FO: Puerperium Cardigan

A while back I finished a sweater for Baby, but only recently got around to uploading the pictures.  Despite being a June baby, I felt he needed at least one hand-knit sweater.  Hospitals and air conditioned buildings can all be chilly for a newborn, right?

I’ve been dying to knit the Puerperium Cardigan for a while.  (Look familiar?  This adorable little cardigan has been knit by such famous figures as the Yarn Harlot.)  It seemed like just the right thing for my little guy.

I knit mine out of RYC Cashsoft Baby DK in #800 Snowman, #804 Chicory, and #805 Cloud.  Sadly, all of these colors are soon to be defunct as Rowan is discontinuing the entire Baby Cashsoft DK line.  All three skeins came out of my stash and were purchased over several years out of the orphan bin at the Shoppe.  They just happened to coordinate perfectly.  I chose to do a striping pattern of 4 blue, 2 white, 2 green, 2 white, while keeping the border in blue.

The buttons were purchased from JoAnns as I didn’t have enough of any one complimentary button in my stash.  They’re sewed on with a bit of Perle Cotton #5 in a matching color.  (Pro-tip: Perle Cotton #5 makes for great button thread.  No need to double it and it is quite strong.  Comes in a huge variety of color to match just about anything.)

I have to admit that I’m totally smitten with this sweater and I kind of want to make another.

You can find my Ravelry notes here.

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FO: Little Cabled Sweater

Sweater #2 finished for Baby Blew is technically called the Hooded Cardigan and Collared Jacket from Sirdar #397.  I called it the Little Cabled Sweater (Ravelry Project Details).

Knit with 3 skeins of Sirdar Snuggly DK, it was another fun knit.  With the knit-below yoke and sleeves and the horseshoe cables, this project is definitely not for beginners, but it’s not super hard either.  I would say that a confident intermediate would have no issues with it.

No modifications to this project were made from the book.  The only thing I did outside of the instructions was knit the sleeves two-at-a-time.  (It has a matching hat that’s not quite finished yet.  I’m hoping to get that done before the baby is born.)

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FO: Matelot Sweater

Hey look!  Actual yarn content!  Crazy, eh?  I’ve been finishing up a ton of projects lately, but the whole “photographing and posting” bit has been somewhat neglected.  I’ll try to catch up on some of the things I’ve finished (like the last 4 shawls…), but don’t hold your breath.

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Our friends are pregnant with their first baby, and being that it is the first baby born this year that doesn’t live in the desert or the south, I knit *two* sweaters for him!  The first is the Matelot Sweater from Sublime Book #612 (Ravelry Project Details).

This little sweater was a breeze to make and fun to boot.  I knit it out of three orphan skeins of Berroco Comfort DK I had rattling around in the stash.  The only problem I had was forgetting to change needle size on one of the sleeves and having to reknit it.  Otherwise, easy peasy.

Tomorrow, I’ll show you the second sweater knit for Baby Blew.

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Soft Serve – A $14 sweater

Meet the 2nd FO of 2011!  This sweater is a dream to make and looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.  It still needs blocking, but I wanted to get some pictures of it anyway.

The yarn is Plymouth Tweed, an aran weight wool.  I scored 11 skeins of this woolly goodness for just $2/skein at the 2008 Sidewalk Sale.  The sweater only took 7.  Seriously.  Under 800 yards for a crocheted sweater!  And I even added length to the sleeves and body.  (Full details of the sweater, with notes on my modifications, can be found on Ravelry here.)

The pattern is from Everyday Crochet by Doris Chan.  Special thanks to Liisa for turning me onto this book.  Doris’ method of top down, seamless construction is very fun and uses up less yarn than a normal crocheted sweater.  The shells make it go fast, so this lovely only took me three days.  No, really.  Three days!

A good blocking will open the shells up further and help the drape in the front. The wool is a little scratchier than some I’ve used, so it’s not a close-to-the-skin kind of sweater.  Although, I can definitely see this as a layering piece for  a cool spring/summer evening.

And I’d like to end this post with a Public Service Announcement.  If you ask your husband to take your sweater shots, you will inevitably get a picture like this.  I’ve come to accept that.

(At least the butt shot shoes off the edging detail nicely.  Yeah… That’s it…)

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Still Here

Albeit distracted and obviously not blogging.  How the heck is it August?  Honestly… Not sure where the time goes sometimes.  In the last week I’ve finished a sweater.  If I remember to do so, I’ll blog more on that later.  Until then, here’s a teaser image, taken in the bathroom mirror.  Enjoy.

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Olympic Sweater Update for February 17, 2010

Ready for a flyby Olympic Knitting update?  As of this morning, I am a little more than 14″ into the back of hubby’s sweater.  The group meeting last night afforded me two hours of uninterrupted knit time (WOO!), so I was able to nearly double where I was previously.  For your viewing pleasure, I have taken a crappy cell phone picture.  More updates to come as the sweater drama unfolds.

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Wanted: A Perfect Sweater

I am on the quest for a perfect sweater.  For myself.  Hubby’s sweater will be underway soon (just need to finish the rest of the clogs…), and I’ve been thinking how I would like to have  a sweater as well.

Sweater Component Wish List:

1. Cardigans preferred, pullovers need not apply.
2. Must be interesting to knit.  No miles of garter stitch, stockinette, or ribbing.
3. Cables are a plus.
4. No long stretches of purl bumps on the right side (around cables are fine).
5. I am an equal opportunity knitter when it comes to zippers or buttons.
6. Worsted or DK weight yarn only (I have sweater quantities already on hand).
7. Hoods: I have no strong feelings one way or the other.
8. Must look good on a busty, plus size woman.  (No curve hugging, cropped length, or other shenanigans.)
9. I am no longer afraid of seaming, so both top down or bottom up is acceptable.
10. Preferably in my library or available online. (Basically, once I find it, I don’t want to go hunting for the pattern.)

Current candidates (in no particular order):

• The (in)famous Central Park Hoodie
• Cassidy from ChicKnits
• Jackie from KnitSpot
• Dollar and a Half Cardigan

Thoughts?  Any suggestions/comments are greatly appreciated!

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New Year, New Sweater

I made a purchase yesterday that spent a good half of my Christmas gift certificates to the Yarn Shoppe.  What could it be you ask?  I know the suspense is killing you!  You’ll just have to wait.

But I will give you a hint.  It involves these two things…

Plymouth Encore Worsted in color #175, 10 skeins.

Custom Knits by Wendy Bernard of Knit & Tonic.

Can you guess which sweater it is?  (If you’re on Ravelry, no cheating!!!)

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