Finished: Orangina in pink

Pattern: Orangina by Stefanie Japel (it's actually cheaper when you buy the PDF from Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/orangina
Yarn: "Seidenglanz" by Schachenmayr nomotta, 100 % cotton, 125 m/ 50 g26 st x 36 r = 10 cm x 10 cm, recommended needle size: 2.5 - 3.5 mm; one of my friends said that the yarn is now called "Catania". I can't remember exactly how "Catania" looks like, but I think it does look similar. Each ball had a couple of knots.
Color: 158
Price: €1.25, reduced from €1.75
Amount: 4 balls
Needles: 3.25 mm for the body and 2.5 mm for the ribbing. I would have preferred 2.75 mm needles, but didn't have circulars in the right length.
Gauge: 18 stitches (2 pattern repeates) in 9 cm
Dimensions: 9 pattern repeats each for front and back
Modifications:
Made it smaller. I was afraid it would emphasize my shoulders too much if it was too wide. The ribbing is also lower, but that's just because I assumed that with blocking the body would shrink lengthwise, so I knit a couple rows more. It didn't really shrink and I was just too lazy to rip back again and I thought that this piece was already full with mistakes anyway. And also, it looks ok that way. If I hadn't liked the look of it I probably would have ripped back.
I knit the top in the round after the armholes. If you knit in the round, you can reduce some stitches, but be aware - you can not just line the pattern repeats one after another. It will not work where the beginning and the end of the row meet. At the sides you need to keep some of the edge stitches. Trust me, I've repeated this over and over again until I finally understood that my knitting was correct and it just did not work out, no matter what I believed.

After joining to knit in the round and after like 10 cm I tried it on and realized that the armholes are too big. - I just don't know why they were too big! AAAAHHHH! I had measured it! At this point and after ripping back so much I decided to make the armholes smaller by sewing the side seams together.

Comments:
The yarn doesn't seem to be a great quality. Usually I don't block garments inbetween, but in this case I wanted to check the length of the lace part (I turned out to be longer then expected, but just couldn't bother anymore), so I soaked it in water, meaning, I did not wash it with any detergent, just soaked in water and then blocked it. After drying, checking the length, etc, I continued working on the ribbing, and guess what, there is a color difference. You can even see it in the picture.
The edge around the neck curls. The swatch was ok, but here the edge curls. I just blocked it again, but still, it seems like the curled edge is going to stay.
I think I like it, despite the armholes and the curling edge.

Finished: Saturday In The Park Perfect Dress

Pattern: Saturday In The Park Perfect Dress from Fitted Knits by Stefanie JapelKnits
Yarn: Filosoft by Wolle Rödel, 52 % merino, 48 % cotton, handwash at 30 °C, recommended needle size 4 -5 mm, recommended gauge 22 st x 28 rows = 10 cm
Color: red (1205)
Price: €3,75 per 50 g ball?
Amount: 12 (one was needed for swatching)
Needles: 3.5 mm
Gauge: 24 st x 32 rows = 10 cm in stockinette and mock lace cable pattern. On the label the recommended gauge is 22 st x 28 rows, but I was afraid that the dress would sag at the bottom if it was knit too loosely and I tend to like my knitting to be a bit tighter than what is usually recommended on the label.
Dimensions: I measured myself and calculated the amount of stitches that was necessary to make the dress fit. The dress has negative ease (a couple of cm).
Modifications:

20/06/2009
Cast on 242 stitches. I’m doing it top up. This top down raglan thing according to my calculations is not working out for me.

After the hem pattern decreased by 2 stitches = 240.

Divided them into sections of 20 stitches. Alternating sections with stockinette stitch with mock cable pattern.

After 18 rows: decrease 2 stitches in each stockinette sections: k5, k2tog, k6, ssk, k5
6 x 2 stitches => 228 stitches

After 24 rows: decrease 2 stitches in each stockinette sections: k5, k2tog, k4, ssk, k5
6 x 2 stitches => 216 stitches

After 24 rows: decrease in the mock cable sections:
p1, cable, p2tog, cable, p2, cable, p2tog, cable, p1
6 x 2 stitches => 204 stitches

After 12 rows: decrease in the mock cable sections:
p1, cable, p1, cable, p2tog, cable, p1, cable, p1
6 x 1 stitch => 198 stitches

From hip to waist: 20 cm = 64 rows

After 12 rows: - 18 st: => 180 st

* Two decreases in each of the stockinette sections: 6 x 2 st decreases = -12 st
* 3 x 1 purl st dec in the mock cable section = - 6 st

I wanted the stitches to be a multiple of 5, because of the pattern.

I now repeated the hem pattern for the hip section. I got the idea from Monikita:
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Monikita/saturday-in-the-...

After 9 rows: - 10 st => 170 st
Decreases are worked on the sides. That creates the least disruption of the pattern. And I guess, that’s just what you do? From now on, decreases and increases are worked on the side

After 9 rows: - 10 st => 160 st
After 8 rows: - 10 st => 150 st
After 9 rows: - 4 st => 146 st
* On the side: ssk, k3, k2tog
150 st /2 = 75 st. This means my center on both sides was not between two stitches, but on a stitch.

I think it should have been between two stitches, but anyway, trying to distribute the decreases nicely was tricky enough.

After 9 rows: - 4 st => 142 st
After 9 rows: - 4 st => 138 st

After the hip section I added a central cable section (30 st wide).

Now I started increasing.
9 times every 7th row 4 increases => 174 st

On row 49 I added short rows. There supposed to start like 1-2 inches from the armhole and end 1 inch from the bust point. So, I made 4 short rows, 3 stitches apart. Starting 5 stitches from center stitch on the side. Ending 11 stitches from the center cable section. I find the short rows look a bit weird, ending above my bust point?

Armhole shaping:
I now had to separate into back and front and decided that the center stitches on the side would be added to the front.

Decreases for the back and front: 3-2-2-

Neckline:
At the same time, after 4 rows (counting from where I separated the sleeves) I bound off the central cable section.

Sleeves:
Cast on 70 st. Added cables. Increased 2 st. => 72 st Knit two rows. Decrease 3-2-2 on both sides.

Connecting sleeves and body part:
Use two circular needles, one for the front and halves of the sleeves. The other one for the back and the other halves of the sleeves. Knit 4 rows. Decrease in front and back. Two stitches between the decreases.

19/07/2009
Picked up 3 stitches for every 4 stitches in the front and back and 3 stitches for every 5 rows. Neckline is a bit different. I didn’t turn at the purl line and instead just let it curl. It’s nicer and stretchier that way. Folding at the hem was good, but at the neckline it looked ugly. Did the same for the sleeves. I think the raglan sleeves do make my shoulders look a bit bigger.

Comments:
I'm happy with the dress.

By the way, I just hate that my blog looks so messed up. And it's so much work customizing a new template.