don't you just love saying "habu"?



a little of this asian-inspired tank from Rebecca #26 and a lot of ideas from 1000 Sweaters
in Habu covered cotton

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I made up with the habu tank after recovering from my pick-up stitches-finger callous and sewed on the collar and pockets (hadn't mentioned them before, had !?). Redoing this tank was so worth it. Although the asian tank from Rebecca #26 provided the shape I wanted, I knew I had to go back and add the detailing from 1000 Sweaters. I love everything about it now - the style, the fit, the feel. This unique cotton yarn from Habu with colored thread wrapped around it is so light and comfortable. And it has incredible drape. It's just a pleasure to wear.

Ready for sewing!

I finished reknitting the armholes during the week and spent an entire evening of Olympics adding the ribbed edging. What a nightmare! Picking up from the tight cast on edge gave me such a callous on my finger. Owie, owie. I'll be taking a couple days break from this tank for a little forgive and forget therapy.

I'm just starting the Habu redo. I've ripped back to the start of the armholes and am reknitting the top front and back with ribbing at either armhole opening to match the collar. I think I'll also end up picking up stitches along the cast on row and adding a bit of ribbing there too to make the whole thing all matchy-matchy. Still hoping to have it done by the end of the Olympics!

My Olympic record so far: 2 of 4 projects finished. Woo hoo!

I love this collar! In fact, I love it so much that now I think I'll have to rip back the armholes of my habu tank to make matching knit-in ribbed armhole edgings. Gonna have to wait another week to finish this tank. But it's gonna be great!

I am flying on the front of my habu tank. Of course, I haven't really decided yet how I want the tank to look, but I'm not letting that hold me back from knitting away furiously.

I've decided not to copy the necklines from the asian tanks in Rebecca #26 (I just finished a keyhole neckline on Maggie, and I don't want such a closed neck as in the other tank). What to do? I thought about doing something like the front of Grace, but converting the cap sleeves to tank armholes would have been difficult to work out. Now I'm all about trying to work in a square neck with ribbed collar, one of the options in the totally cool 1000 Sweaters book.

And to make matters worse, I'm still not sure what sort of finishing I want to do on the armholes or bottom edge. The Rebecca tanks called for garter stitch in a contrast color (like black). I liked that idea at first, but now I think I just want to keep the habu yarn. Unfortunately, the yarn curls a lot, so some sort of edging is definitely necessary. What to do?

Hmmm.... think, knit, think, knit, knit, knit, stop thinking about it, knit more....

More trip knitting!

I took the Peter Pan bus back from NYC ($15 one way, you can't beat that!) and knit all the way on my fabu habu tank. On the train ride down, I'd ripped the three or four inches I'd already knit. I had to admit that it was going to be too small and took advantage of the fact that I was in the quiet car where I could rip it out in the most relaxed and calm surroundings possible. I cast on for the second time and started knitting again during our little KnitNY Sunday brunch knitting session. It was great having the time on this trip to sit and relax, rather than running from store to store to store the whole time. Most of the yarn stores are closed on Sunday anyway, so if you're a yarn junkie that means it's time to knit what you bought on Saturday!

waist shaping is good

By the time I got home Sunday night, I'd made it up to the armholes on the back. As our bus approached the city, the eve before the Democratic Convention started, we travellers caught a long glimpse of the opening night fireworks downtown. What a nice way to return home. And speaking of politics, here's a pic from the weekend of some political commentary Soho style.

right on!

Yes, I'm coming to town again! Just a few hours and I'm off to visit my mom and a few of the greatest knitting shops the big city has to offer. I'm planning on stopping by Purl and Downtown Yarns on Saturday. Anyone else in town up for an afternoon shopping spree? Or how's about a little knitting and pastries at KnitNY on Sunday?

Okay, most important question - what am I bringing with me to knit? Habu, baby! Don't you just love saying "habu"? It sounds so hip, like some cool word that beatniks might use. Anyhoo, after the disasterous beginning of the R2 tank, I cast on for my habu tank.

The back's turning out a wee bit small, but it should be workable. I don't have tons of the habu yarn, so it's probably good for the top to be a bit small. I'll add a few more stitches to the front, where it really matters, and all should be well. I like how the yarn is knitting up. It's easy to work with - no problems with that thin red thread snagging or splitting. It feels nice to work with and it makes fabulously even little stitches - another surprise given that the red thread is so randomly wrapped around the white core. It would seem that these Habu folks really know their yarns! I may have to stop by their shop again.

As I approach the finish line on maggie, my fingers are itching for a new project. Time to make the swatches! (Nevermind that the frankensweater and ava remain untouched and the tea set still needs a creamer), I'm moving on.

Habu cotton

Pearl Cotton for Hush

As you can see, I'm just starting to fiddle around with the yarns. I haven't had time to make "life-size" swatches yet or swatch my new Phil' Onde (which I'm really excited to try out!). Instead of knitting, I've been spending my time buying and wrapping birthday presents. Birthday pics tomorrow!