Project! Wildflowers Blouse by Poison Grrls (Test Knit)

Pattern: Wildflowers Blouse by Poison Grrls. I test knit this one and it's a gem! The neckline! The sleeves!

Materials: The recommended yarn for this knit is CoBaSi by HiKoo and I also heartily recommend this yarn. This is the second time using this yarn (in a second Poison Grrls design) and it's just perfect for summer or, you know, living in LA like I do. 

Cost: I used almost all of 5 skeins of CoBaSi in "Gold Crest", so total was $47 including shipping.

Timeline: Woof. Test knits can be tricky, you know?? I started this on June 10th and finished it on July 21st, after a lot of ripping and re-knitting. I knit a total of FIVE sleeves on this sweater, can you believe it??

Sizing, mods, changes and notes on fitting: Ok, the finished product is fantastic, I am very happy with it BUT due to the "test" variety of knitting, this didn't exactly go as planned. I cast on the wrong number of stitches, so it's a little larger than the size L. Now, each designer has a testing process that is different and works well for them, but unfortunately for ME, Amy's process requires detailed reading and apparently I am very bad at that!!!!! So I missed a few corrections to the first draft of the pattern and that led to the sizing issue, as well as me having to rip and re-knit the top of the bodice AFTER I had already finished the entire garment. So yes, this took me over a month to get right, but I never have regrets about ripping out a "Meh" knit to make sure it's fab. 

I also got Covid somewhere in that month, and I partially blame that for my inability to read the corrections. IT WAS NOT MY FAULT (it was my fault).

Ok, back to what I DID do right: I added an extra inch of length to the body before beginning the increases for the bust, and I knit the sleeves one size smaller (my usual mod for my skinny arms). I love love love the sleeves and the proportions of the puffy sleeves vs. the sweetheart neckline! 

Feelings about this project: Overall, I am so so happy with how it turned out, and I feel really fantastic wearing it. And I promise to learn to read soon. 

Project! Poisonettes Top by Poison Grrls

Pattern: Poisonettes Top by Poison Grrls - this was a test knit in the summer of 2021.

Materials: Paragon Sport from Knit Picks in Black and Turmeric. This yarn is lovely, but unfortunately it's no longer available in most colors. 

  

Sizing, mods, changes and notes on fitting: So, I'll be honest: it's been so long since I knit this that I've forgotten a lot about it, but I still wanted to share some photos for posterity! I tested this pattern and I LOVED the design at first sight. It's super cute and wearable, and the stitch pattern is fun to knit, but it took me a few tries to get it to fit comfortably. I definitely remember adding rows before and after the sleeve join, to get more length, but I don't remember my other mods. I love that the top band has elastic in it, so it does sit very well on my shoulders. Overall, it's a very cute, unique design!

Project! Twin Set: Fujiyama Mama by Poison Grrls Knits and My Little Secret Crop by Jessie Mae

Pattern: The bolero is the Fuijiyama Mama Bolero from Poison Grrls and the tank is My Little Secret Crop by Jessie Mae. 

Materials: One of my favorite cotton/acrylic blend yarns: Cotton Fair from Michael's! I am so obsessed with this yarn, it wears like a sweatshirt, it's super affordable and comes in nice, bright colors. 

Cost: I bought 4 skeins of this yarn for about $20, and I also paid for the bolero pattern. I got the tank pattern as a freebie when Jessie offered it up in March of 2020 for some distraction knitting. So for both garments, about $30. 

Timeline: This is what happens when I belatedly blog... it's all a little murky... I finished the bolero in April of 2021 and I believe I finished the tank in July. 

Feelings and notes about this project: Although I love the finished product, knitting this bolero was a bitch on my hands - the daisy stitch is GORGEOUS and I love the texture, but ouch. After I finished knitting it, I had almost two full skeins of red yarn left from the original four, so I decided to knit a tank to wear with it (or on its own). I was tempted to write a pattern in the same daisy stitch to perfectly match, but my hands couldn't take it, so I went with this TNT pattern. Easy, portable, wearable, A HIT. 

And yes, my THIRD ripple tank. Aren't they pretty in primary? It's also fun to see the difference between the red tank in a cotton blend yarn and the blue one, knit in wool. 

As much as I love this twin set, I have rarely worn it. Summer 2022, I'll bring it back! 

The French Boardwalk Blouse - A Poisongrrls Knit

Oh, hey.

Here's another Poison Grrrls pattern by Amy Appel, the Boardwalk Blouse. When Amy asked me to test knit this one, I didn't hesitate. The crop! The stripes!

I knew right away this pattern needed the French Girl treatment, so I set out to knit it in red and white CoBaSi. I did not exactly get gauge, so while I followed the numbers for size large, it came out smaller than intended. A-ok by me, Ms. Negative Ease.

So this yarn... HiKoo CoBaSi is truly amazing. Light and drape-y, but also stretchy. It's dreamy, because I live in LA where it's hot, and we all need knits like this. Plus light summer sweaters are my jam, since I work in a cold office, but somehow still sweat a lot.

Maybe I went overboard with the styling...

But probably not! Because when is a beret "overboard"?! You know who loved berets? Prince. We should all strive to be a bit more like Prince.