Interim Project

After the socks I decided I would make a couple of cute little matching cabled sweaters for a couple of babies I know. The project was off to a rocky start. I knew what pattern I wanted to make, having made it twice before, always with a great reception. I headed to Ravelry and made a search and found which magazine it had appeared in and turned to my magazines and... nothing. Granted, the magazine it appeared in was a one-off publication by Better Homes & Gardens and... oh... a decade old? But I have plenty of magazines that old and older. I searched and searched and came up empty.


So back to Ravelry I went. You know when you fall down a Ravelry rabbithole and you think it'll be so easy because you want something so specific but then it's three hours later and you've looked at hundreds of patterns and added ten to your queue and just can't stop hitting "next?" That. And then I found the perfectly lovely Timberline by Sarah Cooke and I was saved.


I went to my stash and discovered to my disbelief and chagrin... I didn't have any DK weight superwash in enough yardage or an appropriate color. Like with the missing magazine, I checked several times before finally admitting to myself that I needed to buy yarn. (I know you're totally sympathizing with me right now.) The point is, since I've yet to find a yarn store local to me, I had to order the yarn and because I had to order it I had to wait to start. Enter the humble ballband dishrag. I love making these but don't usually use them for their intended purpose since I find they're bad at lathering dish soap and are horrible at wiping up spills. So I just use them as a trivet, and like to admire the bright colors. This is the one printed in Mason Dixon Knitting which I believe is just the one from the Peaches and Cream ballband, I didn't compare to make sure.


The good news is my new yarn came! The bad news is I somehow don't have any US6 dpns??? Swear to god, if you looked up "hot mess" in a stitch dictionary you'd find a fair isle design of my face.

Hello, hello!

Oh my god, so much has happened since my last post! Where do I even begin.... Oh, right:

I GRADUATED!

And I wasn't content with that. I also got a new job and a new apartment, both in new neighborhoods. And you know what a new apartment (with a wood floor!) means?

Say hello to my little friend.

So everything's been coming up Marlena, AND THEN!

I got my first full-length story published! This story isn't online, though you can buy a copy of the (very good) magazine here. I also had another flash piece picked up.

AND THAT DOES NOT EVEN INCLUDE THE KNITTING, PEOPLE!

So let's talk about that. I finished that baby sweater I was working on and it turned out so cute I could hardly stand it.

Pretty cute, right? Wait'll you see who gets to wear it:

Not the cutest picture of me, but I'm banking on little Mia here to steal the spotlight. To review, this is the Eyelet Baby Cardigan by Looking Glass Knits. I used Berroco Comfort fingering weight for the ease of care and because of that beautiful, perfect lilac color. I looked at other purples and kept coming back to that one. I was a little hesitant to knit with a purely synthetic yarn but let me tell you, I loved every minute of it! It's soft, springy, and holds eyelets beautifully. I would not hesitate to pick this yarn up again.

Obviously with all of the graduating and new job getting and moving etc., it was awhile until I cast on my next project. While shopping my stash, I came across some Nezinscot Farm yarn I picked up a hundred Fryeburg Fairs ago. I believe the fiber is corriedale, no idea what the colorway might have been named. This yarn was amazing to knit! So squishy! And I didn't even block my mittens when they were done because I loooooove that sheepy smell!

Oh yeah... I dyed my hair red too.

Littler = cuter

Isn't it a little unfair how true it is that the smaller a thing is, the cuter? Pygmy animals, cars, mini pastries.... And of course, baby clothes.

I wish everyone I knew had babies on a regular basis! The projects are quick, the results are (to borrow the title of my nephews' favorite show) too cute, and babies are amazing models. Plus, there's wiggle room when it comes to size. A baby won't be offended if you hand-craft a sweater that's a bit too big. In fact, their parents will probably welcome it!
I'm probably just a few days away from finishing this little charmer, even though the baby isn't coming until June. This, my friends, may be a first. Of course, the sweater's not done yet and my typical m.o. is to get a great head start and then fall into complacency until the last minute. (Let's not talk of my thesis right now, okay?)
I've been enjoying a bit more free time as of late. I should be reading. My current book, The End of Men is overdue from the library and I'm doing my first book club in a couple weeks! We're reading The Alchemist, which has been on my list for a long time. Speaking of books! Have you pre-ordered your copy of Fit to Flatter yet? I've had a couple of quick peeks while the book was in progress and let me tell you, you want it! Great patterns, great instruction... it's no wonder Amy's classes have been so popular; she's a great teacher.
Here's hoping I at least have the body done of this little beauty this weekend. And then to make the hard choice: which booties? I usually go with Saartje's Bootees, which are fun to make and always very well received. But I've already made them a few times, and I'd sorta like to try something new. Maybe these with the sweet lace detail to echo the sweater? Or what about these? I need to stop trawling my Rav queue for booties. I WANT TO KNIT EVERYTHING!

Baaaaaabies!

Okay so first of all, whoa! Really? My last post was February 28? I know this semester was crazy, but jeez. Secondly, I finished something!

I made a Baby Surprise Jacket (my third!) for my friend Ang's new baby Irie Rose. The thing about a BSJ is that you need two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport (in this case, colorway "Bittersweet"), and you end up with a ton leftover. What to do?

Make booties! These are Saartje's Booties (rav link), which I've also made before, but come on! Look at them! So cute.
I've been dying to use this colorway ever since the first time I saw it, but could never find a way to use it. Irie's parents though are the perfect people for this bright, cheerful hue. And I loved knitting with it!
After I finally sewed on the final button, I tried my hand at crochet and yeah... still terrible. I have a friend who crochets so I'm hoping she can help me out some. This same friend I "taught" to knit, taught in quotations because it felt more like reminding a master of something they once did. I'm sure she's going to be a good teacher. WAY better than the crappy books/online tutorials I've tried. I don't know why I just can't get the hang of crochet, but even my little braid of single crochet (?) never looks right. Sigh. A the end of the program, please let me have a completed short story collection worthy of publication and the gift of crochet. I just want a gd blanket. Is that so much to ask?!
In other bloggy news, I've started a new blog for my writing endeavors. I'm hoping it'll help me land freelancing jobs. Turns out, I really like writing columns and book reviews! Check it out here!

Out with the Old, in with the New!

I finished the baby sweater the other day, just in time for the end of the Quick-Fix Knitalong. I can't believe that April is already over! If you missed the knitalong, you can find all of us over at the Quick-Fix Flickr group. Join in and post all of your quick projects! It's an awesome place for inspiration, too.

Speaking of knitalongs, you may have noticed my fancy new button for the Fitted Knits Along. Seeing as I'm making the Puff Sleeve Feminine Cardigan right now, it seemed like fun to join in with everyone else. I actually watched the knitalong for a little while before I decided to join, and seeing all of the fabulous completed projects over there is making me look through the book in a different light. I now plan to make a couple of sweater in there that I hadn't really considered.

Moving on to pictures! Like I said, I finished the baby sweater the other day and blocked it yesterday (hand wash, machine dry). I went to Jo-Ann Fabric for buttons, and was beginning to despair on ever finding cute, appropriately sized bunny buttons when I found these!

Exactly the kind of buttons I was looking for! I love that these have an old-fashioned charm, much like the sweater. I planned to make matching booties, but as it happens, I used most of the Breeze on the sweater. I was surprised that I used so much, as I used less than two balls of this same yarn on a tank top for myself last summer.



I will so definitely be making this sweet little thing again! I love the clever construction of this sweater. I love the lace pattern. I love the vintage look. The only thing I wish I had done differently is knit a selvedge on the sleeves. Other than that, perfect. The pattern is from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac, which I recommend even as general reading.

Since I finished the baby sweater, I felt it was time to start the Puff Sleeve Cardigan with a clear conscience. Because I am such a good, welll-behaved knitter, I went ahead and swatched. And swatched. And swatched.



As I suspected, my gauge with US6 needles was way off. I was getting fewer than five stitches per inch, and I needed 5.5 stitches per inch. In the middle there, I tried US5 needles, and did a larger swatch because I thought I would get gauge. Nope. Five stitches per inch. I grumbled and complained and found my US4 needles. I only did a few rows with those before realizing that I did not like knitting dk weight yarn on US4 needles, nor did I like the resulting fabric. The nail in the coffin was discovering that I was stuck on 5 stitches per inch. I had to make a choice. I could either use this yarn for something else and choose new yarn for the cardigan, or I could try something new and modify the pattern for my gauge. I chose option two.



I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. What if my math is wrong? What if I read the pattern wrong and I'm basing all of my math on the wrong measurements? I'm consoled by the fact that it's a top down sweater, so I don't have to finish it before realizing I've made an error, and the fact that the yarn I'm using is heaven to knit. I'm using Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed in Granary. Wish me luck!

I haven't done much knitting today. Actually, I've yet to do any. I finally got the gumption to haul out my sewing machine and sew up a skirt I've had cut out for weeks.



I got this far and directions said to let the skirt hang overnight. Who am I to argue? It's a perfect excuse to get back to that cardigan!

Sweet Baby Knits

I finished sleeve number two on the Two Needle Baby Sweater (a.k.a: February Baby Sweater) by Elizabeth Zimmermann. I had the tiniest of hiccups when I started the body, but trusted the directions, and things are going swimmingly.

Oh, what am I thinking? That photo won't do! You can't see the aching cuteness of the sleeves!




There, that's better. I had a slight reservation about doing this sweater in cotton, but the pattern is showing up well, and this sweater should be perfect for spring and summer. I like this yarn (Sirdar Breeze), which is a cotton/acrylic blend. The blend is about the same as Cotton-Ease, but the Breeze is more tightly twisted. As with any cotton, it's a little hard on my hands, but not as bad as, say, Sugar 'n' Cream or its brethren.

As for the pattern, per usual, EZ uses clever construction in her quest against seams. This pattern is fun! The lace pattern is so easy to memorize, and the quick changes from yoke to sleeves to body keep things interesting. One thing I wish I had done, which EZ directs you to do in the Baby Surprise Jacket, is make buttonholes on both sides of the front. She says to do this with the BSJ so you can put buttons on the correct side when you learn the sex of the baby, but it has the added bonus of making it incredibly easy to match the buttons to the buttonholes. Speaking of buttons, I want to find something beyond cute for this sweater, possibly incorporating bunnies or flowers. Come to think of it, I did once see some very cute white buttons with characters from Peter Rabbit painted on them. I wonder where I saw them.





I anticipate finishing this project soon, which means that I won't be completing my goal of four quick projects in April, but also means that I'll be able to start Rusted Root!

All About Brown

I didn't really think about it when I placed the order, but when I opened my packet from WEBS, my newest obsession became apparent.

I think I'm developing a thing for brown. In my stash, I have a bag of Debbie Bliss Wool Cotton in deep brown, some cascade 220 in brown, and a whole cube of the brown spectrum. I need to start knitting some brown stuff! In a break from tradition, I not only bought this yarn with specific projects in mind, but I plan to make them soon, meaning there will be less chance that I'll change my mind and the yarn will languish. The tweed yarn is for the Puff-Sleeve Feminine Cardigan from Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel, and the 220 Superwash is for a vest from the same book. The more I see finished objects from that book, the more I like all of the patterns, even the ones I thought I would never, ever make. I think the Puff Sleeve cardigan will be interesting in the tweed, since it's such a rustic looking yarn (the colorway is called Granary for heaven's sake), and the pattern is so overtly feminine. I can't wait! I'm trying to stay on task though and at least finish the February baby sweater before I start swatching.




I'm working on sleeve one right now. This is a fun project, but I'm always taken by surprise when I knit with cotton, how little I can knit before I have to take a break. I have a feeling that I won't be meeting my Quick-Fix goal of four projects in April (though hey, kinda... I finished CWT), but I'm okay with that. I still plan to make Rusted Root next. I will probably work on it at the same time as I do the Puff Sleeve Cardigan. I picked through my yarn basket yesterday, and discovered that I had balled up some sock yarn, too, so I'll need to find some patterns for those! I'm pretty sure I'm going to do Roza's Socks by Grumperina with some powder blue Lorna's Laces (fitting, since I won the yarn in a Jaywalker contest), but I'm not sure what to do with the STR yet.

In other news, my boyfriend went to California and brought back Victorian Lace Today! I have one word: WOW! Being a lace novice, I am a little intimidated by some of the projects, but adore 95% of the stuff in there. Will I make it all? Probably not, but it sure is nice to look at! I plan to start with one of the scarves and then move on to a shawl.

CWT, you PYT

For some reason, whenever I think of CWT, the song PYT starts playing inside my head. Fortunately, I really like that song, because I think this sweater will be in heavy rotation.

When we last left the sweater, I was working on the ruffle. I finished the ruffle somewhere around the 16th (I know this because of when I took the following picture), and was astonished enough by the ends hanging out that I was moved to take a picture.

Thankfully, I had already woven in the ends of the top portion. Otherwise, I may still be glaring hatefully at the sweater, rather than wearing it.

I spent the next day on all of the finishing while watching BTVS. Finishing tasks included attaching the top portion with gathers, basting the cinched waist to make sure I could get it over my head (I could), and staring disconsolately into the mirror at my ruffle which had become a tutu. Believing in the magic of blocking, I finished it anyway, and was rewarded!



I'm glad I added some length to the ruffle, though I only added about an inch or so. I also decreased the number of stitches for the ruffle by... one repeat? Two? I need to keep notes. I did a wet block, and am surprised to report that wet cashmere is just as stinky as wet wool. I guess I thought maybe it would be odorless, or carry the gentle scent of a rolling spring meadow, freshly mown. I laid the wet sweater out on a towel overnight, and moved the mostly dry sweater in the morning to a drying rack to finish the job. I didn't actually sew the side of the corset waist and ruffle until after blocking, because I wasn't sure if I would want to add a few more inches to the ruffle.


The tank top I'm wearing underneath it is bunching around my middle in this picture, but I'm so pleased at how well the ruffle lays. I kept petting myself all day, this sweater is so soft! I didn't think it would be possible, but it got even softer after a wash! I don't remember how much yarn I used, but I want to say it was almost 8 balls. I have some left over, and also a few balls of black, and I can't wait to find a project for it! To recap, I used Laines du Nord Royal Cashmere and US10 needles. The center portion was done on US6 needles, which made a very firm fabric. The pattern is from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2006, and the original pattern was done in cotton. I might consider making another one of these in cotton, but I rarely knit the same thing twice (and if I do, I probably knit it three or four times!).

I started the February baby sweater from EZ's Knitter's Almanac, and have just reached the fun part! Reading the breezy directions have me feeling that maybe another spreadsheet is in order, but I'll try it without first.