We've got a big family vacation to Florida coming up, and I found this free pattern hiding in my Ravelry library last week and probably got a little over-zealous. It's a perfect swimsuit coverup, am I right?! Anyway, I realized I had some sport weight cotton that might work so I came home to swatch on Friday. After discovering that my gauge with the sport weight was right on (with anticipation of a little stretching out when I block it) I went into emergency vacation knitting mode. Well, here and there. Knitting is a little sparser these days what with a garden to weed and bees to stare at (wouldn't have it any other way).

One detail I really like about this top is the rounded hem on the front and back, which reminds me of a raglan baseball tee. I'm making it a size larger so it will be nice and breezy rather than fitted, to wear around the pool or walking over to the beach. The pattern is Villeneuve, which is free on Ravelry, and my yarn is Knit Picks Shine Sport in Crocus. Are you working on any summer projects?

Ines! After holding on to the Manos Del Uruguay Serena collection booklet for a couple of years, I finally put this short sleeved top first on my knitwear queue earlier this summer. With reverse stockinette and US 6 (and later US 9) needles, it knits up pretty fast and is perfect for your mindless movie watching knitting. The yoke is shaped with short rows that are also simple enough to breeze through without much concentration. My numbers did come up a little off with the last section of short rows, but it was consistent on both sides, front and back, so I decided it wasn't really something to worry about. The fit overall turned out great and I might even consider making one in another color someday.

The pattern calls for Manos Del Uruguay Serena yarn, which has quite a bit of alpaca in it. Since I wanted to make a summer top out of this, I went with a strictly plant fiber yarn for my project since me in alpaca garments and Oklahoma's summers don't really get along. The humidity here is insulation enough without adding the magical warmth of alpaca (soft and enticing though it may be). As an alternative, I used Knit Picks Shine Sport in Macaw. My smaller gauge didn't end up causing any problems, and the top still fits comfortably loose despite the difference.

Top - Manos Del Uruguay Ines top knitted with Knit Picks Shine Sport; Shorts - Ruche; Tights - Hansel From Basel; Shoes - Shoemint