a hoodie

So last year this lovely pattern by Fiona Ellis came out in the fall issue of Twist Collective called Gwendolyn. It is a cabled sweater with a hood that can be either a pullover or a cardigan. I fell in love with it immediately but held off on making it because I had so many other things on the go. I still have many things on the go but a nice aran-weight sweater fills an empty niche I have in my wardrobe now that we have Frankie. And since I am going to be spending many hours a week standing outside watching her play, I need a sweater that will keep me warm and Gwendolyn fills that need beautifully while also looking stunning.

I decided on using Tanis’s green label. The main colour I chose is the Shadow colourway which is nice light grey with flecks of ice blue (the yarn cake on the left) and the accent colour is the Atlantic colourway which too me looks like a richer version of blue in the first colourway (yarn cake on the right).

I am making the cardigan version and have already finished the two sleeves and am close to finishing the right front. I ended up blocking the right front on the needles a couple repeats in as I was worried it wouldn’t be big enough and wanted to know before going any further. Turns out it blocks out to the measurements perfectly.

In other news…… Sean has discovered that the Pampered Chef apple slicer does a great job slicing apples into wedges (he made me come and take a picture) and then of course when reminded that it was very sharp he proceeded to cut himself on it.

And Frankie’s training is coming along as she just mastered the down command today and is getting a lot of attention every time she does it.

And last but not least Piper has mastered Frankie’s name and is constantly calling her. Frankie has her tuned out very well.

a not so quiet long weekend

Not that that’s a bad thing. Saturday we ran some errands, one of them being a run to the Purple Purl. I wanted to pick up Ysolda’s new book that just came in and pick up some needles. Sean needed to pick some yarn for his mother’s holiday gift. I went through and selected some patterns that would work with the yarn he selected and he chose the one he thought his mother would like, a Anne Hanson pattern, because he liked the look and he said something along the lines of well you like her stuff and it always turns out nice. He also picked up some sock yarn for his next pair of socks when I finish his current ones on the needles (he now has to buy his own sock yarn as he has very good taste and always selects the top pickings from my stash that I want to use for me).On Sunday we had swapped desk spaces and we went to Ikea to pick me up a new desk as the table I was using was never really suited to be a desk and I was just making due. I assembled it while someone napped and started working on the spare bedroom. It is finally looking like a room instead of storage space! I will try to remember to post a picture once the room is a bit more organized.

Today I made crepes with strawberries, whipped cream and maple syrup as well as some oatmeal cookies with dried cherries and dark chocolate nuggets. I don’t have any plans for the rest of today and I think I will spend it knitting and sorting through what needs to be done in the spare room.

I started work on a baby sweater for my friend Mandi who is expecting her first munchkin to appear in the end of December. They aren’t going to find out what sex they are having so I have to make sure whatever I make looks good for either a boy or girl. I’ve decided to try Tanis’s Sunnyside Baby Cardigan with the cables. So far it is working up lovely but I am not particularly fond of the way Tanis writes up her patterns. I find for the raglan increases she has way too many markers placed into it and then she tends to ignore some of the markers and make mention of others which can be quite confusing while increasing. Needless to say I have paired down on the number of markers I am using.

The hitchhiker scarf now officially lives with my Aunt Lynn who loves it (I got a very email from her describing what she liked about it and all the different ways she can wear it).

Henley with a Twist

Pattern: Henley with a Twist by Anne Hanson

Made for: Me!

Size: 33″ (about 3″ negative ease)

Yarn: Sundara’s Sock Yarn in Earth Studies #98

Needles: 3.0mm circulars for the lace pattern and 2.5mm for the garter stitch pattern

Gauge: Spot on

Started: Nov 18/11       Finished: June 26/11 (knitting was complete in early March)

Modifications: I believe I made the sleeves a tad longer than instructed since I have long arms.

I tried something new for this sweater and knit both sleeves at the same time which is now my default for sleeves as it guarantees both are as alike as they can possibly be. It also means that when I cast them off it is done and I don’t have to make a second one.

This is another of Anne Hanson from Knitspot‘s patterns and I love it. It turned out perfectly except for the little bit of pooling over my right breast but that has to do with the yarn and not the pattern which I think is fantastically written as per usual. This is most certainly going to be another go to sweater like my Sprossling which gets a lot of wear. I do love the colour and softness of this yarn by Sundara. I just wish it was easier to get my hands on her  yarn!

As per usual, it was the finishing that took so long to have a completed sweater. As much as I hate sewing seams I do like the structure they give, especially for garments I know I am going to wear a lot. We also needed to go and pick up an iron so I could iron the seams open and the steam block the neck and button bands. Luckily Canadian Tire had a $100 quality iron with excellent steam capabilities for $40. We also picked up a small table top ironing board at the same time that came in handy this morning.

I am very lucky that today is actually cool enough that I can wear it comfortably before it likely has to be put away before the fall.

Sean’s Aran Sweater

Now that the gift giving holiday is over I can show those knits that are gifts that I couldn’t show before.Pattern: My pattern with Sean’s choice of yarn and individual cable stitch patterns.

Made for: Sean

Size: 40″ chest circumference

Yarn: Diamond Yarn Galway Heather, 9 balls

Needles: 3mm circulars for garter and 3.5mm circulars for cabled portion

Gauge: 20sts and 28 rows for a stockinette square on larger needles.

Started: April 8/10           Finished: Nov 14/10

This sweater was most certainly a labour of love. It is to date the most complicated sweater I have made. Not only it was cables but I had to determine armhole decreases in cabled pattern! Not quite as simple as it sounds since each cable has a slightly different gauge than the one it is next too. I made the neck opening wide as this was to be a dressy sweater so that there would be room for the collar of Sean’s dress shirts to lie undisturbed.

I did try to write up the pattern but due to computer hiccups I lost too much information to be able to do so.

Sean likes his sweater (always a relief) and has been wearing it since he got it on xmas morning. My mom and aunt who were in Ireland a few years back commented that it looked like a lot of the sweaters they saw while there.

What I did tonight

Now I just have to do the sleeves.

Dear Sean’s Christmas Sweater

Our affair has been longer than anticipated; we started in April and I was hoping to end it before November rolled along. Although I have learned a lot from you about designing cabled sweaters I can’t say it has been blissful for our entire union, although it did have its moments.

I am happy to say our union will soon end now that I have finished your back, front and two sleeves. All that is left is to block, assemble and knit on the neck band. I am not sure how you feel about the end of this affair but I for one will be glad to be done with you.

Please don’t make the end of this relationship any more difficult than it has to be.

Thanks. The Knitter.