Tag Archives: pullover

It’s So Fuzzy!

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Oooh, y’all!  This sweater is going to be amazing!

I flew through the yoke (that lace panel was fun!), and I’m cruising through the body (I’m still not sure if I want it to be cropped or not… but I’ve got a couple inches before I have to decide).  IMG_2720.JPG

I’ve gotta say, the neckline looks wild (it looks wide enough to be a waistband!).  But, I’m trusting the pattern.  It has you pick up the provisional cast-on and work the neckline ribbing with much smaller needles, which should make the sweater look more like a sweater and less like a caftan.  Fingers crossed that it turns out the way I’m hoping it will.

But I kinda don’t care how the finished sweater looks, because I just can’t get over how fuzzy and soft and glow-y this fabric is.  I wish you could reach through the computer and pet this yarn.  The combo of the heavy/drapey fingering weight bamboo and the fluffy silk/merino is just a delight.  Honestly, the reason that I haven’t already finished this sweater is that I keep pausing my knitting to pet it.  It’s really becoming a problem.

What is the project that you’re most excited about right now?

New Pattern: U-District Pullover

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It’s the perfect day for a new pattern- especially this one!

It’s cold, gross, and I’ve just about had it up to here* with this February weather.

(*My eyebrows)

It’s the perfect time for my most ridiculous sweater yet!

Introducing, the U-District Pullover!52774220_08

Why is it ridiculous, you ask?

Well, it’s super oversized- meant to be worn with at least 6 inches of positive ease, but, really just about as much as you want.  It’s made from super-soft, bulky merino and beautiful laceweight alpaca held double (color blocking!), so it knits up in about fifteen minutes (give or take) and is super cozy.

And, the sleeves!  The sleeves might be the most ridiculous part.  There’s zero shaping on the sleeves until you get to the cuffs, when you decrease all the way down, which leaves you with big, poofy, ridiculous (and ridiculously cozy) 80’s-style sleeves.

The pattern is beyond simple (perfect Movie Knitting), but the finished effect is super fun, if I say so myself.

52774220_02Don’t get me wrong, this might be a ridiculous sweater, but dang if I don’t love it.  It’s one of my more out-there designs and I gotta say I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

Oh! And by the way, it’s part of the “Better Together” collection from Knit Picks!  I’m currently considering making myself a Riant Pullover or maybe a Continuation Blanket with some of my stash yarn.33761

Head on over to Knit Picks to pick up a copy of my U-District Pullover!

New Pattern: Radish Pullover

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It’s almost Christmas, and I have a present for you!

It’s the pattern for my Radish Pullover!  It turned out so well, that I just had to write it up.  And I hope you like it, too.

IMG_2276It’s a fairly simple bottom up, seamless pullover with a V-neck and 2×2 ribbing around the cuffs, hem and collar.  There is a fully-charted stranded Radish motif that runs across the sleeves and belly, and the pattern is sized from 0-6 months up to 8-10 years.

This sweater is a great way to use up those partial skeins of sock yarn that I’m sure you have laying around your stash.  The brown doesn’t use more than a half skein, and the radish colors (green, red and white) are only used for a handful of rows each.

And the best part? Since the inspiration for this sweater came from my kid’s favorite book, Sheep in a Jeep, I’m donating all proceeds from this pattern to the Children’s Literacy Initiative, a fantastic organization that supports teachers and their students to help every kid learn how to read.   I’m trying a “Pay what you can” model this time, so you can get the pattern for free, or donate up to $15 (or whatever feels right to you).IMG_2257

So, head on over to Ravelry and pick up a copy of the Radish Pullover so you can make a sweater for your favorite little reader!

Sheep are done with their Jeep!

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It’s done it’s done it’s done it’s done!

My Sheep in a Jeep sweater is done in time for our big Midwestern Trip for Thanksgiving!  I’m going to have a very cozy (and dapper) boy.

Fair warning: these pictures are a little silly, because the kid is a little silly, and is incredibly interested in the camera clicking.  Honestly, most of the pictures looked like this:

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Looking for cars:  (You can actually see the knitting in this one, if only the back.  I’m so pleased with how the color work blocked out! I was worried it would be a little pucker-y.)

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Blue Steel:

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This is the face he’s started making when I ask him to “smile.” It’s not a real smile, but I love it very much.  Silly boy.

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Anyway, the verdict is: The sweater fits great, but still has a little growing room.  The floats on the cuffs caught both of his hands as we were getting dressed this morning, which will be something to keep in mind in the future (hopefully they felt up a little).  All together, I’d count it as a success!

 

Sheep (almost) in a Jeep!

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Ooh, guys!  My sweater is coming along great!  In fact, I’ve finished the knitting!  Woo hoo!IMG_2192

However, I’ve got two things standing in my way of being completely finished:

1. Ends.  So. Many. Ends.  5 colors, three sections of sweater, plus Kitchener for the underarms and a few other odd ends from sleeves and collar and such. I really don’t want to weave them in.  It seems unfair that you “finish” a project, then have to spend another three hours actually finishing it.  A smarter person would have woven in the ends as they went. Sigh.

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2. I’m a little worried about the floats, especially on the sleeves.  I was really on the fence about adding the color work on the sleeves, but decided to go ahead and do it (which I’m glad about- I think it turned out really cute).  But, those floats are kinda long, and my kid’s fingers are kinda small and prone to getting stuck in small places, so I worry about running into difficulty getting him dressed  The only thing I can hope for at this point is that they felt up a little bit with wear.  Because I’m not undoing and redoing them again.  I refuse.

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But, despite my whining and worrying, I really am pleased with how this sweater is turning out.  It’s probably the cutesiest thing I’ve made for my kid (usually I dress him like a little old man).  And the little radishes/turnips just make me so happy.  It’s funny how fast I can get something done when I really enjoy the project!

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Have you been working on anything particularly fun lately?

Big and Little

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I’ve finished a project!  Yay!  It’s a pretty cute one, too.

It’s actually a double project.  A family friend who has a little one the same age as my boy, is expecting a baby girl just about any day now. I had some extra yarn and I love an excuse to make a baby sweater.  (Seriously, they’re so fun and fast!) I whipped up a tiny little Flax Light for the little one.  (Can I extol the virtues of this pattern again?  1. It’s well-written and free! 2. It comes in literally all the sizes.  3. It’s reversible!  One less thing to have to fuss with while getting the little guys dressed.)IMG_1927_medium2

I found some matching red yarn in my stash, too.  I thought I’d make a red sweater for the big brother!  How cute would that be? But it turned out I didn’t have nearly enough for a toddler-sized sweater.  Thus, I ended up with a stripey sweater, which, honestly, I like better than if it had been a solid color.  It looks like the kind of sweater a little boy wears as he runs around the neighborhood getting into trouble. IMG_2151

After some whining about weaving in ends, I finished it up, and now the pair are all wrapped up and ready to be delivered.IMG_2156

I know the kids won’t really care about them, but I bet their parents will appreciate them.  And I think they turned out super cute!

Have you been working on any gift knitting lately?

Done!

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I’ve gotta admit- it’s been a while since I enjoyed a pattern this much.  Part of it might be the speed of the knit; a sweater without (much of) a body or sleeves isn’t going to take long.  It might be the simple, yet super effective colorwork.  I’ve yet to see a version of Soldotna that doesn’t work.  And it might be that it’s one of the most flattering sweaters I’ve finished in a long time.

I actually bound off several weeks ago, while we were on vacation up on the Sound.  I even blocked it in the sun, overlooking the water. (Blocking with a view makes the finished project better, right?)IMG_20190814_184940357_HDRI think my favorite part of this sweater is how wearable it is.  Who would have thought? A short-sleeved, cropped sweater? Really?  Past Allison would have laughed at the idea that I would wear something like this.

But, look at it!  It’s great!  (Ollie seems less than impressed, but that might be because I’m not feeding him treats.)IMG_2054I’ve been wearing it over dresses, tank-tops and jeans.  And once it cools down (fall’s right around the corner), I think it’ll be cute over long-sleeved tanks or a nice buttondown.IMG_2000The kid seems like he likes it too. (How cute would a baby one be?!)

Have you finished anything fun recently?

New Pattern: Olympic Pullover

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I know- it’s crazy, but I’ve another new sweater for you!  Exciting!

This one’s feels pretty on the nose for me, as it’s just starting to get cooler out, and I’m dreaming of getting into the thick of fall.  And there’s nothing that says “autumn” to me better than a thick, cabled, over-sized wool sweater.  (Though, honestly, this is really more of a “deep winter” sweater if you’re a normal person, and not a cold-blooded lizard person like me.  My husband tried it on and managed maybe five minutes before he started to overheat.)

It’s the Olympic Pullover!52715220_06.jpgIt’s named after the Olympic Peninsula, the gorgeous part of Washington between the Puget sound and the Pacific Ocean.  It’s full of lush forests, misty coastline and snowy peaks.  (And it’s where Twilight was based, if that gives you an idea.  Though I imagine that people that live over there don’t love that reference.)  It’s the perfect place to traipse around in a woolly cabled pullover.52715220_15.jpgThis sweater is beyond simple- dropped shoulders mean almost no shaping, and everything’s worked in pieces and sewn up, so it would make nice travel knitting.  Plus, the cables look super-complicated, but once you get them established, they’re pretty simple. 52715220_12

You can get a copy of the pattern here, or grab the whole collection (highly recommended- there’s some great sweaters in here!) here.

Pattern: Piper’s Creek Pullover

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Woo hoo!  It’s a pattern day!

And this one’s a little out of my usual wheelhouse, because:

  1. It’s a fingering-weight sweater worked on US3’s.  Why? Because I’m a crazy person.
  2. It’s colorwork!  I love how colorwork looks, but all things being equal, I think I’m more of a cables person.  I love a big squishy sweater. (OK, I love making a big cabled sweater.  I’d wear either in a heartbeat.)

Anyway, without further ado, let me introduce the Piper’s Creek Pullover!52724220_09It’s a long-sleeved yoked pullover, made with Palette yarn from Knit Picks (though you could use really any fingering-weight wool).  It uses at least 7 (count em) different colors (great for using up leftover scraps!), but could be easily modified to use as many colors as you have on hand.  I made mine for my husband with a gray background and blue, red and yellow details.  It’s a great unisex sweater, and a fun, simple knit (assuming you don’t mind miles of US3 stockinette).

52724220_13.jpgI will say one thing though- the neck on the sample in these pictures ended up kind of funny, so if you want to make a Piper’s Creek Pullover (which I highly recommend), here’s what I would do to avoid the weird neck.  First, make sure that you’re only doing the number of short rows called for in the pattern, or maybe even reduce the number by one or two, just in case.  Second, make sure to work the colorwork nice and loosely (tight shoulders will make the neck funnel up, like it is in the pictures).  And third, make sure to block the sweater so the neck goes nice and smoothly into the shoulders.  Worst case scenario, if the neck ends up terrible even with all those precautions, you can always rip it out from the top down (or cut it out), pick up your neck stitches and work the neck and collar that you prefer after the sweater’s done.  (Though, that seems like a lot of work…)52724220_14

Want to pick up a copy? Grab the Piper’s Creek Pullover pattern here!  Or get the whole Palette collection here!

Starting Something New!

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I’m really excited about this one, folks!  I’m starting a new project, which is always fun, but this time there are a few reasons I’m especially pumped:

  1. It’s for me!
  2. It’s not for work!
  3. It’s a pre-existing pattern (no math!).
  4. It’s going to be made from yarn that I bought explicitly for this project.  No stashbusting!
  5. It’s going to be super cute!

That’s right, I’m jumping on the bandwagon and making myself a Soldotna Crop (though I think mine won’t be quite as cropped as the pattern suggests; I’m pretty tall and don’t own any high-waisted jeans).

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I’m using Tosh DK in four colors that I spent wayyy too much time picking out.  madelinetosh is one of my absolute favorite dyers.  I love the subtle variation they get in their semi-solids and the saturated colors in their variegated yarns.  I haven’t actually worked with her DK weight before, but I’m looking forward to it.  It’s a nice dense yarn, and super soft, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be too prone to pilling (or at least that’s what it feels like).IMG_1919

The colors I picked were Undergrowth (a dreamy blue-green for the main color), Raspberry Cordial (a jammy purple with hints of fuchsia), Tern (a soft purple-y gray), and Texas Tulips (an insane (for me) pink/yellow/green variegated that is something that I would never normally have picked, but it felt like the right thing to do at the time… we’ll see how it looks).

It feels kind of decadent to be making a whole sweater for myself, just because I want to, in fancy new yarn that I picked out specifically for this project.  I kind of love it.

(I really hope that pink color ends up working…. it’s very un-me.)

I’m going to go get this yarn wound up right away and start knitting.  Whoo!

When’s the last time you did some selfish knitting?