Cardigan

I promised to write a proper post about an FO that has been complete for several months now but it seemed I was either wearing it with no one around to photo it, or the room needed painting, or the light was poor, or our new camera needed getting used to, etc.

Finally, here is my version of the Harvest Moon cardigan pattern on Ravelry. Sorry for the blurry photo, but we are still figuring out the new camera!

 

I originally chose this pattern for several reasons, firstly because although I often enjoy making up my own projects, I was planning travel knitting and I like to include other people's patterns because it's a fun change to occasionally knit without thinking about the design process. 

I needed a plain cardigan for everyday wear, and selected three rather basic-looking options.  The clincher for this one was that I had the exact yarn in my stash already, Berroco's Blackstone Tweed in color #2607/ Wintry Mix.

Also, top-down construction is a favorite method of mine allowing you to knit-to-fit easily, and the I-cord borders add a clean finished edge. 

I chose to make my yoke a couple of stitches larger to accommodate my linebacker shoulders, then knit the rest of the bodice in my size and this worked very well for me.  

A few other simple mods included knitting the sleeves 2" longer to accommodate my albatross wingspan, and knitting the bodice down until it was about 9 " before beginning the pockets, for a custom fit.



Some folks on Ravelry have noted having a difficult time with the pockets and they can be a bit tricky.  One tip I picked up in garment design and construction is to always prepare your materials before beginning, and I applied this to my cardigan by blocking the entire pocket area flat and square before stitching them down.  

This way the stitches line up properly and behave when you sew on the pocket garter edge bands and sew up the seams, ensuring that they're flat and straight and that you are working up a single column of knitting.  

I also blocked the entire cardigan again, after knitting was complete.

I had a terrible time finding a button I liked and although I don't love this carved bone one, it will do until I find something perhaps a little more interesting.  It is a good idea to choose buttons when you select yarn for a project, especially with a top-down style, as this allows you to alter buttonhole size and technique, if necessary.

I've heard and read mixed thoughts on this style - a cardigan that buttons with one to three buttons near the top, allowing the rest of the body to hang open.  Some people seem to think they are flattering and others completely disagree.

While I think that some disagreement in opinion is simply a matter of personal style and taste, I also think that some of it may have to do with how the garment fits the wearer.

Since most women have hips that are the same size or larger than their bust measurement, an unbuttoned cardigan hem measuring the same circumference as the bust will naturally pull open around the hips.  This effect is especially pronounced when the shoulders or bust are knit too tight.

A cardigan that is pulled open at the bottom by the hips creates a triangle with a wide base and this will naturally draw the eye to that expanse of belly and possibly make it appear more prominent.

Choosing a proper size for shoulders and bust, and modifying a cardigan to skim the hip and waist area by adding a few stitches to the circumference towards the bottom (if necessary), adds a bit of breathing room called 'ease'.  This helps allow the cardigan to hang gracefully from the bust and shoulders, making a narrower opening over the stomach area, and creates a flattering, vertical line up the front. 

Of course, everyone is shaped differently and likes their sweaters to fit their personal style and comfort level - something I celebrate!  

Until next time, peace, blessings and happy knitting to you!

Getting Cozy

This snowy weather really gets my knitting fires burning.  All I want to do these days is knit, knit, knit, eat a little dark chocolate, knit, play in the snow, drink some hot tea, and knit some more.   Of course, real life doesn't cooperate with my knitting plans!

Mostly I've been knitting my beige heather wool cardigan and my grey mohair cardi shrug.  Both have had their ups and downs and will likely be some time before completion, but I'm happy overall with the progress made this week.   

In order to to make progress on the cardigan, I ripped out and restarted it from the beginning - twice.  

It was OK, but not a love thing.  So I went back to the stitch pattern and played around with it, adding some stitches and changing the proportions slightly.  Then I mixed in more tweaks to the top-down shaping, and I like it much better.  

The mohair shrug is a third version of the two I made last year, this time in a different stitch pattern and yarn.  

I still have several more versions I want to make, at least one in sock or fingering weight yarn.

While on my Michigan trip I found another button option for my grey cardigan.  I've loved the suggestions left on Ravelry and the comments to previous posts so far, thank you especially Doreen and Diana!  This bone one is really too small, but it works temporarily at least.

What with the trip last week, the crazy weather and power outage, and various commitments and appointments, I've not been able to correspond much, but to all my blogging friends and Ravelry pals I owe messages to, that is on my schedule for this week.

I hope to have more photos of my current WIPs soon and planned for the next post is a rundown of my trip north to Michigan.

One exciting thing at my post office box when I returned last week was a surprise package from the lovely Anne-Sara, proprietor of the equally lovely Wisp yarn shop in Granville (that I reviewed in a December 22nd post).  

Wisp is a wonderfully inspiring shop full of beautiful yarns, British home items, and books among other treasures.  

The books are cool, vintage-style cloth-bound editions like this one, with adorable little ribbon bookmarks.  Anne-Sara was so sweet to send me this copy by one of my favorite authors, Jane Austen - thank you so much Anne-Sara!!  

Wisp is offering a special discount of 20% off the price of all red and pink yarn until Valentine's Day.  Maybe a little hint to your sweetie, that a yarn trip to Wisp might be just the thing to put a sparkle in your eye, is in order? 

 

Tonight I leave you with a favorite poem of mine. 

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening  

by Robert Frost

 Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Who's got the button?

My gray tweed cardigan is finally blocked and dry and I have to decide on just the right button.  As this is a one-button closure the right button choice can really make the sweater.

I had in mind pewter metallic or solid black, so I dug through my stash to see what I have. 

Turns out, not much that will work.  What I have on hand are some fussy, vintage black glass (totally not right for this simple style), and some carved bone brown/ black ones (a little better, but maybe too organic).   I'm totally open to ideas, so any suggestions or links appreciated. 

I'll have FO photos and a full run-down on this project once I find a great button!

 

It's always fun when a new Knitty comes out, and this Winter issue includes an interesting variety of designs with a pretty fair balance of sweaters and accessories (photos from Knitty.com).

I especially love Heather Desserud's Chrysanthemums, a Norwegian stranded mitten design, and all the other nice color work projects in this issue. 

 

 

Sock lovers will be intrigued with the architectural Maeva, by Stefanie Bold, with it's Art Deco-ish cables and ribs.  An appealing design for both men and women I think.

Winter 2011 has lots of sweaters to love including Teva Durham's lacy  Lady Lovelace cardigan and capelet set, Kathleen Dames' Turn of the Glass fitted cardigan and Karina Liu's Jacqueline collared jacket. 

Knittyspin's  simple, trendy earflap hat Southern Lights, by Christine McCormick, might be good for my husband who stands at a cold bus stop every morning.  

Speaking of spinning, so far I am making good on my goals for 2011 by spinning a little bit every week.

This 4 pound batch of natural beige Louet Coopworth roving will take me forever!  

Although beautiful, this fiber may not be completely spun and ready to knit until winter 2012...  I might have to intersperse some more lively rovings in between now and then to keep me motivated.   Goodness knows I have plenty in my stash.

Have a fun, safe weekend and as always, peace, blessings and happy knitting to you!

'Tis the Season to be... Knitting

Last week went by in the blink of Santa's eye as the Christmas season gears up and my time has been filled with family, friends, food, knitting, shopping, wrapping, writing, cleaning and working.

I did, however, get a chance to sort my stash and pull out some yarn for gift and other knitting projects, including the assortment shown above, of Shetland yarns for color work.  I need to find a few more colors to add to the mix and that might just make a nice project.

Although I have made a few small sale yarn purchases recently, I've been doing great with using mostly stash yarns.  I am de-stashing a lot of great yarn on Ravelry also in an effort to contribute more this holiday season to efforts to feed and shelter the homeless.

This past weekend I worked on a couple of secret gift projects, and made a little progress on my top-down cardigan knit in Berroco's Blackstone Tweed yarn.  It's nearly finished, leaving only the sleeve and pocket edges to knit. 

 

I've knit a few more inches on the scarf I started at Thanksgiving and I'm lining up my next year's pattern projects as well.

Right now I'm contemplating making up some fingerless mitts, and as I searched my stash for tweed yarns for another project, I pulled out this beautiful Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed Aran I might like to use for such a project. 

I love this deep charcoal heather, wool/ angora yarn with tweed nepps in moss, wine and camel. 

If you're an extremely organized person (or perhaps not doing any gift knitting), you might have time to deck your halls with knitted ornaments.  Many of these would also make pretty gifts.

Check out these patterns (with the exception of the Snowflake Ornament, project photos not my own):

Julie Weisenberger's lovely pearl bedecked Knitted Wreath is simplicity defined. 

Nannette Blanchard's blog Knitting in Color features these Super Stars.

 

 

On Friday, my mom, sister, niece and I met for some gift shopping.  My niece is moving thousands of miles away later this month so it was great to spend some time with her.  

After coffee, we browsed boutiques in the village of Powell, a small community north of the city of Columbus.

We enjoyed looking at the festive decorations at The Collection including several theme trees like this one - hanging upside down.

This purple and silver tree had appeal with blown glass birds, stars and ball ornaments. 

 

We certainly found a lot to love at Found at 21, a stunning shop.

 

 

These wrapped scarves are very minimalist cool.

The 1/4" thick wool felt mats and snowflakes were gorgeous.

And an antique trunk full of cozy throws made us want to dive right in.

We didn't buy much at the pricey shops, but had a great time just spending time together and being inspired by what we saw.

Wishing you many happy holiday preparations and lots of hours of happy knitting!