The Finished Product

Well, obviously you can tell that my bolero is completed! I did almost all of it myself, except my mom did the rib around the front edge that you see there and the blocking. I really like it! It makes a fun, bright outfit when I wear it with my blue v-neck shirt with buttons and my yellow tank, or it would be calmer and better suited for the coming fall and winter with my tan or white tanks.

Anyways, I LOVE it! It's really comfortable! It also looks really good! It's longer than a shrug but not as long as a cardigan, and I really like that, since that appears to be the style this fall, at least in 8th grade!

Now, this didn't really take that long. During the summer, when I didn't need to go anywhere or anything, I could knit up a piece a day. The longest part is the ribbing that goes all the way around the garment, since it's about 320 stitches or so and has to be 6cm long. Also, it's knit circular and on smaller needles than was used for the rest of the bolero, which makes it a little tight and hard to maneuver.

The bolero is from Jo Sharp's Knit Issue 2 and is called Bolero. It is the short-sleeved version, as you can see. I made it from Cotton Classic because they had the perfect amount of the perfect color at S.W.A.K. and, since we were buying the book right then, we decided to pick up that nice yarn for it too. Now, for me, it took a few weeks to finish the whole thing.

I've made a bit of progress on my second sock -- I'm now on the foot part of it and should be finished soon. But I finished a hat! Woo hoo! Isn't it gorgeous? I did a 9x9 rib using the basic pattern I put up on the site under "Free Patterns". All I did was cast on 72 stitches, then work in the round doing k9 p9 until it was long enough for me, then I decreased one every 6 sts, worked a round in pattern without decreases, decreased one every 5 sts, worked a round in pattern without decreases, decreased one every 4 sts, etc. etc. etc. I really like how it turned out. And it's super soft, too! It's softer than the other hats I mad early for myself. That's because it has alpaca, silk, and merino wool . I used two strands of Andean Silk from Knit Picks. My gauge 14 stitches per 4 inches. I think I will definitely use it a lot once the weather gets cold! Although the 90 degree weather is making it difficult for me to remember that time of year...