Tag Archives: sweater

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?

Sheep in a Jeep and a Sweater on my Needles

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I’m stoked, you guys.  I finished my work knitting (thank god), and that means I finally get to work on the sweater I’ve been thinking about for months now!

That’s right, I’m going to do it!  I’m going to make a Sheep in a Jeep sweater for my kid!

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I dug through my stash and, would you believe, I had all the colors I needed for my design!  (Except for white, which was easy enough to fix.)  I’m using Knit Picks Hawthorne, because it’s sturdy enough to hold up to a one-year-old, it’s machine washable and it’s fine enough that I can do color-work in it without it getting weird.  Also, it’s what I had in my stash, and you know I like knitting from my stash.

I’m kind of winging the pattern, basing it roughly on the measurements of a similar gauged sweater (Christmas in July), but making it a bottom-up, raglan, v-neck, instead of a top-down, yoked, crew-neck.  So basically it’s an entirely different sweater.

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The bottom of the sweater will be brown, with a row of radishes “growing” in the soil, then blue sky above.  I’m kind of on the fence if I want radishes on the sleeves, too.  I don’t know if color-work sleeves are a good idea for a toddler sweater.  But, I’ve got a while before I have to decide.

I’m so excited about this project!  And, if it turns out, I might just turn it into a pattern!

What are you excited about these days?

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?

This is just to say

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I have knit
the stripes
that are on
the sweater
and which
you are probably
looking forward
to wearing
Forgive me
the ends are unwoven
so annoying
and so many
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I don’t have much exciting to share today, except that I’m making this sweater (another Flax Light) for a friend’s kid. And while it’s turning out super cute, it’s driving me up the wall with all the ends.  Not sure if I’ll finish it in time for their birthday (or ever).
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(If you’re not familiar with the poem “This Is Just To Say” by William Carlos Williams, I’m not having a stroke, I’m making a very funny (?) joke about poetry.)

(I guess I’m just in a weird mood today… or maybe I just need more coffee.)

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!

Cruising Along

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I’m making headway with my Soldotna Crop, and I have to say, I’m really pleased with how it’s turning out.

I was concerned about the pinkness of the pink and the purpleness of the purple in the yoke.  (It’s really a crazy amount of super bold color-work, and I admit that by the end of it, I was starting to get nervous.)  But, now that I’m chugging along with the body, I really like the contrast between the bold, colorful top and the understated body.  Though, if I’m being honest, I kind of never want to do a “field of dots” sweater ever again. It’s just enough color-work to be a pain, but not enough to be exciting. (It does look nice, though…)

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I took a break from the body last night, and worked up the “sleeves.” I don’t think I’ve ever finished both sleeves on a sweater in one sitting (even a baby sweater).  This was really just an inch or so of ribbing- super simple and satisfying.  Now I think that all sweaters should have short sleeves!

I can’t wait for this thing to be finished and blocked (and those ends to be woven in… ugh).

But then I’ll have to figure out what to wear with it… That’ll be the tricky part.

Knitting Along

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Ya’ll, this pattern is fun!  It’s been a minute since I did anything with this much color-work and I’m enjoying it thoroughly.

While last time I made a big deal about following someone else’s pattern and not doing any of my own math, I must admit I cheated a little bit.  I’d heard people complaining about the neck/short row situation on this sweater, so I changed it up a little.  Instead of working 7 rows of ribbing for the collar, I did 5. And instead of doing 5 sets of short rows, I did 3.  I think it’ll do nicely.  No turtleneck here!IMG_1943.JPGAnd I think I’m liking how these colors are playing together for the most part.  There’s still a part of me that’s a little skeptical of the pink-yellow variegated, but I think that’s because it’s just so far outside of the colors I usually pick.  And, I am a little concerned about the contrast between the pink and the gray in the big “arrow” section of the yoke.  (Though, honestly this picture makes it look pretty nice.  It’s a little less clear in real life.)IMG_1936.JPGI’m almost to the end of the yoke, which is both exciting (yay! I’m that much closer to finishing), and a little sad (boo! I’m that much closer to finishing).  It’s a fun little project, and with no sleeves and not much body to knit, it’ll be done before I know it.

What do you think of the colors?  I think I like them, but I’m still on the fence a bit.

 

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?