Ravelympics 2008: FO #1
Whew, I finished my first project for the Ravelympics on Monday! :) I’m really happy with the results. It wasn’t a difficult pattern, but was time-consuming. With this, I earned medals in Sweater Sprint and Colorwork Cross-Country. Continue reading »
kid stuff, knitting, sweaters | 8 stitchesRavelympics 2008: Days 1-7
(Many thanks for everyone’s kind comments about the bunny pullover. I’ve been so focused on my Olympic knitting that email, blog-reading, and the like have fallen by the wayside, sorry!)
The Ravelry is doing a fun knit/crochet/spin/dye/whatever-along during the 2008 Olympics, with over 5500 members participating. I signed up with two projects and two teams: The Loon for Team Editors and Anise Socks for Team Stashdown. Continue reading »
kid stuff, knitting, socks, stranded or fair isle, sweaters | 6 stitchesBunny, bunny
I’m taking a break from Ravelympics 2008 (more about that later) to show you all my latest FO.
Guess what I’ll be doing this weekend…
Finishing up this cutie. Continue reading »
baby stuff, knitting, socks, sweaters | 8 stitchesVested
A few days before Christmas, I finished the main knitting of the big gray blob. It was so big I had to be very careful when picking it up and carrying it, lest it get stretched out. For extra peace of mind, I waited to take a pre-felting picture until I had basted together most of the openings. The picture isn’t the greatest, but should give an idea of just how big this thing was! Continue reading »
knitting, sweaters | 17 stitchesA Cardi for Grandma
Quick BookMate update: I was contacted again by the person who sells the BookMates. They are still available for purchase at this new website, and I think a few of the BookMate I cover designs are new. (No affiliation, just an interested reader.)
A year later than intended, I presented Grandma with the Cropped Cardigan (see previous post) for her birthday.
She was very pleased with the gift and said that no one had ever given her a handmade sweater before. We all thought it looked nice and fit quite well. Yay!
At long last!
Can you believe it? I finally finished the Cropped Cardigan; all the seams have been sewn, ends woven in, and buttons attached.
Yippee!!
Technically, this project took over a year to finish, but a lot of that time was spent in hibernation. If I had worked on this continuously, I estimate the actual time would be about 4-5 weeks.
I’m very happy to be finished with it, and overall, I’m pleased with the end result. I can see some places where my technique improved over time. For instance, the twisted cast-on I used for the ribbed hem is noticeably looser in the back, and it was the first piece I worked.
I had bought two bags of Bongo cotton for this sweater from Herrschners. One of the bags turned out to be faulty; each skein had one, two, or three KNOTS. Ugh! After a bit of pouting and grumping at these naughty skeins, I turned this negative into a positive. I used the opportunity to practice weaving in the yarn as I knit. It has pretty much become habit now.
I love the textured columns, but the bumpy yarn does contrast a bit too much with it. Overall, it’s fine, but if I ever knit this pattern again and with cotton, I would definitely seek out a smooth yarn. (And if you’ve knit the Charade socks, the textured columns are the same stitch pattern: herringbone rib aka vertical weave.)
I found these cute flower-shaped buttons at Wal-Mart, and love how they look. Plain round buttons would have been boring, and colored ones didn’t seem to work.
What a journey it has been; this cardigan was my team member for Amazing Lace last summer (fyi, in that post, some pictures don’t work), then waited patiently for me to finish the sleeves and final assembly. Tomorrow: her final destination!
Pattern: “Cropped Cardigan” by Deborah Newton, Beginner’s Guide–Knit Stitches and Easy Projects, Leisure Arts Little Books #75003 Size: Medium (43″) Yarn: Four Seasons Bongo, white Needles: Clover Bamboo US 7, Susan Bates Quicksilver US 6, circulars Started: May 12, 2006 Completed: August 11, 2007 knitting, sweaters | 9 stitches
Perpetually Behind
That’s the story of my life in two words. I’m sure it happens to everyone now and then. I feel like this, oh, about 80% of the time.
During breaks from the Yarrow Ribbed socks, I resumed the Cropped Cardigan project. I feel so bad for neglecting it (and for far longer than I intended).
accessories, knitting, sweaters | 6 stitchesSlowly Catching Up
I uploaded these pictures but hadn’t gotten around to blogging about them, so here you go.
knitting, socks, sweaters | 4 stitchesDiamond Lace Meets the Gang
Diamond Lace (aka Cropped Cardigan) is now past the halfway mark with the completion of the front panels. To celebrate, we went scouting around for unlikely models for the last Amazing Lace challenge.
knitalongs, sweaters | 7 stitches
