Guess what's done?

That's right, the Slimline Jacket! It was all seamed and ready to go on Wednesday night (maybe even Tuesday, can't remember), on Thursday I left work early to buy buttons and sewed them in, and I wore the jacket to work on Friday!

This might be my most favorite knit ever. It's very comfortable, the yarn is so incredibly soft and warm, and the pattern is practical for work and to throw on during the weekend (for the most part, my work clothes are completely different from my casual clothes).



I made a few eensy changes while I was knitting. I added a total of an inch to the fronts and the back, since stuff tends to come out a little short on me (go figure, I'm only 5'4" tall), and I added a wee bit more than an inch to the sleeves, because sleeves are always too short when I knit to pattern. But that was all. I loved making the collar best, I think. It made me feel so clever! (Even though I didn't even write the pattern.) I wet-blocked all of the pieces separately, except the collar, which I steam blocked. I used KnitPicks Gloss for the seams and as Pioggia asked in the comments, it did pill on the socks I made. A lot. I have socks that look better after dozens of wearing than that pair looked after one. I guess in that case, you get what you pay for. Bummer, I really liked knitting with that yarn.



I thought that pewter buttons would look really nice with the blue yarn, and I was right! These weren't exactly the kind of button I had in mind, but I like them all the same. The sweater itself is so simple, I thought I could go ahead and use a fancy button.

So, the basic rundown: The pattern is the Slimline Jacket by Debbie Bliss which appears in her book Out of Town. I used the recommended yarn, Cashmerino Astrakhan in color 31011, and used almost all of 10 balls, even though the pattern called for 9. I don't remember which needle was recommended, but I used US7.

In other news, I finished the second Pirate Mitten today! It's blocking right now, and I am gearing up to make a vest for my nephew using the Cashmerino Aran I had bought to make the Astrakhan Cardigan from VogueKnitting. I'm getting down into the depths of the basket, and can't wait to head down to the stash to fill it back up to the top!

She's STILL working on that sweater?

Yes, I am still working on the Slimline Jacket. It feels like it's been a long time, I'll have to take a jaunt through the archives to see when I started. It's so close to being finished now, though, and I can't wait!

As modeled by the charming Evelyn. Of course, the side seams aren't done, so it looks floppy, but a quick check reveals that this sweater is going to fit perfectly. I have just a few more rows on the collar, and it looks like I'll have to steam block it (you can see how the fronts are not folding back like they should). I blocked the sleeves last night, and they were dry this morning. I know what I'm doing tonight!





I want to use pewter buttons for this. I think they'll look so pretty with this shade of blue. Unfortunately, I won't have a chance to go button shopping until this weekend! This is the last peek you'll see of the Slimline Jacket until it has buttons and I can show it off on a live person.

By the way, I'm using KnitPicks Gloss for seaming. The color matches almost perfectly, and it's doing the job well. I'm glad to have a way to use it up that won't result in another pilly garment (is a sock a garment?).





Here's a shot of the first completed Pirate Mitten by Hello Yarn. I'm happy with it, but I do wish that I had chosen colors with higher contrast. Live and learn, right? I can't believe that mitten weather is coming to a close already! I mean, I know we have cold days in March, but to me mitten weather is when the temperature dips below twenty degrees and stays there. Otherwise, my hands get hot. I think I might need to move to Alaska.

And, just because, a picture of our snowman. Do you know how hard it is to push a sliver of carrot into snow without it crumbling?

Movin' Right Along

I must admit that work stalled for a day or two on the Slimline Jacket last week. I am one of those knitters who, in the face of a potential yarn shortage, works very slowly on her project (as opposed to those who speed up... I am the same way when low on gasoline). Fortunately, I found another ball of yarn buried in my basket, and work continued anew! I am about halfway through the sleeves, and at the rather boring "knit straight for x inches" portion of the program. Boring means that it's a good project for multitasking, though! Silver linings, you know.

I finished Pirate Mitten #1, but neglected to take a picture. I'll try to do better next time. Blocking evened everything out beautifully. Last night I cast on for the second mitten and worked a couple of rows. It's so nice to have a smooth yarn project to work on as a break from the boucle!

Speaking of smooth yarn projects, I made a hat this week, too. A friend wanted to give a Kitty62 hat to a friend for his birthday, so I promised to deliver. I found suitable yarn in my stash (Cascade 220), and finished the hat in about four hours. I guess when you make something four times, your fingers just know what to do! This time, I decided to do the ears differently. I've always knitted the ears separately and sewn them on after, and I did that this time, but instead of knitting the ear pieces separately, I knit them at once with a purl column for folding the halves into one ear. Brilliant, if I do say so myself. I never liked those little fiddley pieces, or sewing them together. This new way left me with one small seam, and then I just had to sew them to the hat. I had to give her the hat after I got out of work, so here I am in my work clothes, wearing a kitty hat.





I still have to make one of these for myself!

Don't Front

Okay, I don't know if my subject makes any sense whatsoever, but I was listening to some rap today, and the phrase popped into my head. I finished the first front of the Slimline Jacket today! In my excitement to soak up the last rays of sunshine to take a photo, I forgot to take a photo of my mitten in progress, but it's not much more than a cuff right now anyway.

I've also decided to start messing around with photo size again. Flickr needs a size between small and medium!


I'm debating with myself whether I should block the pieces I have so far, or wait until I have the whole sweater finished. I'm also considering where to do this. I laid the back on the floor this afternoon while I measured the front against it, and almost had a coronary event when Mrs. Cooper hopped on top of it. You might not know this about rabbits, but they like to dig. And I don't mean that gentle knead that cats do, I mean they grab fabric with their teeth and pull it taut and dig furiously with their long wicked claws. I shooed her away without any major tantrums, but learned that the floor is not going to be suitable for blocking. I'll come up with something.

The fabric looks nice pre-blocking, but the bottom is curling like crazy, and the shoulders could use a little straightening. I can't convey in mere words how much I want to be wearing this sweater already! Even though it's a bitch to frog, and difficult to weave in the ends, and (let's face it) boucle is a little hard to knit with at times, I highly recommend at least trying a ball of Astrakhan in a hat or something. It is so soft, and makes the most wonderful fabric.

Who, me? Impatient?

So there I was, happily trucking away on my Slimline Jacket, anticipating the thrill of binding off the back, wondering if I should start the fronts or sleeves next, and whether I should knit them at once, when I was doing it, I was binding off, and I was so excited. I folded the piece up and poked in my basket and thought of what to start next. "Oh, what the hell," I thought, "I could cast on for a sleeve." I pulled out the pattern again and what did I see? My eyes widened with horror (and a little regret) when I noticed that I had omitted the shoulder shaping on the back. I sighed, and considered for a moment how dire it would be if I left the shaping out, but came to my senses, and began taking out the bound off edge.

Astrakhan is a lovely yarn, it is. It makes a very interesting fabric, it's soft, and while it's a little strange at first, it is pleasant to knit. But (you must have known that was coming), it is the worst yarn in the yarn store to frog. I only got about a quarter through, when I realized I was really hauling on that yarn to get it free, and pulling just a little too hard on the fabric to try to discern which loops were stitches, and which were just texture. I took a deep breath and set it aside, and I'm so glad I did. This morning I calmly took out the bind off, plus another row, and picked up the stitches. I didn't even flinch when I realized I had picked up too many. That will work itself out as I knit the row. The back is waiting for me right now, in fact, to finish it properly.

Finding myself in that situation last night of wanting to knit, but a danger to my project, I did the only thing I could. I cast on for something else. I've had Coif on my mind ever since it came out, but last night was the night to start it. If I work on it tonight, I'll finish it. It's fast, fun and cute! It's also an opportunity to work on my pom-poms. I think those ties desperately need them. Don't you?

Oh, the joy of an FO!

I don't think it took me this long to finish the first pair of socks I ever knit. These are worth the wait though. I put them on the second I finished, and I haven't taken them off yet. The yarn is very soft and warm, and I love looking down at my feet and seeing that sweet little lace pattern.

As I said before, these socks are fraternal (though in this picture, the difference isn't so obvious). I'm not sure what I was thinking about when I set up the heel stitches of the first sock, but I had fewer stitches for the bottom of the sock, and an off-center lace pattern. You know what, though? I really like the first sock. There's a twisted column of stitches between each lace panel, and in the wonky sock, one of those columns goes up the center of my foot. This means less distortion in the lace panels. If I ever make these again, I'll have to remember my mistake.

Work continues on the Slimline Jacket. I keep having to pause in my knitting to rub the finished fabric against my cheek. The boucle makes the most interesting texture, and the fiber is so soft! I can not wait to wear this sweater. I'm almost up to the armhole shaping on the back, and felt a little rush when I realized that I'm more than halfway through with the largest piece of the sweater!

So now I'm picking through the basket, basically deciding between socks and mittens. I'm waiting anxiously for the Spring issue of Interweave Knits! I am most excited for Stefanie Japel's sweater, the yellow wrap sweater on the cover, and Grumperina's socks (she has a closeup photo on her blog).

Today's color is blue!

I love the color blue, it's my favorite, but I don't knit with it much. Right now, I have two blue projects going! The first, of course, is Hedera. Only a few inches to go, and I'll be wearing some new socks! This will need to be the first pair in a long line this year. After a chat with Amy the other day regarding sock yarn, I went and counted my sock yarn stash. I have more than I thought. I have enough for twenty-six pairs of socks, which is a little intimidating, frankly. It was just so easy to pick up a skein here, a couple of balls there, and throw them in their little basket. Luckily, I have my eye on a few patterns from Knitty, as well as a couple of pattern books with only sock patterns. Good thing I'm crazy about socks right now!

Speaking of Amy, she saved my Astrakhan this weekend. I was so excited when I checked the mail on Saturday and found Out of Town by Debbie Bliss. Amy had pointed out the Slimline Jacket, and offered to lend me the book. I was so excited that I, for one second, considered canceling my trip to Grandma's to cast on. Naturally, Grandma won, but you'd better believe I casted on the second I got home! I didn't make much progress, and even though I took a photo, it's only about an inch, so I don't think it's worthy of showing yet. I made great progress today, pretty well finishing one ball of yarn. I love the fabric, and I can't wait to wear this sweater!

It feels so good to be jumping into a big project again!