knitting school dropout

recently i resolved to divide my knitting time equally between work and personal projects. so far, i've been pretty good at sticking to it, and as a result, i have a new cardigan to wear.

this is the second one that i've knit. the first went to live at madelinetosh headquarters.

pattern: tea leaves (my own) available for purchase here
yarn: madelinetosh tosh dk (formerly called tosh worsted) 4 skeins in malachite for the size 34"
needles: 4 and 5mm
mods: shortened body by 1" and made 3/4 length sleeves that lined up perfectly with the end of the body. it's a perfect transitional weather piece, and it will get lots of wear now that spring is around the corner. because of the shorter length, i used less yarn than called for. also, i got stitch, but not row gauge, so my ruched areas are narrower than the original. i considered adding 2 more rows to those sections, but i ended up liking how it looked and decided not to.

i've been wearing this sweater everyday since it finished blocking. i'm so happy to have another finished knit in my closet. i predict a few more finished sweaters in the coming month or two.

Posted by melissa at 06:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBacks (0)

finally, a sweater for me.

you'd never know it from this blog, but i've knit a whole lot of bottom-up sweaters this year. i thoroughly enjoy getting the slog of sleeve knitting out of the way first, and saving the fun part (like this sweater's colorwork yoke) for the end.

my original plan was to knit a cowichan style sweater but do animal motifs in intarsia. then i remembered how much i disliked intarsia. i had already knit the body of the sweater back and forth when i changed my mind on the yoke design, so i ended up knittiing the fair isle portion back and forth. this is something i hadn't done before, and it wasn't nearly as fun as knitting it in the round.

the yarn was what compelled me to knit this sweater in the first place. i absolutely love british sheep breeds from rowan, and i have enough of the chunky to knit several sweaters. i used 6 balls of mid brown jacob for the main color and used less than a ball each of shetland moorit, black welsh and steel grey suffolk.

i knit the sleeves about an inch longer than i usually do and added an extra 2" to the body so that the girlfriend and i can share it (she's 5'10" and i'm 5'2"). it fits us both perfectly and the longer sleeves and length actually makes it a really cozy sweater for me. i've been wearing it instead of a jacket today!

i've got 3 other sweaters on the needles, so i'm pretty sure i'll have a few more to show soon. xo.

Posted by melissa at 05:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (59) | TrackBacks (0)

i still haven't smoked (almost 4 months, hooray!),

i got a part-time job at my favorite yarn store. i love it, though i'm not sure the customers really love my constant insistence that they check gauge. people, i say these things because i love you.

i went to rhinebeck and saw lots of friends

oh, and i finished a new pattern!

it's a top-down, round yoke cardigan with puckered yoke details. it's knit is the lovely madelinetosh tosh merino and is just the kind of sweater i love to wear; simple, with one nice detail. i hope you'll love to wear it too.

you can buy the pattern on ravelry today and after that it will be available for purchase at the madelinetosh site.

i'm two inches away from finishing my 17th sweater this year. the good news is, this one is just for me. i'll be back in a few days with the details.

Posted by melissa at 08:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (31)

the busyness of life, and knitting, and pattern writing has kept me away from the blog lately. i thought i'd just check in with a few things worth mentioning.

first off, thanks for all the support in my attempt to quit smoking. so far, so good! i'm happy to say that it's day 84 today, which is a hell of a lot easier than days 1- 40-something, which were pretty sucky, honestly. it feels pretty normal to not smoke at this point, and i'm trying to not let the bit of weight gain get me down.

a few weeks ago, i packed up a bunch of single skeins of yarn that i had accumulated through numerous trips to webs and the book swatching process and sent them off to robyn for her one hundred hats project. i know that over time the single balls tend to start taking over my stash, so it seemed like the perfect way to put them to good use. you can also help robyn by donating even a dollar to help with shipping 100 hats!

if you ever wanted to thank kate for all the lovely free patterns she's given us, you can go read this post and thank her with a donation to the pspca.

i've been knitting lots of sweaters, but unfortunately only one is even scheduled to be out this year. luckily i have permission to share it's progress.

it's a top-down round yoke cardigan design in the very, very, soft tosh merino. the colorway is called tannehill, and it's almost impossible to describe. the colors look almost iridescent. here's a little peek at the back of the yoke:

the pattern will be out later this year and will be available through madelinetosh. i'll keep you posted here.

i did start a sweater for me as a little reward for quitting smoking. i cranked out the body and part of both sleeves in a couple days, but had to put it away to knit on other sweaters. my plan is to resurrect it right before rhinebeck and finish it up. it's knit in several different shades of rowan british sheep breeds chunky, and has a yet-to-be-determined yoke design.

oh, how i miss knitting for myself lately. my past knits don't really fit that great anymore since i went from a 34 to a 36", and everything else that i've knit this year has been sent away. this gal is going to be cold this winter :(

i'm also dying to knit more for my friend's baby. she's already outgrown the little hats and cardigans i knit for her earlier this year, so i'd love to make a few more. i am also totally using the same little girl as an excuse to buy amigurumi knits, and then knit everything in it. holy cute!

so, maybe a little vacation from designing is in order this winter. just a month of selfish knitting, that's all i really need.

Posted by melissa at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)

when i submitted this design to pam allen at classic elite, i called it the "favorite pullover". that's because it's the kind of sweater i had imagined throwing on again and again, something simple, in a beautiful yarn, with just a few interesting details.

this sweater is knit from the top down, except for the funnel neck, which is worked upward after completing the sweater to keep the shaping of the fold and button details the same as the sleeves.

i love this sweater, which is why i threw it on for a few pictures before i mailed it off in january. i normally avoid this when the yarn contains alpaca, and i paid for it with a lovely patch of eczema for a week afterward. please excuse the odd poses. i was trying to show the button details.

this pattern is available in one of classic elite's fall booklets, called saturday afternoon. (ravelry link)

you can queue the pattern on ravelry here.

thanks for all your kind words about my patterns. i really appreciate it!

in other news: i quit smoking! today is day 29, and i wish i could say that it's getting easier, but it's still pretty hard. i'm sticking with it anyway. i was a pack a day smoker, which is crazy, considering that i didn't smoke in my home or car. really, it's just hanging around outside or on the porch that's the hardest, so i'm pretty much avoiding that altogether. what's been helping a lot is my gym membership, keeping track of how many cigarettes i didn't smoke so far ( 580 ! ), and a little retail therapy. when i go to work in a new shirt or something, i like to tell people that it cost "3 packs of cigarettes". just trying to remember how much extra money i have now. wish me luck!

xo

melissa

Posted by melissa at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)

the fall 2009 issue of vogue knitting should be hitting newsstands any day now, so i thought i'd show you the sweater pattern that i have in it.

this cardigan is knit from the top down, in a super bulky yarn, and features leaf details at the neck and sleeve(i told you there were more leaf patterns coming soon). because of the alpaca content, i had to take ungodly amounts of benadryl and zyrtec to knit it and it's also the reason why my dress form is stepping in as a model. despite the allergy drama, i'm really happy with it. this sweater is a super quick knit ( i made it in just a few days). i'm hoping to make another for myself in an alpaca-free yarn of a darker color and wear it as a 3/4 sleeve jacket in the fall.

you can queue it on ravelry here.

i hope you like it!

i'll be finishing up gift knits for the rest of the day. i have a pile of hats that just need crown decreases (i'm writing patterns for almost all the hats i'm giving at the same time). once those are finished, i'm definitely casting on for something from vintage baby knits, which i just picked up today. but what? there are so many cute little things. i'm leaning towards a wool soaker and a cute boat neck sweater. i'll have to decide soon, my co-worker's baby just came a few weeks early.

Posted by melissa at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)

i haven't had much time for gift knitting in the last few months, but i do now. i've managed to cast on for an alarming number of gift knits (as well as a lot few for myself). the first one that's dry is a little pullover for the daughter of two of my friends.

i'm in love with this blue-grey shade of manos wool clasica called "pewter". the thick and thin nature of the yarn gives the simple sweater a little texture.

you'll notice that i threw in a little leaf on the side there. it's kind of a joke at this point, me and leaves. this sweet little girl has been the recipient of a whole slew of leafy knits, so it seemed appropriate. she may grow up hating leaf motifs, but maybe i'll be over them by then.

i knit this sweater from the bottom up, based on her specific measurements. i knit the body with 2 inches of positive ease and the sleeves with 1 inch, so it will fit in a few months.

i was considering writing up a pattern for this based on standard baby measurements for different ages, but wanted to make sure there isn't one like it out there first. so far, i've found roll neck baby sweaters, but not the bottom up raglan sort. let me know if you know of one in existence, or if you'd like it written up.

happy knitting,
melissa

Posted by melissa at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)

i tend to knit certain things when i'm stressed, bored, or just in need of a little break from a larger project. usually, i just knit hats. i still do that, but more often these days, i can be found knitting these random little leaves in various shapes and sizes, then looking for a use for them.
since one of my very best friends is super pregnant right now, i've been adding those leaves to lots of baby projects for her.

first up, a sweater that i'll give to her today. it's knit from local handspun and embellished with a leaf made from handspun scraps from other projects.
it's a pretty basic raglan, knit to itty-bitty measurements. i made shorter sleeves in the hopes that it could maybe still be worn in the spring.

i knit her this little hat out of noro's cashmere island (on super discount at webs), and finished it by knitting an i-cord at the top which morphed into a leaf. i then knotted the i-cord, so the leaf would stick out at the top. i love this hat, it's sickeningly soft. i must have a little cardigan for myself out of it someday.

then, there's this other simple ribbed hat that i knit, then stitched one of my many leaves to.

speaking of leafy things my top down leaf tee from classic elite's spring/summer book round pond is now up in ravelry.

here's a photo from the book (photo from classic elite yarns)

i have one more leafy thing to finish, and then maybe i'll move on to something else. I'm hoping that i'll be able to warp my new kromski harp rigid heddle loom, after the first attempt had me pretty frustrated. i picked up weaving made easy before i left for my trip, i'm hoping it'll make the process less aggravating. i hate when i'm not good at things on the first go.

Posted by melissa at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (22)

i've wanted a bulky cabled sweater ever since one of my co-workers started wearing one instead of a jacket. i drew up a few ideas, knit a few swatches, but i still wasn't sure what i was looking for. then i came across the first issue of the debbie bliss knitting magazine, and i knew exactly what i was going to make.

i think it was the 3/4 length sleeves that got me at first. it would be the perfect cabled jacket for layering over a long-sleeved shirt during transitional weather here in new england. i was right. the temperatures were in the mid-fifties today and this worked out to be the perfect little jacket.

the daylight usually disappears just a few minutes after i get home from work, so i managed to get only one decent photo. the rest went pretty much like this:

pattern: drop collar cabled jacket by debbie bliss
needles: us10 and us10.5
yarn: debbie bliss donegal chunky tweed (dark green), almost exactly 7 skeins.
mods:i knit the smallest size, but added a few extra decreases because i knew it would grow with blocking. i added 2 inches to the body, but kept the 3/4 sleeves. i'm short, and i have short arms, so they're more like bracelet length on me. i knit the body in pieces, but the sleeves in the round.
i sewed on the buttons in a fit of finished sweater excitement, and did a lousy job, so i'll have to reposition that pesky middle one.

the pattern does have some errors in the directions for the second front, but they're pretty obvious. just knit to the lengths previously established in the first side, and you'll be fine.

this is a quick knit, despite the fact that it languished in a corner for most of the 2 months it was on the needles. i blame all those small projects that kept distracting me.

now pardon me while i go obsessively knit cute hats from boutique knits. i'm finishing up the side slip cloche from the cover right now, then going straight for the sideways grande. there are some seriously cute hats in this book.

Posted by melissa at 05:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (92)

update: the pattern for the garter yoke cardigan is now available for purchase as a download in the vogue knitting pattern store (click here to view/purchase)

although i wasn't posting around here too much this summer, i was plenty busy knitting.

i really wanted to write up a pattern for my garter yoke cardigan , and when the opportunity arose to have it included in the fall/winter issue of knit.1, i jumped at the chance.
this is the version i knit for the magazine in the lovely plymouth royal llama silk, over a 2 week period in august. these photos were taken moments before i said goodbye to it forever. i'll see it soon, but on someone else, in the pages of the magazine. it's scheduled to hit newsstands on december 16th. i'm pretty darn excited about the whole thing.

if you're looking for it on ravelry, you can find it here.

i have another finished sweater to blog about too. my drop collar cabled jacket is done and blocking. see you in a few!

Posted by melissa at 07:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (31) | TrackBacks (1)

before the finished objects start piling up, i'd better blog about these recent knits. if they look kind of familiar, well, they are. i rarely knit the same thing twice, but sometimes, it's just necessary. i'm so pleased with both that i hardly minded at all.

first off, i tried my very best at replicating this baby sweater. my friend kept commenting on how much she loved it, and the next thing you know, she found herself knocked up pregnant. i immediately began scouring etsy, for the perfect handspun (i know, i should just get a wheel already). i was lucky enough to come across this shop, and found a close match.

the finished sweater is pretty damn close, i think:

it was another modified february baby sweater from the knitter's almanac. you just leave out the lace, replace it with stockinette, omit the bottom decreases and you end up with this swingy baby jacket.

although i don't intentionally knit for others all that much, i do have a tendency to give my hand-knits away if someone seems to really like one i'm wearing. this was the case with my last entrelac scarf. it was all "mine, mine, mine" for about a month, then i gave it to a friend who liked it. well, i missed it. a lot. i finally found the perfect colorway that made me want to knit it all over again. this is noro silk garden #249, people. if you love earthy tones and blue, go out and buy yourself some. i used 4 balls and it's the perfect length to get all bundled up in. love.

i've cast on for a bazillion different things recently. expect a parade of finished knits to come.

Posted by melissa at 07:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (28)

i started this sweater in january and almost immediately, the doubting began. i knit a little at the recommended gauge, but i didn't really like the airiness of the fabric, so i ripped it out and started over. i decided to cheat and knit the 36" size on smaller needles and hope for the best. the "best" being a sweater that fits, but is not quite as long as the original.

after completing the back, fronts, and sleeves, i ditched this for other sweaters. most of the time, the half-finished sweaters don't get picked up again after they've been abandoned for a few months. i think the color, and possibly the urge to just finish something, led me to pick it up again. i'm pretty glad i did.

it's going to need a partial re-blocking. my cats have a tendency to move damp knitwear around on the blocking board when i forget to close the door. there it is though, not too long and a perfect fit in the sleeves and upper body. the color is a favorite, and one that i don't own too much of. the only thing i would change is to lessen the flare of the skirt portion. with the shorter length, it flares out right at the hip, i rather like my hips flared out only as much as they already are.

don't let my less-than-excited face fool you. it's an expression that's 50% "omg, it's 86f out and i'm about to pass out" and 50% "let's get this over with before my next door neighbor asks why i'm taking a self-portrait in a sweater in july". i really think this will see some serious wear once it's cold enough for it.

the details, if you'd like:

pattern: tilted duster, by norah gaughan (i don't believe a link is necessary, as i'm the 8,000th person to make it)
yarn: berroco peruvia, 6 skeins in "sea turtle"
needles: us9 circulars for everything.
mods: not many. knit the sleeves in the round using magic loop, smaller needles

my love of green yarn is in full force at the moment, so i also knit up a little cowl with some handspun from my stash.

the pattern i kind of used was this one. i altered the length, rows, number of repeats and needle size though, so it was more like an "inspired by" kind of thing.

i have lots of work to do this weekend, and i'm hoping the 6 cups of coffee i've had so far are going to help me power through. have a lovely weekend!

Posted by melissa at 02:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

my age, in rows.

today is my 33rd birthday, and by sheer luck, my new sweater is finally dry.

last month, i decided to knit myself a simple sweater. it seems that those plain pullovers get the most use in my wardrobe, so why not make one in a beautiful yarn.

although it was an easy knit, the miles of stockinette got old pretty quick.

anyway, it's done now, and i love it.

the facts:
pattern: nope. this is a plain top-down raglan. i tried it on constantly to figure out where to put the waist shaping, figure out the decreasing on the arms, etc.
yarn: the fibre company's savannah dk in persimmon. i originally purchased 6 skeins, but started running out 3/4 of the way into both sleeves, so i had to buy a 7th. i only used a bit of it though. this yarn is beautiful. the combination of wool, linen, cotton and soysilk give it a very organic feel. the subtle variations in color are really pretty.
needles:us5 knitpicks options circulars. they kept unscrewing the whole time. it was a little annoying.

i'm so happy with this one. it's simple and light, and i just love the color. as always, it was great to knit it top-down. i love trying it on as i go and getting the perfect fit. yessss. the color also fits in perfectly with project spectrum's fire theme!

thanks for all the lovely comments about my baby sweater. it definitely stood out in the sea of pastels at the baby shower, but it was well received. i kind of want to make one for me.

Posted by melissa at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (57) | TrackBacks (2)

a few months ago, i picked out a bunch of patterns, bought all the yarn, then, figuring that tiny little things would practically knit themselves, i waited until there was a baby shower was only a few weeks away. bad idea.

every single thing i've started in the last week or two has caused me major knitting distress.i don't really know any babies in real life, so i have no point of reference. i knit a hat, it looks too big. i knit another, it seems sooo small. is it just me, or does every baby cardigan seem to have a ridiculously small neck opening? i want to warm this baby with a sweater, not cut off her circulation. needless to say, there has been much ripping out of baby sweaters. the next one i make should be ok, because i do tend to learn from my mistakes.

there is one sweater that i'm totally thrilled with. i do worry though, that my taste, is not necessarily the same as everyone else's. i fear the horrified looks of on-lookers at the upcoming baby shower.

pattern: february baby sweater from the knitter's almanac, which, in my opinion, is the best 8 bucks you could ever spend on something knitting-related.
yarn: roughly 230 yards of handspun superwash wool from this etsy shop
needles:4.5mm/us7 32" circular
knitting time: just over 1 day
mods: i omitted the lace, because it wouldn't have worked with this yarn. i knit the sleeves in the round, using magic loop, because i wanted to. i didn't do any decreases at the bottom.

because of my previously mentioned paranoia about small neck openings, i stretched the neck a bit and pinned it during blocking to widen it slightly. when i knit this one again, i'll just use the backwards loop cast on, which creates a looser cast on edge, and thus a wider neck. this time i used my standard long tail cast on.

well there you go. a stinkin' cute little baby sweater. i am still freaking out that they'll hate it.

Posted by melissa at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (49) | TrackBacks (1)

first finished object of 2008:

pattern:anais by norah gaughan
yarn: berroco comfort dk , less than 4 balls in dusk
needles: us3 addi turbos
size knit: 38", but knitting it on the smaller than recommended needles worked out perfectly for my 36" bust
the story: this is my second anais. my first now lives with my friend who wears it all the time and is not allergic to alpaca. after telling my alpaca allergy story in the lovely forums of ravelry, norah contacted me. she offered to send me some yet to be released, alpaca -free yarn to knit another.
the comfort dk is super soft and has great stitch definition, but the biggest bonus is that i can actually wear this to work, get it dirty, and MACHINE WASH it. never happens.

i'm so happy to have a finished knit that i love to start off the new year. now i can focus my attention on the half finished knits that taunt me from the coffee table.

my norwegian snail mittens from the knitter's book of yarn. this picture is a few days old, i'm almost done with the first mitten now.

the girlfriend's 35th birthday socks. just plain stockinette socks in the new noro kureyon sock yarn. i finished the first and am halfway through the second. her birthday was 9 days ago, but she knows me well, and she hasn't been holding her breath or anything. :)

i'm also knitting ysolda's garter mitts. they're a quick little project and just perfect for this handspun i've had in my stash.

i'm itching to start a new sweater. i just purchased knitknit, so bridie, is definitely in the queue.

have a great week!

Posted by melissa at 07:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

hooray! it's done!

i'll let the pictures do the talking first:

pattern: bubble pullover by norah gaughan from knitting nature
yarn: rowan yorkshire tweed aran (discontinued), less than 6 balls. color is named "muffin"
needles: 4.0mm (us6) for all the ribbing, 4.5mm (us7) for the pentagons and the stockinette portion of the sleeves
modifications: i knit the smallest size on smaller needles and totally different yarn. this resulted in a lot less ease than the original 10 inches called for in the pattern, but still plenty for my now 36" bust. i shortened the sleeves by 1 inch and eliminated the button band in the bottom ribbing.
my biggest mod was to the collar. i stalled for several days, knitting a few rows, trying it on, knitting a few more rows, etc. i started to really like the way the collar was standing up after a few inches. i ended up decreasing by 4 stitches, adding a bunch of short rows to the back of the neck and binding off once i was happy.
i think it's funny that the collar was one of those design elements that drew me to this pattern in the first place. i really do love big flopped over collars that button up the side. i think i just prefer them in a finer gauge and a yarn with more drape.

edited to add: i've been getting a lot of questions through email and ravelry as to the finished size. each pentagon ended up being approx 10 inches across and the finished bust size was approx 40" . i'm pretty sure the smallest size in the book called for 46", so i lost 6 inches of positive ease with my mods. this resulted in 4 inches of positive ease for my bust size, which i think was just right for me.

Posted by melissa at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (45) | TrackBacks (1)

:( (insert more dramatic sad face here)

anais is officially finished and although i absolutely love her, she'll be banished to the ziploc bag until i give her away. i was only able to wear this sweater for about 20 minutes total before i ended up with a rash and could no longer breathe out of the left side of my face. benadryl was administered, sad faces were made, but peeps, i had to face it, i am totally allergic to alpaca.

here are the first and last pictures you will ever see of it on my body:

the details:

pattern: anais, by norah gaughan from norah gaughan vol.1

yarn: berroco ultra alpaca light, almost exactly 4 skeins for the 34" size

needles: u.s. 10 bamboo straights (for inserts), u.s.4s for ribbing and u.s. 5s for the body

mods: i added 1.5 inches to the ribbing and another inch to the body because the pattern called for a much shorter garment than i wanted. i also ended up taking off the little webby capped sleeves because when i saw myself in the mirror after they were sewn in, the word "husky" kept popping into my head. i guess i felt like a wooly little football player. so i took them off and then all was well in my world. other than those little changes, i knit the pattern as written.

if i were to knit this pattern again, which i am determined to do (in an alpaca-free yarn), i would knit the body in the round up to the armholes, instead of having to seam the sides later. i re-seamed this baby 3 times. 3. times. that makes me cry a little. i'm just a perfectionist when it comes to the seaming and i make myself crazy for no good reason at all, because my seams were fine the first time, according to everyone else. this was also the first sweater that i've knit in pieces in over 2 years, ever since top-down raglans came into my life.

so yes, yes, go knit this sweater vest. i love it. the yarn is gorgeous stuff too and i'm very sad that i won't get to wear it.

the post title was inspired by joan jett. i just got back from seeing her play, it was awesome.

Posted by melissa at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)

i guess i've avoided blogging this one for long enough:
my arrowhead spring cardigan is finished. i cast off quite some time ago. it was only then that i discovered that the neckline was way too big. i love wide necklines, but if i were to button this all the way down, it would fall off both shoulders.

so i ripped out the cast on edge, knit a few rows, decreased 4 stitches on each row and bound off a little tighter than usual.

it's better, but it's still not right. i'm being a little picky because i was really disappointed with the yarn, brown sheep cotton fleece. after the first time i cast off, i soaked and rinsed it three times and the water was still dark green. i eventually gave up on rinsing, because the color just never stopped running. it even stained the towels that it was drying on. so now i'm afraid to wear it, lest i get caught in a rainstorm and stain all the other clothes i'm wearing.

lace/ button detail shot:

so i've started re-knitting it in some silky wool from the stash. this photo doesn't show much because it's from several days ago, but at least you'll see the color. it's yellow now and i'm switching to ribbing for the edges.

i had to switch it around a bit. it's hard to turn around and knit the same thing all over again. i'm just keeping it interesting.

i've been in the mood for a smaller project lately and after swatching this floral chart for a future sweater, i decided to use it to knit a hat instead, since i'm not really up for another sweater yet. i've only just started, but already i'm in love with the brown and blue tweeds together. the chart is from here. i had to cut out a few columns to make it work for the hat.

the hat is a perfect little project to carry around as i work on my goal of reading more. these are some of the books i'll be reading in july:

next up, i'm reading miranda july's no one belongs here more than you, which i've really been looking forward to. the david sedaris is a re-read. i've already read all of his books, but his stories are so great, i have to read them again every so often. a thousand splendid suns is being read after my mother's insistence that it is better than the kite runner. i'll let you know.

have a great sunday!

Posted by melissa at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBacks (1)

thanks for all the sweet birthday wishes!
after waiting 2 long days for it to dry, my finished puff-sleeved cardigan is ready!

details:

pattern: puff-sleeved feminine cardigan from stefanie japel's fitted knits

yarn: cascade 220 heathers, uh, in pink? just over 3 hanks

needles:inox circulars, us6

buttons: vintage, from my stash(i knew all that hoarding would pay off someday)

mods: i made the 34 inch size, but did fewer raglan increases for a tighter fit. i cast on an extra 7 stitches at each side after the collar and knit the button bands as i went, inserting a buttonhole ever 15 rows. i changed the peplum to just make it plain, and separated it into 4 sections increasing on each side of the 4 markers on 4 right side rows, so it would still flare out a bit. i also lengthened the body, trying it on as i went to get it just as long as i wanted. whew! sounds like a lot of changes, but really not.

thoughts: top down! top down! rah! rah! rah! obviously i cannot resist the lure of a top down sweater. i love running to the mirror and trying it on as i go! i hate seaming! this pattern is super cute, kind of a cross between a little jacket and cardigan. nice.

Posted by melissa at 07:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (36)

it's finished!

this photo gives the best representation of the color:

if the first 2 pictures seem awkward, that's because i was freezing to death while trying to get a picture outside. i only made it through 5 photos, then gave up.

my search for a plain wooly pullover with just a hint of cute is over. i have lots of cute sweaters (mostly store bought), in fine gauges but really nothing that i can throw on to really keep me warm, that's cute enough to still wear out of the house. i usually dislike bulky sweaters, but this one is heavier without feeling bulky.

this is a pretty standard top-down raglan. i didn't use any specific pattern. a few people asked me how i made the collar, so i'll try my best to explain it. i cast on wayyy fewer stitches for the front, and worked back and forth. on the rows where i was increasing on either side of the raglan markers i also increased one at each side of the neck. i kept doing this until the fronts had the angle i was going for. i then counted how many stitches i now had for the back section and when i came back to the front, i knit the stitches on one side, cast on the stitch difference between the front and back, joined and knit the second half of the front stitches, and continued knitting in the round.
later, i picked up the stitches around the neck, except for the cast on stitches. i knit them in 2x2 rib until the length of the collar matched the width of the cast on area. the fronts were then sewn down.
i'm planning on knitting a similar sweater out of some gorgeous malabrigo soon, so i'll try to take some progress photos to make the collar more clear.

the buttons are vintage. i was gifted them last year and had so few that i just had to knit something that would show them off. they have carved flower designs that are completely lost in these photos.

here are the details:

pattern: standard top down raglan with collar adjustments and minimal waist shaping
yarn: less than 5 balls of rowan scottish tweed aran.
needles: addi turbo us9 and us7 in 32" length

this sweater was super easy, just tons of stockinette, some ribbing, and a few buttons. unfortunately that made it a little boring and i kept abandoning it for other projects, like colorwork hats and mittens. i took a tremendous amount of effort to just finish the last sleeve, but i'm glad i did. this sweater will see lots of use this winter and i'm pretty happy with it.

now, back to the colorwork. i've charted out a hat and mittens using some designs from 1000 knitting motifs and i'm ready to start. i'm trying to really increase my comfort level so i can eventually tackle a fair-isle yoked sweater from the opinionated knitter.

speaking of sweaters, please go check out kate's amazing herringbone sweater, it's gorgeous. she also just posted a great tutorial on custom fitting a sweater.

have great week!

Posted by melissa at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)