Long Cowl Neck

I've been working on this ribbed cowl neck for the last several days. I need to knit almost 10 inches on it, so I'm about two-thirds of the way there. As you can tell from the sleeve, all the seams need to be blocked since they are really curling and not laying flat. I need to find some cool big buttons for the sleeves.

Halfway Done

THis is the back of the sweater, pre-blocked. I started in on the ribbing on the front last night and managed to get that done while watching the season premiere of Fringe and Project Runway. The best thing about this sweater? I won't have to knit sleeves! After I finish the front, I've only got seaming and the neck to knit on and I'm finished. Gotta love those Dolman sleeves.

Amy's New Book

I just got Amy's new book this week and it looks great! The projects are very user-friendly and customizable, and allow you to use a lot of things you may already have on hand. There are lots of projects and techniques I want to try, especially the Aunt Sarah and Uncle Pete dolls. For you locals, go see Amy at the downtown Powell's on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. There will be lots of cakes.

Beginning of Berkshire

Knitting on size 10 needles has made this stockinette stitch on the Berkshire sweater go by pretty fast. I really like the look of these Dolman sleeves and how the stockinette is a continual pattern from one sleeve edge to the other. It will be nice not to have to sew set-in sleeves. I think this project is going to knit up faster than I expected.

Knittin' Time

I've been doing so much sewing lately that I've really missed knitting. I bought this Eco Wool at the Sock Summit marketplace to make this Berkshire Dolman sweater from the fall 2009 special issue of Knitscene. I really love the fitted styling, the big turtleneck, and the buttons on the cuffed sleeves. I also like that the Dolman sleeves aren't totally huge and baggy. I swatched last night and just finished the ribbing.

Labor Day Sewing

Schoolgirl Dress
Originally uploaded by actionhero

I started this project during the long weekend and finished it this morning. The pattern is from a Japanese craft book. I really like the contrast between the soft pinstriped cotton and the crisp black linen. The only mod I made was to make the cuffs a lot shorter. In the pattern, they are extremely long and look weird to me. The only other problem is that the cotton reminds me of a dish towel and the dress sort of looks like pajamas to me. Maybe because it's so wrinkly. You can also see a close up here.

Loose Shirt

Loose Shirt
Originally uploaded by actionhero

After staying up late the last couple of nights working on this shirt project, I finally finished it this morning. I just had to sew the buttonholes and buttons on, but there were only five, so it didn't take too long. I like how the shirt turned out, but it is very loose-fitting, even though I made the smallest size. And since I took off a bunch of the length, it looks a bit boxy to me, especially with the dropped shoulders. I do like that I can easily pull it on. I think I'll still get a lot of wear out of it.