A Basic Chic Hoodie

I just finished the hoodie! Weaving in the ends took a couple of days and then I threw it in the wash and the dryer. The pattern called for seven buttons, but I mistakenly only bought six. I think it looks fine though. The only other modification I made was making the sweater just a bit longer in length. It's very warm and cozy.

One Side Down

I finished the ribbing on the left side of the hoodie last night. I hope I have enough energy to start the ribbing on the other side. Picking up 149 stitches does not sound too fun!

Nearing the Finish Line

I started working on the hood this weekend. I've probably got about five inches or so to go, and then it's on to the button band and hood trim. I still need to fine some good buttons too.

One-Armed Hoodie

I got a lot of knitting done this weekend and almost finished the right sleeve last night as I watched the horribly hosted Emmy awards. The sleeve is knit in the round so there is no seaming that has to be done, which is great. However, I've got lots of ends to weave in due to the stripes. I love the pockets that are in the ribbing but I opted not to add the button closures so they seem more hidden.

Slow But Steady

I've been slowly making progress on my hoodie and have about six more inches or so before the body of the sweater is complete. I like how the randomness of the stripes is turning out so far. I think the ribbing, button bands, and trim will be done using the dark blue yarn.

I Love Stripes

I worked on this hoodie steadily over the weekend while watching more U.S. Open tennis. The sleeve stitches have been transferred to holders and now I'm just working on the body. I've got to knit about 18 inches total in length. I'm just randomly working the stripe pattern as I go, switching colors whenever I want. So far, so good!

What's Up?

I just returned from vacation in New York, where I was attending the U.S. Open. I also managed to find a little time to shop in SoHo and visit some friends from college. I'm getting ready to swatch for the Basic Chic Hoodie. Apparently, I'm on some crazy hoodie kick recently. I'm using some Cascade 220 Superwash, courtesy of Carolyn. I've got four skeins each of these two shades of blue, which isn't enough for the entire sweater, so I'll be combining them in some random stripe pattern.

Long Ribbed Jacket

I finished seaming the jacket and sewing the pockets on late last night. This morning, I threw the sweater into the washer and dryer and it looks great. I've already worn the jacket out and in this rainy, cold Portland weather, it's surprisingly warm. I really like having the pockets too.

BFF

I finished the Best Friend Cardigan last night while I watched the Oscars. I wanted to wear it today, but it would have been too warm. As you can see, this is a very fitted pattern, but not uncomfortably so. I usually hate reverse stockinette stitch, but in this chunky yarn, it doesn't look too bad. I ended up buying the Twinkle's Big City Knits book, and my next project will be the Balthazar Vest, again in Rowan Big Wool in Acer, which is a warm brown shade.




I completed the stuffed pig on Saturday afternoon. It turned out much cuter than I thought it would. It was hard to visualize what it would look like just from the pieces. It was fun to stuff it, and then after adding each component (ears, tail, eyes, etc.), it started looking more and more real. It was a pleasant surprise!

Knitting Update

I finished the upper body of the stuffed pig last night. It's a little smaller than I thought it would be, but after looking at it, I don't think I'd want it to be much bigger. I cast on for the underside and hope to get that completed sometime during the weekend. I hope it will be cute!

I hadn't yet decided on my next knitting project, but I'd been eyeing this sweater, the Best Friend Cardigan, from Wenlan Chia. The pattern appeared in her first book Twinkle's Big City Knits, however, I got it for free here, via bits & bobbins. The only down side to making this sweater was the cost of any super chunky yarn. Granted, I only needed five skeins, but that would be at least $75. But after receiving an email from a LYS that was having a sale on Rowan Big Wool, I took that as a sign and bought five skeins in a color called Zing. This project should knit up pretty quickly considering it's knit up on size 19 needles!

Completed

Here's the finished Avast sweater, modeled by B. I think it turned out pretty well. This is the first sweater I've made for him that actually fits. I thought it was perhaps a little too large, but he likes things a little roomier and it's about the same size as his jackets. As I was blocking the sweater, I noticed I had dropped a stitch, but luckily it was near the top and I was able to pick up several stitches and then blend it in with the sleeve decreases and then weave the ends in with the collar facing.

Zipping Along

I purchased three different zippers yesterday to test out with the sweater. There were no navy or midnight blue options to choose from, so I opted for a mustard yellow, gray, or black. I ended up going with the black since it matched the most closely. I sewed the sweater closed with a contrasting yarn and also sewed some bias tape along the edges of the sweater for a more finished edge. Next I'll mark the sweater and the zipper for placement and then baste it in place before handsewing with backstitching. Lastly, I'll sew down the collar facing. B will have a new sweater to wear this weekend! Photos to come!

PS Zipper tutorials from ChicKnits and not martha were very helpful.

Heavy Knitting

Sorry for the lack of posts during the last week, but all I've been working on is the Avast sweater. Since I've got the entire sweater on my circular needles, it's been some heavy knitting on the hands. Needless to say, after knitting for a couple of hours, my hands are pretty sore. I'm almost done with all of my raglan sleeve decreases. Just a little ways to go before I can start in on the collar.

Connected

I knit nonstop this weekend, so I could finish the sleeves and attach them to the body. Knitting the sleeves is a little tight right now because there isn't a lot of leeway in the small area that was bound off on the body. Hopefully, once I start doing more raglan decreases, things will get easier.

Stockinette Marathon

I finally finished the 16" of the Avast body on Saturday night while watching La Vie En Rose and 3:10 to Yuma. It didn't seem to take too long since I was occupied with the stories of the films (both thumbs ups!). Last night, I cut out the fabric for the Amy Butler Lotus top. I'm in the process of sewing that up right now.

A Long Road Ahead

Here's my progress so far with the Avast cardigan. Once I got the cabled band finished at the hem, I had to pick up 221 stitches! Needless to say, all this stockinette stitch is taking forever and it looks like I'm only halfway to the required 16 inches before starting the sleeves.

Cabled Border

Here's the cabled border of the sweater. I have two more pattern repeats to do before it's finished. Then I will pick up stitches on one of the long sides to knit on the body.

Central Park Hoodie is Done!

Yesterday I finished weaving in the ends on the sweater, sewing on the buttons, and crocheting the button loops. The original pattern didn't have any type of closure on the sweater, but I knew that I would want something to stay cozy and warm. I added the optional button loops and bought some of those genuine leather shank buttons. The fit turned out great and I really liked knitting this project up. It was quick and fun. I made the second to smallest size, which was a 36" bust. I did find a couple of errors in the pattern. They are below.

Corrections to CPH Pattern
Under back, the first sentence after armholes should be:

Armholes: BO 4 (5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 8, 8) sts at beg of next 2 rows, then 2 sts at beg of foll 2 rows-66 (72, 78, 84, 90, 102, 118, 126) sts rem. Dec row (RS) K2, ssk, work in patt to last 4 sts, k2tog, k2-2 sts dec'd. Work 1 WS row. Rep last 2 rows 1 (1, 1, 1, 1, 3, 5, 7) more time(s), then work Dec row every other RS row 0 (0, 0, 0, 0, 7, 7, 7) times-62 (68, 74, 80, 86, 80, 92, 96) sts rem.

And the rib should be worked as follows on the right front, for the 5 smallest sizes:

Sizes 32 (36, 40, 44, 48)" only:
Row 1 (RS) *P2, k2; rep from * to end of row.
Row 2 (WS) *P2, k2, rep from * to end of row.

Time for a Hoodie

My next knitting project is going to be the Central Park Hoodie. This pattern first appeared in the fall 2006 issue of Knitscene, which has since sold out on the Interweave Knits site, but is still available at other online stores. You can now buy the CPH pattern individually from the new Knitting Daily Pattern Store. Knitting Daily is a newsletter from the folks at Interweave and their shop has lots of other individual patterns that have appeared in Interweave or other sister publications.

Mini Cardi is Done!

I finished the cardigan a couple of days ago, but decided to actually wear it today. I made the smallest size and it fits great. I was worried about the stockinette stitch bands rolling, so I did a two-stitch garter selvage. Instead of the edges rolling, the selvage just folds over, as you can see in the photo on the far right. The color of the sweater showed up differently in all three photos, but the truest one is the close up of the band. It's a very purple-red even though it's called garnet.

Lint is Closing

Today was the first day of LYS Lint's going-out-of-business sale. This is sad news for the local knitting community. Everything is 30% off and there are still lots of bargains to be had. I managed to snatch up this silk wool for my next project, a sweater with yoke from Rebecca 33.

The sale will go on until everything is gone. Stop in and wish Melissa and crew good luck!

Blouson

I finished knitting on the neckband and weaving in all the ends of the Blouson last night. I made the size up from the smallest size and the sweater is still pretty roomy and blousey, though the waistband fits my hips just right. I made the sleeves just a little bit longer and they almost hit my wrists. The Mainline yarn makes for a nice soft fabric that feels good against the skin. I can see wearing this sweater quite a bit once fall hits to keep the chill off.

Knitted Pleats

Here's a picture of the pleats and waistband on the back of the blouson. I finished the front and the sleeves last night. Actually, I finished one of the sleeves and then ran out of yarn on the second sleeve with only four rows to go on the cuff. The waistbands and cuffs will be folded in half and tacked on to the hem on the inside of the sweater. I really like how the crossed stockinette fabric turned out.

I also managed to cut out my fabric for the jumper dress, but haven't progressed much further than that. The dress directions look pretty quick and easy, so maybe I can start sewing tonight and have a new dress before I go to bed!

Weekend Progress

I've been steadily working on the blouson and actually finished the sleeves last night. I'll steam block the pieces before I start adding the pleats.

This weekend was also spent looking for a new sewing project to start. I thought I would use this Built by Wendy dress pattern or a Machiko Kayaki pattern, but I wanted something more summery and strappy. I ended up buying four different jumper dress patterns and settled on the Simplicity 3738 to start first. I actually bought the Amy Butler fabrics the day before I bought the patterns and I thought they worked best with this particular dress. The pattern is cut out, so I'll cut fabric tonight.

Moving Right Along

I managed to finish up the back of the Blouson sweater over the weekend. It looks pretty big, but there will be pleats there on the bottom. The crossed stockinette stitch has added a nice texture to the fabric and doeesn't seem to be creating any strange sort of bias. I'm starting the raglan armhole decreases on the front now.

Finished Cardigan

I sewed the buttons on the cardigan yesterday afternoon, so it is officially done!

Blocked Up

Corrective Action

I finally finished the reworked fronts last night. I would have been done sooner had I not forgotten to bind off for the armholes. At least the fronts are now done! I started the sleeves after the fronts were finished and those will be done in a flash. I hope I can block all the pieces later this week.

Wonky Rebecca Sweater

I finished seaming up the sweater last night. I'm not sure if I like this sweater at all. You can sort of see how it still leans to the left side. And the seams are all weird and tight because of that too. I was hoping that if I threw the sweater in the washer and dryer, some of the problems might be corrected, but it doesn't look like it. I've used the KnitPicks Shine before, but with this project I had a horrible problem with it leaving a thin coating of fuzz on myself whenever I'd knit for extended periods of time. I then made the mistake of washing it with other clothes and there were tons of yarn pills on everything! This may be a wear-around-the-house sweater only.

What a Relief

I made a trip out to Kinokuniya yesterday to check out their expanded crafts section and found these three books. The first book features all different kinds of slippers and shoes to sew. The second book has patterns for accessories and decorations made from felt. And the last book has lots of cute dresses and tops to make.

Also pictured is the back of the Rebecca sweater. The sweater is knit in a relief pattern, which consists of slipping yarnovers over purl stitches. The pattern is just enough to keep things from getting too boring.

I Do Remember How to Knit

I stayed up way too late yesterday swatching and knitting for the Rebecca sweater. It felt weird to actually be knitting. It's been about two weeks since I last knit and I rarely go that long without some kind of knitting project. The color of this yarn is starting to grow on me. It's a color I don't have in my wardrobe and I like the brightness of it.

I also have my next sewing project lined up. I bought this fabulous trees fabric from superbuzzy and decided to make a lightweight lined coat. I got yet another Built By Wendy pattern that I hadn't seen before. I'll make the longer coat with the short sleeves. It will be perfect for springtime.

New Projects

I ordered some KnitPicks Shine Worsted in Reef for the Rebecca sweater. It's pattern number 20 and has a relief stitch pattern. I wanted to try the new GGH Tara yarn, but I couldn't find it for sale anywhere. Hopefully, the yarn will get here sometime next week. I haven't worked on any knitting since finishing the Alexi cardigan earlier this week. I must say it's awfully strange to go so long without a knitting project!

My Textiles class had a field trip to the Pendleton Woolen Mills Factory this morning in Washougal, WA. We went on a tour of the mill and got to see wool being processed during the carding, spinning, and weaving stages. We also saw products like blankets and fabrics being finished. It was really interesting and informative. Lots of crazy huge machinery. There's also a store on site with a lot of discounted merchandise, including fabric. I bought about four and a half yards of this grey wool for my next apparel construction project, a jacket. It was only $3 per yard! I was thinking I'd use the remaining fabric to make some matching shorts, so I'd have a suit of sorts. As my lining fabric, I picked up this Michael Miller Disco Dot satin from Bolt. The Steffi jacket pattern is from BurdaStyle. I'll spend the holiday weekend cutting out my pattern and fabric pieces.

Oversized and Warm

I finally finished the Alexi cardigan last night. I had completed all the seaming over the weekend, but didn't have the buttons until yesterday. I made the smallest size, but it's still a little big. However, it's the perfect wear around the house, lounging sweater. I may try to shrink it a little bit in the washer/dryer, but I'll have to wear it a bit more before I decide on that.

Blocked Up

I finished the sleeves of the Alexi cardi earlier this week and pinned the fronts and back down for blocking. Those were dry today, so tonight I pinned down the sleeves and they are now blocking. I'll seam the shoulders tomorrow and start knitting on the button bands.