On the Block

The front and back pieces are finished and blocking. I focused my blocking efforts on the seams so they will lie flat for sewing up, and left the gathered and ribbed areas unpinned and did not spray them with water. (I try not to block the life out of my knitting, after having done so in the past.)

For the first time ever, the measurements of my finished pieces lined up almost exactly with those specified by the pattern. A shocking development. It's amazing how a small thing like a gauge swatch can really help.

Now, on to the sleeves ...

Draping Knitted Fabric

Perhaps it's because I learned to sew before I learned to knit that I'm intrigued by the idea of creating knitted garments in a similar fashion to garments that are sewn from fabric. Lily Chin's design, "Ruched Magic," appealed to me for this reason. (Pattern is from Knitter's Magazine, Fall 2002.)

I wear the color deep red a lot and am a big fan of soft, comfortable things to put on my body, so I chose this beautiful KnitPicks' Andean Silk yarn in Hollyberry.

I've finished the back and am three-quarters of the way done with the front. Sorry, no pics yet. Look for a F.O. soon!

A Saga in Stitches!

It's finally done! I put this aside for almost 7 (!) years. However, because I loved the pattern of leaves, I decided to commit myself to finishing it. "Commit" is probably a good operative word here as the steeking process nearly drove me crazy. Never having steeked before, I blithely created a steek by securing only one of the colors! What was I thinking? This gargantuan mistake had to be corrected by a lengthy process of crocheting, sewing, and creating a facing. I guess it was all worth it, as I do love the finished product!



Here you can see the pretty striping that was called for by the pattern when shaping the underarms. I don't know if you can tell, but the first repeat of the pattern is inexplicably shorter than the elongated versions higher up on the body. Did my knitting get looser as I went along?



Here is a close-up of the button placket and the sleeve design. One drawback to this pattern is it defies memorization. I literally had to check each stitch in the stranded body, and really struggled to remember the sleeve design. In the end, I gave up on the cuff design and skipped it. I actually think it looks okay plain.


Pattern: Poetry in Stitches, by Solveig Hisdal, page 160
Yarn: Hifa 2
Needles: US 1 and 2

Knitting Fever

I have been knitting away feverishly in an attempt to finish up some projects so as to allay my guilt about wanting to start new ones. I finally finished the body of the Poetry in Stitches "leaves and vines" cardigan. Here it is saturated with water on my homemade blocking board:

Meanwhile the sleeves are coming along apace!



I couldn't resist trying out the Koolhaas hat, but chose the wrong yarn for it (Karabella Aurora 8). The yarn is much too sproingy for the cable pattern. The pattern actually gave me fits, but I'm determined to make another one with a different yarn and a nicer cable holder.

Given my frustration with the Koolhaas hat, I thought a Zimmerman watch cap would be just the ticket. However, I discovered two things in making these. One, my cast-on style is much too tight. And two, I don't think I decreased correctly as these seem to resemble prophylactics more than hats ...

However, I did love the brioche stitch. I highly recommend it!

Finished Object: Poetry in Stitches Cardigan, p. 54

Well, it's finally done! It was a relatively quick knit (3 months as opposed to 3 years)! I'm generally pleased with how it turned out although there is definitely room for improvement (e.g., I made the sleeves a bit too baggy). I was happy with the yarn I used -- I substituted Rowan cotton glace in maritime for the recommended Hifa yarn. I do worry about it stretching out, but the design of garter stitch from side to side should mitigate against this. Here are various views of my FO:

Socks - The Newest Frontier

I got a little bogged down on the two Poetry in Stitches cardigans, and so decided to make a pair of socks for the first time. I have to admit that I wondered how hard could it be ... Well, I quickly learned that it requires some new skills and the first attempt was immediately unraveled. I then discovered Terri's Socks 101 , and voila!

It took me about 2 1/2 weeks to complete the pair (not including the first false start). It's a great feeling to create something usable in such a short time.

(The husband is gamely modeling his new socks in the photo above.)