stash, knit, repeat

Well, it’s about time!

Pattern: The February Lady Sweater, by Flint Knits

Yarn: Dream in Color Classy, Deep Seaflower, 4.5 hanks

Time Elapsed: Months, people. Months.

Notes/Modifications: My row gauge was off, leading to a few mis-starts. Eventually I just did the math, and it all worked out fine. I also lengthened the sleeves, since the recipient likes ‘em long. But otherwise, I knit it as written–right down to the big ass buttons.

Although I was right that the style of this sweater wasn’t for me, I’m so very glad I had an opportunity to knit it. It was a simple, fun, engaging knit. The garter and lace patterns both show up the depth of the yarn, they’re fun, but also easily memorized.

What more could you want, really? And I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk up this yarn. The yardage is great, the color is exquisite, the drape and softness are fantastic. Beth declared it perfect, and keep in mind that I’ve made her a sweater out of Calmer.

There are two things you might want to watch out for: One, it can grow quite a bit when blocked, so handle your wet garment carefully. I managed to get about 4 extra inches in the bust of this sweater, and I was pretty careful not to pull. I had been warned, so I wanted those extra 4 inches, but if you knit the garment to fit before blocking…

Second, I alternated hanks of the yarn to prevent any pooling. I don’t think it would have done so anyway, but I’m kind of a perfectionist about my knitting, so there you are.

Two thumbs up for the pattern, the yarn, and the combination. Now, on to more FOs!

80th verse, same as the first! I can say definitively that the Classy rips like a dream.

The FLS for my friend Beth is now on its third incarnation, finally looks good, and I’m totally in love. The yarn rips like a dream, knits like a dream, and the colors are phenomenal. I’ll say that I didn’t really care so much for the way it looked in the hank. But knit up? Divine. A word of warning for those knitting the FLS: Pay attention to your row gauge, and don’t be afraid of the maths.

Those of you who guessed that the dark purple blob in my last post was Baroque from knitty were right. I’m knitting them up as part of a swap for handspun sock yarn. I totally think I’m getting the better half of this deal.

Aaaand Salina continues, slowly but surely (like everything else these days). It’s going to be a favorite this fall, I think.

Aaaand I’m knitting the Devon socks from Cookie A’s new book in Sundara sock yarn, I think Deadly Nightshade?

So, yeah. The astute among you have probably noticed that these are the same four projects from a month ago. I’m remembering, day in and day out, why I like to be mostly monogamous to my projects. It seems to take FOREVER to finish something, this way.

I guess what I’m saying is that I’m desperately in need of some inspiration over here. What’s the FO you’re currently drooling over in blogland?

Wow. I’m pretty embarrassed that a month went by without me even noticing. That’s life sometimes, I guess. To be fair, two of my four projects are gifts, and I was keeping one of them a secret.

Can you tell what it is? My other WIPS: Salina (for me), the February Lady Sweater (for Beth), and a pair of Devon socks from the new Cookie A book (for me). I now remember why I was a strictly monogamous knitter for so long.

I’m just loving the simplicity of Salina–I’ve now finished the back and both of the sleeves, and have a few inches of the front done. The combination of the tweedy yarn and the stockinette/moss stitch makes me squeal. I’m going to really, really enjoy wearing this sweater. So far, the only changes I’ve made are to increase the length of the sweater some, but as I get to the appropriate place I’m going to throw some short rows in there too.

Sadly, I currently feel as angsty as Jacob looks about the FLS. Following the pattern produced some really horrible raglan increases for me (I’m sure my row gauge is off), but I blindly knit on, alternating balls of Classy, for another 8 inches on the body. I finally admitted to myself that it looked awful and started ripping last night–I’m about halfway ripped. Sigh.

The last bit of news, I guess, is that I’m doing more stash restructuring. I’ve got a bunch of lovely, lovely yarns up on my ravelry destash page that just aren’t right for me. If they’re right for you, let me know–I need to make room for the couple of sweaters’ worth of sport-weight gray yarn I picked up at WEBS this past weekend.

(I’m nothing if not predictable in my yarn taste!)

It was clearly time for another sweater for Jacob. It had been a whole month!

Pattern: Twisted Tree Pullover (rav link)

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca, Color 6296, 3.25 hanks or close to 700 yards

Time Elapsed: Rav tells me about a month and a half.

Notes/Modifications: The only real advice I can add to this very clear, well-written pattern is to make sure you buy some extra yarn. I used around 50 yards more than the pattern called for, for the 4/5 year-old size, and that’s with making the neck a little wider than called for in the pattern. (I stopped when there were around 10 more stitches on the needles than the pattern called for, since I know Jacob is sensitive about things being tight over his head.)

As you can see, I chose to size this one a little large for the boy, since sweater season is almost over here and I want him to be able to wear it this fall. He doesn’t seem to mind it being oversized, and as per usual wouldn’t take it off after the photo shoot.

You should absolutely make this sweater. The cables and stockinette/reverse stockinette panels keep things interesting for the knitter, it’s practically seamless, and the result is plain enough for even the most finicky boy. (As a matter of fact, Jacob’s 15-year-old aunt said she’d enjoy one sized up for her, too!) The pattern is clear and concise, and the knitting is just such a great blend of interesting and simple enough to do at a knit night.

Plus, it’s dead cute when worn.

One more piece of advice, and that’s to block the daylights out of this sweater–the panels of course want to curl, so if you want the crisp block look you really need to pin it out. All in all, three thumbs up!

Wow, it’s been ages since I shared anything other than an FO with you. Obviously, the knitting is continuing post-kids! The blogging, not so much. Not because I don’t have time, actually–since I only work part-time I actually spend a fair amount of time here at home with the boys, and they’re both pretty independent kids. But my husband is working from home at the moment, and we only have one computer. As much as I love my phone, a good blogging device it is not.

Still, the time has come to make some resolutions and follow them, so hopefully you’ll be seeing more of me here soon. Spring frenzy has definitely hit this part of New England, so when I cast off another Jacob sweater the other day?

I pretty much had no choice but to cast on 3 projects to replace it.

(February Lady Sweater for my friend Beth, and a couple of pairs of mystery socks.) I’ve wanted to knit the FLS for about an eon now, but it’s completely wrong for my body type. (While I never really LIKE it when dressing for my figure limits my wardrobe, I do appreciate the results–thanks, Trinny and Susannah!) The happy solution arrived when my very good friend and excellent knitwear recipient Beth admired the sweater. A few hanks of Dream in Color Classy later, I was good to go. I’m really enjoying it so far, and especially enjoying the speedy progress of a worsted-weight sweater as compared to my other sweater project:

Salina is pretty much exactly right for my body type, in my favorite color, and a glorious yarn. Unfortunately, such teeny tiny stitches do result in fairly slow going. Still, I have the back and most of one sleeve done now, so I have hope I’ll be able to wear it this spring.

Why two pairs of socks, you ask? Well, one particular part of my stash has really been inspiring me lately.

Happy spring!

A test-knit is finished and released, so I have yet another FO to share!

Pattern: Mintyfresh’s Merion Mitts, hot off the presses

Yarn: MadelineTosh Worsted, color “Celadon Pottery” (from initial run of Magnolia Society)

Time to Knit: A couple of weeks–these are very quick.

Notes/Modifications: No modifications, since this was a test-knit. I’m not even sure if I really have notes for you, but I love these mittens so much that I want to at least share some pictures with you.

These mittens are chock full of very clever details. Seed stitch palms (including the inside of the thumb!), a slightly curved shape, and twisted rib.

They fit very well, and even though I test-knit the small size for my sister-in-law I wished I could keep them for myself. Jacob loved them too, as he loves everything hand-knitted.

The yarn, too, is fantastic:

Amy named this color “Celadon Pottery”, and you can see for yourself what an amazing job she did. It’s a dream to work with, soft but sturdy, and one can’t really say enough about how great MadTosh colors are.

Two enthusiastic thumbs up!

I know, I know. Two posts in two days! But I finally finished this, and I just couldn’t wait to show you all.

Pattern: Tomten Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman

Yarn: Sundara sock yarn, “Bronzed Forest” and “Mossy” (both from Autumn Seasons Collection I)

Time Elapsed: I finished the knitting in around a month of “work time”, but waited ages when I ran out of yarn and then again (for a whole month!) before putting the zipper in the finished product.

Notes/Modifications: I used a smaller gauge than she recommends–fortunately, the pattern is modular. For those interested in the numbers, I cast on 168 stitches and wound up with a 6-12 month size jacket. I lengthened both the body and the sleeves to make it a larger jacket-style sweater.

There is something to be said for writing up a FO entry as soon as you finish a project–I’ve mostly forgotten all of the in-progress stuff for this sweater!

I used two different colors of sock yarn, both from the “Autumn” season of Sundara’s first Season’s Collection. Convinced I’d run out of yarn well before starting the hood, I begged and bought and traded my way through several other hanks of these colors before finding two from the same dye lots. In the end, I needn’t have worried–the sleeves went extremely quickly and I’m sure I would have had enough yarn for the sweater with a mandarin-style collar.

All’s well that ends well, though–with the extras, I’ve already knit Jacob some socks and I have plenty more left. The yarns look gorgeous blended together (I did 2 rows of each and avoided all end-weaving–thanks, Ms. Monster Yarn, for the suggestion!

When I finished the sweater, I knew it needed a zipper. Nothing else would tame Daniel’s adorable pudgy belly so nicely, and nothing else would be half as quick to get on him. Poor Tomten sat for over a month, waiting for its zipper. I finally screwed up my courage last night, and it was far, far easier than I thought it would be to put in.

I guess the only downside to the whole project is that I feel like the shape of the arms is weird when laid out flat. This might be me–looking at the finished product, it seems to me that I should have decreased on the underside of the sleeve instead of the top. But I’m too lazy to check, because it looks just fine when worn.

All in all, this is a very successful first hand-knit for the new addition to our family.

Well, I think so, anyway. And Daniel can’t talk to argue.

Richard Scarry’s “Busy, Busy Town” is the current favorite “read to myself” book around these parts. So of course, I give you the Busy, Busy Sweater:

Pattern: Chunky Cabled Sweater, from “Adorable Knits for Tots”

Yarn: Sublime Cashmerino Aran

Time Elapsed: Somewhere on the order of a month?

Notes/Modifications: I knit the 3 year old size, but lengthened the arms and length to accommodate my lanky toddler. To get the numbers, I measured a sweater that fit him well. All in all, this was a fun knit.

Jacob is a real sweetie about asking me to knit him things, but this time he out-did himself. He followed along on my progress avidly, wanting to know exactly what each piece was and how they would fit together. The morning after I finished the sweater, he retrieved it from my knitting basket, put it on over his existing shirt/sweater combo, and then refused to take it off. It’s gotten nearly daily wear since, excepting the days that reach above 40 degrees.

With all of those cables, in an aran cashmere blend, this is one warm sweater. For all of the apparent complexity, this was actually quite an intuitive knit and after the first couple of repeats of the major cable I didn’t need the chart anymore. (Oh, there’s one mistake in the directions, which is noted on Ravelry–I forget it now, but one of the rows should be a “rest” row and it’s listed as a cabling row instead. Row 6, probably?)

I guess the last thing to talk about is the yarn. The Sublime really lives up to its name in terms of the knitting experience. It’s smooth, it’s shiny, it’s got excellent stitch definition and is gorgeous when cabled. The downside is predictable, too–it’s a bit pilly. Still, I’d definitely work with it again.

Jacob says he’d wear it again, too–this sweater is his “favoritest”.

I wasn’t sure I’d like it, honestly.

Pattern: The Good Luck Cowl

Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug, Color 118

Time Elapsed: Under a week

Notes/Modifications: I knit this pattern exactly as written. It is my first cowl, and I was more than dubious about how useful it would be, but one hank of yarn isn’t really enough for a scarf and I knew I wanted this around my face.

The yarn was a gift from the lovely Marlena and I really couldn’t be happier with it. The color is gorgeous, it’s soft but not pilly, it’s springy as all hell.

The pattern was clear, easy, and fun to knit.

And as it turns out, a cowl is really quite a useful thing! At least if you live in Boston.

Two enthusiastic thumbs up!