Victorian Lace

I participated in another swap on Ravelry. This one was the Victorian Lace Scarf Swap. In this swap we were partnered up. My partner was sending to me and I to her. This was fine but I admit to being a slacker until my partner said she was making my scarf over Memorial weekend. Then I finally started the scarf for her even though I had the yarn for quite some time. My partner made my scarf out of Cotton Fleece which is 80% cotton and 20% Merino wool. The color is Oriental Jade which is a kind of blue/green color. In the picture it looks more blue. The yarn is very soft and either it blocks beautifully or my partner has great skill in blocking pieces. It looks perfect. She also included a candle that smells fantastically of Hydrangea. Love it!

The scarf I made is out Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed, 100% organically grown cotton. The color is coral. I must say that my skills in blocking are seriously lacking. The yarn was nice to work with and did well with this pattern. My partner is a big Tweety Bird fan so I included a Tweety Bird hot pad and towel.

In this pattern the stitch count changes every other row. I found that counting the stitches after every lace row was a great way to keep on track. Plus, when the directions are in chart form only, don't go by the directions that someone else has written out from that chart. There were several mistakes and after several false starts I finally went through the chart and wrote that pattern out for myself. That was all it took!

Swap wise, this swap was very quiet. No one chatted on the forums and the partners didn't communicate much. I'm used the the A Swap in Time group which requires check-ins halfway through. Plus, there are several forums in the group to chat about upcoming swaps or what we'd like to see in the next swap. That group is extremely well run. I highly recommend it!

Samantha's Eden

My friend's daughter recently celebrated her first birthday. I wanted to make her a gift that she could use this summer and hopefully this fall and winter. I searched Ravelry for a dress pattern that I liked and that I thought I could make with minimal complications. I also wanted it to be knit in the round because I don't like the way my seams look. I finally found the pattern, Eden's Eve by Georgie Hallam. She has a few patterns on Ravelry that are perfect for kids and come in many sizes. Eden's Eve is a longer version of Eden's Adam and you get the pattern for both when you purchase one.

I love how this little dress starts at the top and then you cast off to make the armholes and then work a little bit on each side before connecting it all again. The bottom edge can be knit with an inch of garter stitch, which is what I did, or you can do a picot edge. There are so many ways to individualize your piece. I totally recommend checking out the project pics on Ravelry. It was a great piece to knit. I am going to be making one for my daughter soon!

Eden's Adam is started the same way but is ended sooner with a ribbed edge. I want to make one for each of my kids.

I apologize for the lousy pictures. I finished the dress at 1:30am and I wanted to take pictures right away. As for the dress, it is in size 24 month and knit using two skeins of Berroco Comfort DK. I purchased the yarn online at WEBS. I was rather surprised when the yarn arrived because I thought it was a cotton or cotton blend. It is actually an acrylic and nylon yarn. It is very soft and can be washed in the washing machine.

Check out Georgie Hallam's Blog to see what she is currently working on and her other patterns and projects. There is a skirt pattern she is finishing up that I'd love to make for my daughter!