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…