Getting Lucky
It's a fun thing to have friends in neat places that like to trade yarn. On my first trade with Becky, I asked her to surprise me with something interesting. The box she sent me contained (in addition to the requested Phil'Onde) 4 skeins of Phil Ruban in Cassis.
4 skeins of Phil Ruban in Cassis in the top center
Very pretty, I thought. I just love the saturated not quite wine, not quite purple not quite maroon color that is Cassis. Becky also helped to find me a pattern to go along with the yarn. I was psyched! With a happy summer tank top on my mind, I sat down to dig into the Phildar pattern... only to discover that I was going to need one more skein of yarn than I had.
Becky very kindly agreed to help me track down another skein. Only her first trip to Phildar resulted in finding nothing at all -- she would have to come in when the new shipment arrived. I started considering stripes because I figured that there was no way that I would get another skein in the same dye lot as the first four. But some magic happened and the store did in fact get in more Cassis -- from the same dye lot as the one I had!
How lucky is that? I felt even luckier when I found out that Phil Ruban is being discontinued (at least in this color, I don't know if it is the whole line or not).
Once I had the last of my Phil Ruban in hand, I decided it was safe to swatch. After my third Phildar swatching experience, I can say one thing for certain -- the knitting standard is looser than for more most US and UK patterns. Before anyone takes that the wrong way, let me explain: I have to go up a needle size from recommended on every Phildar pattern or swatch I've done so far., and that rarely happens to me with other patterns. And the Phil Ruban is no exception. Instead of 4.5 mm needles, I get gauge on 5.0 mm.
Phil Ruban Swatch in Cassis
click the image for a close-up
Phil Ruban is a 100% cotton tape and it's a real delight to knit with. It's fine enough to create a pleasantly un-bulky fabric, perfect for summer, but big enough to knit up quickly. Knit up, the swatch has a pleasant texture and a reasonable amount of give. And I had no problem maintaining even happy stitches.
Lucky Beginnings
So this evening, since I got home from work too late to head out to the KIP, I sat down with the pattern and started to work my way through the French. After I felt pretty confident about most of the instructions, I cast on. The pattern doesn't really have a name, so given the bonne chance I had locating another skein of Phil Ruban, I think I am going to refer to this tank top as "Lucky".
I love your measuring tape. It's so cute!
Hi! Longtime lurker, first time commenter (I think). I love your blog. I check it most every day. Your Chai top looks great. I cringed when I saw you doing that ruffle because I knew it would make MY hips look a mile wide. I'm glad to see you nixed it. hehe Your new yarn is fabulous! You didn't tell us what the brown and black-looking stuff are in the picture, though. Inquiring minds must know. (wink)
Hi there! My hubby just brought home 5 skeins of PhilRuban in red. I'm so excited to start playing with it! I can't wait to see what you're making. I took French in high school and lived in France for a year but these French patterns are so foreign to me! BTW, Artifibers is just a few blocks from work. I've only been there once, when I first started knitting. And I was so intimidated! But I can't wait to go back to check out their yarn. I love what you got from them!
I have had the same experience swatching for Phildar patterns. For the sweater I am knitting now, I had to knit two swatches, and ended up going up a needle size to hit gauge.
Glad I swatched!