Whiplash

So on Monday, I was pondering as to what I could dress up as a semi-entertaining little tidbit of wooly ether to share with you. And then my brother came through in the most serious fashion with a load of gorgeous photos of him in his new sweater, and suddenly the Monday blog post was taken care of. Ok, I still had to write it, and finish the final pattern editing and get it uploaded to Ravelry, etc, etc, etc (why does that always take so much longer then I remember?).

Now it's Wednesday, and I feel like I've been running as fast as I can on all things fibery and wooly, and I'm still in the same place. I have serious startitis cravings: some folks on the Hello Yarn group are going on about a steeked-striped-handspun vest-along that I am absolutely salivating to cast on. And I've got two test knits ongoing that I'm anxiously looking to for feedback. In the meantime, there's the soaking-dyeing-cursing over-drying of fiber stuff going on, and regular life things (i.e work, school, laundry, more dishes then are really necessary in any universe). Thankfully, instead of feeling overwhelmed, I'm more or less enjoying it all, although my enthusiasm for discussion of said events is somewhat less then existant. So my apologies to those in the real world if I've been less then forthcoming about it all.

Here is the earthshattering revelation that I was going to share on Monday that is now postponed until Wednesday: I have too many sweaters in progress.

One is a vest, two are handspun, and three (of the four) need to be done by Christmas. Ehem. Thankfully, the two handspun sweaters are lacking four sleeves and a neckband. Two of the four sleeves are pretty straightforward (it's a sweater for the 6 year old), but the other two...the less said about them and their attendant neckband, the better. The vest should be pretty quick, but as of this writing, I'm three 9.5 inches* (out of 18) in on my way to the underarms. Not exactly breaking any land speed records with that puppy. Ehem, take two.

Sadly, the sweater that doesn't have a firm deadline is the one that is working up the fastest, on the biggest needles. I started last week, and in three days, I had a sleeve. It's also a side-to-side construction, which I haven't done before, so that's pretty intriguing. It's the thing that I find myself gravitating towards, and it's the last thing I should be working on! Aaaargh!

Sometimes I can't even believe how knotty my problems are! /sarcasm


*Today was more productive then expected on the knitting front. On the work front however...

Harpswell Pullover

The Harpswell Pullover pattern is now available.

This comfy pullover is designed with a crew neck, set-in sleeves and an easy-to-memorize-yet-still-interesting stitch pattern that should satisfy even the most unadventurous of male recipients. The body is worked in the round to the underarms, then split for the front and back. Sleeves are knit in the round to the sleeve cap and then worked back and forth before being seamed into the body of the sweater.

This pattern ranges in size from 36-60 inches (finished chest measurement) and requires between 1100-2100 yards of worsted weight yarn. More information can be found on the Ravelry pattern page here.

SKILLS REQUIRED

Knitting, purling, increasing and decreasing (both k2tog and ssk), knitting in the round and knitting back and forth, seaming. This pattern is suitable for an advanced beginner.

Harpswell Pullover

$7.00

Many thanks to my test knitters in the Ravelry Free Pattern Testers group, my fabulous model, he-who-must-model-for-me-because-I-knit-him-sweaters-and-he-can't-break-up-with-me (aka my brother), and the lovely JoAnna for her mad photo skills.

A week in sweaters, part III

Subtitle: The Unfinished.

One of my goals for the past week while Himself has been away was to finish the body of the River Run Pullover. I'm happy to say that I reached that fantastic point last night:

There it is, complete with front and back neck steeks. I started the three needle bind off at the shoulders, but it was 10:30, my silly movie was done, and I needed to go to bed early. I'll finish the bind offs tonight, then put it away while we go back to H-town. The plan is to do the neck ribbing next (just in case so when I have to spin and dye more, it will be in the sleeves), then get going on the sleeves. I'm hoping for a 23 December finish for this (so it has time to be blocked and dried).

I also had a bit of startitis this week and did this:

Started a Tappan Zee for Devil out of the handspun I did earlier this summer. The yarn is quite a bit lighter then that called for in the pattern, but I managed to pull together a nifty little spread sheet that converted the numbers in the original pattern to actual measurements using my new gauge - turns out that instead of re-jiggering the whole thing with new numbers, I can knit the second size and have it fit her perfectly.

I am beyond obsessed with how this is turning out. I can't manage to get a good picture of the really bright greens in this yarn - it's electric! - but I am enjoying the knitting immensely.

So, we're off for half-term tomorrow. I am busily planning my travel knitting list which includes this sweater, some long neglected mittens I should have finished and published last winter, and a new design idea involving orange worsted weight yarn and short-row shaped scarves. Hmmm...

A week in sweaters, part II

I am so grateful that my kids are still small enough that I can work up a sweater for them in about a week. From the front,

and the back.

Pattern: my own, using the same stitch pattern as in this sweater, but with YOs instead of M1s
Yarn: random worsted weight yarn bought many years ago in Florence, originally grey but we dyed it with fuschia and ended up with purple.
Needles: US 6/4.0 mm
Start/finish: 29 September - 7 October 2011 (that's when it was wearable, not knitting finished)

The story: so I've got this men's sweater pattern that's being test knitted, and one of the testers noted that it would be easy to make it girly by substituting yarn overs for the make ones in the stitch pattern (that syntax would only make sense to other knitters, wouldn't it?). I was intrigued by the idea, but not enthralled to work up another adult sized garment trying it out. Boo had laid claim to this yarn for a sweater for her, so I whipped this up relatively quickly.

The sweater is knit in one piece to the underarm, then split for fronts and back. Sleeves were knit separately and sewn in, the neckband was picked up and knit, and then the button bands. I've had these buttons for ages and they were just the perfect match.

And Boo was a most agreeable little model, although I can't quite manage to get behind the purple lace sweater over pink with white polka dots. So be it.

A week in sweaters, part I

Last week was a big finishing up things week for me. To whit:

Pattern: Dahlia Cardigan by Heather Zoppetti, Interweave Knits Fall 2011
Yarn: Elspeth Lavold Silky Wool (the old version), 65% wool/35% silk, don't know how many skeins, but I'll weigh it and find out
Needles: US 4/3.5 mm
Start/finish: 13 August - 5 October 2011
Comments/modifications: The moment I saw this cardigan, I knew I had to make it. I loved the flowy style, the back panel, the three quarter length sleeves. I even had yarn in stash. So I cast on just before we left for our trip back to the States in August.

I was a bit worried that I would knit the lace panel and then stall out on the stockinette sections. There was a bit of that going on, but it actually made for excellent TV knitting - I had to pay attention enough to get the borders right, but it was mindless after that.

The modifications: well, surprise, surprise, I didn't use the yarn called for in the pattern. Silky Wool (my favorite yarn ever) is listed as a DK weight, but is kind of a light DK, so it worked perfectly for the sportweight yarn recommended by the pattern. The silk gives it a nice nubbly, slightly crunchy texture that I really like knitting with, and it drapes beautifully once it's blocked.

I also used Judy's Magic Cast On instead of the crochet chain provisional cast on (which I despise)(I despise it because I always screw it up and end up having to unpick it stitch by stitch. Always). My lace panel ended up slightly bigger then called for in the pattern, so I adjusted the amount of knitting needed to get to the armholes accordingly. That being said, if I were to do it all over again, I might make the back slightly wider - the afterthought armholes/sleeves mean there isn't any shaping at the shoulders, and it pulled the tiniest bit when I first wore it. Thankfully, it's stretched out a bit now, so it's fine.

No idea why this photo is so washed out/overly bright

I like it with the fronts open and closed - I think it's going to be a very versatile item. I finished it last week in time for Ally Pally, and was very gratified to have someone ask me about it. Hooray for a new fall sweater! And there will be more to come this week. Bwahahahahaha!

Current 2011 sweater tally: Four. Uh oh...I must be forgetting something...