Fabby Flu-Flo

Flu-Flo is finished!!

That’s what my friend Uknitty decided to call it as Fluorescent Florence was too much of a mouthful for her. Ben also has unkindly been referring to it as “Agent Orange”….I shall have my revenge on him by knitting him some agent orange socks with the leftovers 😈 (Not really)

So, enough of this chatter, here’s the picture you’ve been waiting for!

Me in Flu-Flo…

This has been a pleasure to knit and so fast. I am really pleased with it 🙂

My Fair Isle has come out neatly…

Another of the Fair Isle because I’m so chuffed with it 😉

I’m pleased with the fit but a little surprised it was so snug. I’m somewhere between the first and second size normally so I decided to knit the second size – just as well I did! It fits a treat but I wouldn’t want it any smaller.

**Note to self** Knit a swatch next time! 😳

I had a whole ball or the orange left over too…in fact I didn’t use much of all the other colours …

See what’s left over!

I’m tempted to make another one with different mixes of Fair Isle colour and a more subdued main colour . What colours do you think will work??

The collar works well. You can’t see it in the picture of me above – sorry ! I suddenly have sympathy for Rowan when they get criticised for covering necklines with the model’s hair!! Here’s a better shot…

You can see my “Hand Made by Susan Crowe” label too 🙂

And then there’s the buttons….

I decided that orange buttons just wouldn’t work.

Firstly, they’d get lost in the great expanse of orangeyness and secondly, because I didn’t think I had a cat’s chance in hell of matching the colour! I couldn’t make up my mind which colour from the Fair Isle to choose so I thought,

“What the heck! I’ll have all of them!”

It was actually quite hard to find any button that was brightly coloured and came in enough of the colours in my Fair Isle – These ones are by Coats UK – I found them in Hobbycraft. I wanted to try and get some in the light blue of the edging but couldn’t. I think these work though???

I have a slight reservation about the way the button band pulls up a bit at the bottom of the rib.I used the given number of stitches for the button band – next time I’ll add a few more in – especially on the rib.

The fact the blue edging doesn’t carry across also grates a little. I should have done the last stitch in blue perhaps….. 😕

These are minor niggles though and don’t really detract from Flu-flo’s retina searing brilliance!! 😎


Completed Knit Report  
Name: Florence (or Flu-Flo!!) by Sarah Dallas
Pattern: from Rowan magazine 35
Yarn: Rowan Cotton Glace
Pattern Problems: None!
Pattern Modifications: Added multi coloured buttons.

Short row shaped and “3 needle castoffed”the shoulders because I’ve been told cotton Glace is horrid to get a neat seam with.

If I made it again I would knit the back and both fronts together up to the armhole to make the fairisle neater at the seams and have less ends to darn. I’d also add a few more stitches to the button band to stop it pulling up at the bottom.

Washing and Wearing: Wearing is a treat – either with a T-Shirt underneath or on it’s own. It’s surprisingly versitile too – either a top or a little jacket.
Knit It Again???: Very likely to! 🙂
Difficulty: Medium. Easy lace pattern but the Fair Isle took some getting neat (for me anyway).
Rating: 5/5
Other Postings Relating To This One: Fluorescent Florence  

8 Responses

  1. Mieke
    Mieke June 25, 2007 at 1:33 pm | | Reply

    Wow! I really like it, the colour is great on you.

    My choise would be to make it in turquoise, with the other colors (incl. the orange) for the Fair-isle. But I’m a blonde, so turqoise is a great color for me. But I think its a good color for brunettes as well.

  2. Diane
    Diane June 25, 2007 at 3:22 pm | | Reply

    Gorgeous! And so fast 🙂

  3. kathryn
    kathryn June 25, 2007 at 4:00 pm | | Reply

    That looks lovely and perfect for cooler Summer days. The colour really suits you.

  4. Rachel
    Rachel June 27, 2007 at 9:28 pm | | Reply

    Wow, you look amazing. It really suits you. The slightly 1940s shape is perfect for you, you look like Rita Hayworth. Glamorous to the max.

    Compliments on the ultra-tidy Fair Isle too, mine never comes out like that 🙂

  5. Arianwen
    Arianwen June 29, 2007 at 7:15 am | | Reply

    It looks lovely. The colour is fantastic on you. You definately need to knit in more oranges!

  6. Maggie
    Maggie June 29, 2007 at 12:12 pm | | Reply

    Well, first of all, I wish I was as slim and young as you Susan! I turned 55 yesterday and haven’t shown a photo of me wearing anything since I was 44…smile. You look beautiful in your gorgeous Flu-Flo!! I am very impressed with that knit.

  7. Wendy
    Wendy August 20, 2007 at 5:07 pm | | Reply

    It looks great – you’ve inspired me to do it, I’d been looking at it for a while. I’m doing it in blood orange! My worry is increasing/decreasing within the pattern…you didn’t have any probs?

  8. susan crowe
    susan crowe August 23, 2007 at 6:01 pm | | Reply

    Hi Wendy

    Oh! What a thrill to be “inspirational”!! Thanks!!

    I didn’t have a problem decreasing in the pattern.

    Here’s how I did it….

    Firstly, get your head around the idea that each “hole” is created over two stitches with either “k2tog, yfwd” for a right handed slant or “yfwd, K1, s1, Psso” for a left handed slant. Think of these as pairs of stitches that go together and never do one part without the other part of the pair. (that’ll keep your number of stitches correct 🙂 )

    Next, I decided that I would leave a selvedge of 2 stitches of plain stocking stitch along each edge because holes right at the very edge make sewing up really hard and it looks tatty.

    All you do then is….
    if one of your sets of hole making stitches (“k2tog, yfwd” or “yfwd, K1, s1, Psso”) falls in the first or last 2 stitches of the row, replace the whole set with 2 knit stitches.

    I hope that makes some kind of sense!

    Blood Orange sounds super – what colours are you doing the fairisle in??

    Susan

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