finished: tangled yoke cardigan

Technically finished several weeks ago, but never before seen on an actual human.

Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan, by Eunny Jang, from IK Fall 2007 (see this project on my ravelry project page)

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed, color #165 (scree), 6 skeins exactly

Needles: Addi lace US 5 32″ circular, mystery US 5 circular with longer cable for magic-looping the sleeves, Addi US 4 short circular for buttonbands and collar, Addi natura US 1 circular for picking up neckband stitches (whew!)

Modifications: reduced stitch count on beginning of sleeves for better-fitting cuffs, and respaced sleeve increases accordingly; fudged something with the waist ribbing a bit, since the numbers in the pattern didn’t seem to work out perfectly for my size (wish I could be more detailed about what this was, but I honestly can’t remember)

General thoughts: Lovely design, and very well-written pattern overall. I find that I’m often reducing cuff sizes as a personal preference (it’s the same way on the July sweater; perhaps I just have oddly skinny wrists?), so that wasn’t a big deal, really. The worst part of knitting this was the discovery, two rows from the end of the cable chart, that I had miscrossed SEVEN cables about six rows back. I had to tink back two rows before I could drop down and painstakingly reconstruct each one; I don’t even want to think about how long this took to do. Worth it, though. The sweater came out beautifully, and I particularly like the double-thickness collar and three-needle bind-off. I might still sew a bit of ribbon onto the buttonbands to firm them up.

Here are a few extra shots of the sweater. I apologize for the dreadful state of my coiffure! When I called yesterday to make a haircut appointment, the scheduler told me that my regular stylist was “on sabbatical.” I was so flummoxed by the implications of this statement (who will cut my hair now? will he ever come back? and since when do stylists get “sabbaticals”??) that I was unable to make another appointment. I’ll have to try back today, clearly.

More Felted Tweed coming for the July sweater post (hint: it’s green), and an exhaustive (exhausting?) discussion of sleeves.

sometimes it is easy being green

Well, the past weekend was certainly eventful. The Professor and I are now the proud owners of this little Kermit:

This car is much smarter than I am. It has so many little computers and automatic features that I’m surprised there’s no “autopilot” function. It doesn’t even have a key! There’s just this little black box that you use to open and close the car, and when you want to start it, you just push a button that says “Pwr”. No cranking, no nothing. I hear the 2011 model will have an button that sends the car to Trader Joe’s and picks up your shopping for you. We’ll have to wait on that one.

Oh, the cardigan? Well, this was the state of affairs on June 30:

Still damp and full of pins, buttonless, but technically the knitting has been completed. I know, I know, if this were the Knitting Olympics, I would be nowhere near the podium. In this case, however (especially since I was playing with a handicap; the yarn didn’t arrive until June 11), it’s my project and I’ll cheat if I want to, cheat if I want to, cheeeeeeeeat if I want to… (you would cheat too, if it happened to you…)

Modeled shots as soon as I sew on the buttonband ribbon, and as soon as I can mentally prepare myself to slip on a wool-alpaca sweater in this heat.

And the July sweater? It’s GREEN, baby!

I dreamed a dream

Summer has come to Indiana with a vengeance: temperatures in the 90s every day and thunderstorms at night! It’s really too hot to do too much, but somehow we’re getting a lot of work done. Here are a few updates on some of my summer projects:

1. The June Almanac Sweater

It’s none other than the Tangled Yoke Cardigan, a pattern I’ve been wanting to make since I first laid eyes on it. I am using Felted Tweed, which I’ve never used before but I now love. Last night I got to the most exciting part of a yoked sweater (for me): the moment when you join the sleeves to the body and it starts to look like an actual garment instead of a misshapen afghan!

As you can (hopefully) see from the blurry photo above, I tried a new technique with this sweater: knitting the sleeves two-at-a-time on one circular needle. I was trying to avoid a few things: first, a repeat of my mistake with the Professor’s sweater (hint for sweater knitters: most people prefer both sleeves to be the same size); second, the terrible monotony of knitting a 17.5″ tube with shaping every 10 rows (somehow a flat, seamed sleeve piece is much more pleasant to knit for me); and third, the possibility that I would hate knitting the first sleeve so much that I would never cast on for the second one (remote, but when you’re using wool/alpaca in the summer, anything is possible). I’m not totally convinced about this technique, though. It’s a little fiddly, since the two skeins are continually a bit tangled and the circular needle I was using was dreadfully twisty. It might be better with a less recalcitrant needle. I won’t publicly shame the needle here by naming it, mostly because I have no idea what it is. Also, I have to admit that I completely cheated on the cast-on by knitting about 2 inches of each sleeve on DPNs and then arranging it on the circular. The sleeves are done, aren’t they? Let’s move on.

The elephant in the room: it’s possible (some might even say likely) that I won’t be able to finish on time. In case this occurs, I pledge to document my failure in excruciating detail. I don’t rule out a dramatic moment where I fling the sweater, still barely on the needles, under the sofa at 11:48 p.m. on June 30 with a cry of despair. If this does occur, I’ll try to get the Professor to document it for my first ever video blog post. Stay tuned!

2. The garden

OK, technically this is the Professor’s project, but since I intend to eat at least 50% of the tomatoes, I figured it was fair game to blog. There have been a few minor setbacks, mainly from slugs, but we are already enjoying parsley, basil, tarragon, and sage. The peppers and even the beans are doing well, and look at these blueberries!

3. Socks (or, Why I Might Not Finish the Cardigan On Time)

For my birthday, in addition to chocolate truffles, Prosecco, and a delicious brunch, my wonderful Professor presented me with this:

That’s Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in the Ravenswood colorway. Upon receipt of this, I immediately channeled Susan Boyle (”I dreamed a dream of Monkey Socks…with picot edge and varigation…like Cara’s, but not Socks that Rock…O, this must be my next creation!”) and ran upstairs to wind it. Now I have this:

No pooling, no puddling, no funny business. I might not win Britain’s Got Talent, but I’ll have some great socks.

so much to say

Pattern: Clapotis, by Kate Gilbert, from Knitty (Fall 2004)

Yarn: Mondial Le Perle Gold Cashmere, a bit over 3 skeins, in color 953 (orange and hot pink with bits of greeny-grey)

Needles: Tahki “extra smooth” bamboo, US 5

My father brought me this yarn from Korea, and I really loved working with it. It’s soft, squishy, and a fun colorway. I’m several years late to the Clapotis party, but it still seems to be in full swing, and after knitting this pattern, I can certainly see why. I tried using stitch markers for awhile, but lost patience with them (and ran out of matching ones–am I the only one who worries about matching stitch markers?), so I tried purling the dropped stitch instead. After a few rows, I realized that I wasn’t too keen on that idea either, and that it was just a six-stitch repeat, for heaven’s sake! I ended up keeping track by thinking to myself:

“One, two, three, TWIST & SHOUT!”

Or, in knitting language: k3, k1tbl, k1, k1bl. Make sense? I’m obviously crazy, but this little tag-line somehow made the knitting even more fun. This was the perfect knit for post-UK jet-lag and kitchen remodeling blues. The only problem now is that I’m not knitting a Clapotis anymore. Clearly, that will have to change.

A few more random musings:

1. I’ve cut my hair. This is the shortest it’s ever been. I’m really enjoying it.

2. I’m still working on a massive blog post about our trip (especially the fiber-y aspects). Once we’re done with this renovation project (I should probably post about that too, eh?), I should have more time on the computer and less time calling contractors, cleaning up massive amounts of dust, etc.

3. I’ve begun work on the June sweater. Here’s a hint:

And now I am going to see if I can find some Cheerios. It’s pretty marginal around here, food-wise.

finished: grant park pullover

Pattern: Grant Park Pullover by Salena Lee, from Twist Collective Spring 2009

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, in Mink Heather, about 14 skeins

Needles: Addi Natura US 7 32″ circular, US 7 dpns, US 5 circular, US 5 dpns

Modifications: I knit the collar twice as long and sewed it down to make a double-thick collar, because the professor tends to stretch out his collars a bit.

I’m really happy with this one. Great pattern, great fit, great model! The picture shows the professor in Bath, near the Pulteney Bridge over the river Avon, with St. John’s Church spire in the background.

(this project on Rav)

professor sweater

When the Professor pointed out that this year I have made four sweaters for myself and zero sweaters for him…well, it was time to get to work. I had 14 skeins of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes stashed away, in a nice professorial color (camel heather), so all that was left to do was find a pattern.

I looked everywhere, but the answer was right under my nose.

Remember the Ardent Jacket? Only my favorite sweater in the world?

What’s on the page right next to it?

The article is called “K2Tog”. Clearly, it was meant to be.

This in-progress shot captures a critical moment in the creation of the sweater: I stood back to admire my work, only to realize seconds later that I had knit the body in the 42.5″ size and the sleeve in the 45.5″ size. Sigh. Luckily it was the sleeve that needed to be redone (and just to be crystal clear, the error was entirely mine, no fault of the pattern at all), but still. I had to rip out about 3/4 of the sleeve. Let us speak no more of it.

As I write, the sweater is virtually done. I’m hoping to show finished pictures before we leave for England; stay tuned!

spring mix

Last night, the professor and I went out to First Friday, a gallery walk downtown. We were running late, and we needed a quick supper before we left. This fit the bill.

Goat Cheese Salad with Lemon-Honey Vinaigrette

For the dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

juice of one lemon

1 tablespoon honey

salt and pepper to taste

For the salad:

Mixed greens

Half of a pear, roughly chopped

1/3 cup pecan halves

2 oz. goat cheese

1/3 cup dried cherries

Toast the pecans in a dry pan until warm and fragrant. Meanwhile, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Toss the greens with about 1/2 of the dressing mixture (you’ll have enough left over for two more salads). Divide the dressed greens into two bowls and divide the pear, cherries, and goat cheese between the bowls. Add half of the pecans to each bowl. Serves two.

We returned from the gallery walk with a solar etching by Jennifer Li and some chocolates from the shop next door to the gallery. Add some sparkling wine, music, and candlelight…what a lovely night!

OK crochet

Pattern: Econo Shopper Mesh Bag by natalie058 (small size)

Hook: 5.0 mm (US H)

Yarn: Lily Sugar n’ Creme Naturals, 1 skein

Mods: shortened the handles a bit

I am not really very good at crochet, but from time to time I get the urge (kind of like my occasional and unskilled forays into the world of sewing). This bag was fun to make, and it is useful around the house. The pattern was easy for me to understand (with the help of crochet stitch instructional websites, of course), and that’s really saying something, since I am the kind of crocheter who has to look up how do a “HDC” nearly every time it is mentioned in the pattern.

And now I am going to make some pancakes. Happy Sunday morning!

schooled

Pattern: Hey Teach! from Knitty, Summer 2008

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Olivette (I think that’s the color. This was well-aged stash, the ballbands lost to antiquity), 3 skeins

Needles: Addi Natura 32″ US 7 circular (body) and Clover 10″ US 7 straights (sleeves)

Cute sweater, great pattern, but sadly lacking on my part! I didn’t really have enough yarn, so there are a lot of funky spots on the inside where I wove in 2-yard scraps to eke out the last few rows of sleeve. Also, my gauge was a bit too snug; coupled with a choice of 39″ size for negative ease, that produced a sweater that is just a bit too tight for comfort. The armscyes are the worst of it, as you can see a bit in the above photo. Ah, well. They can’t all be Ardent Jackets.

Up next: May, of course! Two possibilities for consideration (and by consideration, I mean I’m going to knit a considerable bit of sweater and then consider whether I should rip it out and knit something else; always entertaining), as well as a distracting foray into the dark jungles of…crochet. Cover me; I’m going in.

ardent devotion

Pattern: Ardent Jacket by Kat Coyle, from the Spring 2009 issue of Twist Collective

Yarn: Classic Elite Skye Tweed (heartbreakingly discontinued) from Webs

Needles: US 7 Addi Natura 32″ circular (back only) and US 7 Clover bamboo 10″ straights

Time to knit: 13 days (it really was finished in March, and I wore it around for about two weeks while I waited for the buttons to arrive from China)

This is my new favorite garment: the fit is perfect, the style is flattering, the neutral color goes with nearly everything, and the yarn is soft, warm and strong (I snagged it on a metal clasp the other day and though it pulled out a loop, it didn’t come close to tearing). I did make a few changes just to suit my personal needs, although Kat’s pattern is perfect as written.  I loved the double lattice pattern so much that I omitted the honeycomb lace and even did an extra repeat of the lattice on the body pieces for an empire line. Otherwise, however, I knit the pattern exactly.

If you haven’t checked out Twist Collective, you’ve got to. The designs are stunning, and the pattern I bought was extremely detailed, clear, and error-free. I’ll definitely buy more Twist patterns!

I fortunately happened upon these buttons while poking around on Etsy.

They’re handmade of wood, and they’re absolutely stunning. I got them from Ruth’s shop, and I recommend her highly. She was extremely helpful, super-fast on communication, and she even sent me some extra buttons as a present for my first Etsy purchase!

I also got this lovely Korean gingham ribbon and made a loop to hang the jacket. The color on this photo is terrible (sorry!); the ribbon is dark blue and cream-colored. I think it’s a nice detail, so I also used it to line the button band. I might line the spaces between the buttonholes as well, since I still have some ribbon left.

I can’t believe I took so long to blog this project! I’ve already finished the April almanac sweater (sadly, less successful…but you’ll see).