dimanche 27 mars 2016

I can crochet too!

I may not be and expert at the craft, but I do appreciate the change of pace and motion it brings. 
When facing sweater sleeves or any other repetitive knitting process, I sometimes feel inclined to pick up my hook and crochet away on something different. Ergonomically speaking, it's also refreshing for my joints, as my left hand seems busier with crochet and my right with knitting. So both mentally and physically, it feels more balanced to use them both. 
This pattern is Virus shawl / Virustuch by Julia Marquardt. It's a free pattern, very easy to use and I think it even features tutorials for each section. 

 
My boyfriend can't stand these colours joined in one piece, but I actually love them so! It's a little kitschy, but that is something I assume, and even go for when working in crochet.  It has that retro quality that I like. And the drape of this yarn is to die for. Even pre-blocking, toward the last rows, I was enchanted by the weight of it. 
 It makes for one expensive shawl with the short yardage of aran weight, but I still highly recommand this yarn for something to wrap yourself in. Plus, I have lots of leftovers for upcoming sweaters and such!
Project page and yarn detailing here.

mercredi 16 mars 2016

Le Scarabée bleu

I was following the projects in the test thread even before the publication of this pattern. But I have to admit, I'm really addicted to La Maison Rililie's patterns anyway.
 This one is called Le Scarabée Bleu and here is my project page.

A few things I love about this design : the balloon shape at the bottom, along with bubbles, various stripes, thick ribbing border, folds, empire waist in the back that falls nicely under the breast in the fronts.
I could probably go on and on about the lovely details. But as I stated before, they're the little things that keep you on edge and help you achieve a beautiful result.
I picked colours we had in the shop, and while I'm super pleased with the black and blue-green (also featured here), I wasn't sure the gold blended well in the i-cord and stripes. It looked a little murky to me. But everyone seems to like it now, and I'm starting to appreciate them more and more.
I have a CineCittà on my needles in some Bamboo from an old FO I ripped last fall. I guess I should try to finish it for spring. More on that later!


lundi 14 mars 2016

Driftwood - Finally!

Every once in a while, I go around the bags of WIPs laying around the living room and pick something to finish. Maybe not nearly enough to actually empty the room, but it helps. I think.
Last month it was my Driftwood. I had the stripes of the body and some of the sleeves done.
It's Isabell Kraemer's Refined version, like the one she's wearing here
Link to pattern here
It uses Sport weight instead of Worsted, so I cast on for the M to get a S size. And I pretty much followed the pattern like that, changing the long sleeves for 3/4, since I was running out of yarn. I even had to finish it off in ribbing with Holst Supersoft doubled with alpaca lace. It doesn't really show and it's soft!
I so much like the texture of this yarn. It's wooly and light. Some people would probably find it itchy, but not me. I could wear this all day, every day.
And I'm not always into blues, but I think this particular colourway is very pretty!