Allllll-most

Almost to the armholes on Fylingdales…another inch or so ~

I added an inch to the stockinette portion, in anticipation of adding at least a couple of inches in length below the arms. But as I knit it up, I realized this would make the piece much too heavy.

The yarn I’m subbing, Ellan Peruvian Sierra Aran, is a wool/alpaca blend with 92 yards per 50g. Ergo, I’m only to the armholes and that sucker is already just over 250g. So I am leaving the extra inch below the arms, but an going to shorten the armhole depth by one inch. Overall, it should be the same length as the pattern.

I remember now, when knitting a sweater in one piece to the arms, when you get the armholes you say “Whew!” Just like when knitting top down and you get to split for the arms you say “Whew!”

However, I am enjoying the pattern and the yarn, and the combination of the two. The alpaca fuzz lends a halo to the gansey (or is it guernsey) pattern. It’s less crisp and more subtle. Kind of faded. I like it. I did add a little shaping in the body about the stockinette and welt lines. I’m hoping it takes some of the box shape out of it, however minimally.

This is all I’ve been working on. My gifty knitting is stalled while I wait for yarn and other supplies.

Hoping to split for the arms this morning, because I want to take it in the car on our way to the Aquarium of the Pacific today! Whee! We love this place and haven’t been for years. What’s extra nice is this visit is courtesy of a colleague who passed along two tickets he had gotten at an event and couldn’t use. Extra whee!

Hope your weekend is also off to a fantastic start

The finished, the started, the links

Finished a pair of Maine Morning Mitts, for a gift, a simple and great pattern. Made a little longer in the cuff and with a contrast edging of single crochet, because I spied a little leftover ball of brown Manos in the stash. 60 g of Manos and US7 needles.

Started a Fylingdales Cardigan yesterday. I’ve wanted one ever since, actually before, getting a copy of A Fine Fleece. I decided that if I started and finished one sweater this fall/winter, it would be a Fylingdales.

I’m subbing Elann Sierra Aran, an 80/20 wool/alpaca blend with a silky hand and a lovely fuzz, in Fiddlehead Green. I am fondly anticipating how the guernsey stitch pattern will look with the alpaca halo.

The only real detraction I have of A Fine Fleece is the pattern sizes, the smallest size often being far too large for someone of my build. For instance, the smallest size for the Fylingdales pattern is 42″. In these instances, it appears that having sized the pattern for one size smaller, with the same differential as between the larger sizes, say 4 inches, would have been perfect. Was it too much trouble? I understand that many are classic-leaning styles, and are meant to have a larger, even oversized fit. But there’s something to be said for being cognizant of the times and of your audience.

However, thanks to the maths, this problem is easily solved. With a gauge of 18 sts instead of 16 sts / 4 inches, following the smallest pattern size will result in a circumference of about 38″. Presto. In addition to sizing it down, I plan to add 2-3 inches to the length below the arms. I want more of a long line cardi, less a boxy cardi coat. I think I’ll also add some minor waist shaping in the seed stitch area at the sides.

We’ll see how all that goes.

And finally, a sprinkling of pattern and preview links.

Remember when Flint Knits Pam published her adaptation of EZ’s February Baby Sweater for grown ass women, and it was genius? Well, Stash Knit Repeat Amy has published a gorgeous pullover version. Get it here. I’ll wait.

In a similarly iconic vein, tentenknits Margaux has published the 5th Avenue Infinity Scarf pattern, available here. I’m betting this one will be viral this winter, because it is a quick knit, is good for stashbusting, is one size fits all, and, most to the point, is quite a trendy piece of knitwear. These infinity scarves are popping up everywhere, look good on just about everyone, and are genuinely useful. Why pay through the nose, if you want one, when you can make it? And now you don’t even need to suss out a pattern, if you don’t feel like it.

Zigzag Stitch Mandy has just published a pattern for End of May Mittens, to match the beautiful floral fair isle motif on her End of May Hat. And a particularly groovy free pattern from Berroco winged into my inbox the other day, the Mayer cardigan.

I recently discovered the website and designs of Grace Anna Farrow. She has several beautiful individual patterns for sale as well as the collection The Fine Line. As insanely gorgeous as the patterns in The Fine Line are, I doubt I will end up getting it, only because I don’t feather to knitting with laceweight all that often. But the designs and photography are serious knitting eye candy.

The previews for Interweave Gifts 2009 and Rebecca 40 are up. Interweave Gifts is jammed packed with 41 patterns that absolutely run the gamut from small whimsies to women’s sweaters. There’s something for everyone and every type of knitting, including three attractive men’s sweaters, and almost all timeless pieces. I only saw one pattern that was a repeat that I recognized, the Wine and Roses mitts. For the price ($15), I’m feeling this is a solid collection and a great buy.

Rebecca looks to have some cute designs as well. I’ve been meh about the last handful of magazines. I’ll have to see it in person. As much as I like Rebecca’s aesthetic in general, there are similar strains through many patterns. Now that I have a small collection of Rebecca’s, I am harder pressed to purchase more volumes unless there was something outstanding in it. Not as though we are hard pressed for patterns otherwise, eh?

Happy weekend!

PS ~ Thank you for all the well wishes. The time off really helped. I am almost feeling back to normal, just some lingering throat issues, and am starting to get my appetite back. We are grilling hot dogs this evening, simple and yummy, and I am so looking forward to it!

Air

Coming up for air. Blog air.

I’ve been sick. Again. I seemed fine for a spell at the end of September and then whammo. And, as always, complicated by fibro symptoms. Last week I realized I was losing the battle and needed a major break. I’ve been off since Friday, doing a little work from home today. Still not entirely well. But on the mend. I’ve lost over 5 pounds due to loss of appetite. I was thinking it’s been a bad cold, but now I’m wondering if it’s a mild flu. I had a fever one day, but not since. But I don’t think of colds causing queasiness and loss of appetite for extended periods. Hmmmm.

All of which is to say, I’ve had a lot of knitting time on my hands. I went a bit hat crazy, three in less than two weeks. Though one is a super secret knit, so no pics.

One for me, one for a gift – a Cabled Beret and a Porom.

Porom by Jared Flood; Grignasco Top Print, 2 skeins; US 6 & 8; no mods. This is for someone with a much larger head and roughly 14 times more hair than I. I am betting on this being a better fit on the intended, as it is too big and snoody on me.

  

Cabled Beret, from the first Debbie Bliss mag; Noro Silk Garden col. 269, 1.8 skeins; US 5 & 8; eliminated rows 19 through 34 to reduce it’s gargantuan pattern size, such that it will not eat my noggin. That’s never good. Love this natural colored hat, and it has that fit that doesn’t cause hat head. Yay!

With all this time, I’ve also read the The Time Traveler’s Wife, I couldn’t put it down. Audrey Niffenegger has recently released her second novel, called Her Fearful Symmetry. Looks interesting. I’ve gotten and perused this too:

This book is fantastic, incredibly information packed and easy to understand. Feeling like I have a start of a clue on the whole sewing business. I went thrifting (briefly, then I got tired and thirsty and went home, wha) for fabric today and found some goods.

I got that halter dress for the fabric and belatedly realized it could fit me, and it did! It will fit better when I gain some weight back. But it’s super comfy, and just needs a little mending at the end of the zipper. Great for the super-hot days. And when I don’t want to wear it, I’ll use the fabric. It’s lined with muslin too, all kinds of fabric goodness. The two pieces on the bottom I will cut up for sewing, mainly for practice. I wanted some fabric that I liked, but wouldn’t fear using until I get more comfortable. The right-side piece is a sheet, a little 70’s. $2.50 for both, can’t beat it!

I could see thrifting for fabric All The Time. It was fun, looking for that jewel to repurpose.

Life is a just bowl of…

knitted leaves?

Working on a few Cocoknits’ Knitted Wreaths for holiday gifties. I’m using a double strand of Kidsilk Haze (from the stash, yay!) on US6, and so far have 20 of 27 leaves needed for 3 wreaths. Thankfully, I’m not tired of them yet. Each little leaf knits up so quick – a little over 10 minutes after finishing ends.

Thank you so much for the wonderful compliments on Lightweight Tweed. Indeed I have already worn it twice, hurrah for cooler temps, and it’s a delightful SoCal sweater. Warm enough to keep a slight chill off, but open and light enough not to overheat. I am also incredibly flattered by Hannah (the designer), as she featured my FO on her blog! I was positively floored going through my blog roll and seeing that. Wow.

Another happy happening this week – the arrival of this:

What’s even happier is this came to me as a gift through a bit of serendipity. N was recently visiting his dad and stepmom and mentioned that I was thinking about taking up sewing. It turns out there was a never-opened machine sitting in the garage collecting dust, and would I like it? N’s stepmom’s sister** ordered it – a basic Brother model, perfect for learning – got it and then decided she didn’t want to sew after all. And it had been stored in their garage ever since. I still can’t get over how this fell into my lap.

I had a few bits of fabric, some gifted and given, but I hadn’t purchased any fabric yet. Fabric meant for the sewing stash. So this is my first official sewing fabric purchase:

There’s a shop in town, I’ve just found, called Sew Joe. BTW, at the same time I discovered South Pasadena also has Common Thread Studio, a great shop. I’m very encouraged by there being two shops close by for materials, assistance, and studio time, if needed!

Anyway, I went in for the martini fabric, at request of my sis L, and they had a table of clearance fabrics – and I loved this cotton leaf print. I hesitate to invest in uber-fancy fabrics until I get a clue. But I can see thais fabric thing getting out of hand in short order.

So, in fact, life is just a bowl a cherries.

__________________

** This reminds me of that line in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – “My best friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who’s going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night.” Love that movie.

FO: Lightweight Tweed

After some marathon knitting this weekend, I was able to finish up Lightweight Tweed on Sunday afternoon!

  

I used just a smidge more than 5 skeins of Rowan Felted Tweed in Herb, about 965 yards. I first swatched with US6 and got about 22 sts=4inches. The pattern calls for 24 sts so I swatched with a US5. But I just didn’t like the fabric as much. After a little figuring I decided to try to modify the numbers to match the larger gauge.

I cast on for the XS, the size I would have wanted at gauge, even though my neck would be larger so that I could start with the same numbers at the beginning of the raglan increases. In other words, I took the easy route. I did a total of 21 2-row increase rounds on the body, instead of 26, and 3 sets of decreases on the arms, instead of 5. Other than that I followed the directions as written. The fit is a little different through the shoulders because of my gauge, I think. It grew to amazing proportions after a soak, far more than my swatch! I tossed it in the dryer for about 7 minutes to get it down to a manageable size. But overall quite comfortable and I like larger slouchy turtleneck! I have a feeling I will be wearing this alot.

This weekend saw a sharp drop in temps, and the cool breezes got my knit mojo going! Last night I got started in on holiday gifts, and am going to get back to it now. I can’t believe it’s already October, yeesh.