knitting school dropout

a few posts ago, i hinted at starting a new sweater. i actually started it the same day i finished my last sweater, but aside from the mention, i neglected to blog about it at all. well, here it is, just in time for a drop in temperature!

the details
pattern: none. i was heavily inspired by this baby sweater that i knit in march. i didn't use the pattern at all, but i loved the garter yoke so much that i knew i had to make something similar for myself.
yarn: rowan scottish tweed aran in "lewis grey", 4.5 skeins
needles: one us8 5mm 40" circular for everything, even magic-looping the sleeves
time to knit: march 21- april 29, with some socks and a shawl in there somewhere
more info: i knit this top-down, working 3 increase rows within the garter yoke. after that, i switched to raglan increases for the stockinette portion. i knit the button band as i went, adding buttonholes every 8 rows eta: i meant every 16 rows. sorry!. i tried it on throughout the whole process, adding waist shaping, and after that, a few extra increases for a "booty allowance". heh. the sleeves were knit using magic loop, without any shaping.

i really wanted yellow or red buttons, but after sewing on a few different ones, the orange won out. they're just cheap plastic buttons from a fabric store, but i really like them.

i am so happy with this sweater. i'm planning on squeaking out a few wears this spring by using it instead of a jacket on cold mornings. cross your fingers for some cool days for me, will ya?

Posted by melissa at 07:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (66) | TrackBacks (0)

i've been carrying around this project in my tote bag for the last month, knitting a few rows here and there. yesterday's sudden cold snap had me powering through the last few inches.

the yarn, sock hop, really is as great as everyone claims. i wish i had more, but i refused to let myself buy some at the last sale. i hadn't finished this pair yet, and all my money was going to my mechanic anyway. where's my medal?

these socks were knit over 58 stitches on a us1 circular, toe-up (my favorite), with a figure 8 cast-on and short-row heel . i thought plain old stockinette was the way to go. the yarn is so pretty, it doesn't really need a pattern. i could have probably gone close to knee-high with these, but i thought i'd wear them more if i stuck with my standard height. i'm especially happy with the colors. this colorway, called "i feel free", is a combination of my favorite blues and greens. these have officially become my new favorite socks.

happy monday, folks!

Posted by melissa at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (23) | TrackBacks (0)

aww..
thanks for all the sweater/birthday love. i really enjoyed reading all the comments over what has been a crazy week.

a few days ago, our first niece was born, and that's pretty much all the girlfriend and i can talk about at the moment. yay auntiehood!

i've been inexplicably tired this week, like, totally useless, shouldn't bother leaving the house tired, and i have no idea why. needless to say, there hasn't been all that much knitting around here.

i did manage to squeak out a little shawl though. i knit it through some work meetings and lunch breaks and despite the tiredness, forced myself to knit at least 1 pattern repeat a night.

pattern: flower basket shawl by evelyn clark
yarn: elsebeth lavold silky wool, color 15 (yellow). 1.5 skeins
needles: 4.5 mm

like most of evelyn clark's patterns, the lace pattern was easy to knit, but looks really pretty. i only did 7 repeats to the main chart, because i was planning on wearing this as a scarf. the silky wool is nice, but i'm not totally in love with it, and i can't pinpoint why. i'm usually totally in love with everything. i do love the color though, a really perfect yellow.

in the interest of keeping it "real" at chez knittingschooldropout, a very tired-looking, shawl-in-action shot:

ugh, there's no hiding it.

what's next?
after some serious napping, i'm casting on for the mate to my beloved norwegian snail mitten.

that'll be my bring-everywhere-knit-during-everything project. i also have a new sweater on the needles. more about that one later...

Posted by melissa at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (21) | TrackBacks (0)