Tag Archives: sweater

Finished!

6 Replies

Woo Hoo!  It’s time to do the happy dance and pose awkwardly in the back yard!  (Because (for some reason) holding a rake made me feel less weird than just standing and smiling at the camera.   I never said I was a good model.)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABut the sweater looks great!  It fits really well, and it is nice and cozy!  The sleeves turned out a little long (which happens to me all the time when I knit.  I have trouble getting store-bought clothes with long enough sleeves, so I tend to overcompensate when I knit, and I end up with sleeves that would work on a giraffe), but they’re perfect for turned-up cuffs.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

And, though I agree with you guys that silver buttons would have been better, I ended up going with some nice faux-horn ones.  The sweater has 13 buttons, and, well, they are expensive!  I didn’t want to spend more on buttons than on the yarn itself.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I don’t plan on taking off this sweater for the next month, or until I spill coffee on it, whichever comes first.   (Probably the coffee.)

Second Guesses, Sales, and Waiting- The Grandma’s Sweater Saga

Leave a reply

You guys are totally right.  I needed to get a different shade of gray for my Grandma’s Sweater.  I’ve decided to go with Knit Picks’ Dove Gray Heather:

25615[1](Ooh! Aah!)

It’s a really pretty soft gray in a similar tone as Dogwood Heather (pink).  I think it’ll turn out really prettily.

So, having made my decision, I went to the Knit Picks website yesterday, filled up my cart and hit submit.  (I even managed to constrain myself to the single skein I needed, instead of buying fifty dollars’ worth of extra yarn to get the free shipping.  Don’t judge me.  You know you’ve done it.)

To make sure the order went through (because I’m paranoid like that), I clicked over to my email to see the confirmation email.

Sure enough, there was a message from Knit Picks.  In fact, there were two emails.  The first was my order confirmation.  The second was this ad:

Sale*Insert sad trumpet sound here*

Sure it would have been less than a dollar saved, but it’s the principle of the thing!  (And now, I kind of want to go order some more yarn to take advantage of the sale.  So much for self-control.)

Now, I have to sit here and play the waiting game.  I can’t really start knitting until I have the gray yarn in my knitting basket, so I’ll just sit by the window and harass the mailman until it arrives.

A Swatch Dilemma

6 Replies

I’ve been knitting away, and have swatched up my Biggo yarn for my Grandma’s Christmas Sweater.  And, well…

I am not pleased.

I give you Figure 1 (Gray Snowflakes with Pink Border):

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAEw!  No!  The contrast between the blue and gray is way to low.  All that work, and you can barely see the snowflake pattern.  (It looks even worse in real life…. ugh!)

I give you Figure 2 (Pink Snowflakes with Gray Border):

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABetter, but not great.  I think the gray is just too low-contrast.

So, I have three options:

1.  Just deal with it.  Knit up the sweater as shown in Figure 2, and let it go.

2.  Forget about trying to use both gray and pink, and just make the sweater out of pink and blue yarn.

3.  Order more gray yarn from Knit Picks in a lighter shade.

I will sit here and sulk for a while, then, I suppose I’ll make a decision.  (At least I did the swatch first… That would have been so frustrating if I’d already started working on the sweater?  Ugh.)

Inspiration: Knitting in Fall

1 Reply

The temperature has finally settled in the low 60s, the mushrooms are sprouting on anything that stands still for more than a minute, and the fog has descended.  It is officially fall in Seattle.  I know that makes fall sound less than fun, but I absolutely love autumn in the Pacific Northwest (maybe I’m a masochist. You be the judge).  There’s something incredibly cozy and comfortable about getting up in the morning and putting on a flannel shirt or a fluffy sweater, drinking your cup of coffee and seeing nothing but gray mist outside your window.

(Interestingly, though, it’s almost impossible to take a good photo of fog.  So, instead of making you look at the crappy ones I took, I will steal one from the internet.  But, really, this is what my street has looked like every morning this week.  Except, my street has more houses.)b0a416d5ce158c4654afa438dc27868e[1]It makes me want to curl up with a mug of hot cider, Jazz music on the radio, a fire in the fireplace, and a knitting project that uses massively bulky yarn.

We could start small(ish) with a cowl so thick and cozy you could burrow into it and practically turn into a (very warm) tortoise.

The Gathering by Kalurah

DSC_2956_medium2[1]I can only imagine how quickly this gorgeous sweater would fly off the needles.  Do you think I could finish it by this evening?  It’s supposed to drop into the 50s tonight.

The Big Cable by Justyna Lorkowska

bigC3_medium2[1]Or I could just give up on any pretext of leaving the house for the next six months and hunker down under this (perfectly named) blanket.

A Blanket For Seriously Cold People by Sylvia Bo Bilvia

6443776281_f97d115886_z[1]All this talk of super-plush projects has gotten me in a very cozy mood.  There’s only one thing I can do now… I’m off to go put on as many scarves, sweaters and slippers as I can find, and bake myself a pumpkin pie.  Happy Fall, everyone!

The Final Stretch

6 Replies

This weekend, after a good night’s sleep and several calming breaths, I actually managed to (nearly) finish my Persistence is Key Sweater!

I even wove in all my ends and blocked it!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt fits almost perfectly (although it’s oddly long in the armpits, which is strange, but I think if I re-block it, that might fix that up.  And if it doesn’t, I’ll just have to live with long armpits.  There’s no way I’m ripping it out and re-doing this whole sweater.)  And, I absolutely love the cable on the back.  It’s gorgeous!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd I’m really happy with the little touches of garnet-colored yarn that I added to the cast-off edges (collar, cuffs and hem).  I think the added color really make the sweater special.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERANow, I just have to pick out some buttons.

I’m terribly indecisive when it comes to these things, so I want your opinion!  Should I get buttons that are:

Antique silver?

12196622Garnet red?11065489Wooden/coconut/bone?1833391So many options, and only one button band.  What would you use?

OK, Maybe You Should Have Stopped Me

4 Replies

The downside of my Finish-The-Project-Or-Die-Trying mania is that sometimes everything gets a little out of hand.  Point in case, last night:

9:00 – I sit down with a glass of wine, an episode of Castle, and the determination to finish one button band before I go to bed.  I cast on, and start knitting.

9:30 – I reach the button hole row, and read over my pattern (poorly, as it turns out).  I go ahead and make all my button holes.

9:35 – I make it to the end of the button hole row, and I realize that I didn’t count correctly, and as a result, I don’t have enough space for all the buttons that I wanted to add.  I tink back the row.  Not to worry.  It’s just a small setback.

9:45 – I begin the row again, this time making sure that I do the right thing.  (But, of course, I still don’t actually re-read the pattern.  Because I am stubborn and dumb.)

9:50 – I finish the row, and realize I counted my stitches wrong (again), but this time in a different way.

9:55 – I pout and pour myself another glass of wine.

10:00 – I swear under my breath, and tink back the row again.

10:10 – I knit the row one more time, being extra-special 100% sure that I do the right thing.

10:15 – I finish the row and count that I have the right number of button holes.  I do a little happy dance and keep knitting.

10:45 – I sit back, almost ready to bind off the button band, and check over my work.  The button holes are nicely spaced across the whole button band, but something looks a little off, a little wonky.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASee that button hole?  (It’s kind of hard to see in the photo, sorry.)  See how it’s kind of halfway up the little piece of ribbing?  I think to myself, “Huh, shouldn’t the button holes be centered in the purl sections of the ribbing?  That’s a weird way to design a pattern.  Oh well.”

10:50 – I start getting ready to bind off, but the off-kilter button holes are still bugging me.  I get out my computer and start poking around on Ravelry.  The other people who’ve made this sweater don’t have weird off-kilter button holes.  I am perplexed and a little frustrated.

11:00 – I actually re-read the pattern again, and I realize that I’ve made a huge mistake.  What I thought was a typo in the pattern (that I half read two hours earlier) was actually not a mistake at all.  I realize that I am stupid and arrogant for not really reading the directions.

11:10 – I consider ripping out the button band back to the holes, swear a little bit, and have a pity party for myself.

11:20 – I cry uncle, and give up for the night.  I’ll re-do the band in the morning, when I’m less blinded by stupidity and frustration.  Ugh.

 

Don’t Stop Me Now!

4 Replies


I’ve gotten to that point in my Persistence is Key Cardigan.  The point at which I start ignoring the laundry piling up, letting the lawn grow long, and forgetting to go to the grocery store (I managed to run out of milk without noticing last night.  I had to drink my tea black this morning.  Like a heathen!)

When I start a sweater (or other big project), I begin with gusto.  But soon enough, the dreary slog of making a big item with teensy tiny needles, stitch by stitch, begins to take over and I get less and less excited.  I still will put in a few rows’ work every day, but I won’t sit for hours, knitting away.

But then, suddenly, something clicks in my brain, and I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I realize that if I can just put in the time, I’ll have a brand new, finished, cozy, wonderful sweater (or afghan).  And I want that finished sweater.  No.  I need that finished sweater.

The next thing I know, I’m up all hours of the night, missing meals, and letting my house fall apart around me.

And the ridiculous thing is, that I’m not even that close to finishing.  This time, the mania set in when I still had a half a sleeve, the collar, and two button bands to knit up, not to mention weaving in all my ends, sewing on buttons, and blocking the dang thing.

At least I’m making headway, and enjoying myself.   Soon (though not soon enough), I will be the proud owner of a brand new cabled sweater.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Grandma, Don’t Read This Post!

5 Replies

I’m 99.9% sure that my grandma doesn’t have the internet any more.  I believe she got rid of it a couple months ago.

That being said, if I’m wrong: Grandma, stop reading!   Christmas spoilers are ahead!  You have been warned.

OK, it should just be us now.

Remember last January when I made a sweater for my grandfather?  Well, this summer Grandpa asked me to make a sweater for my Grandmother, too.  He asked for something similar, but blue, and well, I can’t say no to a request like that.

I’ve decided to knit up a Norwegian-inspired sweater for Grandma this year.  I’m thinking a top-down, yoked sweater (because I love making top-down, yoked sweaters).  I’ll include a Norwegian star/snowflake pattern across the shoulders.  And, because that’s basically all she wears, it’ll be a cardigan.

Something like this, but simpler, and with buttons:

IMG_3358ny_medium2[1]The next step was to pick out yarn.  I am a big fan of Knit Picks (as a naturally frugal person), so I decided to give their Biggo yarn a try.  I have worked with it before, and it is lovely, soft, super thick, warm, and washable.  (Since there’s only three months until Christmas, having a big gauge is especially important.)  Mom and I talked about colors, and we settled on Sapphire Heather (main color), Dogwood Heather, and Cobblestone Heather.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI think these colors look lovely next to each other.  Unfortunately, there isn’t as much contrast between the Cobblestone and the Sapphire as I would have liked.   But, sometimes colors look different in the skein and knitted up, so I’ll need to work up a swatch to see how the colors play together when they’re knit up, just in case I need to get a different gray color.

I’m itching to get started knitting up this sweater.  I can’t wait to see how it goes.  (But unfortunately, I have to wind up all the skeins into balls, first, or I will spend the next three months fighting with big tangles of yarn.  Woe is me.

Three Months

2 Replies

(Sung to the tune of “Christmas is Coming”)

Christmas is coming

My list is getting full.

Please knit a sweater

From my bag of wool.

If you cannot knit a sweater,

A simple hat will do.

If you cannot knit a simple hat,

Then god bless you!

032ce3630d50f0a28cfbdd01681a791b[1](In case it wasn’t clear, this is my round-about way of reminding you that we have three months until Christmas.  I’ve got to get knitting!)

What’s On Your Needles?

6 Replies

The blog’s been a little thin lately, unfortunately.  I’ve been working on some really cool patterns for you guys, but unfortunately, I can’t share them with you yet.  (Actually, I signed a contract that said I have to keep them secret.  I’m really excited about this, but I realize it makes me sound a little like a tool.)  Soon enough, you’ll get to see what I’m working on.

But what I can show you is my progress on my Persistence is Key sweater.  Remember, I accidentally-on-purpose ended up with a box full of camel-colored wool, and needed a sweater pattern?IMG_2928_medium2[1]

Well, I’ve been knitting away, between other projects, getting a few rows done every day, and the sweater is growing.  It’s a top-down sweater, and I’ve gotten the shoulders and body done down to right around the belly-button.  It’s an extremely detailed pattern, a little more complicated than I usually pick out, but the sweater is coming along marvelously.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI’m absolutely in love with the cable that runs down the back of the sweater (even though it’s a huge pain in the butt).  And the yarn I’m using (Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Superwash) is doing a fantastic job of showing the cable at its best.

(Oh my god!  Just now, looking at the two photographs, I realized that I did the surrounding cables wrong!  See how the two surrounding cables on the yellow sweater twist in different directions?  Mine both twist in the same direction.  Shoot!  I guess I’ve got some thinking to do.  Should I let it go, and just live with the cables the way they are, or should I pull out the cable, and reknit it the other direction?  What do you think?)

So, that’s what’s on my needles.  What are you working on?  I’d love to hear about your projects.  And, if you want to send me a photo (knittingontheneedles@gmail.com), I’d love to share your knitting with everybody  else on the blog.