FO: Thom 2

Today, I finished a sweet little worsted sweater for my son. I used Miss Babs "Yowza - Whatta Skein" worsted, which is lovely and squishy and there's a massive amount of it per skein - 560 yards. It's lovely stuff.


A simple top-down raglan is my favorite thing to knit, and I already had this pattern from a previous newborn sweater I knitted for my kiddo, so it was great for a quick guideline for cast-on, etc. Except when it wasn't, which is to say that the age 2-3 size fits my 22 month-old son quite well. I even sized up to a US 8 needle, so either my son is gigantic, or my gauge isn't.


I am so glad I finished this quickly. It took just about a week, and the cold has rolled in to Texas. Well, the "cool", anyway, as I'm sure most of you would crack up to think of 50 degrees as anything but downright balmy.

Aww, I love my little dude. Especially in knitwear.

-YX

FO: On the Grass

It's pretty ridiculous that it took me an entire year to finish this. Honestly, self, what the heck. This is Joji's On the Grass.

I went through a period of a few months where I didn't touch it... The bottom was pooling badly, and I didn't want to rip out those stitches- painful moss stitch, in fact- to fix it.

I eventually made peace with those pooling stripes and moved forward. The sweater was so bulky and stiff on the needles, but the yarn blocked beautifully. It's incredibly wearable and lovely now. The yarn is Dragonfly Fibers Damsel, which I got last year at Rhinebeck. I've finished this guy just in time for this year's show, and I'm already planning the other sweater quantity that I got there (ahem) for a new sweater. I'm trying to talk myself into some convoluted cables, but not finding any patterns I truly love.

My body has changed a lot since I had my son a year and a half ago, and adjusting to the new measurements- especially my increased hips- was an unexpected challenge. Things don't look the same on my body anymore, and I find myself second guessing what's flattering for this new shape.

As far as Rhinebeck is concerned, I'm going to try to stay away from sweater quantities and instead focus on shawls... Perhaps 2 or 3 skeins of things, to try to keep it simple. So many options, and I definitely overspent last year and haven't had much drive to touch the rest of it. I'm hoping the happiness I feel for this completed sweater will propel me into the next project. I'd like to work on some shorter-run items, since there are only so many sweaters one can wear in Houston. :)

I'm planning to go to Joji's meet and greet at the show, and she has mentioned that she'd like to see my Meridien, so I think I'll wear it on Saturday and this on Sunday. For the five of you still out there reading this, if you see me, please feel free to say hello! :)

- YX

Wool People 8!

I'm still here! Just, again, not much is going on in my world of knitting.

Except we went to Rhinebeck, which was fantastic!

A shot of the spoils:

It was great! This time, we rented the most beautiful house right in the middle of town. The owner was fantastic and sweet and everything you'd want in a host! I'd tell you more, but we've reserved the house again for next year, so perhaps a more in-depth look will pop up in a year. 

My photography business has been really busy lately, so I haven't had the time to devote to knitting. I do have a sweater in the works, but nothing to see of it just yet. 

In other news, WOOL PEOPLE 8! Fantastic. A few of my favorites:

...As if I need to cast on anything else!

And in other news, I am really heavily considering moving this blog over to wordpress and giving it a lovely little makeover. Is it worthwhile? Are you still reading, out there?

- YX

FO: Golden Hour

I started this back in February, just a few days before the baby was born. I'd done so much baby knitting that I needed a break... Well, 6 months later, I'm finally done.

Raglan construction, fingering weight yarn... I used Tosh Sock in "Antique Lace", which was bought on a whim at my LYS. The wheaty color is something I usually don't wear, but I am finding I like it with my skin tone.

The chevron detailing was easy enough to do without the chart, so it was great tv and knit night knitting.

I need to block it, because right now it's this weird mid-crotch length, and I'm hoping to get an inch or two out of it. I already added a few rows of chevrons to the bottom to accommodate my long torso, but I really should've just started the chevron charts later. Ah well.

The little cable/button back closure is so cute. Completely unnecessary, as the neck is generous, but it gives a nice detail. I chose a blue button at the advice of some twitter friends, but also considered bright red and hot pink ones. I have a lot of buttons.

Oh, and before I go... That little green Wee Austin Hoodie I did for the baby? Well...

- YX

FO's and knitting time?

Every time I post here, I think "Wow, has it been a long time or what?"... I think parenting does this to you. I spent quite awhile trying to figure out life again, and suddenly, my photography business exploded. So maybe I'm cameraexploder, too, now... Anyway, things have been hectic!

Remember how I made that cute little blue baby sweater? Someone fit in it one day:

Then the next? Not so much!

Now that he's nearly 5 months old, I've finally found time to knit again. I'm working away on a sweater project (on the last sleeve, in fact, so I should be done in, oh, another four thousand years)... And I've just finished this cowl, which I've been meaning to knit for myself forever:

It's called Foolproof, and it really is a fantastic pattern. You knit the cowl flat, if you can imagine. There's a lot of turning your work, but no purling, no casting on (unless you count one stitch) and no binding off (unless you count a K3TOG and thread the end. With limited nights to work on it, I still managed to get it done in 16 days. Fast and great for TV knitting. 

I used Wollmeise twin (fingering weight) yarn on this project, with size 6 needles. Basically, it's the drapiest, squooshiest thing ever, and will be great for fall weather. I'm happy with how it turned out, and can't wait to wear it. I think it'll look good with some black skinny jeans and a denim jacket. A little biker-y. 

Anyway, I missed this! I wonder if anyone is still out there, reading. Are you? Perhaps I should give out more yarn? ;)

- YX

FO: Wee Austin Hoodie

This post contains spoilers about the Ysolda Teague Mystery Knit Along, "Follow Your Arrow". Proceed with caution...Again!

I finished the baby sweater I was working on last time:

It's blocking right now. Although the hospital has some decent AC, I definitely miss being able to block things under the ceiling fan in my guest room. One night under the fan, and anything was ready to go.

I'm excited to get home and take some nice images of all these FOs, but sadly it's looking like I'll be here until the beginning of March sometime. Our baby will probably be in the NICU at first, so either I'll keep producing lots of knitted things, or I'll end up going radio silent again for a few weeks.

I'm still working along on the Ysolda KAL, and this time chose clue B, the short row clue. Here's the progress:

Sigh... All this terrible photography!

Anyway, I like the way this weird geometric thing is shaping up. I can't wait to see the next clue set!

- YX

Weird things happening

This post contains spoilers about the Ysolda Teague Mystery Knit Along, "Follow Your Arrow". Proceed with caution!

Today is my birthday. Isn't that fun? Ask me where I'm spending my birthday...

...The answer is "in the hospital"!

Due to some complications with my pregnancy, I had to enter the hospital on 12/31. I'm now on indefinite bedrest until March, when I'll be delivering my baby a whole 5 weeks early. Kinda nuts! But in the meantime...

I've finished Harbinger, which needs a good blocking and deserves a better picture than this one on my hospital bed (Vice Yarns Sinful Singles):

I also finished a Fisherman Hat, which again is much prettier than these pictures give credit. See the Harbinger in the background? (Classic Elite Chalet):

I've started a Wee Austin Hoodie, which is coming along quickly. Photo doesn't represent the color, which is actually the same as the little baby hat I did. (Wollmeise 100% in Wasabi):

And to make things interesting, I've started Ysolda's Follow Your Arrow mystery knit along, which has a wonderful "choose your own adventure" feel to it. Out of the first two clues, I chose option A, which is an angular/ geometric option. Option B is a semicircular option. Although B is pretty (and I'd venture to say the prettier of the two), I tend to dislike wearing semicircular shawls, so I went for the other option. I'm using Tosh Sock in Antique Lace:

I need to do a wrap-up of 2013 (I'm SO late), and take some better photos! It's so hard to get nice images in the hospital!
- YX

The Mystery Worsted

Okay, so I was in Florence last May, and went to a lovely little yarn store called Campolmi Roberto Filati, which I found via Nicky Epstein. It's a lovely store, large and chock full of fibery goodness. The language barrier was noticeable until an English-speaking employee stepped in to help translate.

I should've bought some cashmere- we picked up a sweater quantity of cashmere yarn for my mother-in-law, who celebrated her birthday just before our trip. When the yarn lady quoted me a price for the cashmere, I started laughing. I couldn't help it! It was about 50% of the cost of similar-quality cashmere in the US. So inexpensive. It was about the same as a regular skein of superwash.

I picked up only two things, but I made them count. Both are GIANT skeins of worsted yarn, dyed in the shop.

These skeins are LITERALLY as big as my head. They're huge. 400g (14oz) of worsted yarn. It's probably close to 1,000 or so yards each.

I love the colors, which have some abrupt changes. The grey skein goes from light to dark smoothly on one side, but has a dark line on the other. It's super odd, in a cool way. I tried casting on for a "huge shawl of indeterminate size", but ended up ripping it out when I decided that I was wasting a great opportunity for a gargantuan sweater.

Yep, a worsted sweater, even though it's currently 103°F (39.4°C) here.

Yep, a worsted sweater, even though I just finished a sweater project and determined I needed a break from major garments.

Yep, a worsted sweater, instead of cracking into any of the various other yarns I have in my stash, doing a lovely little hat or a pair of super-bulky-fun-fur-electric-house-stomper socks.

What is wrong with me? Seriously?!

- YX

I believe in the Fingering-weight sweater

Someone on one of my Facebook knitting groups was asking about fingering-weight sweaters. Were they feasible projects? Worth the time? Was she insane for considering one?

I've knitted quite a few things with fingering weight yarn:

Two of those are knit from Wollmeise laceweight yarn, which is actually much closer to fingering than laceweight, for what it's worth. These sweaters are light, soft, and airy while still being incredibly warm. I find them to be the idea spring/fall pieces, and excellent summer AC busters. Of course, a little layering and they're perfect for Houston winter, too.

I have so many more I'd love to complete, too. Veera Valimaki's Urban is a favorite of mine:

Then there's Anna Kuduja's Purple Leaves, which has a pretty front, but I'm all in for the back:

And there's this very pretty Veranda Dress from Kerin Dimeler-Laurence for Knitpicks, which would be modded immediately to become a sweater... And to lose those sleeves... Too poofy for my liking, anyway. I'd knit a regular fitted sleeve:

Fingering-weight stuff isn't shabby, and doesn't have to take forever to knit, either. Show me your projects and patterns!
- YX

FO: Meridien

Well, it's finally done:

I'm super happy with how it turned out, too! The fabric is great. Could use a second blocking, though, so get the fronts to drape properly...

Of course, the typical back shot was necessary:

It really shouldn't have taken so long to finish, but it was worth the wait. Super cozy and ready for the fall. Too bad it's over 100 degrees here in Texas. 

I went off pattern a little bit and did a long ribbed cuff instead of the seed stitch border. I like my sleeves to fit my arms snugly, and I often push up my sleeves to 3/4 length, so the ribbing helps keep them from getting floppy and sad. 

But it's done! Woohoo!

- YX

WIP: Meridien

I haven't shown you my Meridien in awhile, so here are a few in-progress shots:

The back fits pretty well! I'm pleased with the length too, which is quite a bit longer than I initially expected. 

I really like the way the back panel looks, but I'm not super thrilled with the curve of the flounce and back (which is intentional in the pattern):

Here's a detail of the flounce area:

I'm on to the dreaded sleeves now (ugh!)... I'm still not entirely convinced that this doesn't want to be a vest. Can I talk myself into that? No sleeves? On something wool?

Hmm...
- YX

Project planning: Gramps

My lovely friends Carl and Laura are awaiting a new baby. Now, I'm not normally one to make things for babies; I usually go straight to the registry or pop a gift card into an envelope, but for friends, I like to take the time to knit something in addition to whatever store-bought items Andrew and I pick out for the baby.

This time, I've chosen Gramps, a teeny little Old Man Cardigan by Tin Can Knits.

The photography was just too cute to pass up, so I had to check it out. The pattern calls for Madeline Tosh worsted weight yarn (vintage) and includes two little pockets and some hilarious elbow patches:

I've chosen Rowan's Baby Merino Silk DK for the project, which is a washable baby yarn, in "Teal" and "Straw" colorways:

I'm choosing a DK for the project because I want to reduce the bulk of the sweater and thin down the fabric to make it easier for babies to wear. My friends live in a moderate climate, so a huge sweater isn't necessary. Since he's due to arrive in late spring, I'll opt for a larger size that will fit in the fall. 

I definitely need to cast on and get moving on it, because I have something like two months to get it done...and who knows what else might pop up in the meantime?

- YX

WIP: Meridien

So I'm working on Meridien, a swing cardigan by Joji Locatelli. Here's the designer photo:

 And here's where I am so far:

I'm enjoying the pattern, which is knitted side-to-side. The construction is interesting, but I'll write more on that as I get to it. For now, I'm just enjoying the different textures of the fabric.

Unfortunately, the piece needs to measure something like 44" from the narrower stockinette side before I can do anything else, so I'm stuck in a 33-row repeat that is a bit tedious but is at least memorizable.

I have a small notebook I'm using to keep track of rows and repeats, which is imperative as I run a cable and increase short rows at the same time. It seems to be working out well, for the most part! I already have one repeat that messed up and doesn't look like the rest, but I'm going to go ahead and leave it different. I'm a big fan of the Deliberate Mistake in projects.

You know what I'm talking about, right? The idea that leaving a mistake in your work somehow keeps you honest. Perhaps less prideful, perhaps less perfect. Crafters and artisans throughout history have made or kept intentional mistakes. I think having a mistake in my work makes me less stressed about fixing things, which makes a project more enjoyable and less like work. Although I'm more of a project knitter than a process knitter, and I sure as heck don't need an INTENTIONAL mistake for all the ones I dump into my knitting. Heh.

Anyway, this cardigan is going to take awhile, so I may end up hopping onto another project for a few weeks to take a bit of a break...
- YX