my portugal jenny

this is rowan jenny cardigan (back only) from rowan 37.
jenny was my companion on this trip and we were to spend a lot of time together. as it turned out jenny and i did not spend as much time together as i had anticipated. currently she is only a back, right and left front and the beginnings of two sleeves.

jenny is 7 skeins of rowan ryc cashsoft dk in color sh506. (57% extra fine merino, 33% acrylic microfiber & 10% cashmere) she is knit on us #3 & #6 needles. i substituted cashsoft for the handknit cotton dk used in the pattern & i knit a larger size to make up for the gauge.

if traveling to portugal and you happen to be in the neighborhood of estoril you must visit retrosaria fantasia- perhaps the best haberdashery shop i have been too. in addition to finding my portugal jenny buttons, i bought loads more for which i currently have no use for but would like to eat them like candy because they are so wonderful.

a quick note~ i have been traveling so much recently i have been a bad blogger. my travels in portugal took me by bus to sintra where i made my way walking through town~ passed my neighbor's favorite restaurant the lawrence, hiked up to the castelo da pena and then castelo dos mouros.


favorite things about portugal:
mussels
sardines
cheese
olives
wine
beer
beach

sadly, jenny went to the side once the ravery olympics began in favor of her near twin. as an attempt to better my knitting skills i decided to frog vintage lilac from knit today issue 22 and use the cashcotton dk for a jenny with beads.

cotton~ and what was i thinking?

beads~ and what was i thinking?

with help from one knutty knitter i learned a lot about bead knitting. the most valuable being that the beads i had bought for my pattern were two small. still i was encouraged to knit my project as planned by fellow knitters.

most useful bit-o-advice:

bead size suitable fiber 11/0 #8 perle cotton; d silk, #20 crochet cotton 10/0 #8 perle cotton; e silk 8/0 #3, 5, or 8 perle cotton; ff silk; lace weight and fingering weight yarn 6/0 (or 4mm diameter) a.k.a E or small pony bead #3 or 5 perle, crochet cotton; fff silk; rayon, fingering and sport weight yarn 2/0 aka small crow 20/10 silk; dk to worsted weight yarn 33/0 aka crow bead worsted weight yarn

this lady is a bead queen.