Cables Galore

Work has had me so busy lately, I've hardly been able to find the time to do anything else. I finally got through a big presentation Friday, and spent the rest of the weekend happily knitting. So much so, that I bruised my finger from the constant pressure of the needle.

Green Gable is finished.


This pattern was easy to knit but hard to follow. She wasn't wholly clear about the yoke decreases, so after some Rav consultation, I ended up taking from the sleeve on the back decreases, and from the body on the front decreases.


Furthermore, the hood is obviously missing. I really like the way the body fits, but when I knit the hood it ended up being too baggy, too big, too loose, overall just meh. I didn't plan on wearing the hood up much anyway and I though it detracted too much from the pattern on the back. In a rare moment of forethought, I put in a lifeline on the last row before starting the hood - saved me so much time! When I picked back up, I knit 2.5 inches in the established rib for the collar.


I'd also used Cascade Eco Wool for the sweater - love, love, love. The stuff is awesome! It's so warm and cozy. I'm really happy with the fabric it produces - perfect for a sturdy fall sweater or a blanket. I'll definitely have to find another project for this yarn.

And now for something new.


Rosamund's Cardigan, knit in Tahki Yarns Rio, which is the recommended yarn for the project. The yarn is a lovely blend of alpaca, merino and silk - it's a wonderful yarn to have running through your fingers. I love just even holding it. So apparently the squishy softness of it overruled my general dislike for thick/thin yarns.


Although, since the difference in the thick/thin ratio is far less than other yarns I've worked with, I think the Rio will produce a nicely textured fabric. Some of the definition in the cables seems to be getting lost as well - which could also be a function of the reversible cable - I've never knit one otherwise, so I have nothing to compare it to. So we'll see.

How's it supposed to drape?

Having been a sewer for so many years, it's intuitive to me about how fabric drapes. (It's also quite obvious - the fabric itself is falling off the bolt.) I know what cotton will do versus linen. I also know (that in few cases) all cottons are not created equal. I know how silk differs from rayon or polyester (and how polyesters differ amongst themselves). I know how wool suiting is supposed to behave, and I know that most upholstery fabrics do not make a cute skirt, despite how appealing the fabric print is.

What continues to puzzle me is how yarn drapes. About a month ago, I was told that I do not want to knit a sweater from bamboo yarn, because the fabric will not hold up to the shaping of the sweater. Bamboo is therefore more appropriate for things like shawls. While I'm appreciative of the tip, it also frustrates me. I don't know enough about [plant and protein] fiber to understand what it's going to do before I even do anything with it. I feel that I'm at the point in my knitting career that I'm trying to become smarter about my yarn choices prior to casting on (oh, I should mention that I'm a big substituter - in almost all cases). I'll also swatch long enough to get gauge (which in my case generally means that I've cast on and am swatching as I go. If I'm not at gauge, I'll sooner make adjustments to the pattern than rip out - a terrible habit, I know.), but I won't swatch big enough to actually figure out how the thing will drape. It seems there are too many variables to handknit fabric - if I knit on a 4 versus a 6, gauge will obviously change, and along with it, drape. But certainly there must be basic principles - am I overlooking them as I jump from project to project? Will I ever learn this?

Hello, Kitty

Every few weeks, I get together with some like-minded crafty friends to hang out and make things. We're all different in our strengths and in what we make, or how we think about making things, so in addition to the camaraderie, we're learning from each other as well. Plus, one of the best parts of Craft Day is actually planning the project to work on.

We'll usually gather at Suj's, so I try to bring something portable. Although I have been known to lug both my sewing machine and my serger along. And my guitar. And dinner ingredients. And beer. (We'll make dinner [and sometimes desert] too - it keeps with the spirit of things.) Several months ago, I starting working on a cross-stitch Hello Kitty wedding pillow for Rima. Aptly, I also finished it at Craft Day.


Rima and I are both tea fanatics - sometimes more appropriately known as water snobs. Sure, some teas are better than others, and proper steeping times and water temperatures can't be wholly overlooked, but it all tastes like garbage if you don't use good water. Therefore, in addition to the pillow I also sent her a few tea tins, which Suj painted. I have no drawing skills whatsoever and Suj didn't have a project planned (very fortuitous for me) so I put her to work. :) She was happy to help and her painting turned out beautifully. Thanks Suj!

So it begins..

Fall knitting, that is. And just as the summer heat has finally arrived. But it'll start cooling off soon, and I'm excited for it - fall is easily my favorite season.

This summer has been fairly productive for me, I only have a couple summer projects left to finish. Surprisingly, I don't have much in the queue for the fall, so I'm also looking forward to the surprises it'll bring. At least I can say that first up is the Green Gable Hoodie using Cascade Eco Wool in Platinum.


For being such a bulky yarn, the sweater is actually turning out to be quite light. I tried to knit it before in Wool Ease Thick & Quick, which ended up being too bulky and stiff. I hope the Eco Wool will stay drapy but hold up on the hood. In any case, I'll be using it again for something else - it's such a great deal for the yardage.


The mitts are just over halfway done. The right one still obviously needs to be blocked, but I'll wait and do them at the same time. Otherwise, I'm smitten with these mittens - they've turned out a lot better than I'd thought - my sister joked that they were an early birthday present for her and Dad was surprised when I told him they were a handknit. And even the train conductor, who sees me knitting every morning, inquired about them!

These have really been a fun knit so far. There's not been any overwhelming urge to frog or put them on hold; there's a few mistakes, but I'm living with them; and they went up super fast. To that, I have to give credit to the 9" Hiya Hiya circ. Just the fact that I have to use dpns for the cuff, tip and thumb irritates me, because I seriously can't stop raving about that circ. I think it's one of the best things to happen to the knitting world. Ever. I'm even considering knitting socks with it. Seriously. I even bought sock yarn. (Ok, it was one of the Sock Summit Dye for Glory winners, but still.) I'll let know how it goes with the socks.

Knitterly Commuting

Most of my knitting gets done on the train as I commute between Chicago and suburbs, and I've been fairly adamant about reserving this time specifically for knitting. I honestly believe I wouldn't knit nearly as much otherwise. Last week I also started commuting to Racine, WI, which gives me about 3 hours (roundtrip) of uninterrupted knitting time. Awesome :)

Here are the train knits from the past couple of weeks.


This was a [sweet,-I-just-got-an-internship-so-I'll-celebrate-by-buying-yarn] kind of a project. I normally don't like the color pink and I normally don't like knitting with cotton (the yarn is Berroco Cotton Twist), but I think it was the subtle sheen that's been spun into the yarn that attracted me to it. And what better way to show it off than with a lace shawl? Little Arrowhead Shawl is the pattern, and it was actually quite delightful to knit. The yarn ended up being ok. I don't know if I'd knit with it again. It was a bit splitty, and there were knots in the middle of the skein (and with only 85 yards on the skein in the first place, that quickly becomes annoying). Further, I'd knit a stockinette swatch and was a bit disappointed at how it looked and draped in stockinette. The open lace is far better in showing off the yarn and it drapes well, so I'm happy with the overall result, but still.


I've secretly been wanting to make Saartje's Bootees for some time now. Last month, I'd asked a photographer friend to shoot some of my work, and I'd offer to compensate him in knitting. He'd told me he and his wife were expecting a baby boy, so I thought these would be perfect.


And currently on the needles are the Anemoi Mittens, in Knit Picks Palette, and on the new Hiya Hiya 9" circ. Mostly, I'm excited to be using the circ. I knit the cuff on dpns, which I generally dislike using for an extended period of time anyways, and though I'm only 6 rounds in on the body of the mitt, I'm already loving the circ. It definitely took a little bit getting used to, and especially since I'm knitting with yarn in both hands (which in and of itself takes a bit to get used to), but it's overall easier and much faster than the dpns. So far, no complaints. I'm eager to knit these - we'll see how they turn out.

Sew Busy

I love making lists. First off, it keeps me from having to actually remember the thing itself, and forcing me to remember simply where I put the list. Secondly, I get a little bit of a thrill when I get to manipulate the list. For example, crossing things off a to-do list, or adding another project to the 'project list.'

I started keeping an excel sheet listing all my projects a few years ago. Looking at it makes me feel like I've actually done something productive with my time. But it also allows me to analyze what I've been working on. So, last year, I made 40 projects. 32 of them were knit and only 4 sewn with 2 'other.' This year I set a goal of 52 projects, averaging one per week. Currently, I'm at 24 and today starts week 30. (But I'm not worried about it. Summer isn't over yet, and I haven't even begun to think about Christmas.) Of those 24, 11 are knit and 10 sewn. A slightly better ratio in my opinion. But I also like that I finally have the time to sew. In any case, here are a few of things I've made so far this year.

First, a few knitted things:


Caroline Cloche by Hannah Ingalls, knit in Silky Wool by Elsebeth Lavold. I loved this project. It was simple and quick, the yarn is really wonderful to work with. Wool/silk blends may just be my new favorite to work with. I've found that they are light and drapy, but still retain structure, and are great to block.



This Drawstring Raglan was also knit in a wool/silk blend, but for this one it was JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk. The merino in this is incredibly soft, and generally the yarn was good to work with. The only thing that tripped me up on this project was choosing colorways. First it was white, light gray, dark gray, and black. Which would have been fine, but the white isn't exactly white. It's more like winter white. And there would have been nothing wrong with that, if I was working with warm grays. (These are the unfortunate circumstances of ordering yarn online.) So I had actually ended up buying the light beige (mushroom), the blue, and a red instead. However, the red ended up being overpowering, so the dark gray made it back in. Whew. I'm quite happy with the result, but I'm glad it's done.


I finished the Pleated Top last month during my trip to San Fransisco. This was knit in Misti Alpaca Hand Painted Lace. It just doesn't get better than alpaca. Ever. And in a lace weight, it's light enough to wear during the summer.

Ok. Now some of the sewn stuff:


I'd made this dress for my friend Rima's wedding. (Simplicity 2933.) The front yoke used to have beading on it, but I took it to a major cleaning operation, who doesn't give a rat's ass about beads, sequins, belts, or buttons, (It's true. It says so right on the ticket they print out.) so the beading fell off. I haven't bothered to redo it, and I'm not sure I will - I like the dress just fine this way too.


I call this dress "Fields of Grain." This is McCall's 5465. I've actually done this dress out of a sweatshirt fabric as well, and I sleep in it during the winter - so warm and comfy.


I'll wear this to my friend Amy's wedding in August. Since it's a traditional Bengali wedding, there are 3 full days of events. This is for the Bride's dinner Friday night. Saturday - the day of the wedding - all us girls will dress up in saris (!!), and Sunday, for the Groom's Reception, we'll each wear a lehenga, which is just a top and skirt. I'm quite excited for it!

Otherwise, this dress is kind of weird. It's almost like the mod squad goes golfing with George Jetson. I'm glad I have a reason to wear it.

Also, this is Simplicity 2927, which is one of the Project Runway inspired patterns. I think the clothes are cute, but the way they write the fabric requirements is completely ass backwards. Instead of "Look A, Look B" etc., they've broken it down by each element. So, they'll say "For collar, this much. For pockets, that much. And so on." I feel that an experience sewer will know that there will certainly be enough fabric for the pockets and collar both, without having to add the two measured requirements together. I think it then becomes a situation where too much fabric is purchased because the math starts to drive people a little crazy. Bad design.

These were going to be linen drawstring pants. Instead it became this. Not that I mind, I actually really like the way these turned out. These were made using Burda 8488. Burda is probably my favorite pattern company - I especially love their pants patterns. I've made a few pairs, they always fit just right, and I've also found that I've altered different patterns in the same place every time. No surprises on a pants pattern = happy me.


I absolutely fell in love with how light and elegant this cotton was. There was a yard and a half left on the bolt, just enough for a little peasant shirt. This is another Burda pattern, but from the magazine. It's actually an altered version of #121 from the 07.00 issue. That top had come down to just below the bust, I simply lengthened it, adding 7 inches below the waist.

Ok. Phew. That was a lot. See? I've been busy. :)

Swimsuit Cover-Up Contest

Whew, it's July already! I've been busy - but unfortunately it seems, too busy to take pictures or blog :( I think it's time to make up for some lost time...

I'm an avid reader of several craft blogs, the craftzine blog being one I check almost daily. When they posted a Swimsuit Cover-Up Contest, I thought, 'hey, why not?' First place is a sewing machine, and 3 runners up get a dress form (this is what I'm really pining for - I already have a sewing machine :P). Each contestant is allowed up to 3 entries, I've submitted 2.


I made this jumpsuit on Sunday. This was the perfect excuse to make a jumpsuit as well, because I don't really know when the hell else I would ever wear one.

The fabric is a double stretch jersey, purchased at Vogue Fabrics in Chicago. I've always been a bit weary of stretch knits - my machine had never really like to play nice with them. But the garment design wouldn't allow for a woven (even a slinky silk or satin wouldn't have draped the same way [and besides who wants to wear silk or satin to the beach?]) and so the jersey adventure began.

Surprisingly (and pleasantly so), it wasn't as hard to work with the fabric as I had remembered. There is a shirring detail at the shoulder, which I worked by using elastic thread in my bobbin. (Lock the beginning stitches, sew on the longest stitch length to the end, don't lock the end stitches, pull the elastic to desired length, tie a knot with both threads to secure. Easy.) I think the best part of this whole thing is no buttons, no zippers, no pleats, darts, tucks or fancy fitting - truly an easy breezy summer outfit.


I love, love, love this dress. Probably one of my favorite things I've sewn in a while, and a dress that's already gotten a lot of use. I've worn it to the bar, to run errands, and to work. It's completely universal. The fabric for this dress is just darling. The scenes of children-at-play (also my nickname for the dress) are a perfect embodiment of summertime.

I made this dress on Memorial Day. My good friend and photographer Erica had taken many of the pictures for my portfolio, and in return had wanted to learn to sew. I brought over my machines and while she was busy working on a wrap dress, I'd made this. (Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of her dress.)

So we'll see how the contest goes. If nothing else I still have a couple of cute outfits from it, so I won't complain too much! Also, the photo credit goes to my friend Matt, who shall be thanked with a knitted baby hat and booties, for the son he and his wife are expecting!