I failed last year so I’m going to REALLY try to make it this year.

I’m talking about New Year Resolutions of course.

2012’s resolution was “to buy no yarn unless I was going to knit it immediately”. I lasted until May then splurged on Kidsilk Haze 😉 Once the genie was out of the bottle I was unstoppable and have stashed shamefully 😳

This year’s knitterly resolution is to get back to one WIP at a time.  I AM gonna do this. I had ballooned to a hideous 5 WIPs on the needles which was making me very unhappy.  I have new things I want to knit but feel my current WIPs nagging at me.

So far I have been good and finished off the Funky Pink socks and Jasmine (which you have seen) and now, over Christmas, I’ve finished another – something I haven’t even shown you yet! I started Honesty on the plane to New York in October, fully intending to knit it in the evenings while I was there. Unfortunately, I was poorly with a cold and slept all the time I wasn’t in work – Honesty was put to one side…

Over Christmas, with some time off to relax (and no pesky cold) my knitting mojo was back and I whisked through Honesty – 3 WIPS done- 2 to go!!

So I don’t keep you in suspense, here are the finished Honesty shots then I’ll tell you more about her…

…. and here is the back view…

And the cool ‘n’ trendy extra long cuffs…

Honesty  is from Purl Alpaca – here’s the pattern picture…

She was a straight forward Stocking Stitch knit with some added and very effective detail of the body being the “wrong side” and the sleeves being the “right side”. I wasn’t sure I’d like the effect but I do. The yarn is gorgeous too – buttery soft and very warm. An utter pleasure to knit with.

I am a little unhappy with the fit. On the model it’s a fairly loose fit – what I was expecting.  My Honesty is OK but quite snug. I certainly couldn’t go smaller. I knitted the “Small/2nd size/ 8-10 for 83cm chest” and I did check my tension – spot on after I went up from 4mm to 4.5mm needle  (same as I had to do for my Purl Alpaca Icon dress). If  I made another I would make the Medium size. Of course – it could just be that I’m not as slim as I used to be after Christmas! 😳

I was extra pleased with the button band – an odd thing to say I know! It was knitted separately and sewn on. I don’t ever remember doing that before and was quite worried it would pucker and look “wonky”. It sewed on like a dream using mattress stitch and seems neater than some of the “picked up” button bands I’ve done. The buttons are nice too – rescued from my button box – John Lewis about 15 years ago I think!

I realised when we were photographing Honesty that I seem to be in a grey and white phase….must be the influence of my new bathrooms! I asked Ben to photograph me in the bathroom so you could see – but I do look like a showroom dummy placed in storage!

Like my new bath and shower huh? I promise I didn’t knit Honesty to match!

During all this WIP finishing, Christmas and Bathroom DIY frenzy – what has been happening with Purcey?

The big new from Purcey is that he has learnt to use the cat flap and is now going out and coming  in on his own during the day.

He has also been very busy growing!

Here’s a couple of gratuitous shots of my not so little kitten, Purcey,  posing with me and Honesty 😀

Completed Knit Report
Name:	Honesty
Pattern:	Honesty by Kari-Helene Rane at Purl Alpaca
Yarn:	Purl Alpaca Fine
Pattern Problems:	Came up smaller that expected even after upping needle size
Pattern Modifications:	Short row shaped the shoulders
Washing and Wearing:	Lovely and warm and to wear. Looks very smart for work!
Knit It Again???:	Very likely
Difficulty:	Easy/Medium
Rating:	4/5
Other Postings Relating To This One:	None