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I currently have a total of five knits on the needles, but we’re going to forget about the three I haven’t touched in ages to focus on the two sweaters I’ve got in the works.
The first is a heavily-modified version of the Airy Lace Wrap-Around Sweater from Fitted Knits. I just recently made one for a swap, but I’ve started another for me:
I’m using a recycled nylon/viscose/angora/cashmere blend, a laceweight held double. I’m using a smaller needle than recommended because my yarn doesn’t have the halo that mohair has. I’m going to make the sleeves and the body longer, forgo the cables, and probably mess with the wrap ties.
The second sweater I have OTN is a test knit, the thread for which is here. It’s a super cute vest with cable detailing.
This is a recycled merino fingering held double. I’m loving the fabric I’m getting.
And yes, those are my adorable adipose stitch markers.
BONUS! Kitty picture:
Sometimes Scrawny forgets to pull his tongue back into his mouth.
So remember that stack of cashmere squares I showed you a couple of weeks (months?) ago? They’re now a patchwork blanket that is delightfully soft and amazing.
That’s a queen sized bed it’s draped over, and it’s a little skinnier and a little longer than my UMW t-shirt quilt. I have it laid out over my bed on top of the sheet and quilt for maximum contact while I lounge about knitting and watching Charmed, as I am wont to do on the weekends.
The colors don’t really go and the sewing is… uneven to say the least. My approach to sewing is the same as knitting: Make it up as I go; “good enough” really is good enough; if it’s horrible, hide it in the closet. My blanket is suuuuuper soft and I loooooove it.
I overlapped the squares and zigzag stitched them together into rows, then sewed the rows together. I think I used about ten sweaters? It’s a little bumpy cause I used a regular sewing needle (use a special needle for knits? HA! I say) and there’s definitely a bit of unevenness around the edges. I ran a line of zigzag stay stitching around the whole outside edge of the blanket so it couldn’t stretch too much. Here’s a close up of my crappy machine sewing:
It actually only took two days of marathon sewing to finish. I’d cut out the squares previously, sewed all the big rows together one day and finished the rest of the sewing the next day. AND a cold front just came in today and the temperature dropped 20 degress, so right in time, I say!
I do. I so win at thrift. I went to a thrift store near my house with my grandparents today (they’re in town after my graduation) and I TOTALLY SCORED. SCORED. I found five sweaters total, all for $2 (one was only a dollar):
Two to felt (cashmere! I’m going to make a lovely light blanket when I get enough sweaters)
And three to frog:
From top to bottom: Old Navy cotton/wool, worsted/bulky weight (this is the $1 one), a probably fingering weight nylon/viscose/angora/cashmere blend (probably will be a lightweight sweater for me) and the coup de grace, a worsted weight CASHMERE sweater. I found bulky cashmere! It exists! I’m so excited to work with it. The three froggable sweaters are currently soaking and I’m just going to machine wash the other two.
I also found some cute shoes for $4:
Not sure what kind of socks I’m supposed to wear with these (suppose it doesn’t matter if wear them under pants). Yay, thrift store!
Sorry for the unintentional radio silence, people. It’s amazing how lax I get about posting when I don’t have a ton of finished things to show you.
Anyway, I’m still working on Girl Friday. I finished the sleeves and got them sewn into the body. Currently, it looks like this:
I just have to do the collar/button band, block it fully, then sew on the buttons. Since this project is no longer portable, I started another sweater type thing:
It’s the two-color ribbed shrug from Fitted Knits (which I got for my birthday and love) in grey Cascade 220. It will be perfect for getting to wear cute little dresses and tanks in colder weather. I have a feeling this is going to knit up reeeeeally quickly.
This little shrug, I’ve decided, is going to be my NaSweMoDo (it’s called something different on Ravelry this year though) number two. I didn’t count the shrug I made last year cause it was little, but I’m not sure I really need another 12 full-sized sweaters, so I’m counting shrugs. And probably a capelet that I’m planning to make around September.
I’ve got several sweaters planned for this year, including a yoked zip up (for Ravelympics, which I’ll talk more about later), another (light-weight) shrug, a striped button-up, and I’m going to finish that damn Featherweight. Sometime this year.
Also: remember the fuck-up with my address I told you about the other day? I think I probably fixed it. I just called USPS, and the woman I spoke to put in the right address, so hopefully it will get to me with speed. : )
So I’m knitting a sweater. It looks like this:
(Well, it’s a little farther than that now–I finished one of the fronts too.)
It’s Girl Friday from the Fall 09 Knitty. The yarn is Valley Northampton, which was originally earmarked for a Berocco pattern, Mayer. I didn’t really care for the waffle stitch, though, and the ribbing was written oddly–it has you cast on for a ton of stitches then just says “decrease 45 stitches evenly” across a 118 stitch row. No thank you. Frogged and debated over other cardigans before settling on this one. I think it will be nice. I am changing a few things though, most notably the lace pattern. I don’t really care for the purl stitch tabs, so I’m changing all the purls to knits. Makes my wrong side rows nice and easy–they’re just purled all the way across.
I’m knitting the smallest size, even though my bust measurement is 32″, and not the 29″ that is the smallest age. The designer says the lace is stretchy and I presume it’ll open up when it gets the severe blocking I’m planning for it though, and I’m going for negative ease anyway. I’m hoping for a longish sweater coat style that I can wear as a jacket or under my winter coat or when I’m chilly (kind of like how I wear my owls cardigan). I’m highly looking forward to wearing it. : )
Here’s something I do not have on the needles:
It’s a sock. Yep, one sock. One little cabled ankle sock. Why am I showing you this sock, and not a pair of socks in an FO post when I usually don’t bother with WIP posts? Because it’s only one sock. And it will be a while before the second sock is completed. Why is this?
Cause I freakin’ lost the rest of the yarn.
Yeah. I brought the socks to knit at Seaworld in lines and such when I was in Florida over Christmas and New Years. I finished the first sock in a line for a roller coaster (the new Manta, which, by the way, is AWESOME) and must have left my fanny pack open somewhere in the park and the ball rolled out. I mean, I bought the yarn at Michael’s with a 40% off coupon so it was only like, $3.50 and it’s definitely not difficult to find more, but I’m totally bummed because of the rigmarole. It’s doable, just annoying.
So that’s what I’m knitting. In addition to that Featherweight Cardi which is taking FOREVER. It’s definitely not my only project. I don’t think I could ever be in a serious, monogamous relationship with a cardigan knit in lace weight yarn in stockinette. Can you say boring? The finished thing will be awesome… I just have to finish knitting the damn thing.
I finally finished my Corona after much knitting and much modifying:
I really love how it came out. It seems I added just enough length for the sweater to sit comfortably on me. I also shortened the sleeves, as you can see, since I don’t have the patience for long sleeves and I’m not sure how much I want to wear bulky sleeves. Additional modifications:
-Shortened the rib section. I don’t need five inches of 1×1 rib over my stomach/hips, and also I hate knitting 1×1 rib.
-The ribbing on the sleeves is 2×2 because I wasn’t paying attention and that’s how I did the sleeves for the Cable Cardi. Yes, I am smart.
-Obviously, I took off the hood. I don’t wear hoods and they take too long to knit. I’m impatient.
-I decreased for the neckline more rapidly than in the pattern so the V would pull open a bit more.
I used Vanna’s Choice acrylic in Powder Blue. It was cheap and I’m a cheap college student. I’m sure it will pill something terrible, but it’s quite warm and I’m rather fond of it for the moment.
Here is a hat I finished several weeks ago and sent home to my sister (that’s her in the picture):
I sort of used this pattern, but with Red Heart Super Saver, 4.5 mm dpns and much MUCH less increasing. It’s still rather large, but my sister’s head is bigger than mine and she appears to like it alright. The ribbon helps to keep the band smaller also, since ribbing and Red Heart Super Saver don’t really go together well.
Here is one more hat, which completes my cold weather set:
I used a 5 mm circular needle and dpns with Mirasol Miski, which I am convinced is the softest yarn on the planet. It is wonderful to work with and despite the rather loose ply isn’t splitty at all. And it’s made from llama fur! And the proceeds help build schools for girls in Peru! If I could afford it, I would use this yarn SO much more often. Unfortunately, I am in college. : (
Currently on the needles, I have a pair of fingerless mitts for my friend Dalia and another pair of mittens for myself. The mittens are super cool, and you will be impressed, despite the very simple pattern. : )
After much time and much vacationing in Florida, I come bearing pictures of all the FO’s I did over winter break. I finished a ton of things, including two hats, two calorimetries, a shrug, and some other things. Pictures!
Hat number one: cable and rib hat of my own divising, based on the pattern from the cable and rib scarf which resembles the Irish Hiking scarf/hat, though that wasn’t intentional.
Bernat Softee Chunky, size 8 dpn’s and a circular, knitted rather loosely.
Two calorimetries, one of which is a gift, and one of which I may keep for myself or may be a gift.
Random blue acrylic from the stash and hand-dyed wool from a thrift store sweater. The pink, hand-dyed one was done using tie-dye, and I crocheted the buttons for both myself due to lack of buttons. I adore this pattern because it knits up, no joke, in two hours. Yay. I only cast on 80 for both, and that was plenty long enough. I repeated row 5 enough times to get 22 stitches on either side of the marker. On the blue one, I used a wrap and turn thing (s last stitch wyif, turn, s1 purlwise, p1, etc.) to make the holes smaller, which worked wonderfully.
Circular shrug:
Made with Caron Simply Soft and size 8’s. CO 200, which worked out fine. Made for my sister for Christmas. The damn thing took FOREVER to knit, and I was very much glad when it was finished. (It is totally finished, seaming and all, I just don’t quite have pictures of the finished project quite yet.
Another hat:
Random blue acrylic and blue Simply Soft, size 8 dpn’s and a circular. Made for my brother for Christmas. Just a simple stockinette with a roll brim.
Coffee Cozies:
Mostly various colors of Red Heart Super Saver in very small amounts I had in the stash. I started browsing a list of various stitches, and that’s how I did the checkerboard one, but I mostly just used variagated yarn or stripes to do my basic coffee cozy: CO 13 or 15 and keep a garter border for three stitches on each side, stockinette in the middle. Continue for nine inches or to fit, sew together. I don’t really know to whom these will go but, there is one that I know the recipient of:
That is my sad attempt at embroidery. It’s a dinosaur; can you tell? Well, I tried.
Currently on the needles, I have a scarf for a friend (which needs to be finished by Monday) and a ladder yarn scarf for my mother, but who knows when that will get finished. In the planning stages, I have a beret (the Meret, actually), a Talia vest (from Knitty) and various unbloggable (well, until much later anyway) things. Also, I bought a bunch of tees, so looks for some t-shirt tote bags on Etsy (and here) soon.
I finally finished my cable cardi after many weeks of its hibernation because I didn’t have enough yarn at school with me. Pictures!
Yarn: Wool, reclaimed from a thrift store sweater
Needles: 5.5mm circular for the body and 5mm straights for the collar.
I got the buttons from a thrift store sweater, and I had to add an extra one in the corner so the edge of the collar wouldn’t flop over. I made the button holes too far into the collar. Despite that, I loved the easy construction of the sweater. It was a lot of fun to knit and I loooove the end product. I started wearing it almost as soon as I finished it. : ) It fits very well and is very comfortable, even over just a tank top, which is how I was wearing it. I would definitely recommend this pattern if you don’t have the patience for a whole sweater with sleeves.
As a bonus gift, here’s a hat I also recently finished:
Various balls of cheap acrylic left over from other things and 5 mm dpn’s. This is my first hat made with the top-down method, and I like it a lot.
Also on the needles: A teddy bear (Heidi from The Knitted Teddy Bear), a pair of mittens (Ravelry link), and a circular shrug (also a Rav link) for my sister for Christmas. Because of course I can finish it by then.
First: I finished my Mrs. Darcy Cardigan, which is actually a vest because I didn’t feel like knitting sleeves and also I didn’t have enough yarn.
It’s a little bit lumpy on the sides, but I really like the buttons. Also, it’s really warm, which is surprising considering it’s a vest. Ah, wool. I’m a big fan of this vest, and there’s a good chance I’ll be making more in different colors.
I’ve also been working on a cabled cardigan which I’ve finished almost all the way to the sleeves, but I ran out of yarn:
The yarn in question was once a sweater that I found at the thrift store. The label said pure wool, so I picked it up for cheap and unraveled it. Now it will be a pretty cardi to keep my torso and neck warm. : )
I’ve also been working off and on on this simple striped garter scarf:
It’s for a friend’s (Jon, boyfriend of model/armwarmer recipient Sarah in previous photos) Christmas present, which I may have mentioned in a previous post.
All of this means I have the following projects on the needles:
– Garter scarf
– Cabled Cardi
– Cabled Scarf (which I don’t have pictures of currently, but will include in a later post)
– Ballet Cardigan (which will most likely get frogged)
And I still need to come up with awesome scarf patterns for Christmas presents. Also, I need to start an iPod case for my sister and a scarf for my mother (which I can’t start until Thanksgiving since she bought the yarn). I’m also planning golf club covers for my father and I don’t even know what for my brother. What the hell do you get 14-year-old boys for Christmas/their birthdays?
So I finished the body of my ballet-style sweater. It looks like this:
I started a sleeve, but I may have to rip it back because I don’t think it’s wide enough. In any case, I’m taking a break from that sweater because I dislike the large gauge, which is surprising for me since I hate small needles. *shrug*
I’m chugging along on my Mrs. Darcy Cardigan. I said I was putting it down because of the yarn thing, but I cast on for one of the front panels anyway. I probably won’t be able to finish it, but if I can, that would be awesome. I’m thinking I might make the sleeves out of some Simply Soft I’ve got in my stash. The blacks aren’t exactly the same, but oh well. I may also frog a never-finished afghan for the black Red Heart–that probably won’t be the most comfortable, but I’ll wash the sleeves to soften them before I sew them to the body. *shrug* We’ll see.
Despite having two sweaters on the needles already, I am seriously considered using some cream wool I recycled from a thrift store sweater to make this cardigan mostly because I love the collar. I’d probably try to make it close all the way though. Maybe more buttons. : )
Also, I have a FO:
They are the Irish Hiking Armwarmers and my first foray into cables (without a cable needle). Foray successful, despite teaching myself from my cell phone while walking in downtown Fredericksburg. They’re made from some light blue Red Heart (stash yarn) for Sarah’s Christmas present (she’s the model in a previous post). I’ll definitely be doing more with cables (and maybe even use a cable needle this time).
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 