Finished Knitting: The Chaparral Bolero

I had nearly finished knitting my tank top, so what did I do? I started another project, of course! And I still haven't finished the tank top, but this one is done, done, done!

I made this Chaparral bolero; the booklet describes it as a 'cropped Kimono style cardigan.'



My version ended up much shorter than theirs. I made the medium and the model is wearing a small. I guess I should've gone up a size or two! Still, I'm happy with the result. Although, I have to confess, I haven't blocked it! I suppose I should do that...that would stretch it out a bit.



The rib border along the neck and down the front is knit separately and sewn on afterward, but this went very quickly.



The lace pattern was easy to follow. And there was very little sewing at the end, compared to my recent projects anyhow. This was the first time I've used a Classic Elite pattern and I found that the pattern was clearly explained and there were no errors. I think I'll have to wait a bit to wear it though, as it's knit in wool. The weather's not great here, but wool may be overkill.



And speaking of yarn, I was able to meet up with Carolyn in Paris during her travels in Europe, yay! You can see some of her travel photos on her blog, both from Paris and from her earlier travels in Italy.



It was such a pleasure to be able to meet such a cool sewing (and knitting!) blogger and even more amazing because she lives on the other side of the world from here! We spent the afternoon talking fabric, yarn, and books. But it wasn't all talk, we also had lunch at L'Oisive The and got some lovely yarn.

I picked up this skein of Renaissance Dyeing yarn. The sheep are raised in France (but they're English breeds) and the yarn is processed and dyed here too. I've been wanting to try this brand for a long time and was glad to see that L'Oisive Thé stocks it.



Now, what does it want to be???