Meet Orangina

The frenzy came to an end this weekend. The ribbing led to the cast off. The seams got sewn. The ends got woven in without complaint (this is huge for me).

All in all, I really love this little shell. She's very versatile, and really unique. I completely adore the scallops at the neckline:

and the way that the seam just stops under the arm to create the arm opening. This is perhaps the best discovery I made... I've never just... NOT SEAMED to create a hole. Until now, all armholes have involved shaping to some extent.

Pattern: Orangina by Stefanie Japel, size 36
Yarn: Online Linie II Alpha, 100% mercerized cotton, 7 balls, a persimmony color
Needle: US3 Addi Turbos (US5 for cast off)
Modifications: I made this about an inch longer than the pattern called for. (I wanted something to hit at "high hip" rather than "low waist.")
Comments: This is a great little pattern that I found addictive. The lace is somewhat tricksy, but really just a two-row repeat that's offset by a different number of stitches on the two right sides. My ego got to me and I didn't use a lifeline... Thankfully, I didn't need it. This could have been a real pain if a stitch was dropped.

I only have one semi-negative comment about the pattern: The yarn requirements seem way off. Even though I didn't use the recommended yarn, I have 3 balls left over. The pattern I have lists the same yarn requirement for every size. I'm told that this may have been updated in later versions. I will also note that when you join the front and the back, the stitch count does not easily convert to doing 3x3 ribbing for the bottom; your choices are to decrease 2 stitches or increase 4. I chose to increase 4 to make sure that it was loose enough in the hippage area.

Fashion note: I've seen a lot of Oranginas running around blogland with white tank tops underneath. The white tanks have looked great on their models... but NOT with this one. The high contrast between the bright orange and the white looked a bit clown-like. So I toned it down with a charcoal grey tank, which didn't compete with Orangina for attention.

And, in some notes about what's next...

* I swatched for Cindy's chuppah square. Have a few ideas marinating, will start to play around with them this week.

* I started a simple ribbed scarf for a friend in (stash!) Mission Falls Superwash Wool. It's a bit too narrow, and I think if I rip and knit wider, I won't have enough yarn to make it long enough. Does anyone know if you can block the dickens out of it? If it blocks, I'm golden.

* Still working the courage to get back on that mitten.