Eleven Stitches

Whisper

This is my newest cardigan, and I love it!

Pattern: Whisper Cardigan by Hannah Fettig, from Interweave Knits 2009
Yarn: Newton's Yarn Country Cashmere
Needles: US 7, US 4, and US 2
Time to Knit: April 20 (ish?) - May 5
Modifications: Um, none.  That's kind of weird for me.

A few years ago, I accidentally won a blog contest and acquired a cone of hot pink laceweight yarn.  It's cashmere and soft, but I wasn't sure what to do with it.  I'm not very into lace or shawls, and I didn't think that if I did want to knit a lace shawl, I would want it to be hot pink!  I'm happy to see that there are a lot of laceweight sweater patterns now available, because laceweight sweaters are so very nice.

The pattern is mainly knit on size US 7 needles.  The US 4's are used for ribbing, and the US 2's are used for only 3 rows to create a gather across the back.  I think some people are intimidated by this pattern because they see laceweight and they assume it's mostly on size 2s.  It's not, and the knitting is airy and quick!

You can read a little more about the construction of the sweater here.  One thing I didn't realize before I knit the sweater was the bottom front kind of wings out with increases every other row.  I wasn't a big fan of this detail before the sweater was blocked, but now I kind of like how the sweater curls up at the sides.  I wonder if the front was knit straight (without the increases) if the sweater would curl up towards the back instead of having a small curl right at the side.

I wore this sweater today with a skirt in 70-degree weather, and it wasn't too hot.  I love how lightweight it is, and the drape makes it feel pretty and fancy. 

I love this sweater!  If you've thought about making one, I hope this post pushes you over the edge.

Owls!

At long last, my Owls cardigan!  I've had it finished for several days, but I couldn't stand the thought of wearing it during the recent heat wave. Fortunately, today was a breezy, beautiful day that is ideal for blog photographs.

Pattern: Owls by Kate Davies
Yarn: Green Mountain Spinnery's Green Mountain Green, 5 skeins exactly (funny that: I thought I was going to run out, not realizing that I had a whole 'nother skein left)
Needles: US 10
Time to Knit: April 3 - April 10
Time to Put on 56 Buttons: An entire sick day's worth of chair sitting, after two weeks of procrastination
Modifications: Modified for gauge, cardiganized, short-sleeved

I think this sweater is so cute!  I decided to play up the cuteness factor by adding some mismatched buttons to the mix. I love the look of mismatched (but similar) buttons, and I plan on doing it again sometime soon! I think the purple and blue are such a nice contrast to the yellow. 

I think that, perhaps, this is the last time I knit a sweater with this yarn.  I do love it, but it is rather thick, and sweaters knit with thinner yarn tend to work better for me.  The short sleeves do alleviate some of the thick (and warm!) yarn problems on this particular piece.

Out in the non-knitting world, I needed to explain that the motifs on the sweater were owls.  But it is a rather attractive decoration even without having that bit of information! 

This sweater puts all of the waist shaping in the back of the sweater.  I knit it as specified because I was curious about how this would turn out.  I probably won't choose to do this placement of shaping again.  The sweater seems to have extra fabric in the back, especially after the increases for the bust. It could be that I needed a little less ease in general!

I think that this will be a very wearable sweater next fall.  It will add warmth (but not too much), and the yellow and the cuteness will be a guarantee to cheer up my day!

Amelia

Do I think my new cardigan looks great?  Yes, I do!

Pattern: Amelia by Laura Chau from Knitty
Yarn: Brooks Farm Mas Acero, 2.5 skeins
Needles: US 7 for the main body, US 8 for garter stitch areas
Time to Knit: March 19 - April 2
Modifications: I decided to lengthen the body by 1 inch, and I did that by adding an inch in the waist ribbing area.  I put the top button in the collar.  (I was due for another buttonhole when I bound off for the collar shaping. )  I also shortened the sleeves to 3/4 length (sort of-- see below).

I didn't pay this cardigan much attention when it first came out on Knitty.  But as pretty versions kept popping up on Ravelry, I gave it a few more looks.  I think it's a great, simple cardigan pattern.  The waist "shaping" is accomplished by some 1x1 twisted ribbing, which is both simple and smart.  On the day I wore it to work, I got no "That's pretty, did you knit that?" comments, which is I assume because no one realized it was hand made.  It looks like a store sweater.  Sometimes, that's not a good thing, but in this case, I think it's just right.

I do love the buttons I chose.  When I bought this yarn, I knew I wanted to pair it with silver buttons.

The yarn is a wool, silk, rayon blend.  It feels good in my hands, although it was splitty.  I forgave it.  I think the blend makes this sweater a little lighter-weight.

My plan was to make the sleeves 3/4 length.  It seems like they are perhaps more 7/8 length.  I am considering just rolling up the (reversible) garter stitch cuff and seaming it that way.  It appears that in the picture below, the right sleeve is unrolled and the left is rolled up.

This is my April NaKnitSweMoDo sweater, which is pretty sweet since I finished it on April 2nd!

I really, really like this sweater.  I think it will be a great, simple addition to my wardrobe! 

Violette-le-duc

I finished Violette a while ago now, and I wasn't sure about how much I liked it.  So it sat in a laundry basket for a long time, until Jeannine sent me a very nice note yesterday asking me if I could share any more pictures.  A little sheepishly I tried it on again, and I discovered that I think I do like the sweater after all.

Pattern: Violette-le-duc from Norah Gaughan Vol. 3
Yarn: Berroco Inca Gold in Rojo, 8 skeins  and Briar Rose Abundance, a small quantity
Needles: US 4 and US 7
Time to Knit: January 4 - February 16
Modifications: None

I think the big ribbed collar is what has me unsure about the fit.  One one hand, big ribbed collars are awesome.  On the other, this collar can sometimes flop around funny.  I also don't really like the way the sweater looks fastened-- there's too much obvious stretching going on. 

I'm not sure why my sweater has short sleeves.  It looks like other finished sweaters have longer sleeves, but I also feel like I followed the directions and the schematics in the pattern.  I also have two more skeins than I needed.... 'tis a mystery.  Fortunately, I think short-sleeved sweaters are great for my work (long sleeved ones are often too hot), so I'm happy.

I do like the silhouette this sweater gives.  I think it's flattering on me.  I adore the yarn. Seriously, I really love it and I think you should try it!  It's soft and springy like a superwash, but it doesn't have some of those annoying qualities of superwash yarn (more on that another day). It's got a vibrarnt color, and the silk gives it just a small amount of sheen. 

I like the substitution I made on the edging yarn as well.  I looked at some of the Berroco Lumina colors, but I am just not a shimmery yarn kind of girl.  Even for edging.

And finally, for those of you who are curious about wearing the sweater like it is pictured in the booklet, I have to say that's a solid no.  I have no idea why they left it styled that way.  It's totally misleading for how the sweater actually looks (which is cute) and I feel certain that the model would have looked silly wearing it upside down if she moved at all.  In fact, you can see a big fold of fabric if you look closely at the pattern picture.

It's a wearable and cute sweater, but just not as advertised.

Baby Cables and Big Ones Too

I've gotta say, the lack of sunlight has been killing my blogging recently.  I've thought about blogging almost every evening this week, but it's so hard to get a good indoor sweater picture!  I asked David to snap a few photos today, so I can now show you my finished NaKniSweMo sweater!

Pattern: Baby Cables and Big Ones Too (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Tess Designer Yarns Silk & Ivory, 1.5 skeins
Needles: US 6
Time to Knit: November 14- 30
Modifications: I left off the last cable on the sleeves, because it would have made the sleeves too long.

The yarn I chose for this sweater was a heavy fingering in 50/50 silk/wool.  I was worried that it was too thin to knit on size 6 needles, but the fabric I got is very nice.  It feels more like a store-bought sweater (you know, the machine-knit ones with impossibly thin threads) than a wooly handknit, and it's a nice change.  Since my gauge was a little tighter than recommended, I made the next-larger size and it fits very nicely.

The pattern was very straightforward and it was a nice knit.  I got a little tired of purling to make the garter stitch yoke, but by the time I was really sick of it the pattern switched to stockinette.  I do think the yardages listed are way more than you need.  The two skeins of yarn I got was 300 yards less than recommended for my size, but I still had about half a skein left over when I was done.  I'm glad I didn't buy a third skein to get me to the recommended yardage!

I wasn't sure if I would make the NaKniSweMo deadline since I got started so late, but I had a lot of time to knit over Thanksgiving break.  I ended up finishing it up on the evening of November 30th, and I wore it on December 1 when I was flying back home.

My daylight is waning, so I'm off to take some more pictures of knitting.  Perhaps I'll blog more than once this week!

Long Overdue: Beet Sweater

So remember last February when I dyed yarn with beets?  And then I started knitting a sweater with it right away?  The sweater knitted up fairly quickly, but when the clocks sprang forward in March, I suddenly lost all interest.  It was too hot outside for a sweater like this!  Now that there's a definite chill in the air, this sweater has suddenly become interesting again. 

Pattern: My own, based on an EZ seamless set in sleeve (I think, it's been awhile!)
Yarn: Green Mountain Spinnery's Green Mountain Green, 9 skeins, dyed with beets
Needles: US 9

I was feeling a little unsure about the collar of this sweater when I knit it, but I really like it folded up like this.

The sleeves are extra long for extra snuggliness, and I like the twisted rib on the cuff.

I'm definitely happy to have this sweater for the cold weather!

Rainbow Venezia

I'm so pleased to present my version of the Venezia Pullover. 

This is the hardest thing I've knit so far, and I'm so, so proud of the result. This sweater came with a lot of challenges.  First I had to adjust to starting the wrong size, then I had to rip out the sleeves because I had knit them on the wrong needles, and finally I had to match the sleeve color to the body color.  In the end, I'm happy with all of those results.  The sleeves make me happy, and I'm glad the sweater is longer than usual.  It gives me more room to show off this awesome pattern.

Pattern: Venezia Pullover by Eunny Jang, from Interweave Knits Winter 2006
Yarn: Kauni Effektgarn EQ, 2 balls and Rowan Felted Tweed in Treacle, 6 balls
Needles: US 2 and US 4
Time to Knit: September 1 - October 17
Modifications: I knit the body longer, and did a raglan yoke instead of inset sleeves. I also changed the color a little bit!

I'm so glad that I was able to get this done in time for Rhinebeck.  The feedback there was incredible, and all of you who stopped me really made my day.

When I finally finished knitting Venezia, I felt a little at a loss for what to do next.  The project was so consuming that I felt like I'd been knitting it my whole life!  I'm so happy with the sweater, and I'm glad that I can now share it with you.

PS. Oops, I'd be remiss not to show you an inside-out shot!

The Thrill of Victory

I'm happy to show you my Olympic Sweater!  I'm so happy with the outcome, and I'm thrilled that I was able to complete it on time (early, even)!

Pattern: My own
Yarn: Briar Rose Fibers' Grandma's Blessing
Needles: US 4 circulars and DPNs
Time to Knit: August 8 - 22

I had been putting off knitting this sweater for a long time because I thought that sportweight yarn would take forever to knit up.  I thought it would be a good Olympic challenge, and I imagined having to explain why I actually just got bronze or silver because I hadn't finished the sweater in time.  But seriously, the knitting went by so quickly!

I'm glad that I decided to make 3/4 length sleeves.  That, and the fact that it's a cardigan, make for a very versatile sweater.

Whitney guessed correctly that the motif would become Olympic Rings.  This was very appropriate because I admired the motifs she added in her Tour de Gansey sweater, and that was partly the inspiration for this design detail.

Also, aren't those buttons great? 

I finished the knitting on Thursday, and I sewed on the buttons on Friday.  It was nice to finish up without stressing about time!

Remember how I had to add a steek to the back to take out some bulk?  I can tell where it is in this picture if I look for it, but I'm guessing that most people wouldn't notice.

So to recap: Yay!

Neglected

This little blog has been neglected, as of late.  It was necessary, but I still miss all of my blog friends.  Thanks for all of the support this week. It was very touching to me, and (more importantly) to David. Our little corner of the internet is a wonderful place.

I finished two sweaters over a month ago that I've neglected to post about until now.  The first is one I've mentioned several times as it was in progress. 

Pattern: my own, which I called Improvisational Tweed
Yarn: Jo Sharp Aran Silkroad Tweed (red) and Kathmandu Aran Tweed (purple)
Needles: US 8

I knew early this year that I wanted to do something with this yarn. After spending a lot of time on Ravelry browsing sweaters, I had an idea of what I wanted. I didn't really do much planning beforehand; I just cast on and went for it.  It's knit bottom-up, but I provisionally cast on for the sleeves before joining the yoke, and then knit the sleeves down after it was finished.

The sleeves are seamlessly set-in using Elizabeth Zimmerman's method in the Knitter's Almanac.  I still don't think I understand this method at the very end-- things tend to get a bit wonky.  But this version is better than the last time I tried it!

I used moss stitch to give me some texture once I got to the yoke.  I like the effect, and it's repeated on the lower part of the sleeves as well.

It's a comfortable sweater, and I've enjoyed wearing it this winter.

I apologize that I haven't blogged about this second sweater before, but you see, the last time I worked on it was before I started blogging. You have one of those sweaters, right?  This one I got all the way to the neck, and abandoned it.  I felt bad that it was knit on size 11 needles, and that I spent so much money on the yarn. I was certain it wasn't going to be flattering.

I finally decided this year that I didn't care if it was flattering or not, the sweater should be finished.

Pattern: I got this pattern from elann.com in 2006, and it does not appear to be on their website any more.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky
Needles: US 11

It's chunky and oversized, and it's incredibly warm and comfortable.  It's not something I'd wear on a hot date, but when the world is all yucky outside and all I want to do is take a nap?  This is the sweater.

Cowl Top

Finally, finally, I finished up my Cowl Top from Morehouse Merino.  This vest was the first thing I started knitting after Rhinebeck, and then it sat for a very long time after the great sleeve disaster.

After all of your suggestions, I blocked the vest, and it draped beautifully.  But the sleeves were still too big.  I finally pulled out my sewing machine (there was no way I wanted to rip this back and re-knit it!) and made a seam to make the sleeves smaller.  I had a little bit of trouble with this as the bottom part fed through faster than the top did, and I had to rip out a few times.  I should have pulled out my walking foot, but I ended up using my fingers to feed the fabric through to my satisfaction.  After I was satisfied with the fit, I cut off the extra fabric.

To give you an idea of what I had to do, here's a small schematic. 

I sewed across the red lines.  This really changed the shape of the sleeves, and didn't make them look quite so... dramatic.  I really had no idea what I was getting into with this pattern.  The schematic is not what you would expect to see.  It was a picture of the modeled sweater with numbers drawn over top of it.  If I had realized that the sleeves looked like the above, I might have done something about it sooner.

The end result, however, is an oversized, cozy top.  I wouldn't have chosen to have all of the frustration, but I do like the top now that it's done.

Pattern: CowlTop from Morehouse Farms
Yarn: Morehouse Merino 3 strand, 7 skeins
Needles: US 9

PS:  My blog got some love recently.  A post to pass it on is coming soon!