~ yummy delicious ~
Greetings, interwebbers. As promised, an update on my wild and thrilling knitting adventures.
Tweedy Waistjacket
Pattern: Top-down seamless raglan (Barbara Walker)
Pattern Inspiration: Tweedy Waist Coat (Deborah Newton, Interweave Knits Fall 2008)
Yarn: Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tween (approx. six balls)
Needles: US 6, US 3
This project went through several incarnations, mainly the result of my failure to embrace my knitting preferences. While I realize that there is no "right" way to knit, as I have written MANY times, I prefer seamless over piece knitting. Previously, I cast on for the Tweedy Waistcoat because it seemed the perfect project for the Jo Sharp yarn. Unfortunately, my mental faculties failed me at the moment of cast on, and I knitted the project as the pattern dictated, in pieces. I had done some, what I thought was, meticulous measuring to ensure the pieces, when seamed together, would form a garment that would fit me well. In reality, after I knit the entire thing and seamed it all together, the finished project looked horrendous. And so, I unravelled the entire project.
Over the course of a weekend, I sat down with a pen and paper and sketched out variations of the Tweedy Waistcoat design. I ultimately decided to go with the basic raglan cardigan and the colorwork motif at the bottom. Given that my last three major projects, Inishfern, the Ruffled Jacket, and Iceland, were...umm, incredibly fabulous but also a bit wonky, I decided to knit up a more basic piece. My Tweedy Waistjacket is basic with some colorwork for added interest and fits well and comfortably. Honestly, I haven't been this pleased with a project for some time. It may be less fabulous than my other recent cardigans, but I am confident that I will wear it with greater regularity. I've had the opportunity to wear it several times since finishing it, and it is wonderful - - so cozy and warm, and it has a very comfortable fit. I am delighted.
The colorwork at the bottom alters the tension which provides a slight 'sinching effect. This style of cardigan, fastened at the breastal area and open going down, I find to be flattering for a variety of body shapes and sizes. The substantive yarn yields a cardigan that is more 'jacketty'. Most recently, I decided to add an i-cord button ring as the fastening mechanism (photo above). It may fail to surprise you that my opinionatedness extends all the way down to buttonholes. Indeed, buttonholes have caused me great disappointment in the past and I am having good luck with their alternatives. The i-cord button loop may become my fastening mechanism of choice, for reasons which I might describe ad nauseum in a later post.
Latvian Mitten, Kurzeme 108 & 111
Pattern: Kurzeme Charts 108 & 111, from Latvian Mittens by Lizbeth Upitis.
Yarn: Kauni Effektgarn 8/2 & Recycled Angora
Needles: US 1
This has been a very enjoyable project - - the colorwork is great fun. I fashioned a highly improvised thumb gusset that proved quite tricky to incorporate into the colorwork. I changed my mind several times about what I wanted to do with the thumb and so there's a significant amount of wonkiness. Learning by doing is the most effective way for me to "plan and improve" and I've now got a plan for how to knit the thumb for the second mitten and am excited to see how it works. But even if it doesn't work, I am not a perfectionist and as long as the result is a mostly-attractive mitten that fits well and is comfy and cozy, then I will be more than satisfied. Also, I'm still a novice stranded knitter, so expecting that I will achieve perfection in a new and complicated skill is unreasonable anyway.
Okay, the yarn for these... The green is an angora yarn that I recycled from a thrift store sweater and the purple is Kauni. I'd like to mention that I bought the Kauni (two HUGE balls of Kauni) significantly discounted from a Ravelry user - - the interwebs are so handy! The fiber combination of the two yarns has resulted in being very very warm and also very soft - - the angora balances the Kauni nicely.
Frost FanScarf
Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: Simply Shetland Silk & Lambswool
Needles: US 3
A few weekends ago was the public Library's annual booksale. To say that I was "excited" about procuring a copy of Meg Swansen's A Gathering of Lace for $4 would be an extreme understatement. This is a book which I probably would have never bought 'for real' because lace is really scary. I've experienced enough 'ugh's with lace in my knitting career that it would be ludacris for a crappy lace knitter like myself to buy an entire book devoted to the terrifying act of lace knitting. But used at the library booksale, it was an awesome purchase. Even though at the time of purchase, I had the above two projects on my needles and did not need to have a third project to work on, sure to my form I cast on for a lace scarf. The pattern is a variation of the frost flowers stitch pattern (changed the repeat) and I will be adding a garter stitch feather and fan metered edging in a contrasting yarn.
Upcoming projects....
Pattern: Selbu Modern
Yarn: Koigu Premium Merino
When I saw the pattern for Selbu Modern (a free download), I loved it. As I have watched the project photos come through Ravelry, I continue to be impressed with how pretty and cute this hat is, and the overwhelmingly postive comments about the pattern have reinforced my desire to knit this up. Last weekend, a sale at a local yarn shop allowed me to procure, at almost half price, several skeins of Koigu Premium Merino in some fantastic colorways. The only thing that is keeping me from casting on for the Selbu Modern is deciding which color combination to use. At the moment, I'm thinking of the green/green combo with some of the magenta added in small amounts.
Pattern: Vivian
Yarn: Cascade Pastaza
Last week, as you all know, the winter edition of the Twist Collective came out. I must say, I have been very excited and impressed by the designs in this publication. I realize that they are likely wanting to kick off the first two issues with a bang, but wow, in my mind they put Interweave Knits and Vogue Knitting to shame. In fact, the preview for the winter issue of the former magazine became available last week, and as I scanned it, all I could think was "Boring!"
In all honesty, I find myself increasingly disappointed by sweater patterns because of how much modification I end up doing (see above, unravelling the Tweedy Waistcoat). As a result, I've made a promise to myself to seek out patterns that are more in tune with my knitting preferences. The love I felt when I first viewed Vivian was great - - it might very well be my dream fitted cabled hoodie, but when I read the construction notes and discovered that the pattern is seamless, I was overjoyed. This is a pattern I could really get behind!
I spent some time over the weekend doing yarn research and contemplating my version of Vivian. I'm thinking of making it slightly more 'jacketty' and employing a loftier and more substantive yarn, namely Cascade Pastaza. This will be my first adventure into the world of llama blends. And instead of the zipper, I'm planning on fashioning some i-cord button rings (see above, fastening mechanism of choice).
