Category: Knitting

I went through a period of non-knitting, or more exactly, rather reluctant knitting last month.  Mostly we just had houseguests and I was feeling overwhelmed and all too easily slipped into a semi-stupor in the evenings.  

That has changed.  I am entranced with my current knitting project, a cardigan, purchased as a kit from L'atelier in 2008.  The back consists of a simple stripe sequence. 

 

I love the colors and the squence of the stripes in the top photo. They make me happy.  This is my variation on the original however.  The kit came with the black yarn shown in the second photo and I did not like it at all.  I found the black far too demanding a partner with the more muted blues and greens so I ripped it back and banished that yarn.  Luckily I had a couple of skeins of the glittery red left over from some ancient project. Of course, this completely changes the spirit of the knitted fabric.  

 

As I look at the photos I see that the black really isn't as bad as my reaction warranted, but I respect my reaction.  These colors, with less contrast make me much happier and I look forward to knitting time sitting next to G in the evenings.  Hopefully by the time I finish this the weather will have turned a little cooler as well. And the reds make the sweater very autumn-appropriate.  Whereas the original colorway was named "April Showers" I'm thinking of naming this something like "September Garden".

 

I have been working on two knitting projects, simultaneously, quickly abandoning my determination to work on only one project at a time and see each one to completion.  But I had a good excuse.  I am currently reknitting the purple cabled shell I unraveled back in January, but I found there were times when a relatively mindless project was more suitable.  Needless to say, the relatively mindless project on big needles was finished far faster than the lovely cabled shell, which is about half-way to completion.

 

This little summer shell is knitted in a wonderfully light-weight cotton tape yarn from Lana Grossa that knits up to a bulky gauge without being at all heavy.  The yarn itself is rather sheer, much like knitting with a pair of nylons, and it can snag if you have dry cracked  cuticles or nails, something I needed to look out for if I felt like knitting after working in the garden.

 

DETAILS

Pattern: Rosa Modified, available from my LYS, Out of the Loop, in Hopewell Junction NY.  The pattern itself is a cap sleeve variation on Rosa which is available as a free download on Ravelry.

Yarn:  Taglia from Lana Grossa in color 06.

 

Needles: size 11 US circular.  The sweater is knit in the round with short-row sleeves.

 

I have to say that I love this sweater.  I couldn't wait to wear it, and I have been wearing it happily today while running errands and doing small tasks in the yard.  I do have to watch snags a bit, so I would say this is not a sweater to wear with a dangly charm bracelet, but otherwise it is light and comfortable, even in a bit of summer humidity.

In fact, I wish there was more of this yarn in stock in any color other than black, 'cause I would knit another.  

 

 

 

 

Finally something new to show.  

 

I actually finished knitting the pieces of this sweater back in April, blocked it, and then got so wrapped up in other things that it just languished.  This was unfortunate because we had such an extended period of cool weather that, had I finished it, I could have been wearing it.  Now it is more than likely too warm, but I did manage to wear it yesterday evening as we had a blustery day and  the temperatures dropped back down into the 40's.  This is a welcome change after a Memorial Day weekend with daytime temps in the 90s.

 

I based the size of this sweater on another sweater which is a similar shape except that it has longer sleeves and is knit in a different yarn.  To tell the truth, I am not as thrilled as I expected to be as I love the original.  If I had knit the pattern in the recommended yarn it might be more like the first, as both yarns have a substantial amount of rayon, but then again, I am still sometimes surprised by yarns and the fabrics they create.

 

It is not a bad sweater however,  and I suspect that much of my disappointment can be chalked up to the usual end-of-project-discontent.   It is quite possible that, come cooler weather, this will be my new favorite.

 

Pattern:  Teasel from Rowan 43

Yarn:  Classic Elite Soft Linen, 35% linen, 35% wool, 30% alpaca in color 2204 Titian Blue.

 

I deem this a moderate success, but as I said, it could still become a favorite.  I love the sweater, I just don't love the way I have put it together so far.  There is much room here for interpretation.

 

As to other knitting, I am finally reknitting the purple cabled shell from January.  It is going well now, at least in some modified definition of well.  I mean, I am enjoying knitting it except that I am knitting about 2 rows a night, which means I might be finished by Christmas …. eek.  Its not the sweater, its just my general state of exhaustion, what with working in the yard, and wearing my many hats and what have you.  Oh, and I knit 18 rows Wednesday night in a music and brandy filled hazed as I finally saw Nixon in China (broadcast on PBS) which went on and on until midnight, and G, in some kind of fog, remembered a drink we drank when we were dating in the early 80's (Brandy Alexanders) and made us brobdingnagian versions (about 16 ounces each).  I knitted and I survived.  In fact I knitted well, without a single mistake, which must be some kind of record, considering the alcohol.  I would take this under advisement as a suitable path for knitting success except that I was so grumpy Thursday morning as to place almost put a damper on the whole day.

 

I have a weakness for bright spring green.  It is not the best color to wear near my face, but I do anyway once in a while.  I can get very stubborn that way at times.  But it is a great accent color for both home and wardrobe.

 

I had been eyeing a particular bit of green yarn at my LYS for some months when I finally broke down and bought some in late April.  I started knitting it right away but somehow made very slow progress.  I would knit and unknit and knit again.  I think I was just suffering from the general stress and turmoil in my house.   It seems like a month is a long time for a scarf; it feels like it took me forever.

 

This week however I was knitting like a woman possessed.  A week ago I had just finished knitting the first skein, the scarf was only half done, and I felt like it would never end.  

 

Yarn:  Aslan Trends Royal Alpaca, 2 skeins.

 

Needle Size:  7 (US)

 

Pattern: 4 stitch repeat of K2, YO, K2Tog, bound by garter stitch panels on the side and ends. My scarf is 48 stitches wide, decided simply because that was the width that pleased me.

These little rose-pink strips have fascinated me the last couple of days.

Toward the end of last week I was helping a fairly new knitter who wanted to make a pair of fingerless-mitts, and I agreed to get her started.  In my head, I was thinking simple stockinette stitch, but no, she had a pattern for beautiful lace gloves that had captured her fancy, and she really wanted to jump right in and knit them.  The pattern called for a separate band at the top of the glove, which is knit flat, and it seemed like this would also be a good test piece to see how difficult she would find the pattern, so I knit a couple of repeats while she watched to get her started.  Then I sent her off on her way. I will see her again later in the week.

 

Saturday I finished knitting the pieces to the blue/gray sweater, and I was thinking about those fingerless mitts.  I didn't have the pattern, or know its source, but I was pretty sure that I remembered it, and thought I might knit a couple of bands for a future pair of gloves while it was still in my head.  You see the results above.

 

These will be sewn together at the ends and then I will pick up stitches along the flat edge and knit, in the round, down toward the hands.  I see that both patterns are upside down.  The pointy jagged edge will be the top of the gloves, pointing up toward the elbow. I am looking forward to finishing these as I am rather fond of these top borders, but I haven't yet looked at my stitch books and chosen a lace pattern for the body of the gloves.  

There is no rush.  I am sincerely hoping that the time for fingerless mitts will soon be over, although we are still getting nights in the 30s and the days have not been consistently warm.

 

In the meantime, I think I should go fish that blue-gray sweater out of my knitting bag and get it blocked so that it can be assembled and finished.  We are having perfect weather for that combination of linen and wool and lightweight layers.

 

 

Remember Louisa?  I shrank her.

 

I was devastated and incredibly angry at myself as well because I knew what I had done practically instantly, and I. KNEW. BETTER.  

Too Late.

 

I loved this sweater so much I wore it four or five times in the first week after I finished it.  I loved it so much I could have just never taken it off, except that, well, I'm not that kind of person.  After a week, it needed washing, and I washed it with another sweater that was very close to the same color.  I knew the other sweater would need a trip through the spin cycle before laying it flat to dry because it is a heavy rayon and it gets rather large and unwieldy when wet.  But I planned to just roll Louisa up in a towel while I transfered the other sweater to the washing machine and spin it out. Then I would lay out both sweaters on my blocking board to dry.

 

Except that G and I had a big fight that evening.  Not a fight about anything important; I don't even remember the cause.  It was the kind of acrimonious fight couples have over the most insignificant things, the kind of fight that was probably actually a reflection of individual stresses each of us were undergoing separately that just happened to boil over at that same moment.  But still, it was a fight, and I was not thinking clearly.  

 

I am sure you know what happened.  I threw both sweaters in the washing machine, and when they came out I was surprised to see a very small Louisa.  I stretched and pulled and stretched some more and was practically in tears when I went to bed.  I knew I would knit another but it killed me.

 

The next morning Louisa was still pretty damp so I pulled out the iron and steamed her and stretched her a little more.  She was still small, but she seemed like she might just fit.  Indeed she did.  She is a little smaller, a little more fitted, and about 2 inches shorter.  The fabric is a little tighter but by no means heavy or thick.  It seemed that she fit well enough that I might love her again someday, perhaps next fall, and I was about to put her away.  I was still too wrapped up in mourning the sweater she had been to see the beauty of the sweater she had become.

 

But G thought she looked nice.  And I took her to my LYS, where everyone there thought she looked nice too, and since a few days had passed, I could see that they were right.  My eyes were no longer blinded by frustration.

 

Once again I have been wearing Louisa.  I must admit I am very happy with the way she has turned out. Happy enough that I might knit another one in the same yarn and intentionally shrink it as well; or not.

 

I realize, that she actually looks better, the slight fulling of the yarn has firmed up the shaping of the sweater so it is a little more defined, and this length, two inches shorter is more versatile and can be worn with a wider variety of bottoms, such as the wide leg pants here, which are 7 or 8 year old Banana Republic trousers that are now almost too large, they keep sliding down on my hips.

 

The only problems with this sweater are that the sleeves also shrank in length and the shoulders are now just a tad too narrow.

 

The sleeve length may not even be a problem as I tend to fold or push up most sleeves to better facilitate the wearing of bracelets.  The new sleeve length actually hits at about the top of the cuffs shown in the photo, and I pushed them up a wee bit to show a little skin between cuff and sweater.    Apparently I tend to prefer my sleeves, if they are full length, either very narrow and close fitting, or fairly dramatic which would of course forestall the wearing of bracelets all together.

 

But sleeve length and shoulder width are easy fixes which can easily be accommodated in my next version of this sweater.  There will be a next version.  I have already have a vision of it in my head and have already purchased the yarn.  But that is a project for the next transitional season.  Now I am feeling the need for some summer knitting.

 

 

 

During all this upheaval I have been knitting.  My current project is basic stockinette, necessary as my reading ability is really hampered right now until my new glasses come in (next week), and my eyes are different enough, that simple readers don't work.

 

I've been working on this pattern by Cocoknits called Louisa.  In retrospect I realize that I am probably knitting it in the color shown here, but that wasn't my intention.  I saw a sample of this garment at the Vogue Knitting Live market last month, and selected a color of Habu N-68 Lamb Linen from the colors available, and you see what happened. 

 

Being somewhat tall and long of torso, I had to do a little lengthening of the pattern to achieve a fit that was flattering on me, as you can see from the rather blurry photos below, which were taken fairly late at night with inadequate lighting.

 

The first photo is the length of the sweater as written, which as you can see, is too short and hits at an unfortunate position which emphasizes the curve of the hips and thighs in an unflattering way. The second photo shows the sweaters current length, after adding an additional 6 inches of length.  Perhaps longer than necessary, but a flattering length on me, at least if I am wearing this with jeans, which is my intention.  With a skirt or different styling the shorter length might be fine, and I may well consider that option in another version of this sweater.

 

 

 

 

 

At this point I have knit  the body of the sweater up to the armholes and am about to start the sleeves, which are knitted in the round, then joined to the body and the top is knitted in one piece.  Apparently, I don't have size 7 double-pointed needles so I will be picking those up tonight at knitting as I would much rather use the DPNs than two circulars, which I just find confusing and aggravating.  

 

Here is a photo of the body of the sweater so far.  The fabric is light and soft and has great drape.  I am having some worries about whether I have enough yarn.  I did order extra, but I don't know if I ordered enough extra for the six-inch extension.  I probably won't know until I run out, so I might be on tenterhooks for a while yet.  The yarn is available and I can order more; if the dye lots are not similar I have a couple of ideas for incorporating the color change into the design although they may require some ripping and reknitting.  

 

I wish I had weighed the yarn with the cone when it arrived.  I know how much yarn I purchased, but I don't know the weight of the cone itself.  If I had weighed the yarn on the cone, I would have a much better idea of how much yarn is left.