Re-entry

The blog has been quite for a long time since progress on my one project was very slow. My husband's sweater took forever, 3 months of dedicated attention but we think it came out pretty good. For all the work I'm waiting for good lighting so the pictures do it justice. This sweater was my largest colorwork project and was actually satisfying to knit. So over the last month I cut my first steek, eeee!


It really wasn't that bad. Then there were all those ends to weave in, that took a few days.



I finished the day before the Ravelympics. It was my goal to be able to compete in the sweaterboard cross and I just made it across the finish line. I was weaving in the last end as the closing ceremonies were ending. It's soaking now, as soon as we took the photos I was off to bed, I don't normally model my garments with PJ pants :) With any luck there will be a bevy of FO posts to come soon!

Penny's quilt

I mentioned that I had gotten a sewing machine for my birthday and I have been putting it to good use. I made some table runners for Thanksgiving and some Christmas gifts that I forgot to take pictures of. I got some really cute puppy themed fat quarters in my stocking so I decided to make a small quilt for Penny to use on the couch. I figure it didn't matter how messy it came out and it would keep her from licking the couch and getting too much fur on it. I cut a bunch of 5' squares and pieced them together. On some of the squares I appliqued a little shadow corgi. I found an image online and traced the outline onto freezer paper. I ironed that onto the fabric and used it as a guide for cutting. That stuff is amazing. It sticks until you peel it off and saves a bunch of time by eliminating the need to trace designs onto fabric. So I got to practice my applique skills and my free motion quilting skills. The swirls are a little hard to see in the image but they came out ok. It's definitely tough to maneuver the fabric around when free motion quilting and I think it would take some more practice to get really good at it. Overall I'm pleased with it and it was a good learning experience. I'm not sue how much quilting I will do in the future but I'm happy I know how.

I think Penny likes it :)

FO: Bella's Flip-top Mittens

Pattern: Bella's Mittens by Marielle Henault
Yarn: Berroco Peruvia, just over 1 skein of Chipotle
Needles: US 8

I have had one heck of a head cold for the past week or so and these mittens have been just what I needed. The pattern is great, each row is written out so it requires very little concentration which is not something I have been able to do with my throbbing head. I have a think for moss stitch so I changed the palm to be moss rather than stockinette. I also followed some modifications on Ravelry to make them flip-top. I didn't do the sewn bind-off but rather bound off using a super stretchy bind off in the last issue of Knitty. It worked great and no sewing! I will be sure to use that for the next pair of toe-up socks I make. I also did not rib the bottom of the flip-top, I wanted the moss stitch to be uninterrupted. I added thumb slots by placing 4 inner stitches onto waste yarn and then casting on another 4. After finishing the thumb I knit back and forth over the 4 stitches knitting or purling the last stitch of a row together with one of the bumps from an adjacent stitch inside the thumb so the flap sat on the inside without having to go back and sew it in place. I completely fudges the decreases but I think they look ok. I bought myself a proper iron to go with my sewing machine so I decided to steam block the mittens. In addition to setting the stitches nicely I think the steam actually helped my sinuses so it was a win win situation. I used leftover Berroco Peruvia from my Tilted Duster to make these, it works nicely but I do think a true bulky yarn would be the best for these mittens. I ended up diving back into the stash searching for scraps since these took like a yard more than one skein. I'm sure without the flip-top one skein would be enough. So overall I'm very happy, I think it will be convenient to have these mitts and they are really cute.

I hope soon to be able to concentrate enough on my husband's Christmas gift, I'm almost halfway done the body and I really want him to be able to wear it this winter! Here's a snea peak, I'll write more when my attentions span is back to normal.

FO: Mayer

Pattern: Mayer
Yarn: Berroco Peruvia 8 skeins
Neddles: US8 and 9

Where did November go? It's been crazy around these parts but there has still been knitting. When Mayer came through my inbox it was love at first sight. Once the yarn arrived at Woolworks I was off and pretty much entirely monogamous with this project. It seemed like it took longer than I had anticipated and the brioche stitch bothered my hands a bit but maybe I was just anxious. I love the sweater but it sags and the cuffs are too chunky. If I were to make it again I would knit at a tighter guage and perhaps make it with a higher neckline. I'd also knit smaller cuffs, probably by casting on fewer stitches or not folding them over so they wouldn't be so bulky. That being said it is a very cozy sweater that I have worn several times already. I will likely crochet around the inside of the neckline for more stability, I really hope it doesn't grow too much over time. You can see from the picture it's sagging down near the bottom of my chest. I should have known better. I needed to go back for another skein of yarn and I ended up using almost the entire thing even though my sweater may be a tiny bit shorter. So glad there was yarn left. I have more fun stuff to show, I just need to put down the knitting and blog more often.

Happy Halloween!

Mine is the vampire and my husband's is the scared one :)

FO: Zickzack Tunic

Pattern: Zickzack Tunic by Melissa Wehrle IK Spring 09
Yarn: Naturally Dawn 2 ply
Needles: US 7, 5, and 3
Size 36.5"

In the words of Tracy Jordan: I love this sweater so much I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant. The yarn is perfect, the fit is great, and the color is gorgeous. I knit the 36.5" size so it has about 0.5" of positive ease and that works perfectly for me. The only modification I made was accidental. I misread the collar directions so I basically knit the collar for the next size down. I was more that halfway done by the time I realized what I had done and I didn't think it would make a big deal. The pattern was really nicely done and went pretty quickly. I felt like the collar took forever probably because I was so anxious to have it done. I love Melissa's designs, I think they are really flattering and stylish. I wore this today despite not having buttons, I just couldn't wait and having a new sweater to wear on my birthday was great. It is nice and cozy but not too warm. I'm going to have to stop myself from making one in every color :) I love garments in lace weight but after this and Whisper I think I may need a break, I'm going to try and finish up a few things and decide what my next sweater will be. I'm thinking either the Heather Hoodie vest or Melissa's Berkshire dolman. Both are a must knit this winter.

Grr

Well blogger won't let me upload photos today and I refuse to let it beat a post out of me. So in lieu of the knitting content I will just tell you this and some lovely Japanese fabrics are on their way to me to christen my the sewing machine I will hopefully receive soon. If you think those are some cute owls wait until you see the rest :) I see some very cute purses and totes in my future.