Broccoli Bomb

A little kitting content for a change.
Mrs. Twisted finished her "Broccoli Bomb" last week and I was a little slow in presenting the FO so she wrote her own post to present it. First of all if you haven't knitted with Tilli Tomas silk then you owe it to yourself to try it. Very nice yarn and not that expensive if you figure you get 260 yards per hank.

Guest segment by Mrs. Twisted:

Cherry Bomb – B.G.K. by Joan McGowan- Michael

Yarn Used: Tilli Tomas Pure and Simple – color Jade - approximately 3.5 hanks

Modifications: Slightly rounded the square neckline, lengthened straps, lengthened body.

All in all, I am really happy with this tank. It is the first thing I’ve ever made that is actually truly wearable by me! It’s not too hot, or too fuzzy or too loose or too tight – it is a perfect fit in a wonderful yarn. I do have one small gripe about the yarn however. One of my hanks had quite a few knots in it. My first hank had one – that I can deal with but in the third hank – I ran into 6 knots! I’d find a knot, cut it out, start anew and 3 rows later, another knot. This did not make me happy as I was trying to avoid a million ends to weave in. I ended up balling up the remaining yarn by hand so I could feel for knots. And I had to cut out quite a few yards of yarn! If I were short on yarn, that might have been a huge problem! I didn’t have problems with the second hank and I do have one hank left which I’ll be using for a mobeius, so I hope that hank is ok. Hopefully it was a one time issue, because I have to say – this is some of the most gorgeous knitted fabric I’ve ever seen. The variation of tones in this color way is so pretty. I’m glad I didn’t “fancy” it up with a stitch pattern – it would have taken away from the beauty, I think.

It took me much longer to knit this tank than it should have. I was rocking away on it and hit issues when I decided to sew it together for a fitting. Well, that is when I discovered that 9” for the armhole bind off for the straps was about 4” too short for me! The front of the tank rested in an uncomfortable place around my neck and the armholes were cutting off arm circulation. So, either I misunderstood the pattern or those girls in the book are very short from armpit to the shoulder! I ripped back and lengthened the straps and tried it on again. Much better. Then I sewed up the sides again. Ok, still too short – I didn’t want this thing riding up and exposing my tummy, so I added a couple of inches to one side – pretty good. And then the bind off. Perfect. Then to finish the back the same way, sew up the sides and ta-dah! A lot of my anguish could have been avoided if I had only MEASURED the distance from my armpit to my shoulder! And likewise - the distance from my waist to where I wanted the tank to end. A dressmaker’s mannequin might have helped also so maybe Mr. Twisted and I will attempt to make one of those home grown ones soon. It would be a lot easier to pin things on a dummy who isn’t me since it seems such a hassle to keep putting things on waste yarn and trying on etc.