drambuie, for real this time
Oh, but it is gloomy outside today. It's not raining, but it might as well be since the sky is so dark and cloudy and the air is heavy and humid. Daniel eagerly accepted the opportunity to earn another dollar taking photos of me in my new sweater. Stuart did, too, for backup, but said he didn't need the dollar (though I offered, just to be fair).
You know, I think if I really want good quality FO pictures, I should find someplace to take them other than our back yard. Even the park around the corner from here would have a nicer background than the sandbox, the compost pile, and the neighbor's garage. It's just that if I want to spend more than 5-10 minutes on a photoshoot, I will probably provide more incentive to these guys, like a batch of cookies or something.
Also, I ought to wear something other than jeans. Unfortunately, jeans are pretty much all I own. Yesterday I wore this sweater to play for a voice lesson, and the singer complimented me on it, then suggested that a dark-colored full skirt, maybe with layers, would look really nice with it. Her first career was in fashion design in Korea, so I trust her advice! Maybe I'll see what I can do about that.
In any case, these pictures and these clothes will have to do for now. The three pictures below are the ones Daniel took. He likes to use the black and white setting on his camera sometimes. I think he did pretty well for a six-year-old, don't you?
Pattern: Drambuie, a new pattern by Babycocktails
Yarn: Berocco Lustra (50/50 wool/tencel blend), just under 4 skeins (each skein is 100g and about 200 yards) in a gorgeous deep red color. The color is the reason I chose this yarn, to be honest. It wasn't from stash, either. I went out and bought it specially for this project.
Sticks: size 6 (4.0mm) circulars.
Mods: The pattern calls for sewing up the two pieces before working the sleeve ribbing in the round. I picked up stitches and worked the ribbing before sewing up the side/sleeve seams. I think it looks neater that way. Otherwise, I didn't change a thing about the pattern.
Comments: To get the right gauge, I had to go down one size from the suggested needle on the label, and I was afraid the resulting fabric would be a little too dense and not sufficiently drapy for the design. Wouldn't want those sleeves to stick out like it's 1987, you know?
I wasn't sure I was going to like this sweater until it was completely done and I tried it on for the first time yesterday. For some reason, it didn''t seem like my usual fare. Maybe it's the way the sleeves are done, I don't know. But the first couple dozen people on Ravelry who posted pictures look good in theirs, regardless of body type, so I went for it. I'm glad I did. I'm also surprisingly pleased by the yarn, Berocco Lustra. Like I said, I chose it for the color, though I was a little wary of the fact that it's single ply and contains so much non-wool fiber (Lustra is 50% wool, 50% tencel). I thought it would be weak yarn, and prone to stretching. Well, the yarn isn't especially durable, as I discovered when it fell apart as I was sewing up the shoulder seam, though it wasn't a big deal to use a stronger wool yarn for the seaming. I don't think I'd ever use Lustra for a cardigan that gets a lot of hard wear, but it worked well for this design. And the sweater didn't stretch out at all, even after a good, long soak in warm, soapy water. Instead, it relaxed into shape and looked even nicer. So yeah, two thumbs up.
You know, I think if I really want good quality FO pictures, I should find someplace to take them other than our back yard. Even the park around the corner from here would have a nicer background than the sandbox, the compost pile, and the neighbor's garage. It's just that if I want to spend more than 5-10 minutes on a photoshoot, I will probably provide more incentive to these guys, like a batch of cookies or something.
Also, I ought to wear something other than jeans. Unfortunately, jeans are pretty much all I own. Yesterday I wore this sweater to play for a voice lesson, and the singer complimented me on it, then suggested that a dark-colored full skirt, maybe with layers, would look really nice with it. Her first career was in fashion design in Korea, so I trust her advice! Maybe I'll see what I can do about that.
In any case, these pictures and these clothes will have to do for now. The three pictures below are the ones Daniel took. He likes to use the black and white setting on his camera sometimes. I think he did pretty well for a six-year-old, don't you?
Pattern: Drambuie, a new pattern by Babycocktails
Yarn: Berocco Lustra (50/50 wool/tencel blend), just under 4 skeins (each skein is 100g and about 200 yards) in a gorgeous deep red color. The color is the reason I chose this yarn, to be honest. It wasn't from stash, either. I went out and bought it specially for this project.
Sticks: size 6 (4.0mm) circulars.
Mods: The pattern calls for sewing up the two pieces before working the sleeve ribbing in the round. I picked up stitches and worked the ribbing before sewing up the side/sleeve seams. I think it looks neater that way. Otherwise, I didn't change a thing about the pattern.
Comments: To get the right gauge, I had to go down one size from the suggested needle on the label, and I was afraid the resulting fabric would be a little too dense and not sufficiently drapy for the design. Wouldn't want those sleeves to stick out like it's 1987, you know?
I wasn't sure I was going to like this sweater until it was completely done and I tried it on for the first time yesterday. For some reason, it didn''t seem like my usual fare. Maybe it's the way the sleeves are done, I don't know. But the first couple dozen people on Ravelry who posted pictures look good in theirs, regardless of body type, so I went for it. I'm glad I did. I'm also surprisingly pleased by the yarn, Berocco Lustra. Like I said, I chose it for the color, though I was a little wary of the fact that it's single ply and contains so much non-wool fiber (Lustra is 50% wool, 50% tencel). I thought it would be weak yarn, and prone to stretching. Well, the yarn isn't especially durable, as I discovered when it fell apart as I was sewing up the shoulder seam, though it wasn't a big deal to use a stronger wool yarn for the seaming. I don't think I'd ever use Lustra for a cardigan that gets a lot of hard wear, but it worked well for this design. And the sweater didn't stretch out at all, even after a good, long soak in warm, soapy water. Instead, it relaxed into shape and looked even nicer. So yeah, two thumbs up.
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