Final FO of 2017 and Grand Finale Mosaic

If you had told me that during 2017, I would finish one sweater and make another from start to finish, I would have wondered what you were smoking.  But I managed to surprise myself by doing just that.  As you know if you've been reading a while, the long saga of my Cranberry Custom Fit Sweater was finally completed this past October.  That was amazing enough.  But then, I started another one - that makes TWO items of clothing - who am I???

So before I move on to 2018 knits (which so far do not exist), I wanted to show you the FO of the aforementioned second item of clothing.  

(lace detail of lower hem)

Project:  For the Birds Top (why do I call it that? You can find out here.)

Pattern:  Main Street, by Megan Nodecker

Yarn:  Quince & Co. Tern, colorway Dusk, 4.25 skeins

Needles:  US size 4 and 5

Modifications:  I did make the sleeves a tiny bit longer than the pattern directed.

Notes:  I have absolutely nothing but love for this project.  From start to finish, it was a happy event.  Granted, I had to cast on 200+ stitches several times, and I got about 1 inch into it when I realized it was twisted, but once I got back on track, all systems were go.  

I'm not sure where I first saw this pattern, but I immediately loved it, and decided I was gonna give it a try.  The little bit of lace detail at the bottom would be a challenge, but I decided I could do it (and I did!).  The pattern is really clear, really well-written, and at no point do you have to say, "Wait - where was I" or "OMG this is sooo confusing!" - which for me, happens way more than it should!  

The yarn was just lovely to work with, so soft, never splitty, never knotted.  And the skeins were easily windable, which sadly, is not always the case.  The color is a kind of lavender gray - I think it will look slightly different depending on the light, but also what you wear with it.

I will definitely knit this pattern again.

When I went to buy needles to use, the only in the cable length I needed that they had in stock were the Lykke needles that everyone has been talking about.  They were reasonably and comparably priced, and I liked them a lot.  They were smooth and the joins to the cable were not in any way problematic.

The absolutely best part - the FO fits me perfectly!  To quote The Tim, "It looks like it was made for you. [brief pause ] Oh, wait ..."  It's really comfortable, and I can see wearing it quite a bit.

I'm adding the photo below because it's my favorite of the ones taken, even though it's blurry.  Jack didn't want anything to happen where he might be left out!

2017 was a pretty amazing year for me, knitting-wise.  I knit more things than ever in my life - 11 pairs of socks, 2 shawls (WHAT??)), 2 sweaters (COME ON!!), a hat, and a pair of fingerless mitts with individual fingers.  I also tackled lace and some colorwork, and lived to tell the tale.  :-)  Here is a little photo mosaic I made of my projects.

(From left to right:  Box o' Socks, Baa-ble Hat, Annoying Pumpkins, Mixed Berries Socks, Bridget's SS# Socks, Fradentical Holly Berry Socks, Summertime Solar Socks, Ms. Dumbledore Socks, Park Slope Blackbird Shawl, Hannah Socks, Cranberry Custom Fit Sweater, Texture Blue Socks, Tim's Fingerless Mitts, Mojito Socks, Scattered Wishes Shawl, Weird Colorblock Socks, Winter Berries Socks, For the Birds Top.  All details for these on Ravelry.)

I'm pleased that I challenged myself, and that I kept going.  I learned some new skills and tricks, and gave myself a real boost in confidence with my knitting.  I have to tell you, this was the best part of 2017 for me, which was otherwise a questionable year (at best) overall.  

How about you?  Was last year a good knitting year for you?

I hope that 2018 makes me as happy to think about by this time next year.

Have a good weekend!

The Story of My For the Birds Top

Hello all!  Thanks for your kind and supportive comments on my last post about my finished socks.  They are safely tucked away in my Box o' Socks, and I do think by the time I open the box and then wear them that I will feel much more favorably inclined towards them.  :-)

Do you remember a while back I posted this picture, showing the beginning of a work-in-progress?

The pattern is Main Street, and the photo above is about halfway through the bottom border of the top.  In between finishing my Cranberry Custom Fit sweater and the Annoying Pumpkins socks, I've been working on it for bits of time here and there, especially since I have reached the stockinette portion, which is perfect for knitting while watching TV or podcasts, etc.  At the moment, it looks like this:

My photographic skills and lighting, however, cannot really show the lovely shade of the yarn, so here is the link for you to get a better idea of how it actually looks.

OK, so now on to the rest of the story.  

When I decided to try to knit this pattern, I didn't have enough of any stash yarn to use.  However, I did have a store credit at Hidden River Yarns, so The Tim and I drove over there one weekend day to take a look.  My friend (and the owner) Lisa was there, and with her help I decided on the Tern yarn from Quince & Co., and also decided to try a color other than the usual blues and greens that make up most of my sweaters and knitted tops.  We decided on the colorway Dusk, shown on their website in the link provided above.  I was able to get what I needed for making this pattern with my store credit, which was exciting because it was "free" (yes, I know not really, but work with me here).

So I had nice yarn, a pattern I wanted to knit named for a type of bird, and then there was the dye lot - 007!  (Cue James Bond theme.)

And so, this became my For the Birds Top.

Why, you ask? 

Tern = bird

007 = James Bond

But James Bond is not quite who you think he is.  Nope, not the REAL James Bond.

Ian Fleming, the creator of the James Bond 007 stories, was an amateur birder.  He was very conscientious, keeping lists of birds he had seen, where he saw them, etc.  At the time he was creating his master spy detective, he was also reading a book (possibly Birds of the West Indies), written by James Bond.

WAIT? What?

Yep, James Bond was an actual person, and a well-known ornithologist at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.  He and Fleming even met a few times.  Reports say that he got tired of people asking him about his name, unless it got him a good table at a restaurant.  :-)

Now, this is all highly amusing to me.  And so, when I started knitting a sweater in a bird-named yarn, with a dye lot number of the master spy, I just *had* to call it For the Birds, to entertain myself!  

James Bond, 007

Another James Bond, 007

Most recent James Bond, 007

The REAL James Bond, noted ornithologist.

And *that* my friends, is the rest of the story!