Possessed to Knit

Ocean Lace Cardigan Update

I've completed the back of the Ocean Lace Cardigan in Sea Song for my sister, Maria.  It needs some serious blocking.  I like the yarn, but the lace pattern is very slanty and easily distorted.  The armholes, for instance, are really just one row apart, not an inch apart as it appears in the photo.  I had gotten up to row 90 on my first attempt and decided it was just not going to work.  It was looking too small and the row gauge was too tight.  For my latest attempt, went up to size 7 needles which has helped me to get closer to the 6 rows per inch.  I had swatched and blocked a sample on size 6 needles.  I thought I met the gauge requirements, but this lace pattern worked over an even larger area showed me otherwise.  I started the cardigan fronts on one needle so I can knit them at the same time.  The pattern describes the right front in detail and then says just to reverse everything for the left front.  Knitting them simultaneously will help me to create two similar fronts for this sweater. 

Icelandic Raglan Completed

I've completed my Icelandic Raglan sweater for the Dulaan project.  I used size 9 needles for the body and sleeves and size 7 needles for the ribbing.  The gauge was 4 sts and about 5.5 rows per inch on size 9 needles in the stockinette stitch.  This sweater was a good review of button and buttonhole placement for me.  I took a "7 Things that Can Make or Break Your Sweater" class in March at Springwater Fiber Workshop.  Our instructor told us about using the actual row gauge to determine how many sts to pick up for the button and buttonhole bands.  With 5.5 rows per inch along the sweater edge and 5 sts per inch on my size 7 needles, I picked up 5 sts for every 6 sts.  I think it worked okay, but the buttonhole band turned out wavier than I like.  (Please feel free to add your insight, Patrick).  I see that I also need to work on my buttonhole spacing, at least this sweater was practice for me.  I found my Denise needles especially helpful as I could just change the tips depending on what I needed next like when I used the size 8 for binding off.  This is not the softest sweater I have knitted, but I am hoping it will still keep a Mongolian child warm this winter. 

Icelandic Raglan

I started this child sized raglan sweater for the Dulaan Project.  All knitted items received by July 1st will be sent to Mongolia to help the Mongolian children stay warm during the winter.  I have put my other projects aside as I hope to complete this sweater and put it in the mail before the deadline.  I am using my handspun Icelandic Chloe yarn.  I was going to knit myself a vest with it and then realized it would make a warm cardigan for a child.  I expected to get 3.5 sts per inch on size 9 needles like I did when I swatched.  The sweater is turning out to be 4 sts and 5 rows per inch so I am making a child's size 8 sweater instead of size 12 as I had planned.  I am adjusting the recommended increases and decreases to accommodate the gauge difference.  This pattern is Ann Norling's Kid's Top-down Raglan (#53) and does not mention the addition of any stitches at the underarm for the body and sleeves.  I will likely be picking up 2 extra sts when I start the sleeves to minimize the hole I expect to have on the first round.  The pattern recommends knitting the sleeves back and forth.  I will be knitting them in the round with my 40" Denise needle using the Magic Loop.  I wasn't sure how much I would like these needles when I bought them and it turns out they are perfect and convenient for this type of project.

Ocean Lace Cardigan

I've started this Ocean Lace cardigan in Sea Song yarn from Fibra Natura for my sister, Maria.  I am using size 6 (4.0 mm) Addi Turbo 32 inch circular needles.  This yarn is 80% cotton and 20% sea cell.  It is a 16-ply worsted weight yarn.  All those plies make it quite splitty.  I like using the lace needles for all the ssk sts, but I wonder if they are making me split more sts.  The gauge is supposed to be 6 sts and 6 rows to the inch.  I did a gauge square in if I blocked it well and got the gauge.  As I knit, though, it tends to be too wide and not quite the length I expect for the # of rows I have completed.  Here I have 36 rows plus one inch of k1, p1 ribbing and it is only 5.5 inches instead of the 7 inches I would expect.  I plan on blocking the pieces, but I wonder if the sweater will lose its blocking as it is worn.  I'm not used to knitting something so flimsy.  I am glad I ordered an extra ball of yarn, I might need it if I end up knitting more rows to reach the correct measurements.

Ocean Lace in Sea Song

Here is a swatch I knitted in Fibra Natura's Sea Song yarn.  It is 80% cotton and 20% sea cell with 109 yards in a 50g ball.  My sister, Maria, selected this sweater from my Interweave Knits when I visited her.  I've seen this sweater advertised quite a bit, yet it was difficult to find the yarn.  I finally found it at Yarnmarket.com and waited over a month for them to receive this color and the pattern.  I used the recommended size 6 needles for the swatch.  The Addi Turbo Lace needles are very helpful with the ssks involved with this pattern.  At first the swatch appeared to be too small, but some blocking brought it to about 6 sts and 6 rows per inch.  The yarn has a nice drape to it and is very soft.  I'm enjoying this particular colorway with its gentle changes in color.  I think this will be a fun summer project to knit.        

Hand-dyed Vest

I recently decided to start this vest with the yarn I dyed at the Springwater Dye Day I attended last month.  My beaded cuff turned out be too big and my other attempts were unsuccessful.  I somehow managed to misplace my Sun & Moon sock as I was ready to start the second one.  I wanted to begin a new project and this vest fit the bill.  I am using the Basic Cardigan Vest pattern from Knitting Pure & Simple.  The pattern uses k2, p2 ribbing for the bottom and garter stitch for the other edges.  I have decided to go with seed stitch as I am not fond of garter stitch.  Ribbing for the bottom probably would have been better but the seed stitch will match and is working well enough.  I am switch skeins of yarn every two rows to help with the pooling, though I'm not sure it is really helping.  This fun, quick to knit project is just what I need right now.

Snoopy Sweater for Joshua

I've finished a Snoopy sweater for my nephew, Joshua, tonight.  He will be 3 years old at the end of January.  His brother, Justin, is still wearing his Snoopy sweater, so I thought I would make Joshua one of his very own.  I went to Michael's on Thursday evening and bought some of their "Vanna's Choice" acrylic yarn.  For the past 4 days, I have knitted this Snoopy sweater exclusively.  I knitted the sleeves in the round, from the top, using the Magic Loop with my 40" Denise cable.  I really like my Denise needles for this kind of a project.  I used size 7 for the body and size 5 for the ribbing and size 6 to bind off the ribbing.  This acrylic was a little thicker than the Reynolds acrylic I used for Justin's sweater.  The stitch gauge was a little less than the 4.5 sts per inch and the row gauge was very close to 6 rows per inch.  I think I'm done knitting with acrylic for a little while, one can only take so much.

I took a look at my year in review just to see what I actually completed in a year.  I knitted 27 pairs of socks (one pair handspun and handdyed and one pair handdyed and 5 pairs of quick to knit Fixation socks).  I knitted one pair of beaded cuffs and 4 pairs of mittens (including one pair of handspun mittens).  Three of my four scarves were handspun as was one of my two hats.  I knitted 2 shawls, one Colinette Poncho, and one large cotton doily.  I knitted one adult size and one child size Snoopy sweater and I crocheted one ripple afghan.  I hope to knit even more and unknit less in the New Year. 

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year!   

Cotton Snoopy Sweater Completed

I have completed cotton Snoopy (as of early Friday afternoon at work which explains the mediocre lighting).  I shipped it to Maria via Express mail and she received it yesterday.  It is a bit roomy for her, which is what she prefers, and she will be wearing it tomorrow.  I'm not sure if it was serendipity or something else, but I had left my 40" Denise cord with my size 8 needles attached on my desk on Thursday night.  I was all set to start the second sleeve so I used my Addi Turbo 16" size 8 needles.  They may have helped me to knit faster and I completed about 2/3 of the sleeve before going to work on Friday.  On my break at work, I switched to my Denise needle, using the Magic Loop for the remainder of the sleeve.  I did not dare check the gauge between the Denise needles and my Addi Turbo needles.  I believe the sleeves turned out to be similar, but I did not want to know if there was a difference I could see.  Maria wanted her sweater by a certain date and it was my Fair Isle mitten addiction that had set me back.  I am glad she has received her sweater and that she is very happy with it.

All Snoopy All the Time

I have been knitting this sweater exclusively in the hope of getting it into the mail soon.  I am almost finished with the first sleeve.  I have to knit the crew neck and the second sleeve.  I weave in Snoopy intarsia ends when I need a break.  I had hoped to have it completed it sooner (as I recall Wendy and L-B knitted much more complex sweaters in days, not even a week).  At least I have the Snoopy part finished.  He is a bit complex with bits of yarn here and there.  I took the child sized pattern and enlarged it by hand years ago.  I borrowed Teresa's sweater to determine how I had actually knit it originally.  I wonder if I took the child sized pattern chart and enlarged it on a photocopier if I would get a more balanced looking Snoopy.  I like the way it turned out in cotton and I'm sure this Snoopy looks good enough for now.

Cotton Snoopy Sweater Progress

I've completed the back of Maria's cotton Snoopy sweater and have made some progress on the front.  These Cotton Ease colors are not as intense as the primary colors of the acrylic yarns I have used for the sweater in the past.  I think the colors are very summery and will be nice for Maria to wear in Florida.  I have made some changes to the basic sweater pattern to accommodate the cotton/acrylic yarn.  The pattern says to bind off the shoulder stitches and to put the center neck stitches on a holder for the back.  I bound off the center stitches and put the shoulder stitches on holders.  I plan to do a 3-needles bind off for the shoulders which will reinforce the shoulder seams.  Picking up sts for the crew neck ribbing from bound off stitches will give a sturdier neck opening and keep it from stretching over time.  This sweater has been the main focus of my knitting time and hopefully I will finish it this week.