Laar is Done!

Laar is done! And let me tell you it takes a long time to sew on 16 buttons, 2 hours worth of buttons.

Loved the lace pattern. So fun and easy to memorize which is always a plus.

Picot edging around the neck line is beautiful.

The buttons are perfect.

Pattern: Laar by Gudrun Johnston

Yarn: Knitpicks Shadow in Oregon Coast (4 Skeins)

Size: 36 1/2

Needles: US 4 & US 6

Mods: Added 1/25 inches to the stockinette section, added an additional repeat of the lace pattern before splitting off for the fronts & backs and added 16 instead of the 10 called for in the pattern.

Laar...One Step Closer to Done

Laar is done blocking and I got buttons for it today too.

I used Knitpicks Shadow lace weight yarn for this project and let me tell you it blocks beautifully. It's soft, has beautiful stitch definition and I can tell you based on another sweater I did a couple of years ago, it wears nicely.

Hancock Fabrics had their buttons on sale until the end of the month. I wasn't sure what I wanted but I found some buttons that I really liked, 4 to a card. I got all 16 buttons for $5.13 including tax. Now that's a deal. Totally worth driving all the way out to the north
side of Sacramento for Buttons. Soon as I get them sewed on I'll be sure to post pictures.

Something Almost Done and Something Begun

I finished knitting my Laar the other day and I ordered Almost Ovals by Anne Hanson but due to something or other with Hubbs Paypal account I wasn't able to get the pattern right away. I've been feeling really unproductive with everything lately and knitting seems to be only thing that I can get anything done so I decided to start on Waiting for Spring Sweater.

Wait, wait, wait...Laar isn't done but it is blocking. I just need buttons. Hancocks Fabrics has buttons on sale until the end of the month for 30% off. I didn't receive my sales flyer from Joanns so I'll stop in there before I head up to Hancocks to see if they have buttons on sale. Joanns is 15 minuets from my house and Hancocks is about 45 and not in the best area of Sacramento, so I always check Joanns first. Especially since I need like 15 1/2" buttons, it's worth driving to where the sale is.

Back to Waiting for Spring...

© SeeSuzSew

© SeeSuzSew

I picked up some Lion Brand Wool Ease Worsted on the cheap to start this sweater. Going from US 6 and lace weight yarn to size 9 and worsted weight make it seem like I'm working with rope and small trees to knit this sweater. But since it's mostly stockinette and knitted from the bottom up, it knits up quickly. However, I've run into a problem with it. I posted my question to the designer and hope to hear back quickly from her since I'm almost done with the body of the sweater. I'm planning on knitting the sleeves in the round, assuming that I have the right size DPNs.

I'm pretty sure that where I went wrong with with the arm hole shaping. I think I was supposed to do the shaping on both the back and front flaps and I only did it on the back. I assumed that when I put the front stitches on the holder that the armhole shaping for the front would happen at another place in the pattern. Honestly, even if I do the math that the pattern calls for for armhole shaping for the back I still have 19 stitches not 17 like the pattern calls for. Hopefully the designer gets back to me soon. I'm really looking forward to finishing this sweater.

I've been lusting after Gudrun Johnston's Laar for a long time. I still have Larch on my needles but since I finished Alpine Glow I wanted to cast on for a lace weight sweater that I could wear during the summer and fall seasons. Last year I knitted Featherweight Cardigan by Hanna Fettig for the fall and I wear it a lot but it's green and I wanted something a little more neutral in color.

© Gudrun Johnston/Jared Flood

© Gudrun Johnston/Jared Flood

I love the lace on top with the simple stockinette stitch on the bottom. The picot edging is adorable too.

I cast for Laar on July 30th. I'm using Knitpicks Shadow in the colorway Oregon Coast. It's a tan-ish color with reds and blues mixed in. It's not variegated, it just has bits of color mixed in random places. It's really pretty.

I never noticed on the pictures of Laar but there are pleats in the front. I've done pleats in previous projects but this used a construction like the one Gudrun does.

Let me tell you, the picot cast on was time consuming. It took almost entire evening to cast on. Honestly I wasn't sure I wanted it and I wasn't sure it was going to look good but it came out really cute.


Right now I'm working on the first sleeve. I hate my 8" DPN's. I love Knitpicks Harmony needles. The points are very sharp, perfect for working with lace weight yarn but 8 inches is too long for DPNs in my opinion. I'm used to working with 7" needles or shorter. 8" is too long, they get hung up in the fabric, they get hung up in the sleeves my shirt if I'm wearing long sleeves. Ugh. I hate them so much.


The sleeves are picked up from the front and back and worked in short rows. It was really difficult to work short rows with 8" needles. Thankfully the sleeves are only 3/4 length so it shouldn't be that bad...I hope.