Prairie Camisole: finito! But what do you do when the weather finally turns Portlandish again on Seaming Day? This is how we wear camisoles in Stumptown, I guess:

  

  

Prairie camisole, adapted from Prairie Tunic by Veronik Avery in Interweave Knits Spring 2006

Three balls + a scrap of a fourth Jaeger Siena 4-Ply

US size 3 needles

As you can see, I opted to do away with the racerback — although if the warm weather is truly gone and I have to wear it over a long-sleeved shirt from now on, it won’t even matter that I don’t own a racerback bra.  Ah well, there’s always next summer.  I’m pleased with the fit.  Once again I underestimated how quickly my hips narrow to my waist, but it doesn’t much matter.

Prairie Cami made her debut when I went to meet Michelle (yes, Spiders, Michelle is alive and well!) at Close Knit, a delightful yarn store I was visiting for the first time.  She drew enthusiastic admiration from Sally the Owner, which, combined with Sally’s beautiful and well-stocked shop, made me love Sally instantly.  I drooled over a lot of things in Close Knit, but Michelle and I were both particularly arrested by a sample of that short-sleeved coin-patterned top from this year’s spring/summer VK (design #6), worked with a simple crew neckline instead of the keyhole collar, in chocolate brown RYC Luxury Cotton.  It was very fetching indeed.  Hmmm…projects for next year!  I think I’m pretty much done knitting tanks, but a romantic vintagey short-sleeved top with a slender waist could be right up my alley.

Zimmermania newsflash: The Elizabeth Zimmermann knitalong will kick off September 23rd! Email me or leave a comment if you’d like to join! 

You’ve cast your votes as to how best I should end my sock knitting delinquency, and Retro Rib is the clear winner. And just to show how disciplined I am, I’m going to take your advice even though I was leaning toward Pomatomus. C’mon, it’s so much more fun! I love watching the scales form, and I love the Claudia Handpainted Plumlicious colorway. But my Retro Ribs are Claudia Handpainted, too, so I’ll have to be content. And this way I can use Pomatomus as a reward for my diligence later on.

Alas, the Retro Rib socks are not my oldest unfinished object. There’s still poor Charlotte to seam and (hopefully) shrink. There’s half a cotton baby hat lying around somewhere. There’s a fifth of a Lotus Blossom shawl lurking among my laceweight yarns. There’s kid sweater with no arms (and no kid) on the closet shelf.

So what am I doing? Thinking of new projects, of course. I cross my heart and swear to finish the Prairie camisole before I cast on anything else — I’m halfway up the back — but I confess I’m already swatching for an Elizabeth Zimmermann Fishtrap cardigan for Mr. Garter. Here’s what it will look like (hopefully) — just imagine it in a tweedy natural wool:

I’d seen the above pictures of the original courtesy of Jen, and then I ran across an old and dog-eared copy of The Knitter’s Almanac in the Powell’s on Hawthorne the other day. Mr. Garter liked the look of the sweater, and I’ve owed him a knitted garment for a long time. The man’s been my partner for six years and all he’s gotten is a lousy scarf. (It’s not really lousy: it’s actually a very handsome scarf, if I say so myself. It’s Grignasco Top Print alpaca, and a tour de force of seed stitch.) Mr. Garter’s version of the Fishtrap will have a zipper rather than buttons, as he is sporty rather than tweedy. This means I’ll be both steeking and sewing in a zipper for the first time — on the same project. Next month will mark two years since I learned to knit, and I think this will be an appropriate way to raise the bar for myself.

But never fear: the Retro Rib sock will be completed before its mate is a year old. I swear it shall be done. The Fishtrap is a pretty complex little beast with all those travelling stitches, so it will be nice to counterpose some fairly simple sock knitting.

We’re up visiting my parents on the island until Thursday, but happily my father has the same camera set-up, so I hope to post pictures from here. Mingus the Cat has come along on the trip for the first time, much to his dismay. He expressed his disinclination for the car ride by throwing up his breakfast between my feet somewhere near Kelso. Thank goodness he missed the knitting bag. Prairie camisole certainly doesn’t need that kind of adornment. I think he’ll like Friday Harbor once he gets used to the new surroundings, though. He’s already running around exploring every nook and cranny so he can get comfortable.

Happy birthday to me! I’m 27 today, and I celebrated with a cook-out with family, new neighbors, fresh ginger mojitos and an awesome sour cream chocolate cake my mother made. I got some excellent gifts, but you’ll be so proud of me when I tell you I didn’t take advantage of the occasion to acquire more yarn. I’m trying to be good about the stash. But back in June on my trip to New York City, I did snap up five balls of Jaeger Siena 4-Ply cotton on mad sale at The Point. Seriously, it was something like $3.50 per ball, in this cheerful spring green. I didn’t have a specific summer tank pattern in mind when I bought it, so it was pure fortune that Veronik Avery’s Prairie Tunic (Summer ’06 IK) called for five balls of Jaeger Siena 4-Ply.

As I mentioned previously, I didn’t think the tunic was the shape I wanted to go for, so I modifed the pattern. Here’s what I’ve got after about four days. I thought this project was going to crawl on the size 3 needles, but I’m cranking this one out:

I’m about to start shaping the triangles at the top, so how convenient is it that the Fall issue containing the errata slid through my mail slot this afternoon? As you can see, I also modified the stitch pattern, since I want to be able to wear this cami with just a bra underneath. What’s the point of all that great ventilation if you have to wear another layer?

All I’m doing is working the stitch above the yarnover twisted to close up the eyelets. I like that the result still looks akin to the original pattern, but gives textural interest and the desired extra coverage. On the back I’ll probably just work the pattern as given all the way up, but I’m undecided about that.

Quick yarn review: I really like the Jaeger Siena. It’s soft and easier on the hands than a lot of cottons I’ve worked with. It does split a little if you don’t watch it, particularly on the lace rows, but the fabric it produces is incredibly even. I could pat myself on the back for overcoming my beginner’s “rowing out”, but I suspect the yarn deserves most of the credit on this occasion.

I’m trying to race through this tank so I’ll be able to get some good summer wear out of it before the weather cools for good, but I need your advice: racer back, as in the original pattern, or just a copy of the front for better bra strap concealment?