Knitting in Pink
Life is still very stressful here for M and me, and I can’t yet say anything definite about career plans/changes. This stress has made my blogging, responding to comments (which I always read and enjoy!), and reading all your blogs more sporadic than I would like. I can but try. So I have decided to make the blog a stress free zone of happy knitting and crafting as an antidote.
Pink is happy color. I like to wear pink, and I like pink flowers. I don’t consider it my “favorite” color; I usually say that is yellow or green when pressed. But I don’t wear yellow much, as very few shades of it look good on me. And I’ve yet to come across a shade of pink that made me look bad. So I like to knit with pink yarn. Originally, I wanted to get my La Gran cable-rib cardi done by Easter, but my sore knuckle held me back, but now the sleeves are done and blocked!
I also did the neckband, and I have purchased buttons (the colors are better in this photo compared to the sleeves).
The first time I knit this pattern I used some beautiful Czech glass buttons, which were soooo heavy. The lightweight mohair yarn just couldn’t support them properly. So here I chose plastic in a matching pink. I like the square shape, and I hope their considerably lighter weight will work better. So now I just need to seam and sew the buttons on.
But this past week I wasn’t in the right mood for neat seaming, so I cast on a new project. I had planned to switch back to the nubby cardigan, but then I finally found a vest pattern I liked for some pink yarn I’ve had in stash for a while. I bought this Goshen from Valley Yarns at Webs to make a short sleeved top, but then decided I didn’t want to do that. After buying a couple of blouses at an after-Christmas sale that had the same pink as the yarn, I decided to knit a vest. Apparently, I am very picky about sweater vests, because it took me until last week to find a pattern I liked.
Not that you can tell much about the style from that photo–but the yarn pink is the same as the light pinks in the two blouses, even though it doesn’t look exact on my computer. So far the front is 18 cm of 2×2 rib. The pattern is Glace from Rowan Classic Summer Delights (Rav link), and it has interesting construction that I haven’t started yet, so I’ll talk about that later. But I do like the Goshen yarn which is 48% Peruvian cotton/46% Modal/6% silk. It knits up quite well, and it is making a nice fabric. Since it is a cotton blend yarn, and I’m knitting a vest, I decided to knit this before going back to the all-wool-worsted-weight nubby cardigan (it was over 90 degrees here last week when I decided that). I am also knitting the size recommended for my bust size, which I have been too timid to do in the past, thinking the result will be too small. So, with a vest and an easily frogged yarn, I thought the time investment and risk of failure were not too great to knit the “recommended” size. We shall see if I end up with a wearable piece of clothing!
Oh, that cable rib cardi is going to be pretty!
Thinking about you and M and hoping all goes well…
Thanks, Chris! We are going to a second interview this coming Monday-
Wednesday to see if the offer is suitable.
Ditto what Chris said — both of your knitting projects look very happy!
My thoughts are with you toward a positive outcome.
Thanks, Janet! We are going on a second interview this coming Monday-
Wednesday, and we hope the offer “on paper” looks good.
Good call on the lightweight buttons.
I’ve been looking for a vest pattern. I am always cold and a simple vest to toss on over a t-shirt when the air conditioning is too cold (Number Guy hates heat) would be nice.
Wonder how that one would look with a higher neckline?
Vest patterns are hard to find! I think this would be fine with a
higher neck. It’s knit from one end to the other. After knitting the
ribbing straight across, the front is divided and each side is knit up
separately, then with stitches cast-on between the two fronts for the
back of the neck, you knit down the whole back. There’s no reason why
you couldn’t postpone the division of the fronts and knit some
stockinette straight across to make a shallower V. You would have to
do some math on where to put the decreases, but you are good at math,
so that shouldn’t be a problem. As the pattern is written, only the
ribbing is seamed, so the arm holes are very large.
I hope everything goes well and you’re not as stressed out soon!
I like both of your pink projects! It’s a smart idea to plan ahead on vest color… something I should think about doing some time 🙂
Thanks, Kristy! I got lucky on the vest color. It looked different on
screen when I ordered it, but I’m glad it matches my new shirts.
I hope that life gets less stressful for you soon. Those are lovely projects you have there.
I hope that all the unknowns go your way! The color of the vest looks great with the shirts. Isn’t funny to see how purchases end up having commonalities?
I hope you can be stress-free soon!
Love your WIPs! Pink is one of my favorite colors!
Gorgeous shades of pink knitting, Brenda! J’adore the sweet buttons for the cardi, too.
My best to you and M.
Pretty pinks!!! (and my fingers are still crossed)
(((Hugs)))
Brenda- I hope all goes well, and in the meantime, the blog can be your happy place.
I love pink- but very few shades are good with my complexion. You probably look great in everything.
Brenda, best wishes on career plans/changes. I’ll keep positive thoughts for you. I often think of my blog as a happy place to focus on the things that make me happy. That’s definitely a good thing.
Oh wow, that is a beautiful La Gran cardigan! I also LOVE pink, but it’s not my favourite colour. Like you – green, blue, yellow.
Yes, your blog is definitely a happy place!
That’s so pretty! Pink gets maligned. Like housewife. It’s too female to be worthwhile, I guess? I have no idea why.
Hope all things are going well!
i’m always nervous about knitting the ‘recommended’ size too! it’s ridiculous reall as I always end up with an item too big for me.
Hoping things are looking a little clearer with the career thing now.
Good luck with the career stuff! I’ve got my fingers crossed for you that the offer is good all the way around.
I like the pinks. I find that it is one of my better colors too, and now considerate one of my favorite colors. The vest pattern is really cute. Good find! I can’t wait to see your finished Le Gran sweater.