I’m HOPING I will be able to put it away for a few months to enjoy some warmer weather….

The snowfall this morning doesn’t leave me with much hope though.

Marion

Posted on March 27, 2013 by CelticCastOn

It has to be said that the Business Casual KAL definitely took up all of my blogging time. I had no idea it would get so big but I’m glad to be able to get back into my regular blogging schedule again.

I recently finished a test knit for Andi Satterlund of Untangling Knots. You may remember Chuck and Agatha that I have previously test for her. I adore both of those knits and wear them often so I knew when she posted her yellow version of Marion that I needed to add it to my wardrobe too.

Pattern: Marion by Andi Satterlund *pattern still in testing*

Yarn: Cascade Yarns 220 Superwash in colour 864

Needles: 5mm

Ravelry Project Page

I have had my eye on this colour of Cascade Superwash at my LYS since last summer. I loved it from the get go but was unsure what I should knit with it.

When Andi asked me to test I knew right away it had to be this colour. Thankfully they had just enough skeins left when I went back to check.

I did something a little different with this photoshoot. I really wanted to show how fabulous this little cardi looks casually as well as dressed up.

You know I love to add things to my wardrobe that are multi functional.

For Casual I paired it with my favourite jeans and plaid shirt. I will likely wear it with jeans most of the time because there isn’t a lot of cause to dress up running around on The Ridge.

I do however like to wear a dress any chance I get so when the occasion arises I’ll reach for my favourite polka dotted one. These cropped cardigans look so great with dresses that have full skirts.

I was once again stumped when it came to buttons for this cardigan.

I bought silver and green buttons but kept coming back to some brown wooden ones I had in my stash. It was a nice contrast but the issue I had with the brown is that I knew I wanted to wear it with my black dress and I just didn’t think I could handle the brown buttons with a black dress. Yes I am weirdly anal but colour matching.

Finally I tried some black leather look buttons from my stash and had a hand to forehead moment. Why didn’t I think of black to begin with!

I can’t gush enough about Andi’s patterns, the construction, the style, all so perfectly perfect.

I will no doubt be in line to cast on her next pattern.

Crossroads

Posted on February 28, 2013 by CelticCastOn

This was a quick test for Elena of Anadiomena Designs.

Pattern : Crossroads Hat by Elena Nodel

Yarn: Colour Adventures Sweet Merino DK in Aegean Sea and Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton Colour 125.

My Rav Project Page

A sweet little hat that is perfect for using up all those scraps in your stash.

The whole hat uses approx 50 grams of yarn.

Stripes are addictive by themselves but seeing that slip stitch pattern emerge really had we wanting to keep knitting until it was finished.

A great unisex pattern to whip up for a gift.

I gave T a couple of colour options and of course she chose blue. It paired up very nicely with some grey left overs I had kicking around.

Little T is just getting over a bad bout of pneumonia and actually her first time being sick other than a runny nose. It was quite a shock for all of us when we found out she was so ill, at first we suspected the flu but when she wasn’t getting any better we knew something was up.

Its so nice to see her smiling face in these pictures and know that she is back to the fun loving little girl we are used to seeing.

Definitely a deserving recipient of one of Mama’s hand knit hugs!

No Snow Blues

Posted on February 5, 2013 by CelticCastOn

Winter has been anything but spectacular so far this year. We had a few dumpings of snow although nothing has really stuck for any length of time. Last week it was -37C but during the middle of the week we had a huge wind and rain storm with temps going up to 10C…… Mother Nature just doesn’t know what it wants to do this year.

The wind storm we had caused mass power loss across the province, trees were dropping like flies and people loosing shingles left and right.

What we are left with is straw coloured grass and lots of fire wood to cut up for next year…..

I’m glad that through all of this I at least have some pretty knitting to look at.

I’m testing Splitstone for Alicia Plummer in the most gorgeous shade of Cascade 220.

My Rav project page

The colour number is 9456 in case you are interested.

The cable pattern adorning the front of this one is very intuitive and is making for a quick knit. I only had two skeins of this in my stash but managed to track down another one from my LYS. I’m currently at a stand still while I wait for it to arrive.

In the meantime I’m enjoying looking at this brilliant blue.

It is definitely helping the “no snow blues”.

Downton Girl

Posted on January 28, 2013 by CelticCastOn

I was thrilled to be able to test Downton Girl by Melissa Schaschwary.

I love cloche style hats but I was never sure if I could actually pull this off. Even while knitting it I emailed Melissa to ask if it was ok for T to model it because I didn’t think I could pull it off.

T decided she didn’t want to wear it even though the whole time I was knitting it she proclaimed it to be her hat.

It all worked out in the end because I absolutely love it!

This cabled brim, and the patterning on the side is so spot on.

I knit this with Elena’s Colour Adventures yarn in the Jade colourway. Yes she dyes yarn too and the colours are absolutely amazing!!

It was totally fitting that Melissa called this one Downton Girl. Who doesn’t have a love for Downton?? *If you have yet to watch Downton you need to run out and get season 1 and 2 NOW*

I also used this as my project for the Dowton KAL happening at luvinthemommyhood. The plan was to pick a project with a Downton feel to knit while watching Season 3.

There are still a few weeks left if you would like to join in.

After this I think there will be a few more cloche style hats in my future.

Yarn Along

Posted on January 16, 2013 by CelticCastOn

Joining Ginny today for Yarn Along.

Knitting – I started a test for Elena of Anadiomena Designs. This one is similar to her Wild Vanilla pattern that I knit in the summer but this time with a fun kangaroo pocket that I think T will really love. T is finding most wool itchy at the moment, especially Berroco Ultra Alpaca, hopefully she will grow out of this, but for now I’m going with Berroco Comfort and hope that it keeps the itchiness at bay. T chose the colour, it was the closest thing she could find to Robin’s Egg Blue, everything is about birds right now. I’ll tell you more about the birds another time.

Reading – T and I have been reading lots of Fancy Nancy. I love these books so much such a delight to read. Nancy has a big vocabulary which is great for my little book worm, she has a wonderful imagination and is filled with creativity. I highly recommend Nancy for your little book worms.

Reading or knitting anything fun today?

Woodburne Cardigan

Posted on November 23, 2012 by CelticCastOn

I recently had the chance to test knit the Woodburne Cardigan, Carol Feller’s newest pattern for her KAL.

As always I knew right away that I wanted to add Woodburne to my wardrobe and testing was the icing on the cake.

It is knit bottom up with a round yoke and a modified saddle shoulder construction. I had yet to knit saddle shoulders so this was a first for me.

I knit this with Di. Ve Zenith that I’ve had in my stash for a couple of years. I could never find the right pattern for this yarn because it has a bit of stretch to it. It was splitty to knit with but has wonderful stitch definition that really makes the cables pop.

I added a bit of length when knitting Woodburne but because I knew it was going to stretch out a bit when blocked I left about 2 inches for growth.

The cables on this one are so interesting and different and as a friend put it almost Art Deco-ish. It really lends a modern look to the cardigan.

One of my favourite things about Carol’s designs is that they are always different in the way they are constructed. Woodburne’s waist decreases are at the middle of the back between the cables instead of at the sides where you would traditionally find them. I love how it makes the cables look like they are pulled in at the back creating a nice waist.

The cables travel up the sleeves and right over the shoulders with the saddle construction. The shoulders were easy to knit through once I got my head around what I needed to be doing.

It’s easy to get into ruts with your knitting. We all usually have one construction style that we prefer and tend to knit it over and over again but I always like to challenge myself, learn something new. I always know I will most likely be knitting out of the box when working with Carol!

I couldn’t be happier with this knit. I knit the 30.5 size with a little bit of a different gauge to achieve a 33 bust. I’m seriously thinking of knitting 33″ busts from now on because they create that little bit of room and are just so darn comfy!

Although the KAL is almost over you can still purchase Woodburne and knit it at your own speed. I would definitely recommend it. This is one of my favourite cardigan’s to date.

My Rav Page

Spirited

Posted on October 30, 2012 by CelticCastOn

I recently finished my test for Elena of a design called Spirited.

It is the adult version of Playful Citrus that I knit for T in the summer.

I started this back in August, it took a month to knit the body and then another month to get back to it and knit the sleeves…. short sleeves at that.

I guess life got in the way of things as it sometimes does but I’m am glad to say it is now finished.

I used 3 skeins of Malabrigo Lace in the Bobby Blue colourway and I actually ran out of yarn before I finished the sleeves.

If you remember the sleeves came to the elbow and were ruched on the original.

They were my favourite design element but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be on my version.

I really like it with the short sleeves as well and think it will be great to wear during the summer.

Another element I love about Elena’s designs are the back decreases.

She pairs decreases down the middle of the back that pull the body in making the most flattering shape.

It was a tad chilly to be sporting a sundress and lace cardigan in October… especially when the photographer had a winter jacket and toque on but it had to be done!

It is fantastic picture taking weather when its overcast and rather gloomy out.

Woodstove Season

Posted on October 3, 2012 by CelticCastOn

Luvin The Mommyhood’s Summer Sweater KAL has come to an end.

I didn’t manage to get the sleeves on my lace cardigan finished on time but I did complete this beauty!

Woodstove Season by Alicia Plummer is due to be released mid October.

I was super excited to test knit this one and even more excited with the finished product!

This cosy cardigan knits up quickly on 5mm needles and is a stunning addition to my Autumn wardrobe. I’m glad I chose brown Cascade 220 for this because it will just go with so many things! I have already been wearing it for the past two days and I just know I’m going to wear this one right out and have to make another.

My Rav Project page!

Those chevron pockets are such a cute addition and really tie the knit together with that beautiful chevron back.

I made absolutely no mods to this knit, didn’t even have to add length on the sleeves or body, love that!

When I see pictures of the back of this cardigan it makes me want to walk backwards everyday so everyone can see it. hehe

That or I may just have to do a few twirls mid sentence!

My buttons are ones I purchased a few years ago from Beadic on Etsy. I’m so glad I was able to find the perfect knit to adorn them on. Beadic doesn’t seem to have anything in her shop at the moment so I’m not sure if she is still in business or not but if she is I will definitely be putting in another order. Her buttons are delicious!