It finally started warming up in the Philly area this week and I started wearing a few lacier tops.  And of course that got me thinking about knitting a lacy top.  I looked at a bunch of tops and had several in mind, but Orangina kept coming to the top.

Friday after work I went to the LYS and found 5 skeins of Filatura di Crosa Dolce Amore in red.

LOVE the color.

I know myself and I need this to be easy care or it will sit in a bag waiting to be handwashed.  I knit up a swatch and washed and dried it.  Like many cottons it retained the stitch count but shrunk up on width.

I took before and after pics on top of the graph paper pad so I could resize both to be the same size for comparison.  I don’t trust myself to measure consistently.

As for mods, I can see how stretchy this stitch pattern is and I don’t want a loose fit.  I do like slightly cap sleeves though so I’m starting with a 36 and I might reduce down to a 34 after the armholes.  I’m also planning to knit it in the round after the armholes.

I cast on yesterday and just have an inch or so done.  I think I’m going to love the color and assuming my sizing is on I’ll get a lot of wear out of this top.  A lot of people talk about what a slog this knit can be so I’m preparing myself for that “omg I can’t knit this freaking thing any more.”  It won’t be that bad though if I procrastinate by knitting on a pair of socks, right?

I’ll catch you on the purl side…

I finally found some at Webs last Saturday and scooped up a skein as soon as I saw it.

My plan was to cast on Fragile Heart on my birthday as a little gift to myself, but this weekend I realized that I might be able to finish it in time for a wedding on April 26th if I started right away.

The vivid blue with bits of green and purple are so gorgeous.

I cast on yesterday and have the tiniest crescent knit up so far.

You have options with this shawl – garter or stockinette body, number of repeats of the lace transition (including zero) and then the last border with or without beads.   My plan is to do no lace transition and lots of iridescent blue/purple beads on the edging.

I don’t yet have a dress but I’m thinking something simple, sleeveless and in black.

So to sum it up…Wedding in 4 weeks with no dress yet and the tiniest of a crescent of the shawl knitted up.   No problem, right?

I’ll catch you on the purl side.