Alex's Drops Cabled Pullover

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Yes, I did finally finish Alex's Xmas sweater in time. I had the knitting done a month or so early, but I didn't finish the sewing-together until a week before the 25th. There was very minimal sewing and finishing so I don't know what took me so long, but there it was. I was awfully pleased when he opened it, as he really seemed very thrilled with it. I hadn't been sure if he really was looking forward to having it, or was lukewarm about the whole thing. Well, he seemed genuinely pleased, which pleased me of course. Now the three men in that family all have matching sweaters.

Alex's is big on him, but I purposely waited two years after I made the ones for his Dad and younger brother. I knew he was close enough to a likely major growth-spurt that it would be silly to do all that work for something he couldn't wear more than a year or two. He's shot up pretty well lately, and this is generously sized in all directions. He'll definitely get taller, and fill out some, so I think this will be good for a long time. With the cuffs rolled up, the sleeves are fine now, too. This is him opening his package. Yeah, I think he likes it.


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Details:
Pattern: Drops 59-6 Adult Sweater (child sizes available)
Yarn: Bendigo Rustic 8-ply in color #950 Delta
Size: Men's Small/Medium, took just under 6 balls (200g size)

Graceful Knitting

I still haven't done any real sewing yet, just a little mending, which I always think is a good 'gateway' back to full-sewing mode. However, I have been knitting. I finished a hemp lace shell before Pearle died, but I still haven't take photos of it. I have finished and have photos of another knitted top. It's called Graceful.
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This is from The Knitter magazine, a UK publication that I happened to see at the local Barnes&Noble. It doesn't have a lot of patterns, maybe about 10, but they are almost all something that I would consider making. I am very impressed with this issue anyway.

Here's my version.

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I used Bendigo Rustic in Agate, which is kind of a grayed purple. It's a DK/worsted weight, and the pattern calls for size 10 needles, so it goes very quickly. It took me about a month, not working too steadily. The thing I would emphasize is that it requires attention to the chart, because you will be doing pattern stitches on all rows. Most lace patterns have you just knit or purl back on the wrong side, but this is a little tougher. I made a larger chart, which helped a lot since otherwise I was having to really stare at it to make sure I was looking at the right place before I went on. The sleeves were a breeze since the more complex pattern is not on the sleeves.


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I love the way the sleeves come down over the back of your hand. It's the same thing that happens at the bottom of the sweater body, and it's just a function of the pattern stitches. I tried to make this longer than I usually do, and I like the length. I will definitely need to wear sometthing under it, as the lace holes are quite large.
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Here are a few more photos of the stitch pattern, with an envelope between the layers of the sweater so you can see more clearly.

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It's snowing here and very cold. We're up to about 8" and it continues. Soon the wind is supposed to pick up and blow it all around, and they're even giving us a blizzard warning. Unfortunately it's going to stay cold for at least a week now, so the snow will stay around a while.

Bendigo Yarn is Here

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The yarn I ordered for my nephew's Xmas sweater came today. All the way from Australia in only about 2 weeks. I chose the yarn, Bendigo Rustic, and he chose the color so it should be just right. I thought blue would probably be the color for him, but there were 6 different blues, plus some blue/purple colors as well, so I thought he'd better choose.

Since I was ordering anyway, I also ordered the pink wool you see. You can never go wrong with pink! When I saw it I remembered that I need to make a baby sweater for our neighbor who is expecting, and since it's to be a girl, pink would be perfect. This color would be great, but I think I should probably get a softer baby yarn instead. I need to start on it fairly soon, so I'd better decide.

I've just begun working on a skirt from Onion Patterns. It's the Fisher Skirt, and it's one of the few Onion patterns that do not come with an English translation of the Danish instructions.

It's not a terribly complicated skirt by any means, but it's unsettling to have no idea what is written. I've worked with lots of German, French and Italian patterns, and from my voice studies, I have a pretty good working knowledge of these languages, and dictionaries at hand as well. Danish is another matter entirely. Luckily, I found some very nice people at Stitcher's Guild who were willing and able to help me. I cut the pieces tonight, and will see if I have time to begin sewing tomorrow. I'm using a black and white wool with an interesting weave that I got on a Fabric Garage Sale from the Hillestad Gallery Friends. There are always interesting things there, and I'm glad to find a good use for this.

I was going to try to answer a question from stillpatrice about the little embroidered tag I put on my pajamas. It was stitched on a Pfaff 2144/2170 on grosgrain ribbon, without the embroidery unit. No special technique, but some finger manipulation after the stitching and then a lot of pressing.


gwensews had such an interesting idea for the gray scarf. She suggested that I try some paintsticks or something to change the color. I do have paintsticks, and I'd like to try this. I have quite a bit left that I can test techniques on, and I think this could be very exciting. Thank you, Gwen!


Finally, I am very excited that Caroline has tagged me with the Sisterhood blog award. Thank you, Caroline! I'm thrilled to be your sister.

Summer Sewing in the Snow

Yes, it's snowing here, and not just a little bit.

I'm just about done with the Marfy #1640 blouse I started recently. I just need to hem it, sew on a couple more buttons and do a few finishing touches. Here's a close-up of the pocket, flap and tab on one side. I think all the details turned out really cute.

Originally I thought I'd have to leave some of the details off, but with my lowered empire seam, it worked out perfectly. The fabric is a very light voile I got from FabricMart last year. I think it's perfect for this design. The print is very large scale and abstract, and there's no question of needing to match it, which makes it all kind of fun and spontaneous.





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You may remember the cabled sweaters I knitted for my brother and one nephew for Christmas 2 years ago, using a pattern from Drops. I am now ready to knit one for the older nephew. I didn't want to do his until he was a little older because he was close to 'growth spurt age' and I wanted this to be wearable for more than a year or two. He's going to get a somewhat oversized sweater anyway, but he'll soon grow into it, I'm sure. Boys don't generally mind wearing things that are a little big anyway. He chose the color, Delta in the same wool I used before, Bendigo's Rustic. Lovely yarn, and I ordered it yesterday. I'll be interested to see how soon it comes because they generally send things very, very quickly.

The Sweaters and their Recipients

 

Chris and Zachary very kindly modeled their sweaters. They seemed very pleased with them, and that pleased me. Zachary is also showing his rolling pin. He's very much into cooking, and Alton Brown of Good Eats fame is his favorite.

I took my sister to get her Christmas present today. I had told her I'd get her a thimble from Thimbles by TJ Lane, so we went to the studio and she tried on thimbles aplenty. She had her heart set on a Yubinuki (ring thimble) like mine, but her fingers are so tiny that they had to take the smallest one they made (a 3 1/2, which is what mine is) and cut it down for her, so we waited and browsed among all the other wonderful things they make while they cut and soldered and fitted. It's now about a size 1, or a bit smaller. She made inroads on their other inventory of chatelaines and various dependant tools, and she has a gorgeous piece of jewelry now which is also a portable sewing kit, basically. We pick up her thimble next week after it's been hardened and polished.


I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season, and I hope it's not over yet!

Xmas Sweaters Finished

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I finally got both sweaters completely finished and photographed. It's awfully nice to see them lying there, all done. I hardly know what to do with myself now that I don't have one of them to pick up and work on in every spare moment.

They're both made with Bendigo Woolen Mill's Rustic yarn. It's 100% wool, and very nice to work with. Especially if you hate finishing, as it comes in 200g balls, and so there are many fewer ends to weave in, especially if you splice as you go along, as I do.

The Red Tweed sweater is a Child's Size 9/10, and the Midnight Tweed is a Men's XL. The patterns is Drops 59-6

I made one mistake which I'm glad I made. This may sound strange, but I'll explain. The patterns on the front and back of both sweaters are exactly the same, and the small box pattern at the sides has a varying number of stitches which makes the size difference. The sleeves however are a different matter. The adult sweater has a narrower version of the center cable panel flanked by the horseshoe cables, and the rest in the box pattern, as on the front. The child's version doesn't have room for all that when you begin the main sleeve stitches after the cuff. I read and reread the pattern, and finally did what (I thought) it called for. The horseshoe cable pattern with the rest in the box pattern. It worked out beautifully, and I liked the sleeve extensions even better than the adult version where it narrows to go behind the back neck, since it has a little textural pattern to it, and the adult's, which uses the main cable pattern there, doesn't. When I began the second child's sleeve, I realized I had misread the instructions, and it was supposed to be the narrowed main cable pattern without the horseshoe cables. Well, I certainly wasn't going to rip out a whole beautiful sleeve just because of that, and I really like mine better anyway.

Here's my version of the sleeve. You can see the other version below.

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One thing that's tricky on this pattern is ending the sleeve extensions at the correct point. I ended up ripping back a few rows on some, and adding a few rows on others to make the graft come out exactly in the center back.

Here's a close-up of the Shoulder/Sleeve/Body seam. You can also see the edge of the turtleneck which was picked up after the rest of the seaming was all done.

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I had a little trouble doing the collar, since my shoulder began hurting when I started knitting around on it. A couple years ago, I had the same kind of pain which began when I picked up and knitted a similar collar on a sweater for me, which turned out to be rotator cuff injury. That sweater was much lighter than this one, and I tried to think of some way to change my method enough to make my shoulder feel better. I decided to change to double-pointed needles from a circular, and that seemed to help a lot. I think shoving the stitches along while lifting and turning the sweater was the problem. With the double-points, you knit off one needle, stop and turn, then begin again. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it definitely made a lot of difference.

The Elves Are Busy

Thursday (the 13th) I was helping with a Christmas Luncheon and Program put on by one of my music clubs. I wasn't in charge of any of the food, and for the first time in several years, I wasn't on the program this month either. In fact, my regular accompanist, Diana, asked me if I knew what to do since we weren't performing. It did feel strange, but nice to just listen and enjoy, too. I was simply a flunky in the kitchen, mainly before we served. The dessert was the most interesting part. We have a member who lives in Pennsylvania, but is flown back every so often to perform and tour with a dance band, and it often coincides with our meetings. She had Whoopie Pies and Wilber Buds shipped here for us. The Whoopie Pies are an Amish thing, and very good, although very sweet. The Wilber Buds look a lot like Hershey kisses, and apparently the Wilber Chocolate factory employed Mr. Hershey before he started his own company, and they had the kiss-type candy form first. Isn't history interesting? All this information, and chocolate too!

I realized when I got home after the event, that I'd been paying no attention whatsoever to the calendar, and Christmas was creeping up on me even more quickly than usual. I began to knit on my nephew's sweater with greater concentration, and finished the knitting Saturday. It looks so tiny compared to the same sweater for my brother, but I think they're both the right size. Hope so anyway!

I decided to wait and block after I finished them, and I'm really glad I made that decision, since when I stitched my brother's together, I had to do some adjusting on the length of the saddle shoulder extensions which meet and are grafted at CB, and that might have been rather difficult after blocking. I've almost finished the neckband on his. I learned something too. When I first had shoulder pain which turned out to be rotator cuff injury, it began when I was doing a picked-up neckband on a sweater for me. I was using a circular needle. This is about the same thing, except the sweater is much heavier. I began on a circular, and started getting the same type of pain again. I decided that pushing the stitches along on the circular while lifting and repositioning the heavy sweater was probably the problem. I changed to double-pointed needles, and I think it's helped a lot. It's still a chore, doing 5" of 2x2 rib on Size 2 needles, but it looks really great.


Click here for a larger view and for earlier progress photos.

Now all I have to do is stitch up Zachary's sweater and do his neckband. I really was beginning to wonder if I was even going to get done in time since I started Chris's in about June, and didn't start Zach's until November. I feel like I've been doing no needlework except knitting for several weeks now, and I'm excited to be getting close to done.

Xmas Sweater Progress

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Here's my progress so far on my brother's Xmas sweater. I think it's coming along nicely, and the pattern has been very nice to knit. I love the cable patterns, especially the main panel. It looks complex, but it's an easy 32 row repeat once you get the hang of it. The other patterns are 8 row repeats, so they fit together very well. Once you get to the bottom of the armscyes, you cast off some and then knit back and forth on the front and back. The sleeves are also knitted in the round and then set in. I think this will give a much nicer shaping than using a steek. This is a Norwegian pattern I believe. It's from the Drops site anyway, and is Men's pattern 59-6. They seem to have really nice, free patterns, and there are a lot to choose from.

I'm using Bendigo Rustic yarn in Midnight Tweed. It's mainly a deep navy, but has flecks and heathering of red, teal, purple, green, etc.

Our local library has a wonderful audio download program, and I've been listening to audio books while knitting. Also while gardening, etc. I just finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. It was such an engrossing story, and very sad, but very satisfying. It also includes many references throughout to embroidery, weaving and sewing.

Norah Gaughan Shell is Finished

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I finished the Norah Gaughan shell today that I've been working on. I used Bendigo's Cotton yarn, and I really think it turned out pretty well. My sister thinks it would have been a bit nicer if I had reversed the front pieces, and put the design panel on the right instead of the left, and I think she's right. Live and learn. I should know that things generally look better on me with the interest on the right. I'm sure I'll wear it anyway though.

It really was a fairly quick knit, and quite enjoyable, especially the patterned front panel. The front is done in 3 pieces which are seamed together. I'm sure there's a way to do them all as one, and I thought about it, but I wonder if the fact that there are seams on each side of the cabled panel gives it a bit more stability than if there weren't.

This was very nice yarn to work with as well. The pattern called for yardage that was just about 2 balls-worth, and so I ordered 3, just to be sure. It really took me very little over 1, so I have a lot left over. I did the Back in the Small size, and the Front in Large, changing to Small as I neared the shoulders. It went together with no problems.

I'm editing this to say that the just over 1 balls-worth is actually more like just over 4 regular 50g balls, since I used Bendigo's yarn, and they put theirs up in 200g balls. So I actually used just over 200g of cotton yarn. Hope this didn't mislead anyone!

I also have just found out that Bendigo has a website, so you can see their products there, and order too. I don't know how the colors will look to you, but on my monitor they seem not nearly as pretty as they are in real life, so do order a color card. They've always sent those to me for free, and it's wonderful to have it.

Still windy today, but not as bad as yesterday. Many baby robins, grackles, cowbirds, and bunnies out today eating and bathing and generally enjoying the wind-free morning. I imagine they were all hiding under a bush or something yesterday. It was a dangerous day to be out.

On a somewhat sad note, Pearle's brother has the farm they grew up on and there's been a windmill there for 100 years. It's been shut off for the last 10 or so. The head (fan part) blew down yesterday. Luckily it missed all the buildings, but it's so sad to see an empty windmill tower on a place. Also, there's nothing to see which way the wind's blowing out in the country anymore. There used to be windmills in every section, but there are fewer and fewer all the time. This one was on top of a hill, on a high tower, so it was visible from a long way, and almost always got enough wind to pump water, although it wasn't used anymore, which is why they're disappearing everywhere. Now this one's gone too.

Yarn Order Arrives & Pattern Alterations

 

This is the yarn I ordered from Bendigo last Tuesday. I think it is amazingly fast to get yarn all the way from Australia to Nebraska in less than a week. They have always had very fast service though, so I wasn't terribly surprised, and I did hope it would arrive soon.

The dark blue (Midnight Tweed) is much more heathered than it appears in the photo, and is for the cabled sweater pattern shown in the previous post. The dull purple is Agate, and will be a Norah Gaughan Ram's Horn Jacket. They are both wool. The Latte is Cotton, and will be a Norah Gaughan Spiral Shell.

Ann Rowley, whom I count a dear friend, and who is a very, very expert seamstress, posted her Flat Seat Adjustment for pants, along with photos of the process, on Stitcher's Guild, on her Ann's Pearls of Wisdom board. I immediately had to try it, and I've been anxious to start making some pants again, so the timing could not have been better. I did the pattern alteration, and cut on Saturday night. I sewed the pants up yesterday except for the hems, and am hoping to finish them tomorrow. I am very thrilled with the results of the alteration. It seems to be just about perfect. Very, very thrilling!

Bendigo Yarn

Since I keep talking about Bendigo yarn and how much I like it, but they have no website, I thought I'd just post scans of their color card to give you an idea of it. Do order one for yourself so you can see it in person, as you know how unreliable monitor colors can be.

Click on the 2 pictures and you'll get nice large ones that you can really see. The colors look pretty accurate to me here, but the darker ones are hard to see anyway.

I ordered 2 shades of Rustic (lower left group in top photo). Midnight Tweed, 5th from the bottom, which doesn't show well at all, for a Christmas gift sweater. I ordered Agate, 15th from the bottom, for a Norah Gaughan Ram's Horn Jacket for me. It's in her Knitting Nature book. I also ordered some of the Cotton yarn (right side of top photo) in Latte, 7th from the bottom, for a Norah Gaughan shell from the same book.

I've begun swatching for the Christmas sweater with some of the Rustic I have left from my cardigan, as it's the same yarn in a different color, and for once in my life, I'm using the suggested needle sizes (US 1 & 4) and getting the specified gauge. Here's a link to the pattern I'm planning on using, which is pictured below. There are directions for both adult and children's sizes.

Modeling the Bendigo Cabled Cardigan

I must confess that I was so excited to have finished this sweater yesterday that I couldn't wait to show it off, even though I couldn't get photos of me wearing it until today, which was the most gorgeous day. 84 degrees, which is just almost unheard of in March. So, I suffered a little in a wool sweater, but it was a beautiful day, and I am by no means complaining. So, here are my photos. That's my twisty wisteria trunk behind me. It's starting to put out small flower buds, and I'm hoping for a lot of flowers by May.

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Bendigo Cardigan is Finished

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This is the finished Bendigo cardigan. It's from a pattern they sell, and the yarn is their "Rustic" wool in the color Peppercorn. I am quite pleased with the way it turned out. The fit is great, the sleeves are the perfect length, and it's a color I like very much. It's a gray-green, but has a blend of colors in it, including green, tan, rust, teal, pink, and a few others, but it all reads gray-green.

I added the central strip of pattern stitches to the back. It was written just like the front pattern, but with a strip of reverse stockinette down the center where the buttons are in the front, and I thought that was kind of boring. Here's the back.


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I added the central diamond cable pattern, and the 2 twisted cables, one on each side of it.

I see that I started swatching for this sweater on the 31st of December, 2006. All in all, not bad for a fairly complex knit. Actually, the pattern was quite simple to memorize, and except for the shaping, it was mindless knitting. The real killer was the buttonband. It called for you to knit the button band, sew it on, (slightly stretched, I hate that instruction. It's so hard to get it just right) and then begin the buttonhole band, matching the buttonhole spacing to the sewn-on buttons, sew it on and sew a seam at CB. I couldn't see why I couldn't just continue around the neckline and do it all in one piece, eliminating the CB seam. It worked quite well, except it was very, very tricky to get the band sewn on just right, so that it wasn't too tight or too loose. I think I stitched it on several times, and ripped more than anything I've ever knitted, even though I was buttoning it on as I went along, and finally kept stopping every few rows to stitch it on, and holding it up to make sure it wasn't going to pull or sag. It was quite the challenge, but definitely worth getting it right.

It's Nice To Be Back on Track

I finally got the lining cut for the embossed Marfy jacket, and hooray, I feel like I'm finally back on track. It's going in rather well too. I stopped tonight when I felt like I was getting tired, so at least there were no silly mistakes made. That's always a plus.

The Bendigo cardigan is getting closer to a finish as well. I'm halfway up the second sleeve. The weather has been great for knitting, as well as sewing, or anything that keeps one in the house.

It snowed last night and this morning, and we were snowed in. Our drive finally was cleared about 10pm tonight.

I also made my very first ever peach pie this evening. I'm usually an apple pie girl, but Pearle loves peach pie, so thought I'd try it. I got out the old Farm Journal Pie Book, and I have to say, I think peach pie might be my favorite now too. It's pretty wonderful! I got to use my new Microplane nutmeg grater too.

Tomorrow night is a Sewing Guild meeting, and the program is unique doll making. I've never made a doll, but it should be interesting.

It's Been A While

Still here, just quiet. I've been getting quite a bit done on the Bendigo cardigan, and in fact I just started on the second sleeve tonight. I'm really pleased with how it's turning out so far, and once I get the sleeve done, there will be only the blocking, assembly, and then picking up the button band. Practically done!

I've also been working, albeit slowly, on the Marfy jacket I'm making from the FabricMart embossed cotton. That fabric has been a struggle all the way. It's kind of thick, has no give whatsoever, and acts kind of "lumpy" at times because of the embossing I think. The sleeves are what gave me fits. Up to that point, things were going well, and I thought I was on track for a quick finish. I got the sleeves in, and although I did get them set in with no actual puckers on the sleeve side of the seam, the convolutions of the seam allowance came right through and because of the density of the fabric, made it look as if there were puckers on the sleeve itself. If I took a sleeve head and really held it in tight, they went away, but in real life, it wasn't working.

I checked a lot of my books, and the best information on what to do came from Sandra Betzina's Power Sewing. I lowered the sleeve cap, quite a bit actually, and they went in much more easily, and they look and feel fine. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I was doing about what she suggested for UltraSuede, which this is not, but it sure acts like it.

Hand basting was difficult as well, as no matter how fine the needle, it's very difficult to get it through, and if you happen to hit one of the embossed spots, it's tougher yet.

I think I did a poor job of matching the fabric and pattern. The fact that this jacket has curving lapels makes it difficult with this fabric, as wherever you have an embossed spot that extends into the edge seam, it doesn't want to lie smoothly, it wants to make a small "point" instead. Maddening, but with pressing and patience, I managed to get it right. I am afraid however, that if I topstitch or edgestitch, it will just bring the points back with a vengeance. Hand stitching holds no temptation with this fabric either. I think I'm just going to finish it, and be done. It's a lovely fabric, and quite busy by itself, so it really doesn't need even the extra embellishment of edgestitching.

Anyway, I'm up to the lining, which I haven't cut out yet. I also need to figure out an interesting, and unique closure. The pattern suggests a single frog with 2 buttons, which looks very nice. I may look for some unusual buttons or something. Actually, I have a couple of drilled, polished stones that might be just the ticket. I'll have to hunt them. They're from my LYS, which also carries a wonderful button selection.

Marfy Dress Today; Photos Tomorrow

This afternoon I finished the Marfy dress, #1128, that I've been working on for a while. No photos yet, as it was too dark by the time I was done. It really turned out quite well, and I'm pleased with it, but I must say, I'm not sure just how soon the occasion will arise to wear it. When it does though, I'll be ready.

I was very worried that I might not like the look of the printed chiffon with the matelassé, but I think it's fine. The design calls for fancy buttons, and even says "jeweled" buttons, but I looked at what was in my button stash, and it turns out that one of my favorites from the collection I was given at Sewing Guild a couple weeks ago is the perfect thing for this. They're the brown domed buttons with brass dots. They're quite large, and "important" looking. There is one at each end of the chiffon scarf/collar, and one on each cuff. The cuffs close with snaps, as I didn't want such large buttonholes in them. Here's the pattern illustration.


Marfy#1128


On the knitting front, I decided how to adjust the stitch pattern for the back of the cabled Bendigo cardigan I'm knitting, so I'm ready to knit during the Super Bowl, if necessary, and I'm sure it will be. The original pattern had a panel of plain reverse stockinette in the center of the back, with a pattern panel on each side, but I wanted something with patterning all the way across, so I needed to adjust the panel placement slightly to get everything to work out right. I'm done with both fronts now, and I'm pleased and also slightly surprised at how quickly it seems to be going.

Wardrobing & Buttons

I'm feeling light-as-a-feather today, because I finished a project last night that had been weighing heavily on my mind. I did a program for my local Sewing Guild on Wardrobing. It was actually a lot of fun, and went fairly well, but I worried a lot about it, and I'm just as glad that it's over.

One of our members brought several boxes of sewing items to the meeting, that she was looking for new homes for. They were things that had belonged to her mother-in-law, and among other things, she had lots of buttons. I was surprised and very pleased when she handed me a large bag of buttons and said she thought I'd like these. She was so right! I love buttons of all kinds, and there are some really unique ones here, and some very large ones, which I always gravitate toward. They seem to be very hard to find as well.

Half the Buttons
Some of my favorites are the large green carved buttons, and the blue and white swirl buttons on the left. I also love the set of 6 large, domed buttons in a dark brown with brass rods inset to look like round dots. They don't show well in the photo at all.


Other Half of the Buttons

Many of these are plastic buttons, but they seem to be a much nicer plastic than modern buttons, or maybe it's that they've improved with age. I'm not sure, but I know I'll be using some of these anyway, and maybe quite a few.

I've been knitting madly on the Bendigo Cabled Cardigan, and finished one side of the front the other day. I think it turned out very well. There will be a band at the CF that is picked up, so it will be a little wider. It seems to be turning out the correct size, which is always encouraging. Here's a photo of the front, and a close-up of the stitch patterns.



Front


Stitch Patterns

Holiday Knitting

It's been a very busy Christmas season, and I've been getting a little knitting done while visiting, etc. I found 3/4 of a pair of socks that I went ahead and finished. You can see photos which show more detail on all of these by clicking here.



The pattern is Pat's Almost Serious Socks, which I got from Patternworks some time ago. It was free with a yarn purchase, and the original pair was my very first pair of socks. It has an easy lace pattern, and was meant to be done in a cotton yarn with gold and silver carrying thread for the heels and toes. This is a nice wool from Bergere de France, and for some reason I had done the first sock, and had the second one done about halfway down the heel flap, then stopped cold for about 5 years I think. Whatever. Anyway, it seems like sock time again, so I finished them, and then began a pair of quickies from an old favorite pattern called Fundamental Socks. It's in the Spin Off Socks book. It's just a plain ribbed sock done in a worsted weight yarn, but you put wooly nylon in the heel and sole. It's a nice technique which really adds to the durability of the socks. They were designed as work socks, and they are nice. Here's a picture of the cuff so far, with the Peep looking on.




I also did gauge swatches for the Bendigo Cabled Cardigan, and started it as well. Here's my progress on one side of the front, so far.



I like this pattern very much. It doesn't come with a chart, so I made my own after doing one full repeat with the written instructions. After that, and making the chart, it's almost memorized anyway. It's not a really complicated pattern, but interesting enough to make for good knitting, and I really like the color and the yarn itself.

I also have photos of the Fake-A-Gamo bag that is all knitted, and now just needs to be assembled. I haven't quite found the right lining for it, which is going to be important, as it will show through the fairly large holes in the pattern.



And here's a close up of the stitch pattern.



Hope you've all had a great holiday season, and a little down time to spend with family and friends. It's been very nice here, but today we are suddenly buried under snow, which makes a few last visits very difficult, if not impossible.

Chiffon is here!

When I ordered the plaid chiffon for my Dressy Dress last Monday, I was slightly resigned to the idea that it might not come very quickly. Fashion Fabrics Club is not always the quickest online fabric source, but they vary pretty widely, so you never know. Well, the chiffon came yesterday, and I think I like it with the matelasse. One week from ordering to holding it in my hot little hand. Pretty good, I'd say.

I celebrated by ordering yarn and two patterns last night from Bendigo Woolen Mills. I thought I knew exactly what kind of sweater I wanted, but now I'm not so sure. My original plan was a cabled cardigan, and I still want one, but maybe in a lighter weight. Actually, all my original plans for this order kind of went out the window. I was set on Colonial yarn, which is a cabled wool, and makes for great stitch definition. I used it for The Red Cardigan, and it was great to knit with, and has held up beautifully.


You can see better quality photos here.

Unfortunately, I fell in love with a color which is only available in their Rustic range, also wool, but not cabled. I've used Rustic before, as well as Colonial, and it's very nice, but it's not Colonial. Rustic only comes in 8 & 12 ply (nominally DK & Chunky/Aran), while Colonial comes in 5 & 8 ply(Sport/Fingering & DK). In my opinion though, Rustic has much the best colors. I have ordered #951, Peppercorn, which is a blend of sage and pale teal with just a few reddish brown fibers mixed in. It's a complex blend, and the Colonial colors are much simpler. They have some lovely ones, though. I'm certainly not affiliated with Bendigo, but if you like yarn, it's worthwhile to email them and ask for a color card, as they have a lot of different yarns, and their prices are extremely reasonable. Hard to believe they don't have a website at all, but their service is great. They're at order@bendigowoollenmills.com.au.

Yarnish Delight

From 12-5-06

I finished this quick little scarf Monday night. I think it's pretty cute, and for anyone with a cold neck, it's very nice. I like it worn both straight, as shown, and also with the "knot" at the side. The pattern is from Katherine Burgess, and is a free download. It's a rather old-fashioned item, but I think it's very nice, and after all, Vintage is In!

From 12-5-06

I ordered a new color card and price list from Bendigo Wools (of Bendigo, Australia) just a couple days ago, and here it came yesterday! They don't have a website, you just have to email them, and call a toll-free number to order. They hold the record for fastest service ever for a yarn order, from anywhere, to me. (I once got a yarn order which came from Australia, in 3 days!) I was pleased to get the color card, as I always liked their yarn, and they're very reasonably priced. I really like one of their colors in the Rustic line (which is on the back of the card shown) and will probably order some for a cardigan I have in mind. I wish the color was available in the Colonial line, as I like the cabled construction of the yarn. It gives such wonderful stitch definition and durability, but I'm afraid the color will trump everything. I have my heart set on a cabled cardigan, although I'm not quite settled on the pattern yet.