FO: Kevin's Christmas Hat

This year, Kevin got a hat for Christmas! The funniest part of me making this hat for him is that I did the majority of the knitting while sitting next to him on the couch. And he didn't notice a thing. I mean, I'm sure he noticed that I was knitting. But I'm basically always knitting while sitting on the couch, so he's used to it and doesn't really pay attention to the particulars. Ha! No need for secret gift knitting over here!

The pattern is the Anstruther Hat by Erica Knits. I've had my eye on it for awhile as one of several allover colorwork hats that I was considering for Kevin. At this point he's got quite the little collection of hats going, but everything is quite plain and neutral-colored. They're also all worked at a fairly large gauge.  For this hat, I wanted to make something really bold and kind of crazy. I'm always trying to get him to dress more like me, in lots of colors and patterns ;)

Plus, after making the Charlie hat for myself, I knew how great it is to have a hat knit in fingering / sport weight at this gauge. And just like the Charlie hat, I decided to use Brooklyn Tweed's Loft has the main color. I just knew he'd love the fabric it creates - warm, lightweight, and soft yet structural. As you can tell, I'm pretty stuck on Loft hats at the moment. I'm pretty sure there will be more in my future! (er, probably the futures of next year's Christmas gift recipients - this family is good on hats for awhile. ha!)

I had quite luckily picked up this little almost-complete cake of Loft at Scrap in Portland (OMG I LOVE SCRAP SO MUCH!!!!!) over the summer, and knew it'd be the perfect color. The rust-red color (technically called Embers) is just the perfect mix of bold yet muted color. And I knew it would go well with Kevin's coats, which are all either navy blue or green. For the contrasting colors, I went to my stash and pulled out my leftover balls of Local Color Rambouillet 2-Ply Fingering from my Arionette Socks and chose the indigo and onion skin colorways. I also had enough of a skein of Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift leftover for the white from who knows how long ago. Hurray for stash busting! All of these yarns played very nicely together, and I'm so happy with the result. And judging by the amount of wear it's gotten since being gifted, Kevin's pretty happy with it too!

FO: Charlie Hat

A new hat just for meeeeeeeee! And it just may be the best hat I've ever made for myself. Sure, the small gauge and folded brim detail meant it wasn't super super quick to knit, but sometimes putting in the extra time and effort really pays off. In this case it definitely did. I love love love it so so so much. Plus that pom pom. Oh my goodness, so good.

Let's jump right into details: 

Pattern: Charlie by Andi Satterlund

Yarn: Spincycle Dyed in the Wool + Brooklyn Tweed Loft

Needles: Size US 3

I bought this yarn in December 2014 at Urban Craft Uprising from the rad ladies at Spincycle Yarns. The colorway is called Tangled Up in Blue and it is just so fantastic. Very vibrant and - in my opinion - perfect for colorwork. I love how the subtle color variegation looks when paired with a lighter neutral. So good! In terms of yarn pairing, I think these two played very nicely together. Although Loft is a fingering compared to Dyed in the Wool's sport weight, it's so eh-hem lofty that they actually match up quite well. In fact, I'm so in love with this pairing that I'm planning on using it again to make myself a super special Ursula cardigan.

This was my first time doing a folded brim, and it was pretty magical. Plus SOOOOPER warm. Definitely worth the little bit of extra knitting work and semi-laborious joining row. As always, I loved knitting the colorwork and despite the small gauge it seemed like it worked up pretty quickly. I was originally planning on making a pom pom with the Spincycle, but then had the idea to make a HUGE bright flame orange one instead. I tell ya, I just can't get away from using this orange yarn! It's just so vibrant and fresh! I used the larger of my Clover pom pom makers, which I absolutely LOVE. I spent way too many years stubbornly making pom poms using a piece of cardboard. Seriously, they come out so much nice with the pom pom maker. I like to think this pom pom makes people smile on the dreary streets in the winter every time they see it. How could you see it and not smile?!?

FO: Quarry

Oh my word this sweater is so fun. I love it.

Yarn Used: Brunswick Germantown in Flame Orange, Dale Garn Heilo in Grey

Needles: Size 8 Addi Turbos 

Pattern: Quarry by Andi Satterlund for Twist Collective

Raveled here. 

Typically I gravitate towards more traditional colorwork motifs. Fair Isle, Icelandic yokes, Norwegian designs, etc. But when I saw this piece that my friend Andi put out I fell head over heels for the modern, graphic lines. I'd also been planning on making one of her pullover for awhile - since getting lots of wear out of the cropped cardigan I made first - and was initially leaning towards a Chuck. Well, in the end my love for colorwork won out over my love for cables in this case and I went for Quarry.

The original design is in black and white. And I kinda love that and wouldn't mind another in that color scheme. This orange is so good, though! As someone who doesn't shy away from color it shouldn't surprise me that I love this bright yarn so much, but I really have been surprised by how much I love it. I've seriously worn my flame orange cardigan a ton. I knew I liked it but I was a little unsure about how many outfits I would be able to make with it. As it turns out, flame orange actually goes with everything. Just trust me. Or maybe it doesn't and I don't mind "clashing".

Anyway, I had a vision of this in orange and grey, and I think it turned out great! The grey is some deep, deep stash yarn that I scored at some thrift store somewhere. It's been so long I can't even remember where. I was happy to pull it out in keeping with my goal for this year of working through ye olde stash (a yarn fast I have recently broken a couple of months early in order to buy a couple of things I'd been planning to acquire at KnitFit). I didn't make any modifications, but due to my gauge being slightly longer in height than recommended it did come out slightly longer. Which is fine with me. And keep in mind as you review these photos that I'm wearing high-waisted pants. I also realized I need to work on my stitch picking up skills for making top-down sleeves. There's sort of a weird faux-shoulderpad thing going on with one of the shoulders because I think I picked up too many stitches along the top, and from a row that was too far in. For my next sweater with this type of construction, I'm going to review this blog post, which seems to have some really good guidelines for this sort of thing.

(This is my "it's so bright but I'm still trying to look cute" face)

The only big thing about this sweater that makes it not perfect - at least in Seattle - is how warm it is! It's because the Dale Garn yarn is super toasty. Thus, even though I finished this sweater last February, it hasn't gotten a ton of wear yet. Last winter was super mild overall, and by the end of February it was already a bit too warm most days for this guy. So, just this past weekend I FINALLY took some photos of it on one of our first clear and crisp days of the season. Here's hoping we get lots more of them before Spring! It also didn't hurt that we just happened to be taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island, aka a super good photo-op opportunity.

The reason for the Bainbridge trip was three-fold. 1) Go to the Madison Diner for some killer hash browns. 2) Visit the Local Color folk at the Saturday farmer's market. 3) Buy some Loft to at Churchmouse to eventually turn into this sweater. Ohmygoodnesssomanylinks. It was such a beautiful day!! After two previous weekends of straight rain, the blue skies and sunshine were a welcome change. Sure, it was pretty chilly on the ferry. But who cares when you get to wear all the woolens!!!

Here's a shot of my lovely hubs and I at the diner, plus our equally lovely breakfasts. Mmmmmmmm hash browns. They're seriously some of the best in the greater Seattle area.

FO: Rock Island Shawl

This pattern has been in my queue for sooooo long. Basically since it came out. Typically, I don’t go all starry eyed over lace shawl patterns. I mean, I like them. They’re fine. I’ve made a fair number of them in my knitting carrier. But I’ve never actually fallen in love with a pattern before that I really wanted to make for myself. Usually it happens the other way around, with me wanting to make a lace shawl - any lace shawl - for someone as a gift and then searching through patterns to find one I like. With this pattern, I saw it and was instantly in love with the final product and wanted it all for my own. The lace is just so unique! And I love that it has a lovely garter stitch section as well as the intriguing lace bits. 

Nevertheless, it took me quite awhile to actually prioritize it in the queue and get around to casting on. Then when I did…well I had a bit of a false start. I don’t remember exactly when it was that I first attempted this pattern. Several years ago at least. I can’t even really remember what yarn I first attempted it with. But in reading through the charts and beginning my first rows, I just couldn’t do it. It was beyond my skill range. The yarn I was using may also have not been suitable. Could I have tried really hard and gotten through it? Maybe. Probably yes. But after starting and restarting several times and repeatedly ending up with a mysteriously wrong stitch count - mysterious meaning I had no idea where I’d gone wrong and wasn’t able to “read my work” to figure out where it had happened - I got frustrated. So I filed the pattern away and moved on to something else. Lord knows there has never been a shortage of projects in my queue to pottle along with. 

I think this is something I often forget about knitting. That it actually does take time and practice to advance your skill level. Sure, it’s just different combinations of knits, purls, decreases, and decreases along with the very basic ability to read a pattern. And you actually can advance pretty quickly from being a complete beginner to making beautiful, varied, and impressive work (never fear beginners!).. Cables, colorwork, lace. They are all completely learnable for a beginner in a fairly quick amount of time, keeping in mind of course that “quick” is a relative term. However, on the other hand, one’s wrists, hands, fingers, and mind do learn through repetition and challenge, and you do invariably get better the longer you do it. Muscle memory in your hands. And also actual memory. Like the kind in your brain. I can now simply read “sl1k2togpsso" and know what it means and what I have to do with the stitches when I see it pop up in a pattern.

So this time, I decided to give it another go and see how things went. It’s just too lovely to let go of. I’ve had this yellow-green yarn in my stash for awhile. It was purchased at a little yarn shop in Cincinnati while on a work trip at least two years ago. It’s Classic Elite Silky Alpaca in the Cameroon colorway. I first used this yarn for an Ishbel for my aunt Sandy. I absolutely loved working with it and was very pleased with the fabric it created. So when I saw it on sale at the week shop in Cincinnati I scooped up two balls. To be honest, I wasn’t 100% sure about the color when I first bought it. I’m going to call it chartreuse, although it’s probably a bit too green to be a true chartreuse (I just really like that as a color name). That’s probably why it sat in my stash for so long. Then, I picked up a Jackie cardigan at Goodwill one day in basically the exact same color. And then proceeded to wear it with just about every outfit for a week. It’s a surprisingly versatile color. So I dug this out of the stash and decided it needed to become something ASAP. 

A couple notes about this pattern. First, I LOVE It. It’s fabulous. It’s the Rock Island Shawl by Jared Flood for Brooklyn Tweed. It’s very clearly written and easy to follow. Naturally.  Construction-wise, this pattern was something new for me and I ended up really liking it. Instead of starting at the center bottom of the triangle and increasing stitches from there, it starts with working the entire edging first as a separate piece. Now, that’s a whole lot of knitting. It’s huge, and took what felt like forever. But once it’s finished, you’re decreasing stitches from there, so the rows get faster and faster each time. This is exactly opposite to the center-bottom construction where it starts out super, super fast and then feels like each row takes an hour at the end. Which is kind of a nice change. From the edging, you pick up stitches for the bulk of the shawl and then decrease to end at the center bottom of the triangle. You’ve got to get through the spider-web like lace first, but then it’s smooth sailing until the end with just a simple garter stitch for the majority of the triangle. I had a couple false starts with the difficult lace portion as I was getting used to working lace on both sides,  but since the section begins with several rows of garter stitch between it and the edging I was able to easily rip back and start again. Once I got into it, it became very rhythmic and by the second pattern repeat I no longer had to stare at the chart. What a feeling of accomplishment! 

The end fabric has not disappointed either. I’ve worn in a ton already, usually just wrapped tightly around my neck like a scarf. I’ve not been precious about it either - stuffing it into my purse and what not - and the shape has held up really well. I’ll probably have to re-block at some point, but that’s to be expected. I am 110% in love with the finished product and am so happy I didn’t give up on this pattern. Hurray for my very first for-me shawl!

FO: Local Color Arionette

Several months ago some friends and I took a little road trip over to Tolt Yarn and Wool  for the Local Color Fiber Studio trunk show. Hang on. I need to pause for a moment. That may be one of the happiest sentences I have ever written. There are so many good things packed into that one little sentence. And I didn't even mention that our trip also included brunch at The Grange Cafe!

I think I've swooned about Tolt in this space before. It's basically the perfect yarn shop. Even its distance from Seattle is perfect, because it stops me from spending absolutely all of my money there but is still within an easy drive for special purchases. I know, I know. I said I was stash busting this year. BUT WAIT! This trip wasn't just to buy any old yarn. It was to buy super special fantastic yarn, which is totally within the rules.

This super special yarn is made by Local Color Fiber Studio, a duo of super talented women based on Bainbridge Island. They are basically everything. First, all of the wool they use is US grown, sustainably raised, and domestically milled (including some of my favorite Imperial Stock Ranch Columbia). It's just the best wooly, wool. Second, they use all natural dyes which are grown and foraged right on the island. Third, they are just so good at what they do. I mean, look at these colors!


If that wasn't enough, all of their yarns come with these super cute tags to let you know what the yarn was dyed with. Adorable. And also really fascinating. I just wanted to look at every single hank of yarn to see what it was dyed with. I may have done that.

Plus. Plus. They're really nice people. Can you tell that I love them? Yep. Like I said, they basically encompass everything that I love about wool and yarn and crafting in general.

On to the pattern! The patter is from the Autumn 2014 edition of Pom Pom Quarterly. I purchased it at Churchmouse Yarns and Teas on my annual birthday trip to Bainbridge Island. See! It all comes back to Bainbridge. We visited the Local Color ladies at the farmer's market that day, but I had already spent my "birthday allowance" at Churchmouse so I had to walk away for the moment. But! The sock yarn they had available really stuck in my head, and I thought the colors would be great for this pattern.

I have been wanting to knit myself a pair of socks for awhile now. I've knit quite a few pairs of socks in the past, but they have always been gifts. I also wanted to try a different construction method to hopefully learn some new skills. My preferred method (because it's really been the only method I've used) has been top-up construction, with a few different heel types. This pattern is written ankle down with a heel method I've never used before, and I LOVED the look of the slipped stitch pattern and the finished product. Slip stitch patterns are super fun to knit. This one was a little bit of an exception to that since I was working with three colors and the rounds are so short. I was finding it really had to work hard to keep my yarn from getting super tangled, and so this turned out not to be the "small, mindless, portable" project I was expecting it to be. Once I got that sorted by being more mindful of my balls, things went pretty quickly. The second sock probably took me about half the time as the first!

In the end I can say I like both toe-up and ankle down. Now I know I can use either method for future patterns and don't have to limit myself to just one type or another. Hurray! Knitting skills expanded!

DETAILS

Pattern: Arionette by Wencke Lucas from Pom Pom Quarterly Autumn 2014
Needles: Size US 1
Yarn: Local Color Fiber Studio Rambouillet 2-Ply Fingering

Mom's Christmas Sweater

 The musings for this sweater started quite awhile ago. I had it in my mind to make my Mom a sweater this year for Christmas, but I've learned my lesson when it comes to surprise sweaters. Not a good idea. It's a whole lot of knitting and everyone ends up disappointed. So, I got this idea in my head that I would surprise my Mom in May for her birthday with the idea of knitting her a sweater and the yarn to make said sweater. She typically comes to visit us in May as well, so part of the idea was that we could then pick out the sweater design and yarn together while she was here, then I could have plenty of time to knit it up before Christmas and gift the finished product to her then. Welp, my ideas for yarn shopping together kind of fell through with the general busy schedule that we pack into her visits, but the idea was still there. We talked extensively about what kind of sweater she would like. She picked something not at all shocking for someone who knows her as well as I do. A white cabled sweater. I was a little bit surprised that she picked a cardigan over a pullover, but that was about it. We also talked about what yarn I would buy: Imperial Stock Ranch Columbia of course because I'm obsessed with it and it was just exactly right for the sweater we were envisioning.

Then it was time to look for a pattern. Which is actually easier said than done when you've got an exact picture in your mind of what you want. It's much easier to browse patterns willy nilly and think, ''ooh I like that one!" or "that one is totally cool and I never would have thought of that style" rather than go into it knowing exactly what you're looking for. Which is also exactly how I feel about shopping for shoes BTW. 

Anyway, we did lots of pattern browsing while Mom was here, but just couldn't find the exact right fit. As we were browsing she was drawn to the more traditional stitch patterns. Lots of cables but no nups or crazy stuff. She also liked it when all pieces of the sweater featured cable patterns. Fronts, back, and sleeves. On my end, I was looking for a fairly modern pattern (there are lots of gorgeous vintage patterns but they're unfortunately not always as accessible) that was well written and had a good schematic. I wasn't going to mess with a totally random pattern when I would be knitting it without my model present for try-ons. I was also hoping for something with a raglan sleeve, which isn't at all traditional for an Aran sweater design but that I prefer in terms of ease of construction and seamless knitting when compared to a set-in sleeve. Oh. And written for a worsted or aran weight yarn. We searched and searched. I debated on if I would have to strike out on my own again. But still, I didn't feel confident doing this form across the country and under a timeline. Too many risks. So Mom left without a final pattern picked out.

Then I saw this post on Fringe Association - a blog I regularly read - at the end of July. And suddenly there it was. The perfect pattern staring me right in the face. It met all of the criteria. I swatched, sent Mom a phone picture, and we were off.

In all honesty, I hit a few rough patches with this project. I swatched three times and still couldn't get the right gauge. It just seemed impossible with this yarn. Which, yes, can be a problem when you buy your yarn before you pick out a pattern. But let's be honest I was going to use this yarn no matter what (as I mentioned I'm obsessed). I still don't know what the problem was. Yes, this yarn is a very thick worsted. Yes, I'm a very tight knitter, especially when it comes to cables (and stranded colorwork). And this yarn also has a lot of flexibility and can change a lot after blocking which means my gauge swatch was very malleable when I blocked it. Maybe I stretched it too much? Maybe I stretched it to little? I don't know. What I do know is that based on my third swatch I cast on for the large size and knit nearly two thirds of the body. Then I stopped being in denial and admitted it was just looking way too...wrong. Too dense yet too big, even before blocking. So I used my nearly finished body - which I should mention I modified to knit seamlessly, so we're talking fronts and back - as a massive gauge swatch and made the decision to frog the whole thing and start over at a size small at one needle size larger. This was not a split second decision. I did lot of measuring and math folks. 

I can't remember exactly when I decided to start over, but it was within enough time that I felt I could still finish in time for Christmas. As it was, I worked steadily but not frantically on it and had time to block and finish it without rushing. The buttons were attached on December 20th, and I was able to wrap it up before Mom and Jim arrived for the holidays on the 22nd. Phew! Then I crossed my fingers until Christmas Eve when Mom unwrapped it, tentatively tried it on, and found it to be a perfect fit. Oh hurray! What a sigh of relief we both breathed! All measurements and planning aside you just can't know how it will feel in the end until you try it on. Luckily, this one felt just right. 

Here are the specifics: 

• Pattern: Amanda by Lene Holme Samsøe from Essentially Feminine Knits
• Needles: US 6 for ribbing, US 7 for body and sleeves
• Yarn: Imperial Columbia

Raveled here for all you knitting folks!

FO: Kevin's McQueen Sweater

I really owed Kevin a cabled sweater. If you recall, I attempted to make him one last Christmas and it failed. He did get another sweater to replace that Christmas-gift-gone-wrong, but it wasn't the kind of cozy cabled pullover that we had been discussing.

So, we began plotting from scratch for inspiration, patterns, and the perfect yarn. The yarn turned out to be the easiest part. We set out on a trip over to Tolt last spring just knowing they'd have the perfect sheepy, earthy yarn and were not disappointed. We considered using Imperial Stock Ranch's Columbia, Rowan Felted Tweed, and Peace Fleece but finally decided on Studio Donegal in Oatmeal. It's soft and springy, yet still feels durable with a lovely tweed. 

I then gave Kevin the task of looking around for images of sweaters he loved to use as inspiration. he kept coming back to this picture of Steve McQueen in a beautiful cream-colored pullover. I of course wholeheartedly approved of his choice of Mr. McQueen as style icon and began plotting and planning to bring it to life. Thus was born Kevin's McQueen Sweater. Although in reality this is a very traditional combination of Aran stitch patterns.

However, despite the fact that this is a very typical Aran style, I had trouble finding a pattern that was just right. I found some vintage patterns that were just too, well, difficult to read or even obtain. Some of the more modern patterns I found were of the 80's and 90's era of exaggerated drop shoulders and baggy fit that I feel are kinda yuck. The most modern patterns were right on for fit and shape...but the stitch patterns were also updated, tweaked, or reinterpreted from the super classic styles. As it turned out, I just couldn't find a pattern that combined a modern shape and construction with an old school stitch pattern. So, I decided to jump full in and make one up.

I started with Shelagh Hollingworth's book Traditional Aran Knitting and swatched my little heart out. This was truly the year of swatching as I focused on becoming a better sweater knitter and this project was a wonderful challenge. After swatching my honeycomb, trellis, six stitch simple cable, and moss stitch it was time for the maths. Eek. Many numbers were crunched. Many charts were (incorrectly, then correctly) drawn. When I had my swatches and charts just right, I used Elizabeth's Percentage System (EPS) for my calculations and was ready to cast on. I liked my fabric and tension with size US 8's for the cable-y bits, and went down to a size US 6 for the ribbing.

The sleeves and body were all knit in the round from the bottom up, then I worked flat for the neck, armhole, and back shaping as well as for the sleeve cap. I was very unsure of how to achieve a set-in sleeve all on my lonesome. All the EPS sweaters I've made before (ahem, all two of them - here and here) had raglan and saddle shoulder shaping, and EZ doesn't lay it out as nicely for set in sleeves (at least in Knitting Workshop). So, I used a pattern I'd used before as a guide since the sizing, gauge, and fit I was going for were very similar. It the end, it worked out perfectly! I was really preparing myself to have to do the armhole and sleeve caps over at least once, but it wasn't necessary. Hurray for success on a first try!

Would I do anything differently looking back? Hmm. Yes. First off, even though all of this yarn was the same dye lot, there was a slight color variation from hank to hank. It wasn't noticeable at all in hank form, and I really didn't even see it until I blocked. Waaaaay past the point of ripping back. I certainly didn't notice it while I was working, and don't notice it even now unless I stare at it in just the right lighting, but it is very noticeable when sopping wet (not a huge concern) and to the critical eye. So there's that. Second, I think I'd cast on less stitches at the waist, then increase gradually a bit through the body. It could be a little bit snugger at the waist. I think I'd also knit the sleeves flat (gasp!) for ease of blocking. The fabric of the honeycomb stitch is so dense and tight that I think it really benefits from a flat rather than tube blocking. Overall, that's a pretty short list of regrets and I am thoroughly pleased!


And then I made him stare into the sun while I took his picture...

FO: Kevin's Smokin' Jacket

Hey, look at that! Kevin got a new sweater! Which means I made good on my promise to knit him a sweater that actually fits - and in record time. Bulky weight yarn, big needles, and a simple pattern help. Not to mention the exponential excitement that my dear husband expressed as it was coming together.

This yarn is absolutely a dream. I love everything about it. The color is called Quail and it's a wonderful subtle shade of dusty blue that Kevin really loves, too. Even though it's 100% sheep's wool it's incredibly soft and springy yet durable and warm at the same time. This is a credit to the Columbia breed wool it's spun from. I just learned this: Columbia was the first breed of sheep developed and certified in the United States. It was breed to be a two in one sheep: good for meat (and lots of it) and wool (and lots of it) that would thrive in the Western high dessert terrain. Furthermore, I learned that this breed of sheep was first conceived and developed by the original owner of the very same ranch that produced this yarn. The history and story of the Imperial Stock Ranch is just wonderful, all the way from its beginning right up to the present day. If you fancy a read (which I highly recommend) head on over to their website. I'll limit myself from waxing on about Imperial for the time being to stop this post from becoming a novel and to save a story for another time.

The pattern is one I've been meaning to knit for ages. This was seriously the first pattern I ever considered making for Kevin, which was way back during our college days. If you consider that to be the start of this sweater then we just went from the quickest garment knit to the absolute longest. Ah well. Tis the nature of the craft I suppose.

So, the pattern is the Smokin' Jacket by Jared Flood from the Son of a Stitch 'n Bitch book. This is classic Flood folks. I ended up making a few modifications to suit Kevin's taste. Instead of standard stockinette I did a 1x1 knit purl rib allover. Because of this, I had to go down significantly in needle size. It ended up being size US 7's for the 2x2 ribbing at the hemline and sleeve cuffs and size US 8's for the body. I did the garter stitch collar in 7's as well. The other major modification was to do set-in pockets instead of attached pockets. I followed another Ravelers directions for this bit and am very pleased with how they came out.

All in all, this sweater takes the cake as my most successful garment knit of all time. He loves it. My goal for this year is to knit more sweaters so that I can finally get over my off-sizing problems and fear of long term projects. So, hopefully the blog will be full of many more successful garment FO posts this year.

Raveled here.

FO: Kevin's (sort of) Surprise Christmas Sweater

Technically this sweater belongs to Kevin. I knit it in secret for him for Christmas. Except - as you have no doubt noticed by now - it is I who get to wear it. The reason for this is two-fold. One. it does not fit him. Two. it is too nice of a finished object (FO) to frog. Subpoint to point two is that it fits me quite nicely. Thus I regifted this sweater back to myself. In case you're feeling like Kevin got the short end of the stick here, he sort of did. BUT, he is also getting a spiffy new handknit sweater, which is even now in it's final stages of completion. (aka "finishing" in knit-speak, which is one of the more obvious yet official knitting terms for all those little annoying bits you have to do before after something comes off the needles but isn't yet done done like blocking, sewing on buttons, and weaving in ends. Yuck but oh so necessary.)

For his new(est) sweater he got to approve the pattern, pick out the yarn, and try on as I knit. Which is a series of participatory steps I should have followed to begin with. Which brings me to the lessons I've learned with this project, which are also two-fold. One. Do not knit sweaters for Kevin in secret. Too risky and difficult to coordinate with entirely too little reward. Two. Stop being so lazy about gauge swatches. Seriously, how many times to do I have to learn this one?!? I've actually  made it my knitting goal this year to knit a stack of sweaters for Kevin and myself so that I finally get over my stubbornness towards doing a proper gauge swatch and thus ensure the garments I slave over will actually fit in the end. Palm to face.



Thankfully, this particular knitting story still has a happy ending because I love this sweater. True, I would have preferred to knit myself a different sweater as my next "me" project, but this is still a really wonderful garment. I've worn it out several times now and am sure it will be in regular rotation until summer. The pattern is Hugo by Véronik Avery from the Brooklyn Tweed Men collection. Someday I will knit something from this collection for Kevin that actually fits (there are just so many wonderful designs!) but today was not that day. The yarn was thrifted from an area Goodwill store and fortunately I had just enough for this project. It's Bucilla Knitting Worsted. Actually, to be honest, I did run out of yarn at the very end. Since this is a discontinued yarn and I failed to get lucky on eBay, I ended up using Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool for the collar. Not a perfect match, but good enough for a not-perfectly-fitting sweater. Speaking of the collar, it's a mod from the original pattern, too. Kevin actually liked the exaggerated open turtle neck look from the pattern, but I prefer a more standard collar. So, when it was clear that this would be for me, I opted for a simple crewneck instead.

FO: Selbu Modern for Mom

Pattern: Selbu Modern
Yarn: Warm Valley Orchard's Worsted
Needles: US 3 (for ribbing) US 5 (for the rest)

This very special yarn was purchased on a trip Mom, Kevin, and I took last May to the San Juan Islands. We spend most of our time during that trip on Orcas Island, and my one request was that we stop in to Warm Valley Orchard to take a peek at their yarn. It's a very small shop that sells much more than just yarn, but the yarn they have there is super cool. Most of it is from their own sheep! You can even see said sheep grazing in the misty field as you drive in. I have a soft spot for woolly, undyed natural sheep's wool. This stuff also has lots of natural lanolin still in it, so it's a pleasure to knit with and produces a fairly water-resistant fabric.

The pattern is one I've made before for myself and the hat has become one of my favorites. Mom had also admired it, so we decided to pick out some yarn at Warm Valley so I could make her one of her own for Christmas (which I did finish in time thankyouverymuch). The only problem was that the wools we both liked where worsted weight, which is much heavier than the fingering weight called for by the pattern. Not to worry, I simply cast on less stitches and did fewer pattern repeats of the colorwork section. There was some math involved, but it was fairly painless. The resulting hat is definitely more stiff than slouchy and much more dense. For Mom this isn't a problem because it means it's super warm and suitable for even the coldest Wisconsin winter days. Except when it's -30, because no one should go outside in -30.

Raveled: here.

FO: A Shawl for Aunt Dee

I recently finished up this shawl for my Aunt Dee and had the pleasure of delivering it to her in person during a recent trip to the Milwaukee area. I'll admit I was down to the wire to finish this one before my trip and was literally taking it off the blocking board the morning of my flight. Yikes! It was totally worth it to be able to deliver it in person, though. Love you Aunt Dee!

 The yarn was an absolute dream to work with. It's Manos del Uruguay Fino in Garnet Brooch purchased from Bad Woman Yarn. It's a blend of 30% silk and 70% extrafine merino, which makes it super soft, warm, strong, and light all at the same time, with a beautiful drape. It also has a very generous yardage per hank which means I used well under one hank for this project. And the color! Aunt Dee requested a burgundy red, and I was happy to find this beautiful shade. As you can tell from the blocking pictures, it has a beautiful yet subtle variegation in color that comes from being kettle dyed. One of the best things about Manos del Uruguay is that it's actually a non profit organization and member of the World Fair Trade Organization, whose yarns are spun and dyed by cooperatives of women in the rural areas of Uruguay. Now...what to do with the quarter-ish hank I've got left...



The patterns is one I've been wanting to knit for awhile (ever since friend Rachel made one for me as a wedding gift). It's called Shetland Triangle by Eveyln Clark. To quote the pattern notes, "The dramatic swirl of stitches on this shawl is created by Fir Cone lace, a traditional pattern from the Shetland Islands that is simple to knit and easy to memorize."Indeed, it was very easy to memorize and enjoyable to knit. As a matter of fact, I think this is the quickest shawl I've ever made at just under two weeks. Phew!

For my fellow knitters, you can find it Raveled here. 

FO: Simple Striped Sweater for Me

It's finally finished! Knit, blocked, and ends woven in. This sweater has been an on-my-mind project for quite awhile now. I thrifted about five skeins of the cream color way back when. Can't even remember where. It's a linen rayon blend from a company called Springbrook Yarns (now defunct) with just a little bit of sheen and a lovely drape. I knew immediately I wanted to make a loose fitting, easy wearing sweater out of it. The one problem was I didn't think I had quite enough. So. Stripes it was. The indigo colored yarn is Rowan Creative Linen that was purchased at my favorite (semi) local yarn shop Churchmouse Yarns on Bainbridge Island.




This is my second go at using the EPS (Elizabeth's Percentage System) method (you can see my first here), and I'm tempted to never follow another sweater pattern ever again. It's so darn liberating to be able to knit with whatever yarn and whatever needles you like and still be totally confident the fit will be perfect. I have to admit I'm one of those knitters who shrugs off doing a proper gauge swatch (for those non-knitterly types gauge is the count of stitches per inch. When you knit from someone else's written pattern, your gauge needs to match the designer's gauge so that the finished garment is the right size). I also tend to substitute yarns a little haphazardly. All of this means that sometimes things don't turn out as expected. And I have gotten better at swatching when it really matters. Say, for a sweater instead of a scarf. All this to say, I love that with EPS you can both do your own thing and be certain the measurements will turn out right because they're your measurements. On the other hand, there are so many beautiful designs out there - like this or this - that I'm sure I'll be following someone else's directions again soon, too.

Now for the rest of the details. Size US 6 needles. Extra design elements: 2x2 twisted rib (with only the knit stitches twisted because I hate twisting purls) on the lower hem and sleeves, side slits, and raglan sleeve shaping. I wanted to stick with the semi-nautical theme so I went with a wide boatneck by doing extra all-the-way-around decreases, and only three rounds of neckline shaping in back (to raise the neckline slightly in the back). I finished the neckline with three rows of garter stitch, then bound off with a super stretchy bind off method. Underarm holes were grafted together after finishing everything else (hurray for only having two tiny seams to sew!).

FO: A Shawl for Aunt Sandy

This is my aunt Sandy. Isn't she lovely? I mean, just look at that smile. This picture was taken in the kitchen of my grandparent's house in Enterprise, WI. I started knitting this shawl for her shortly after chatting about one during this past visit at same said grandparent's house.

The yarn is Classic Elite Silky Alpaca lace hand painted. It was purchased at the absolutely perfect Churchmouse Yarns on Bainbridge Island. Always worth the trip to such a wonderful yarn shop. I chose the yarn because Aunt Sandy (like my dad and many relatives on his side of the family) is irritated by wool. I, of course, love wool and am adverse to artificial fibers. Luckily, there are many types of "wool", so there's usually something out there that will strike a balance between being a high quality natural fiber and also something that's okay for sensitive skin. This particular yarn is 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk. Alpaca is one of my favorite fibers. It's soft, warm, and durable all at the same time. Combine it with a little bit of silk and it's very pleasing indeed. It was nice to knit with and the finished product had a beautiful drape. My only complaint with this yarn is that it was far from color fast. In fact, it was so not color fast that the dye was coming off on my hands as I knit. This was easily fixed by adding a capful or so of vinegar to the pre-blocking water soak, then rinsing until the water ran clear and it no longer smelled of vinegar.

Pattern is Ishbel by Ysolda Teague. Although I've admired Ysolda since first learning of her through my friend Rachel, then picking up one of her pattern kits at K1Yarns in Edinburgh (another all time favorite yarn shop...although this one is now a little more than a ferry ride away), this is the first of her patterns I've actually knit. It did not disappoint.

FO: A Sweater for Mom

This sweater is the first one I've made for my Mom. I've made her quite a few things in the past - in fact she's probably my number one recipient, even over Kevin - but had yet to tackle making her a sweater. So, this year for Christmas I decided to take the plunge. Mom is a lover of all things winter, especially snow. So, this design was perfect for her. I fell in love with the design even before I started thinking of making a Mom sweater. It's by one of  my favorite knitwear designers Kate Davies. This specific pattern is called Boreal.

When picking out colors, I knew Mom would love a classic red and cream choice. The cream colored yarn is Lion Brand Fisherman's wool, which I've used for many projects before and had on hand. It's a very good all around sweater yarn. In fact, the first sweater I ever made for myself was a white cabled darling made from this yarn. Could have been this very skein. The red is recycled yarn. Meaning, it used to be a sweater made by Gap that I picked up for a pittance at a thrift store. Unravel. Wind into a ball. Reknit.

Now, you may be aware that it is currently not Christmas. Yes. Well. There are no excuses. Other than the fact that I started it with way too aggressive of a timeline. Decided "sweater for Christmas!" in November. Not the best planning on my part. That said, it did come out fairly quickly. As you may recall, Boreal made her first appearance in this post from early March, after being finished middle of February. 4ish months is not so bad in my book.