Rose Garden Take 3

In an effort to finish my work in progress I am back to the beautiful but pain in the neck Rose Garden Shawl.
I fell in love with the shawl when I first saw it in the Summer 2012, Jane Austen Knits magazine. I loved it so much that I even bought the same exact yarn in the same color as the one made for the magazine. But even with all that love, this pattern has brought me nothing but heartache. It is almost as if the knitting gods did not want me to complete this project.

 Think I am exaggerating? Well, lets see:

•  First the yarn was so tangled that I tried to untangle it for a month, gave up and threw it in a box.
• One of my knitting friends took pity on me and took on the task to untangle said yarn. Which now means I can make the project.
• Nope, I started working on another big project and put it aside and I forgot about it.
• Finally I started it. It was going great I finished the first repeat and I found three major mistakes early in the project. I was so frustrated I decided to put it aside. 
• I finally decided to pick it up a second time and I did the same exact thing I did above! I mean the SAME EXACT MISTAKES ON THE SAME SPOTS!!
• Now I am back to my third try and so far so good. No mistakes, no emotional breakdowns, no tangle yarn. Just a shawl that is knitting up nicely.

Hopefully the saying "Third times the charm" will hold true for me and I will be able to finish the shawl this time around. 

Until next time, Happy knitting!!
~Knitting Chica

Emerald - 2013 Color of the Year

Rejoice Green lovers, Pantone has voted the color Emerald as the 2013 color of the Year.  

Emerald is one of my favorite shades of green but as much as I like it I do not own very much in the color. The dominating color in my closet consists of mostly black and grey, which fits the stereotypical uniform of a New Yorker. Without much success I have tried to introduce color to my pallet. Is not that I do not like color, my favorite color is red, the brighter the red the happier I am and I also love jeweled toned colors which Emerald would fall into the mix is just black is so much easier.

When I was planning out this year's projects I had already decided that I was going to add more color. I have projects that will be made in lime green, yellow, hot pink and other anti-me colors. I think it will be the beginning of a beautiful relationship with color or a total train wreck. 

In order to continue my trip outside of my color zone and in honor of the color Emerald, I will make one of my "2013 Projects" in Emerald Green. Being that I am still in one of my two yarn shopping months of the year, I am still keeping with my yarn diet.

The project that I will be making in the color of the year is Sotherton:

The designer sweater is already in a beautiful green color which sealed the deal for me to make it in the color. I have a few ideas for the yarn to use for this project:

Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight in Emerald

Louisa Harding Orielle in Emerald

Patons Fairytale Soft DK in Emerald

Rowan Baby Merino Silk Dk in Emerald

It is amazing the difference in the shades of Emerald from one yarn company to another. My favorite from the 4 above has to be the Louisa Harding Yarn. Not only is it a beautiful color green the gold metallic gives it a pretty sparkle. Not to mention it is 100% Baby Alpaca so you know it is super soft on the skin. 

What do you think of this year's color? Will you be embracing the 2013 Color of the year?

Until next time, Happy Knitting!

~Knitting Chica