Work in Progress

On the needle

Hmm, I’m not so good at blogging about my current projects. At the moment I’m working on 3 knits and am swatching for a 4th. Seems I’m good at blogging about all my doubts before starting a project, but keeping you up to date on the knitting or crochet process is a weak point. So let me catch up!

BotI 003

Because I couldn’t manage to properly start the planned stripey shawl, I then started out of frustration this Bigger-on-the-Inside shawl.
This is a shawl inspired by the Doctor Who series and starts of with a section of lace that is later on joined by lacey motifs of the Tardis.
At the moment I’m still knitting the first lace section. In the beginning it was slow knitting, since I only managed to work on it after work or during weekends. But then I gathered my courage and took it with me on the train, to work on it during my commuter trips. I had crocheted before on the train, but I’m better in crocheting than knitting, so it wasn’t such a big deal to do it in public. This was different for knitting and I had to overcome some trepidation, but in the end it worked quite well. So the shawl has grown a fair amount.

Now he’s back in the freezer however due to the higher temperatures and because I’m giving priority to my other projects. Such as my Moana dress in Catania. This is my current train project 😀

Moana 004

As you can see, I’m closing in on the finishing line. I adore this pattern! It’s very well written and actually quite easy to manage. The coolest bit of knitting were the sleeves.

Moana 005

The dress is knit in 1 piece and to get the sleeves, stitches need to be cast off. While casting off the sleeves for the Moana, this cute pattern is achieved by a combination of casting on and casting off stitches. Loved that!

The only pity is that the dress has still turned out smaller than hoped.
I’m using thinner yarn than recommended and thus also a smaller needle. To compensate I’m making a bigger size than the size wanted. I’m following the instructions for a 10-year size, hoping to achieve a 5-year. Unfortunately, based on the knitted circumference, I’ll only have a size 2 to 3 years. So now I’m also compensating for the length, so less yarn will be required than thought.
I do hope it’ll fit one of my nieces! Anyway, I’m already planning on remaking this with a thicker yarn.

And then last but not least, the Phildar bumblebee tunic.

Hommeltuniekje 003

I’ve finished the back, so only the front, the sleeves and the borders left. I still have my work cut out 😉
All in all I’m happy with how it looks, but also here I’m worrying about the size, the length in particular. It’s a few centimetres shorter than it should be and it is my own fault. I was too focussed on the suggested number of rows instead of taking my tape measure and check if the length was good. So yeah, not entirely sure what to do. Perhaps I can add some extra length by making the border at the bottom of the dress a little wider than suggested. I’ll decide later.

And that’s it for my WIPs.
I’m already itching to start a 4th knit and am also considering a new crochet piece, one I’ve been meaning to make for a long time. You’ll definitly hear about it!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!