Knit Cute

Much more quickly then I would have imagined, honestly. In less then two weeks, I’ve finished the back and the first front piece with very little time put into it.

I don’t believe it will take anywhere near the amount of yarn I originally imagined, either. It should have taken between 1100-1200 yds, I’m thinking I can do it all in 2 skeins of Smooshy which would put it in the 900 yd range.

The first picture is more color accurate, but this gives a better idea of the pretty varigations in the yarn. It reminds me very much of sea glass and it’s quite lovely to look at.

Finished! Minus the three buttons I need to go purchase and sew onto the bottom. I thought 15 would be enough, but I’d be wrong, wouldn’t I?

Overall, very happy with the results of this knit. It fits now–stretches a bit over the belly but that’s fine as I won’t be pregnant forever –and it’s light enough that I should be able to wear it in the “cold” Texas winters. And it makes me smile everytime I try it on to boot. Which in my book makes it a GREAT knit. I’d like to do another one some other time, maybe in a more neutral color or just another color, period. It makes me feel cute. (Yes, I realize I’m not smiling in the picture, it’s about the sweater, not me and DH didn’t warn me he was taking it at that moment. HA.)

So onto the next project. I originally picked up 5 skeins of this super yummy Dream In Color Smooshy in Beach Fog to make a Thermal, but realized that once again, I will almost never wear it as Texas doesn’t get cold enough. BOO. Now, it’s becoming a Tempest from Knitty, which I think I’ll get more wear out of and I can even work on it despite having a huge bowling ball in my stomach. The fingering weight of the yarn should keep me busy for some time as well…just wasn’t in the mood for small projects quite yet so I thought I’d take on another cardigan before using up some random skeins of yarn. I got the first ball wound tonight, should cast on tomorrow, Toddler permitting.

This is the point I was at last night, about two sets of increase rows before I put the sleeves onto waste yarn and started the body. Didn’t get too much further along, about 6 rows before I called it a night. I haven’t worked on the sweater yet today, but I think I’ll hit the waist shaping no problem in a short time. My mind is starting to wander to buttons and what I should do about those, as well as sleeve length. In order to get the most wear out of my sweater now and in the near future, long sleeves are a no-go, 3/4 sleeves likely will not fare much better. I think I’ll do a longer short sleeve so that I can wear my Wicked even in the balmy Southern winters.
Turns out I didn’t need to increase past the L size for the pattern and I think I even came out a couple of stitches shy of that. Pattern really does run on the large size. (Good thing to keep in mind for my other Zephyr patterns I’ll work on later in the year –> next year.)
Have a new sweater crush, strangely enough, from the same woman who wrote out how to convert the Wicked Pullover into a cardigan and seeing hers was what made me have to make mine. http://www.flintknits.com/blog/?p=151 She converted Elizabeth Zimmermann’s “Baby Sweater on Two Needles,” from Knitter’s Almanac into an adult sweater, and what a sweet sweater it is! I think some Dream in Color in Happy Forest is in my future. Serious sweater crush happening over here.

(Picture was taken a couple of days ago.)
My wicked cardigan it coming along more quickly then I would have originally imagined. Been working at a pace of ~ 100 yards per day since the night I cast on–at this rate, I’ll finish the entire sweater in the next 6-7 days. I am quickly finishing my third skein of the Artyarns Supermerino and almost finished with the ragalan increases. It is also becoming easier to work on and causing me less anxiety since it is looking like it will turn out lovely when finished. It’s much easier to to use a treasured yarn when you know things are looking good for the final product.
I am very happy with the pattern so far: it’s well written and easy to adapt and change if need be. Tentatively, it’s looking like I’ll be making a size somewhere between the L and XL; the beauty of a top-down is that I can do that and do not foresee any problems it will cause. There’s an ~ 40 stitch difference between the two and I’m thinking I may need to do only a couple of extra increase rounds from the large size, maybe hitting the middle of the two numbers. The ribbing down the front gives enough extra stretch that I shouldn’t need to increase to the XL size or else it may become too loose for my liking. (I’m also assuming the button band will give me just a little more give on top of that.) I’m liking this pattern so much that it makes me all the less anxious to use my other patterns from the Zephyr Gals–I’m liking this one so much that I may do it again in the future with another color. Now I just need to learn how to do shortrows for bust shaping so I can cast on for a size that will fit me correctly as their patterns are known to run a bit big.
So far, so good. I’m already trying to line-up what my next project will be and keep working on clearing out my tote. I may do another sock project or two as they seem to take about as much time as a sweater does…though I do have some fingering and sport weight yarns that I keep changing my mind about what to do with them. I bought some SWTC aMAIZing to make a sweater for DD due in September, but I’d like to wait on making her project until closer to her due date or right after she’s born so I get a better feel for which size will get more wear out of it.
And because I’m always thinking ahead, I’ve already started on a project list for 2009. (Sort of had to as my pregnancy killed all my pull-over projects that I already had yarn for.)
Pullovers:
Green Gable (Already have the Cotton Fleece for)
Rusted Root1 with collar mods (Already have the Cotton Fleece for)
Rusted Root2 with collar mods (Already have the Cotton Fleece for)
Cardigans:
Cables and Os (Looking to buy some Knitpicks Cotlin for this one in a newer colorway)
Dinosaur Hoodie for DS (need to decide on fiber and app. amounts)
And I’m sure I’ll have random small projects inbetween. I also plan to make another pullover for DH, but I need to give more thought as to which pattern I for sure want to make for him.

No blog for May, whoops. Oh well, at least I’m trying to avoid four months without an update again. Had another vacation back home, which always puts a kink in the works for a bit. Well, back to updating, I’ve been busy even if I haven’t been blogging about my projects.

I’ve been trying very hard to focus on clearing out pre-existing yarn in my tote and have had some success. Now I have quite a few partial balls of yarn rather then full project amounts–not sure what I’ll eventually do with all of those. (Also had a very small yarn splurge while back home–it’s a tradition, what can I say? We have no LYS around here and I like to go in even if I can’t resist the temptation to buy a little something.–and added two new skeins of TOFUtsies and enough corn yarn to my stash to make a sweater for our little girl due in September. So really, much less was added then I’m using but I definitely have not been keeping my yarn diet resolution as I ought to. Dieting resolutions, regardless of kind, seem destined to fail.)

Finished my Minimalist Cardigan and am overall pretty pleased with it. It fits really well except in the shoulder area where the arm seams fall too far over my actual shoulder and make it look a bit schlumpy. This has been a chronic issue for me with sweaters as to get the bust measurement I need, the shoulder area is usually far too big. At least with a top-down I know how to remedy the issue, but I have to learn how to alter armholes for other sweater types. One of these days, I need to buy a good book on sweater construction and learn how to do more aggressive altering. As I said though, I am happy with it and can’t wait for it to be a bit cooler so I can wear my sweater around more.

After finishing my Minimalist, I decided to finally use the skein of Jade Sapphire Maju Silk I purchased on one of my last two trips back home at MIL’s shop of choice, The Knitting Tree. As I had only 85 yards, I made a modified version of Elizabeth Miller’s “Little Green Clutch” from Interweave’s Holiday issue this past year. I was pretty happy until I got to the actual finishing part. If I make the pattern again, I’m altering the finishing directions so that the ucky looking seams are on the inside where they belong and my bag has a more neat appearance. Also, I think the order given to sew in the zipper and lining should be done differently to make it easier to make it all nice and neat, rather then after the knitting was seamed to make the actual bag. As a small bag to hold knitting accessories, it works just fine. Not sure I’d buy the yarn ever again as it was shedding quite a bit as I knit and wasn’t the easiest to work with. Very pretty though and I love to admire the sheen. Hey, I even found a use for a fat quarter of my quilting fabric stash that had a shade of teal that matched the yarn perfectly. Look Mom, I used fabric! Right before midmonth and our trip, I started the pattern for the first TOFUtsies yarn I purchased from Yarnmarket over a year ago. This is the yarn that started my obsession and love affair with TOFUtsies limited edition colors. It is all the more lovely in person, especially the stockinette sections of the socks. The first sock, I erred on the side of making it a bit too short again, but on the second one, I think I finally figured out where to start the toe decreases. As the yarn stretches with wear, I’m not worried and the two fit just fine. After they’re on, no one is any the wiser. Working this pattern cemented an aesthetic philosophy for me: intricate patterns need plain yarn to highlight their beauty and beautiful varigated yarn deserves a more simple pattern to show off its colorway. Try to mix the two and you end up with a sock that you can’t see the pattern for nor truly appreciate the yarn. Just my humble lil’ opinion, but I think I’m going to stick to it in the future. I’d like to use this pattern again in the future, but in a plain yarn so you can really see the intricate pattern and the way the ribbing branches and the shapes it makes.

And finally, it’s the yarn from the last post. Last night, I took the plunge and gathered all my courage to start my Wicked cardigan. Today, I had to fight with myself for almost a half hour to actually cut the yarn and start the second ball. I had some serious anxiety about it, as silly as that sounds. So far, so good and I’m already almost twice as far as the picture shows. Would have been further along, but I realized 4 rows after the ribbing that I had completely spaced bringing the three twisty ribs down the fronts where the button bands will be. Being the genius I am at times, I thought it surely could not take longer to drop all the stitches down four rows and pick them back up then it would take to rip everything out and reknit. Note to self: ripping would have gone much faster and had neater results. Lesson learned.

Or how just a few thoughts can turn into a full length ramble. I’m really trying my best to get back on the knitting blog bandwagon here, so bear with me.

Finished my second pair of socks just over two weeks ago.

The picture isn’t the best, but I had a very hard time trying to get a decent one of these for whatever reason. I used Knitpick’s Essential and for as nice as it felt to work with–and the wonderful price–I can’t say I’m in love with it. I found it to be even more splitty then the TOFUtsies and that says alot. The socks also do not have the same light feel my other pair do and I think I’m developing a fiber preference for foot garments. I did a basic ribbed pattern and probably could have done another two rounds before I had started my toe decreases. Overall though, I’m happy with them, but they’re definitely not my favorite socks.

As hard as I tried, I still could not ressurect the Central Park Hoodie and I’ve reconciled myself with the fact that it’s going on indefinite hiatus–if it’s ever worked on again. When having a discussion with my husband last night, my true feelings about it finally came out: I really like how it looks and all, but learning more about the yarn I used, I realize that it’s not practical for that knit and it’s going to stretch and grow on me. I spent so little on the yarn for it as it was, that I can’t really feel bad about using it as a practice piece. I was already trying to scheme ways to save most of it and not use it as a sweater. Maybe make it part of a pillow or something? I dunno, we’ll have to see what the future holds for it. For now, I’ve told myself to just accept that I don’t want to finish it and to stop trying to pressure myself to feel otherwise about it. You can’t force a feeling.

On the 17th, I finally cast on one of my cardigan patterns that I have in my stash tote. Despite having to leave four pull-overs’ worth of yarn in it, I can at least clear out the couple of cardigans I have yarn for. That way when I go to buy more yarn next year, I will still have room to accomodate a couple. Hehe, that’s what I’m telling myself anyway: as long as it isn’t more then the tote can hold, I do not have too much yarn. Hubby doesn’t really agree with that line of thought, but one of these days I may scare him by showing him some of the monstrous stashes other women on Ravelry have…perhaps that would give him perspective and make him realize that having one small tote is by no means excessive. If we had the means, I could easily fill a small room or large closet with all the pretties I covet! But all in due time.

Learned an interesting lesson in a less-then-pleasant way about my knitting with this latest project. I was informed that I do not purl correctly and that is why my stockinette looks like this.

I had always heard the term, “twisted stitches” and never bothered to look up what it meant, because I assumed it was something more sinister and noticeable then what was going on with my own knitting. I always thought it was merely a tension issue and had even accepted it as it was. Long story short, I’ve corrected how I wrap my yarn to purl and my stitches are all nice and neat and as they should be and discovered my tension while purling is just fine.

That is part of my minimalist cardigan for myself. After thirteen days of working on it, I am mostly finished and need only finish the sleeves and then block the border.

So far, it is fitting me better then any other sweater attempt to date: for reasons unknown, I can make a sweater to fit anyone else just fine, but have me try to make one for myself and I can’t make it fit to save my life. (Well, not entirely true, but may as well be: so far no sweater I’ve made for myself has been wearable in all parts of it. Usually, the sleeves are the guilty party. Dear pattern makers: not all women have thin arms. If you could find it in your hearts to include instructions on how to make them a larger size and how to alter the arm hole accordingly, you’d make me and a lot of others out there very happy.) My luck seems to have changed with this one and I’m so pleased about it. I’m using Cascade 220 Superwash in a lovely teal color and am very happy with the yarn. I will definitely use Cascade again. It’s relatively affordable and comes in so many colors. It feels a little rough, but I suspect with a good soak it will soften right up. I haven’t had any splitting issues with it, though as one negative I will say that the center-pull ball it comes in tangles and knots alot. Some balls have been fine, one was horrible and had a knot so bad it took me a half hour just to get it out so I could keep working.

At the rate I’m working, I’m tempted to say that in ten days’ time, I’ll be finished with this knit and well on my way to working on a few small projects again, including more socks. I can not wait to work with TOFUtsies and make myself another pair of socks from it. After that, I’m going to do my best and be brave and cast on for my second cardigan project. I may have jinxed myself by purchasing a yarn so lovely that I am scared to use it. (That and it’s the most I’ve spent on yarn for myself to date. Definitely not as much as I could have spent and wanted to, but enough that I can’t just laugh it off as practice like I did with the CPH.) The aforementioned talk with my husband is where this came up and he told me, in not so many words, to suck it up and work on it anyway: the yarn isn’t doing anything sitting in my tote and if worse comes to worst, I can always buy new yarn and try again. Fair enough, dear husband, fair enough.

I will leave you all with a picture of the offending yarn: Artyarns Supermerino. Hopefully by this time next month, or soon after, it will be turning into a sweater. I’m making a Wicked cardigan, oh yes I am.

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Anywho! The CPH is going very well. Not quite as fast as I would have liked since I had to rip back several times on this project. Unusual for me as I’m usually stubborn and insist I can make it work. But I am very happy overall with the results. Been taking notes on what I’ll change when I do this sweater or one like it again in a winter-appropriate fiber. (Current one is being made in KnitPicks Shine Worsted-a cotton/modal blend. Very soft but not the warmest. Has lovely stitch definition as can be seen in the pictures.) I’m considering lining this one as well since I dislike being able to see the wrong side of the sweater and it would give it just a little more chill protection.
Things to change when I make again:
-Knit body as one piece instead of three. Seaming turned out well but it was difficult to make all three pieces exactly the same length and the exact same gauge. Also, do not bind off shoulder tops and graft or 3 needle bind off instead of seaming. I think it would look neater that way.
-Knit sleeves from the top-down picking up stitches instead of knitting from the bottom up and then seaming. It was very difficult to get the sleeves right and that’s one of my problems with this current sweater. Altered to cut 1.25″ out of the sleeve as it was and it’s still far too long, though not as bad as it could have been. At the very least, I’ll knit them in the round next time for more accurate fit and remember the sleeve cap is absurdly long. (On this same note, must alter shoulder in the body to not be so wide, seams hit too far out on arm. Minor detail but one I noticed.)
-Knit with an easier to block fiber to ease with any seaming that may remain. Shine worsted did not block at all making things a bit tricky at times.
Those things may seem sort of big, but in reality, they’re pretty small points and issues.
Sweater is almost finished, but probably won’t be before another trip home. Should have the second sleeve finished and seamed tonight and may be able to start on the hood. First priority while home is making a Minimalist Cardigan for my mother. Can’t wait to start that one, the yarn is lovely and I’m excited to do a new stitch. My projects for others seem to turn out better then ones for myself and I think I could use a break for a week or two.
So here is the first–and long overdue–post of 2008. I’m pretty excited to see what this year brings.

My vacation home has left me overwhelmed and trying to get back into my usual routine. Still not ready to do regular blog updates again or knitting for that matter. (So sad, I’ve only knit a few rows on my latest project in the last week. Between being sick and everything else, I just can’t concentrate to do it right now.) That, and while home, I realized that I much prefer knitting when I have someone to talk to while I’m doing it. I’ve been trying to seek out a knitting group in this city. According to the phone book, this place is/was (?) a top producer of wool in the country. So WHERE are the yarn shops and knitters? Hmmm? Maybe they’re all hiding and I have to look a bit harder.