If All Else Fails, Start Something New

I haven't refashioned any of my garments just yet. It seems to take a little bit of time to build up to getting the scissors out and really start snipping. Or at least a bit more planning since it's a good idea to measure 15 times and cut once. The scissors are at the ready. I just need one more week to get brave enough to actually use them.

In the meantime I've got a new idea for a new sweater. How come it's always so much easier to start something new?

I have my little pile of Cotton Tweed in the Faded Denim colour. A lovely soft blue. What? Blue again you say? Yes, stick with what works, it's blue again.

My idea is to do a Top Down with both fronts worked on the bias with eyelets. It might be cap sleeved or maybe longer sleeves. I'll have to see what I think once I get going. I have a different idea for working the V which will lend itself to the bias. I need to get my carpenter square out to check on the angle and width for the fronts. Ha, ha. No really I do need to do this.

A new project. Kinda makes one a little giddy.

Cheers,

Deb

Knitting behind the glass

It's fall now. The season is marked off for us by the beginning of the competitive curling tour. Since our daughter has been competing I have knit many, many garments sitting behind the glass. I began again on Labour Day weekend, a couple of weekends back, knitting the first of the many garments I will knit this year at curling rinks watching Team Flaxey play.

My husband is holding up the Top Down Ridges sweater in a new Cotton Tweed colour, Rose. It's very pretty but not tooo, tooo pink.

Just back from a second weekend of curling spectating. I have a sock in Comfort Sockenwoole going.

and started a hat and scarf in Red, White and Black Norspun. Garter Stitch is easiest in a crowd sitting on bleachers.

Go Team Flaxey.

Deb

Getting Ready

It's going to be a busy week. The Kitchener-Waterloo Knitter's Fair is a week Saturday and I'm already awake in the middle of the night trying to think of a good way to do the show. It's one day so set up is critical and needs to be fast. I'm also working the booth solo so I'm trying to make it as easy as possible for people to choose a kit and cash out quickly so I can service everyone as best I can. I also like to have a chance to talk to knitters but there are a couple hours in the middle of the day where this is hard to do.

This year I'm doing a Cabin Fever Kid's booth. All children, all the time.
I'm sorting and kitting up some of the little sweaters now. I feel like I have some sort of handle on this.

My new thought for the knitters is to have a section where you can choose a pattern and then pick up a package of your favourite colour of Cotton Tweed. Pick and choose. These are the sweaters I have choosen to take so far. Have I missed any of your favourites?

Top Down Ridges

Baby Waffle Vest

Sophia's Cardigan

Buttons Cardigan

Tiny Top Down

Baby's First Top Down

I have lots of packages of 2 & 3 balls in a wide assortment of colours. As a shopper I would enjoy doing this. What do you think? A good idea? Would you like to shop this way?

I'd be happy to hear your comments. Setting these shows up is always tricky and I'm thinking this might be a fun way to do it.
Deb

Knitting by the Compass

I've started knitting a baby sweater. They are so much fun, so small and sooo quick. Just started yesterday and have quite a nice bit done already. It's worked so far in Cherry Cotton Tweed so will be bright and cheerful.

This one is worked in 4 directions of the compass.

It starts with the neckband. Then the right shoulder saddle goes West and here I'm just starting the left shoulder saddle (East), leaving the remaining stitches on hold at the neckband.

Lots of garter stitch and counting of ridges which is great for TV knitting in the evening.

Then on to the Back (North) and then the Front (South). Travelling in my armchair!!

Couldn't be easier. Almost ready for a colour change.
Stay tuned,
Deb

Lightening picture day

It's time to get out my phone and take some photos. My camera is in repetitive cycle of zooming in and out and then shutting off. I think that means it's toast. So I'm debating about buying another camera or using my phone? Any thoughts on this?

My Lightening pullover is done and on my mannequin. No one to take my photo so she is it.

I even dressed her up and put a skit on her. She's better dressed than I am. 

The Lightening Bolts get larger and larger as they travel down the sweater. I charted it all out although I'm sure you can figure it out pretty quickly. Then you just have to count holes. They also go down the sleeve shoulder.

The yoke starts out with 8 bolts and then is widdled down to 4 and then only 2. It will keep you on your toes!

There is side shaping too. Lots to keep you busy.

One more check through the pattern and then I will post it next week. I already have my next sweater idea waiting in the wings. It's anxious to be centre stage.
Deb

Raining while Lightening Bolts dry

Sometimes designs take a very long time to finalize. I'm close on the Lightening Bolts. It's been a journey with changes, changes back and then reversed. The only idea I had in my head at the beginning was for the yoke with the lightening bolts. The rest of the sweater needed to be worked out on the needles, ripped back and worked again. I'm really happy with the shaping which formed because of the continued increases down the front and back and the decreases needed at the sides. A happy result.

 It's washed now and photos are up next. Not today since it's raining again while my sweater drys, sort of.

Deb
P.S. Thanks for the hat crown suggestions Brenda. I will put them in. The first triangle goes around your entire head. The second triangle fills in the space to make it a tube. Now I'm working on putting stripes in just for the fun of it.

Progress and some Questions

I'm trying to get ahead of the season and get a summer top knit before summer is here. You know what that's like. It's summer and I wish I had a cotton top to wear. No problem, ever the optimist, I'll start knitting now and guess what?! It's fall already!

So I'm patting myself on the back (hard to do but I'm practicing). I've almost got my Lightening design finished.

I solved my chart issue. I'm learning to just let things go for a couple of days knowing that one morning it will be very clear that I've made a decision. Isn't it incredible that your brain can do this without you even knowing that it's happening?

I'm going to go with chart option#1 since it is the easiest one to read and I can imagine the knitter putting a little tick in every "0" (increase) on the chart as it's worked to keep track. One of the wonderful things about charts is that they are a visual representation of the knitting. In this case it isn't but making it easy to knit is my first priority. I'm happy with the results.

I used the openM1 to work all the increases for my Lightening Bolts. If you haven't tried this increase yet I'd give it a go. It's surprisingly easy.

I also have the pattern written. Pat on the back again (I could get used to this). Now I have to read it over and give some serious thought to making it really easy for the knitter (that's you) to knit up (or down as it were, tee, hee).

There's quite a lot happening around the Great Divide (putting the sleeves on spare yarn and leaving the body on the needles). These are the question I have to ask:
1. Is this, as written, too much to work in one round? Can I make it any clearer?
2. Can I split it up into a couple of rounds and work the Divide in the first round and make the changes to the stitch pattern in the next round?
3. Do I need to put in exact stitch counts or can I use the Marker placements? Use both?

Do you have some thoughts for me? Do you like to work one thing at a time? Do you like one big round with lots going one so that it's done?

I only have the border of one sleeve to finish today. I'm really looking forward to wearing my new top at the Yarn Over Sleep Over retreat in a couple of weeks.
-Deb

Red Fingering weight pullover has begun

I'm thinking of spring as the snow flies here. We've had a couple of days of spring-like weather and now it's cold again and seems colder somehow. Spring is coming so I've decided it's time to start spring knitting. I'm taking the plunge and finally knitting a fingering weight pullover. So far so good.

It's a circular yoke pullover in Saucon Fingering (cotton/acrylic blend). Should be nice and cool to wear in the warm weather. See, so optimistic, it will get warm soon. I'm quite surprised that I'm almost at the great divide. It hasn't been too much knitting yet. I've given myself an interesting set up of increases to keep me busy and I'm looking forward to dividing off the sleeves. That's the moment when it looks more like a sweater. I'm intending to keep the increase pattern working down the front. I think I'll need the distraction.

Reading this over I see I have convinced myself that this is a lot of knitting. Preconceived ideas can stop this before it gets very far so I'm going to try to keep an open mind.

Have you knit a fingering weight garment? Did you like wearing it? Would you do another one?
Deb

Red Done

This is proof that I finished my red sweater. Well, almost finished. The knitting is done so I'm doing a happy dance (I'll leave that to your imagination). 

I have to find buttons and sew them on. I have to sew in all the ends but I'm celebrating anyway. This is one UFO that's almost there. Whoo, hoo.

This is the basic V-neck from the Button Up Your Top Down book with a couple of modifications. I've knit from this book several times so mixing it up is fun and keeps my interest to the very end.

I made the buttonband 8 sts wide, just because I could.Then I played with it some more (see last post).

I made it an A-line by increasing stitches at the sides. I also played with the ribbing on the sleeves and at the bottom by starting the ribbing (p2) and working extra (k2,p2) every 8 rows. I also did this starting in the centre back. No photo because for some reason this red is very difficult to photograph. I'll try it in another room and see if that works better.

This is 100% wool (Naturally Nazareth Worsted by Kraemer Yarns) , not a superwash, so I knew that if I worked the bottom ribbing with the body-sized needle I could block it out flat and it wouldn't pull in. My figure does not need that!!

I'm so happy to get one done. I have a great big smile every time I look at it. Enthusiasm is spilling over to my next UFO, the green pullover.
Deb

not going to the pond

Took a sweater off my UFO list and was going to frog it but ... I didn't. I kept looking at it trying to figure out why I wanted to throw it in the pond. I love the colour. It's cherry red although you wouldn't know that from the photos. I also thought it was too plain looking. But everyone needs a regular everyday sweater to throw on last minute as you run out the door, right? So I'm naming it the Everyday V. And that's what it's going to be for me.

But I had to make it a little more interesting to knit. So I played with the button bands. With my trusty crochet hook I undid a set of stitches and rehooked them up like this.

It is more interesting and will look even more so once the buttons are on. I have to pay attention at the beginning and end of every row to get it right. That keeps me engaged. It should also keep the bands from wanting to fold under when not buttoned.

The second reason I was having difficulty continuing was that I was worried about running out of wool. I think I have enough but not enough to be really confident. What is really important for this sweater for me? I want long sleeves and a long sweater too but the sleeves are the thing. So I've deviated from my regular routine and worked the body until I got to the end of a ball and started the sleeve.

Once they are both done I can make the sweater as long as I have wool to knit. Hopefully nice and long but I can live with a shorter length.

How are your UFO's going?
Deb
P.S. Thanks Brenda and t_a. The "grandfather" type sweater was just what my son asked for. I think he's wearing it regularly which makes me very happy.

How many UFO projects are in your cupboard?

All of my knitted presents were winners this year. Sometimes it all works out. My daughter wore her hat all day and my son wore his sweater. Yay, scored.

But now it's all over and it's time to face normal life again. That means getting some knitting that has be languishing in the cupboard back out. The trick will be figuring out where I was and what I thought I was doing. I keep saying I'm going to take notes as I knit but that doesn't seem to be happening. No, I'm not making a new year's resolution.

This one is going to the frog pond since I want to do something more with it. Not sure exactly what but I've got a little idea. It's a great colour (but a lousy photo) so say good bye to it. It's going.

This is one I'll finish. It's in Briggs and Little Heritage which will wear like iron once it's done. I wasn't sure about the cable but now that I look at it I think I like it.

And one more that has been on again and off again since the summer. Oh, yeah, I do that too. It's in Turquoise Cotton Tweed so will be great when spring comes around again. Phew, some time on this one. I've even got most of one sleeve done. Wow, that was unexpected.

I'm not quite sure what the collar will become. It may be on speaking terms with me now that it's not squished in a plastic bag.

Oh my god, I have some work to do!! How about you?
Deb

Spokes of a wheel

Because of the spokes in the yoke, I was going to call this pullover "wheels on the bus go round and round" but I thought it was a little long! LOL.

Instead I called it Bernie's Pullover. It's named after a friend of mine who was the inspiration for this pullover. Bernice Vollick has passed away but leaves a legacy of terrific childrens' patterns. She designed Sophia's Cardigan for Cabin Fever.

I thought I would knit a pullover version with colours since at one time we had talked about doing just that and never did. This pullover has spokes, with a combo of stockinette stitch and garter stitch ridges, plus 3 colours, knit from the Top Down.

Both of these spoked sweaters are enough to keep any knitter interested right from the beginning. Then you get to knit round and round, stockinette stitch, for a break and the fun of doing the colours again at the bottom. Sized for 1-6 year olds.

Now try to pick 3 colours!
Deb

Neapolitan

I've put the cable knitting aside for the moment and have continued to knit up several more children's sweaters (1-6 years old).
I finished the Neapolitan.

It has what looks like random garter ridges but they are not really random at all. At the beginning of every wrong side row I looked to see if the stitches on my needle (from working the RS row) were the same colour as I was about to work the wrong side row in. If so, I knit. If the WS was a new colour, I purled. It's fun. For the pattern I wrote out every row. Tthen wrote it out again for the sleeve which is totally different because it's worked in the round. And then, just because I would use it, I wrote out the stripe rows and a chart for the colour sequence because maybe you, like me, might find it easier to follow than row-by-row instructions.

I also am knitting it in true Neapolitan ice cream colours.

I really like this colourway but at the recent K-W Knitters Fair it didn't attract any attention so I may be totally off base here.

This pattern has an I-Cord edge to the Fronts. It works even with coloured stripes. I was really happy with it. You do have to carry the yarn up inside the I-Cord but if you twist the colours at the beginning of every row it's very neat and tidy, even on the inside.

That's one. I'll show you the other new patterns in the next week or two.
-Deb

Mosaic boxes

It's the end of our Knitting Guild year. Yesterday we spent it at Linda's house learning to knit Mosaic boxes and V-neck Top Down knitting. It was a great day. Here we are, knitters hard at work, ha, ha.

Really we were learning how to read a mosaic chart. They are different from other charts.
Mosaic is colour knitting, working with only 1 colour across the row at a time. You knit the stitches you want to show in the particular colour you're working with and slip all the other sts. It's often found in your stitch dictionary in the Slip Stitch section.

Each row of the chart requires two passes (rows) of the same colour. With the Light Colour work the first row of the chart two times (Rows 1 & 2), once with the Right Side facing and back again on the Wrong Side. Now move to the second row of the chart and with the Dark Colour work it across on the Right Side and back again on the Wrong Side (Rows 3 & 4). Every row of the chart is worked twice with the same colour. Then the next row of the chart is worked twice with the next colour, alternating 2 rows Light and 2 rows Dark. It makes mosaic charts different from any other type of chart. Geometric designs result. The different colours make it look different.

These two below, have the colours reversed. The boxes are Light and the Background is Dark. To read the chart above and switch the light and dark is a real challenge and K & T did a terrific job.

Boo, hoo, that's it for Guild nights for a while. I'm going to miss my knitting buddies over the summer. Looking forward to seeing everyone in September.
Deb

Add Mosaic

Adding a little bit of Mosaic to this vest really makes it look different. Can't wait until the class I'm teaching on Sunday gets started so I can see how it looks in different colours. I did it in Cotton Tweed Denim with Sky Blue. It would look more dramatic with a greater contrast between the colours.

As you know, blue is my go-to colour. But I'm going to see what other colours I can choose to make more impact. The vests in the class will give me some good ideas I bet. Now I'm going button shoping. Always an adventure.
-Deb