Dawn!

Backstory Done and Done!

Pattern: Dawn from Kim Hargreave's Nectar
Yarn: GGH Linova - 6 skeins
Needles: US 5 and US 6
Exposition: Well the Dawn has finally arrived!

What to say about this little shrug? It came together so quickly, it's almost like it didn't happen. Like it just magically appeared. Amazing! And now that it's all done I'm excited for an opportunity to wear it.

I had my issue with the collar, but was able to fix it with just a few hours frogging and knitting. Attaching the collar to the back edging was another story. The garter has give and the lace is loose and floppy, so trying to fit one to the other worked out, but caused a little bit of a gathered look at center back. It does lay flatter when pulled up, so it's not anything that's bothering me. I also think that a good wash and block will fix it.

The pattern was pretty easy to follow and it knit up very quickly. My initial concern was about how tight the ribbing would be around my waist, but it seems to be fitting okay - dare I say loosely [I think I blocked it out a bit too much]. Now my concern is stabilizing the wonky button band. The garter is pretty stretchy and therefore I'm having trouble figuring out where exactly to attach the buttons. I don't want any funky pulling [as you can see at the bottom, it's already curling] so I'd like to get it to lay flat and behave. I might have to sew something to the backside or add a hook an eye to give it a little extra stability.

Speaking of buttons - I love the buttons I found at Joanns this afternoon. They are La Mode Vintage - a collection of buttons recreated from their archives. I first saw this pretty leaf style, but unfortunately, it didn't look right on Dawn. These were next ones I picked up and they were perfect! Oh, I love them so!

I love them so much, you might see them appear on another garment in the not too distant future - or maybe I'll have to go back and get those leaf buttons...

Overall, I'm really happy with how Dawn turned out. I'm going to give it a good washing which will hopefully snap the ribbing back a bit, figure out a solution for the band and attach the buttons accordingly. WHOO HOO!