Ooh, the second post in one day: my, aren't you spoilt. I've got quite a few things to tell you, and I just couldn't wait to share more yarny updates. Look away now if you're currently experience yarn overload!

I've finally caught up with the Noni Knitalong. This week: sleeve ruffles.

Ruffles.

I'm not a ruffle-y person. Ruffles, I think, are best kept on aprons and doilies. Knitted ruffles? Ick. But the Ella Coat really does look lovely with a ruffley edge ... so I've decided to throw caution to the wind and stick to the KAL script.
















The point of this particular KAL is that we're given tweaks and interesting alternative options as we knit-along with the designer, Nora. You can see some the pattern tweaks on her blog. This week's tweak was to choose whether you wanted to stick to the ruffle from the original pattern which created a softer, slightly more subdued ruffle, or opt for the super-duper-ruffle-explosion-extravaganza she recommends for the revised pattern.

Guess which one I chose.

I had already intended to knit the ruffles (I had originally accidentally typed 'fuffles' there, but now that I think about it, it seems rather fitting) in a deep red/yellow/burgundy striped yarn which you may remember from this post. As you can see above, that yarn has been swiftly replaced by some rather attractive lavender-coloured Rowan Romance I picked up at the Creative Stitches show I went to two weeks ago.
















Here you can see the transition from sleeve (knitted in 'blackberry heather' colourway) to the lavender/dusty pink ruffle. I un-picked the first two rows of the sleeve and re-knitted them with an additional strand of pink mohair (pre-strung with size 8/0 czech glass beads) which I carried on through the body of the ruffle. The beads are an assortment of lilacs and purples, and you can really only see the darker ones in the picture above.
















The colours go together really well, and you can see the beads a bit better in this picture. Now, I just need to be brave enough to wear something pink and ruffley out of the house! I originally made purple owl buttons for this coat, but I think I'm going to reconsider my purpley choice and opt for something to break all these purple hues. Green pea pods, perhaps?