Secret Projects & Cardigans

I've definitely been more into my knitting lately - kind of hit a bump in the road there. It wasn't that I didn't want to knit; I was overwhelmed by the scope and number of projects I had to finish up. Some of them, though past their due date, are now back into the realm of winter knitting. I hope to work on them during the summer and have them finished and ready to go for the start of autumn, but I have allowed myself to let go of the pressure. Once you begin forgiving yourself for all the UFOs in your knitting basket, the stress associated with them dissolves, and it's easier to jumpstart the creative spark. It also helps to switch to incredibly low-pressure projects! I am working on one such project now - it's a secret, but I promise that all will be revealed in due time... but a small taste can be seen to your left!

As for cardigans, I've decided it's high time that I learn the art of top-down construction. I've read that it's incredibly easy, relatively speaking, and that the best part is that there's no seams, and you can try on garments as you go. SOLD! I mean, I do an ok mattress stitch now, but for me piecing an item together and sewing seams is a definite mental hurdle that can make the difference between having a cardigan a month or two from now, or five months. (I am, of course, basing this on the ONE [1] cardigan I've made, haha.) Right now I'd like to make a cropped cardigan - a little shrug-like something I can pop on over a sleeveless top while I'm knitting at night, or over a dress to ward off a chill, and the beauty of top-down construction is that you can stop it wherever you'd like: cropped, short, mid-length, hip-length, longer than that... I suppose you could even make a full-on duster if you're so inclined!

As far as patterns go, I am seriously considering Margot by Linden Heflin as a fall knit. Though I do prefer cardigans to pullovers, this one is just so pretty! For right now, I am going to trust in the brilliant Laura Chau and start out with her Easy Top-Down Raglan. I have a couple of big ol' skeins of yarn leftover from Rachel's cardigan, so I've got a place to start. Updates will, of course, be forthcoming when I begin the project! Stay tuned!

FO: "Kimono Classic" by Vicki Square

...aka, Rachel's Cardigan!

The pattern can be found in Ann Budd's "Simple Style". The recommended fibre is Berocco Softwist (a blend of rayon and wool), but working with a limited budget, we decided on "I Love This Yarn" acrylic (the Hobby Lobby house brand). I worked gauge swatches in both the recommended needle size for both the yarn and the pattern (size 8), but went up to 10s to get the drape required.

Skills learned: how to pick up stitches along the vertical (for doing the sleeves), seaming (mattress stitch - which I knew how to do, I just got a smidge more practice ;) ), adjusting a pattern for the wearer's personal preference, and... though this part took me a little longer... working through my skill-blocks to actually finish the project! (See previous entry and the bit about the Procrastination Wall.)

Enough bibbling - now for pics! Excuse the shonkiness of my carpet, my overuse of flash, and overall inability to take a good candid pic!

From top to bottom: the cardigan laid out flat to see its shape; a close-up of the neckband at the top of the collar (I was especially pleased with this; sewing the neckband to the body of the cardigan didn't get tricky until the bound-off edge at the top of the back piece); and Rachel enjoying her cardi! She said that it was very snuggly and loves the feel of the finished product :)

A Much More Detailed Post...

...will be forthcoming, with pictures, even! But I had to put this out into the ether...

I JUST FINISHED MY FIRST CARDIGAN.

The cardigan. Eet ees feeeneeshed. Finally. Five months and five days after I began. Note that it didn't take me that long to knit the thing - I'd say at least three months were moments of self-doubt and lack of faith in my abilities causing the Procrastination Wall, every time I came to a place where I needed to acquire a new skill. But last night I finally managed to start sewing the neckband in place, and lo and behold, the darn thing worked. I'm not sure it's 100% how I'd like it to be (it's acrylic... the little things can't be blocked out. Sob), but... we'll see how the recipient feels. Hopefully she'll lurve it!

Pictures coming soon, as well as Tips for Newbs: The Beginner's Knitting Toolkit, Part II (Electric Boogaloo)!

Craft vs. Weekend Naps: Craft, 0, Naps, 1

This past weekend I think I fell into one of those wintry funks, a brief period in which my usual delights (knitting, brownies) cease to amuse, and naps become the most sought-after commodities one's weekend off can afford. So very little knitting occurred, but the naps were just what I needed.

There was one knit-related happening: a friend gifted me with a wonderful card case in which I can pop my ID and debit card, or, say, a whole whack of my newly minted business cards (which arrived, and I've been handing them out like whoa!). The cover of said case features this painting - saucy, no? I do appreciate a vintage pin-up and to mix that with knitting is beyond awesome!

Tonight I worked on a cabled fingerless glove-mitt-type-contraption for my BFF's mom. I don't actually have a pattern, but am instead working from a picture. So far I've managed to figure out the cables and how to space everything out evenly, but I think I didn't compensate enough for the cables in establishing a stitch count, so I'll have to start over. While that's mildly frustrating, it's certainly a learning experience, so I don't resent it! ;) I'm working with KnitPicks Merino Style in "Fog"... it is incredibly soft and lovely to work with. My new DPNs, also ordered from KnitPicks, are a joy as well - they're Takumi Velvet by Clover, and so silky smooth... they move through yarn like a hot knife through butter. It feels amazing to knit with them! As much as I love the seamless style of knitting in the round, though, I may have to contemplate knitting the mitts flat and sewing them up. I feel like I'm wrangling too much on the DPNs to have every cable and reverse Stockinette portion work like they ought to (which is to say, neatly). We'll see. I'll post pics very soon!

Kimono Sweater update: I am nearing the finish line! The ribbon is in sight! There are people chucking cups of Gatorade at me! Ok, the metaphor has obviously gone too far. In any case, all of the seams are finished now, and I'd say that I'm about a third to halfway through the neckband/placket. The challenge - after sewing the neckband on, though I'm 98% certain that I'm sure how to do that - is actually handing it over. I tried it on just to see how the silhouette translates on different body types (for reference, I am somewhat, uh, Amazonian, while the recipient is about 5'), took a look in the mirror and thought... oh. I made that. I made a sweater. Holy crap.

And you know, we didn't decide on the world's most stunning yarn. It's an easy-care acrylic. But with the right needle size, it drapes beautifully. The simple shape of the cardigan hangs nicely and it feels really comfortable. If you bunch up a handful of the knitted fabric in your hand it feels squishy and velvety and lovely. Theoretically, if I could defy science and logic and time and find an extra 10 hours in every day, I could knit one in every colour in which that yarn is made, just for swanning around in, myself. But time and space does not (unfortunately) bend to my will, so I'll settle for perhaps making one for me - just one - in about six months or so, give or take!