OUR STORE: SHOP HERE

ILONA ANDREWS

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author

You are here: Home / Blog / Birthday Yarn and a Crop Top

Birthday Yarn and a Crop Top

Blog, Fun, Knitting etc POST A COMMENT by

In December Gordon ordered me some yarn for my birthday from Always and Forever. It didn’t arrive in time for my birthday. It didn’t arrive a couple of weeks later. I was slightly bummed out, and Gordon emailed the shop on January 14 only to find out that my yarn and everybody’s yarn was stuck at the post office limbo. Apparently roughly 50 orders had gotten stuck in processing.

Finally, the birthday yarn arrived!

Squueee! So pretty!

I just finished a project. I know, I know, don’t faint all at once.

It’s a cute little crop top for Kid 1. The pattern is Ripple Crop Top Worsted by Jessie Maed Designs. I used one strand of Lana Grossa Silk Hair Hand-Dyed mohair in Taj colorway and one strand of Juniper Moon Findley in white held together. The sweater is unbelievably soft. Kid 1 stole it before I could block it.

It’s a perfect Texas pattern: warm but light. Size S took exactly one ball of mohair, but I have quite a bit of Findley left over.

So now on to the important question: what to knit next with my awesome birthday yarn? It would be a bit too loud for a cardigan, so perhaps a shawl?

Option 1: Fallston by Dee O’Keefe.

@Dee O’Keefe

I’ve been wanting to take a stab at this pattern forever, but I am pretty sure there is too much variegation in the skeins I have.

Option 2: Xanthe by Amba O’Brien.

@Amba O’Brien

Lace section in blue, alternating the other two skeins for the garter?

Option 3: Quicksilver by Melanie Berg.

@ Melanie Berg

I’ve made this before. It an easy knit.

Option 4: Tablature by Rosemary Hill.

@ Designs by Romi

Option 5: Tell me in the comments?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I like 2 for the skeins you received. The lace work in blue would look smashing against the deeper tones.

    Just got a delivery myself of malabrigo – teehee!

  5. I love 4 also but I have so much yarn right now my husband would kill me if I didn’t finish what I have started first.

  7. 2 and 4 are my favorites and sooo dang stunning. All the shawls are beautiful but those two just speak to me.

  11. Glad your package arrived safely! I like option 1 and 4 for patterns. And the red, blue, white mix would be especially good combo for the option 1 pattern.

    I hear you on the post-office woes. Mailed 5 packages on 12/29 and they took 14-16 days to get there; 4 were going locally in the Denver Area! I literally could have walked them there faster…. The 5th package made it to Chicago one day later than expected. When I called the post office, the very nice lady said there was a THREE WEEK back up of local mail. 🙁

    Mailed 2 more packages on 12/31 and they arrived on 1/4. When they were supposed to. At least all included cookies that were meant to be crunchy and so didn’t appear too stale (by report). heh

    Therefore, I’m mailing Valentine day cards out tomorrow so they will get there by mid-February. Not risking cookies or chocolate this time. Who knows how desperate for snacks the USPS workers are at this point in the game?!?!

  15. I cannot look at the colors and imagine what they would look like in a finished piece. That said, I love #1 and #4. Have fun!

  16. Tablature or Fallston. I like the combination of vertical/horizontal and thin/thin on Tablature best though.

    Enjoy you yarn. It’s lovely!

  17. Really like the simplicity and elegance of Xanthe. And I’m wowed by the stripes and shape/length of Tablature but not sure about the lacy part at the bottom.
    I’m a better “devil’s advocate” than “judge!”

  19. I do not knit, but I love the colors in the first two skeins of yarn on the far left in the picture. I could see that being used in the first pattern option and picking another solid darker color for the stripes and zigzags that would either be found in the skeins like the dark gray or one that would look good with all of them like black… the contrast of dark versus bright and solid versus multi color would look great, plus it is a pattern you admitted to wanting to try.

  22. I love the first and the fourth! And it’s making me wish I could knit to make one for myself ☺️

  29. Number 4 is amazing. I am so jealous of your skill to make pretty things.
    My favorite thing to get from my mother in law who knits a lot are knitted booties/thick socks. My feet are constantly cold!

  30. The 4th one is beautiful but not for your variegated yarn. Note it works because of the high contrast of colours used. I’d actually go for an Ambah O’Brien pattern. Hers are designed with variegated yarn in mind.

  33. I’m glad your yarn arrived. These are all great options. Option Three is my favorite (toss up between one and three). What colors will you use? what character would you be channeling? Dina or Maud?

  35. #4 Tablature I like the detail. Could be I just like the colors better than the other samples.

    I ordered two batches of books and ended up contacting the companies to see what happened to them. Seems they were both “stuck” at the post office. Woke up to 3 inches of very wet snow this morning. I’m home with a cold this week. Seeing that I work at a bingo hall sounding like this is not a good thing with all this Covid crap. Oh well, I’m enjoying the time off and the naps.

  39. I think Option 4 would look really pretty with the yarns you have. (They are beautiful btw, are they wonderful to work with?). Love the crop top too. Kid 1 obviously agrees. Doesn’t that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?!

  42. Option One!! With the gorgeousness of your BD gift will be Stunning!! I’m sooooo jealous!

    Happy Knitting!

  43. Option 5:

    Summer Rain shawl and/or Destination Unknown as seen on Ravelry.

    Sorry did not know how to import pics.

  44. .. love option 2, Xanthe. simple shape with really lovely contrasting panels, and strong diagonals, always interesting.
    plus, beautiful name!

  46. You’re my favorite author/s AND you knit? Goodness, just when I thought I couldn’t love you more. And for the record, my vote goes to #1.

  47. Option 4. Looks wonderful. Has a tailored look with the pattern from the back. I don’t knit so I don’t know how easy or difficult this option is.

  56. I like that last one, number four, very much! I’m not sure how well it would work with variegated yarn, but it sure is a lovely pattern!

  57. I think option 2 will look gorgeous with your birthday yarn! I also love option 2’s design.

  60. Ilona you do a beautiful job on your knitting. Keep it up. I would like to see what you come up with when you make a Tablature in that mohair yarn you made for kid 1.

  61. Everyone seems to be going for option 4. I like option 2, I think it is because the name. It reminds me of the Xanthe world series lol

  62. Beautiful job on the crop top. My choice is to choose the project that best fits your needs to needs for getting yourself balanced in life, or gives you a challenge to your skill, or one that can just be fun to do. What ever you need in life, that is the project you should work on. Have fun and thanks for all the great books you and your husband have put out. They have been a godsend during these trying times.

  63. Tablature! It’s gorgeous and so is the yarns. I’m checking Always And Forever out; I( never heard of it. 🙂

  64. I think Option 4: Tablature by Rosemary Hill is just gorgeous!! Of course I like all of the options you showed, but my favorite would definitely be Option 4. I see all the beautiful yarn and the gorgeous things to be made, and really wish I knew how to knit! Unfortunately my Rheumatoid arthritis has hit my hands (wrists and knuckles) pretty hard and I don’t see knitting in my future. I will have to continue to live vicariously through the lovely creations of others. ????

  66. Choices, choices, choices! “Tablature” gets top billing with “Xanthe” a close second, on the wow scale. But “Xanthe” edges ahead on the tv knitting front with those garter sections. All of them look fun. Love to see your FOs!

  72. I love that you are a knitter. I have knit many a pair of socks and many shawls while listening to your wonderful books.

    I vote for option 2. Since your yarn is “busy” I think a simpler pattern will let it shine.

    Now, I need to check out Always and Forever, a new dyer to me, while my last yarn order wanders around regional postal facilities clear across the country from both the yarn shop and my home.

  74. Option #4…something I can see me wearing, especially to weddings. Hopefully it’s not too hard to make.

  75. I was looking for a new project and fell in love with tablature. Went to buy it immediately. Now comes the fun part – looking at all the pretty yarn….

  85. I am no help. I am terrified of working with fabrics as I am become a beast with two left hands and ten thumbs the second I touch it. I am also obsessed with #4 as I love the gradual pattern. I do have to say those colors have motivated me to paint with them as they are stunning!

  88. Option 5 is sooo beautiful! I mean, they’re all lovely, but 5 is a stunner. Personal opinion, I know.

  89. I chose knitting as my new hobby to learn in 2020 and it’s been so fun. I’m currently knitting a block afghan where every block is a different stitch in order to practice. I have 1 complete square, undid 1 that was almost finished because I slipped a stitch and couldn’t figure out how to fix it, and am now attempting a third that is proving it might be a little above my current ability…sigh. The learning curve is steep, but overall I am enjoying it.

    As fir your shawl options, 1 & 4 are amazing! But you may be right about the yarns you have to work with.

    Happy knitting!

  93. Tablature by Rosemary Hill, hands down my favorite. Of course you will do what appeals to you, the others are just too catalina for my taste, the tablature seems like Dina visiting maud

  94. Option 5 is perfect for birthday yarn 🙂 claims this is a duplicate post for some reason?

  95. Ooooo. 1 or 4 whichever would actually get worn and go with your yarns. Those may be the prettiest shawls I’ve ever seen

  97. Love, love, love option 4 and your beautiful birthday yarn! My 13 yo is teaching herself to knit, but I don’t have that skill so I’m impressed by all of these!

  98. I vote for option 2. Use the blue yarn with a black. Now I want to buy yarn. This isn’t your fault. Just seeing pretty yarn makes me want to buy more yarn. Sock yarn is an addiction that I just don’t want to cure.

  99. Happy belated birthday! I love the crop top- great pattern & color choice. Your yarn is gorgeous and I bet it feels amazing. I’m a knitter too so I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to share my opinion. I suggest 1. Melanie Berg’s Quicksilver (her patterns are written so well) or 2. Ambah Obrien’s Xanthe (the pattern is gorgeous & easily modified for color).

  100. I had no idea you were a knitter. Although, maybe Martha and Evdokia’s knitting should have clued me in. Take a look at my designs page on Ravelry https://www.ravelry.com/designers/helen-silva, and if there’s something you like let me know and I’ll either email you the pdf, or gift it to your library if you’re a Raveler.
    BTW, LOVE all your books. Great characters, plots, and writing style. Always look forward to your publications.