I've been doing a lot of swatching in the past few weeks, both for unbloggable projects and for this capelet (thanks,

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I really hated to give up the sample I knitted in Tahki Nova for my

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Now that the Fall 2009 Interweave Knits preview is

If they were, then designers like me would have a hard time selling patterns:  by the time I've done the knitting

because it was a gorgeous day, because I'm still waiting for yarn for a project for the spring 2009 issue of Twist Collective, because it was more appealing than the idea of sitting down and writing out the patterns for this jumper and that hat (although I did a little of that, too). It's kinda tricky using the self-timer and getting the right things in focus and the light levels in the right ballpark; it would be a lot easier with a shutter release cable, or a wireless remote control. Or a photographer. Or a model. *Sigh*. Jack (or Jill) of all trades, as they say....

Now that the Interweave Knits Summer 2008 preview is up, I think it's finally safe to show a detail of my Wakame Lace Tunic.  I found the lace pattern in a Japanese book of stitch patterns and fell in love with it; the undulating curves of the cables and the foamy effect created by the eyelets immediately reminded me of breaking waves.  And since the yarn (Tilli Tomas Fil de la Mer) contains seaweed fiber, I thought "wakame" would be a good name; I'm glad IK saw fit to keep it!  (By the way, the fabric in the photo is doubled; I draped the tunic over a chair to get the picture.) As for the Roped Shell, the design was originally for a sort of tube top with cable straps, and the yarn originally chosen was Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, but when they were reluctant to ship their yarn to Italy,the IK editors chose Filatura di Crosa Luxury instead.  This silk yarn has a lovely drape but very little stretch, which seemed to me to be an unforgiving (and very difficult to fit) combination for a knit tube top!  In addition, the slipped stitch pattern loses its nice curvy effect if it is stretched much, so I suggested that we change the design to a sleeveless shell instead; the Cotton Fleece would have suited the more casual style of a tube top, but I thought that this finer silk yarn would work better in a somewhat dressier top.  I also wanted to find a way to hide the jog in the stripes at the beginning of each round, so I took advantage of the slipped stitch pattern to create a vertical stripe at each side "seam."  Not the best photo, but at least you can see how light and drapey the fabric turned out to be.

(More photos and pattern coming soon!)