At least it's not a tank

As I traveled to Maryland, I struggled with what project I should take with me. I knew I wouldn't have the right concentration for Urban Aran and I wanted to take a break from the size 3's for "The Dress". So, what to take?

Well, last year while in DC I bought a few balls of Calmer from Stitch DC . I just wanted to try it and thought I might make a scarf. But then the yarn just sat in stash. When I came across it during stash organization I decided to give myself a design challenge. The requirements of my challenge were:

1. To make something using the 3 balls of Calmer that I had and wouldn't require that I buy anymore.
2. Didn't have any ribbing.
3. Wasn't a tank top.



My idea was a tube top. I was inspired by the fact that I had just discovered the joys of a good strapless bra and tube tops the previous summer. The first idea involved ribbon and buttons but I reduced the idea down to this.



Buttons but no ribbon. Since I didn't want ribbing to hold it up I had 2 choices. The first was to make a folded hem and encase some elastic or make a band with a button closure. I decided on the band because it was more decorative then a plain folded hem.

Since I knew this was mostly stockinette in the round, it made for a good travel project. I finished it yesterday. The hem went through several revisions. The first being a simple bind off that rolled. Then a folded hem which puckered and rolled. Finally I settled on a switch to a needle that was 2 sizes larger for 2 rounds and then a bind-off. This helped stop it from rolling. These pics are pre-blocking so I hope to have better ones after it dries.

I like giving myself design challenges. The next one will involve this.





It's Red Heart Lustre Sheen (which I think has been discountinued). Perfect for Project Spectrum.I'm realizing that none of my summer knits are really work-appropriate so my next challenge is to keep this one summery but work appropriate, which means no lace. And I want embossed leaves on it. I'm intrigued with doing a leaf pattern on something and since this is green, it should work out perfectly.