As always, there are more details in the gallery.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the weather spectrum, I'm finishing up the Lace Leaf top for when it invariable turns warm again!
Showing posts with label cableneck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cableneck. Show all posts
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Cold Snap
Well, we got a brief cold snap, which helped motivate me to finish my Cable Trim Sweater!
As always, there are more details in the gallery.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the weather spectrum, I'm finishing up the Lace Leaf top for when it invariable turns warm again!
As always, there are more details in the gallery.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the weather spectrum, I'm finishing up the Lace Leaf top for when it invariable turns warm again!
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Showing a Bit of Sleevage
I had to take a knitting break because Life was getting in the way, but I'm now back. It is really so relaxing and satisfying to get the needles working again--I really missed it. So here's what I've been up to...
The sleeves for the cable trim V-necked sweater are all done now. I just have to block them and piece everything together (like that's not a big task in and of itself!). Amazingly, the weather has turned a bit nippy again, so who knows, maybe I'll get to wear it this weekend after all.
The other thing I started was this little variation on the Leaf Lace Pullover from Loop-d-Loop. I'm adding itty bitty cap sleeves and making it more fitted, rather than the loose long-sleeved original. I had started this a couple of months ago and began with the top part of the sweater rather than the bottom. I must have started and frogged it about 5 times because the raglan shaping wasn't coming out right for me. I think it's okay now, and I'm making rapid progress. There's a big difference between working on size 10-1/2 needles here versus the size 3 needles I used for the cable trim sweater. Whew!
The sleeves for the cable trim V-necked sweater are all done now. I just have to block them and piece everything together (like that's not a big task in and of itself!). Amazingly, the weather has turned a bit nippy again, so who knows, maybe I'll get to wear it this weekend after all.
The other thing I started was this little variation on the Leaf Lace Pullover from Loop-d-Loop. I'm adding itty bitty cap sleeves and making it more fitted, rather than the loose long-sleeved original. I had started this a couple of months ago and began with the top part of the sweater rather than the bottom. I must have started and frogged it about 5 times because the raglan shaping wasn't coming out right for me. I think it's okay now, and I'm making rapid progress. There's a big difference between working on size 10-1/2 needles here versus the size 3 needles I used for the cable trim sweater. Whew!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Let's Baste This Turkey!
This is not one of those beautiful blogs like I admire so much. You know--the ones with artfully arranged objects, natural lighting, and breathtaking photography. Now, I do have a kick-ass camera, but really it's Hubby's, since I have no photographic skills. I could ask him to take pics, but he's already indulging me by watching the kids or taking care of other things while I knit, so when it's my turn to do all that, he deserves to have time to himself to do whatever he really wants. Also, I hardly ever get to do anything knitting-related when there is natural light to be had. Nope, it's mostly late at night after the kids (and often Hubby) have gone to bed. Hence the crappy photos.
But I did want to show my progress on the sweater.
It's taking shape! As you can see, I've done one sleeve. The math came out right, and the sleeve hits where I wanted it to, low on the hand. I'm basting it so I can try it on as I go along--something I remember to do from my sewing days. It's a quick-and-dirty basting, with just safety pins (and not even the coilless ones--gasp!).
Unfortunately, it's already turning too warm to wear this thing. I'm hoping for just 1 more cold snap in a week or two so that I won't have to wait till fall to debut it!
But I did want to show my progress on the sweater.
It's taking shape! As you can see, I've done one sleeve. The math came out right, and the sleeve hits where I wanted it to, low on the hand. I'm basting it so I can try it on as I go along--something I remember to do from my sewing days. It's a quick-and-dirty basting, with just safety pins (and not even the coilless ones--gasp!).
Unfortunately, it's already turning too warm to wear this thing. I'm hoping for just 1 more cold snap in a week or two so that I won't have to wait till fall to debut it!
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Rapunzel, Rapunzel...
...let down your long knitting!
I've finished the braided cable trim and am ready to sew it to the neck. After that it's on to the sleeves!
Monday, February 5, 2007
Getting Interesting
After endless stockinette, the cable-trim sweater is finally getting interesting to knit. There were fun little cable decreases (which I had never done before) along the V neck. I am pretty sure that there is an error in the pattern because it basically tells you to do the left-sided decreases 2 stitches further in from the center than on the right side. Looking at the picture, it appears that the left-sided instructions are correct, so I adjusted the right side to match.
I did short rows for the shoulder shaping and then joined the front and back shoulders with a 3-needle bind off. It was very difficult for me to pay attention to how I was supposed to knit the wraps on the short-row stitches in order to hide them...while also doing a bind off. So after 3 failed attempts, I just decidedd to knit one extra row onto each shoulder, using that row to take care of the wrap stitches. After that, binding off was a cinch.
And now, I'm knitting the cable trim that goes all around the neck. It's a neat little braided cable. The only thing about it is that you move 10 stitches at a time, which makes for some t-i-g-h-t knitting. My hand gets crampy after awhile, so I can't do it for a long stretch.
The yarn is Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette that I got a LYS's 20% after-Christmas sale. I was worried that it as going to be a bit scratchy, but actually, it's knitting up very soft and comfortable. I did wash the front and back sections and was pleased to see that it seemed to get even softer. I just hope I can finish this sweater in time to get a bit of wear out of it before it turns too warm here!
I did short rows for the shoulder shaping and then joined the front and back shoulders with a 3-needle bind off. It was very difficult for me to pay attention to how I was supposed to knit the wraps on the short-row stitches in order to hide them...while also doing a bind off. So after 3 failed attempts, I just decidedd to knit one extra row onto each shoulder, using that row to take care of the wrap stitches. After that, binding off was a cinch.
And now, I'm knitting the cable trim that goes all around the neck. It's a neat little braided cable. The only thing about it is that you move 10 stitches at a time, which makes for some t-i-g-h-t knitting. My hand gets crampy after awhile, so I can't do it for a long stretch.
The yarn is Jo Sharp Alpaca Silk Georgette that I got a LYS's 20% after-Christmas sale. I was worried that it as going to be a bit scratchy, but actually, it's knitting up very soft and comfortable. I did wash the front and back sections and was pleased to see that it seemed to get even softer. I just hope I can finish this sweater in time to get a bit of wear out of it before it turns too warm here!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
String of Purls
I've finished reknitting the back of the cable-trim sweater and have made some headway into the front. It's a LOT of stockinette, so to keep myself from being too bored, I have been experimenting with different ways to purl. I know I should be doing this on some swatches, rather than on a garment, but I'm not big on gratuitous knitting. When I knit, I knit continental, but generally when I purl, I do English. I wanted to see, though, whether other ways would work for me, so I tried...
1. Continental: This really felt awkward for me. I don't like holding the yarn in front of the needle this way.
2. Combination: I tried to like this, I really did. I read about so many people who are big fans of this style of knitting. It's definitely faster than purling continental. But you still have to hold the yarn in front of the needle, and it still feels funny. Plus, I don't like having the stitches sit differently on the needle so that you have to knit through the back loop. And finally, I admit I'm too lazy to reinterpret various increases/decreases and pattern stitches in order to accomodate this method. Such a shame!
3. Norwegian: I love this method when I'm doing a lot of alternating between knits and purls, like for ribbing and seed stitch. You still get to hold the yarn behind the needle, which is just a lot more comfortable for me. If I'm trying to do it for the backside of stockinette, though, I find that my tension is just too loose, and it creates noticable ridges on the front.
4. Knitting back: I really like this in principle, but I'm not getting my fingers to work properly for it. I do think it has some potential for me, though, so I'm going to keep trying.
5. Pick & Wrap: Okay, I didn't really know else to call this. I held the yarn in my left hand, between the thumb and index finger. The left needle kind of rested on the other fingers of my left hand. When I inserted the right needle into the stitch, I used my left thumb and index finger to wrap the yarn around the needle, rather than "throwing" the yarn with my right hand. I think I saw Tina Marrin knit like this on Knitty Gritty. It was actually faster than knitting English, but eventually, my left hand would get crampy. I might keep trying this way as well.
6. So in the end, I went back to throwing. It's not super-fast, but it gets the job done and I have better tension control.
If someone knows of other ways, let me know so I can try them too!
1. Continental: This really felt awkward for me. I don't like holding the yarn in front of the needle this way.
2. Combination: I tried to like this, I really did. I read about so many people who are big fans of this style of knitting. It's definitely faster than purling continental. But you still have to hold the yarn in front of the needle, and it still feels funny. Plus, I don't like having the stitches sit differently on the needle so that you have to knit through the back loop. And finally, I admit I'm too lazy to reinterpret various increases/decreases and pattern stitches in order to accomodate this method. Such a shame!
3. Norwegian: I love this method when I'm doing a lot of alternating between knits and purls, like for ribbing and seed stitch. You still get to hold the yarn behind the needle, which is just a lot more comfortable for me. If I'm trying to do it for the backside of stockinette, though, I find that my tension is just too loose, and it creates noticable ridges on the front.
4. Knitting back: I really like this in principle, but I'm not getting my fingers to work properly for it. I do think it has some potential for me, though, so I'm going to keep trying.
5. Pick & Wrap: Okay, I didn't really know else to call this. I held the yarn in my left hand, between the thumb and index finger. The left needle kind of rested on the other fingers of my left hand. When I inserted the right needle into the stitch, I used my left thumb and index finger to wrap the yarn around the needle, rather than "throwing" the yarn with my right hand. I think I saw Tina Marrin knit like this on Knitty Gritty. It was actually faster than knitting English, but eventually, my left hand would get crampy. I might keep trying this way as well.
6. So in the end, I went back to throwing. It's not super-fast, but it gets the job done and I have better tension control.
If someone knows of other ways, let me know so I can try them too!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Back to Back
For the past week, I've been working on a sweater from the Fall '06 issue of Vogue Knitting--it's #26, the one with the braided cable trim around the neck. Even though I was careful about doing a gauge swatch and recalculating adjustments to my size, I messed up royally. You're supposed to cast on with #2 needles for the bottom ribbing and then switch to #3. Well, naturally, I forgot to switch. By itself, that wouldn't have been so bad, but I had recalculated the number of stitches to be a lot more form-fitting than the pattern calls for. The combination of things made for a very, very tiny sweater back. Of course, I noticed along the way how I wasn't knitting at the same gauge as my swatch and how small it was looking, but I kept rationalizing that it was going to be okay...that I could block it, etc. I kept holding it up next to other small sweaters I have and kept arranging and rearranging it. I pretty much finished the whole back before I decided that I really didn't like it. I'm sure I would have been able to wear it, but it would have been reallt snug. With so much work invested into a sweater, I didn't want to end up with something that would be just too uncomfortable to actually wear.
There were two other things about it that I didn't like. The pattern calls for a "V" shape to the body. You start out with the fewest stitches at the bottom and gradually increase to the chest measurement. I was skeptical of how this would look on me from the start. The other thing is that I had added 1 selvage stitch on either side and was using a slipped stitch selvage. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but on the left-hand side, it made the stitch just before the selvage stitch look horrible--big and wonky.
So I sighed heavily and started to unravel it. I was going to wind up the yarn before reknitting, but then I decided not to bother. So now I'm knitting the new back, right as the yarn gets unraveled from the old back. I'm sure it's a big NO-NO, but oh well. Somehow, doing it this way is a bit less painful--almost like a transfusion from one to the other. This time around, it'll be better. I added back a little more wearing ease to my recalculated measurements so that it won't be so snug. I'm changing the shape of the bottom half so that it has a nip at the waist, rather than the big "V." And, I'm using a garter stitch selvage, which is working out much better for me.
There were two other things about it that I didn't like. The pattern calls for a "V" shape to the body. You start out with the fewest stitches at the bottom and gradually increase to the chest measurement. I was skeptical of how this would look on me from the start. The other thing is that I had added 1 selvage stitch on either side and was using a slipped stitch selvage. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but on the left-hand side, it made the stitch just before the selvage stitch look horrible--big and wonky.
So I sighed heavily and started to unravel it. I was going to wind up the yarn before reknitting, but then I decided not to bother. So now I'm knitting the new back, right as the yarn gets unraveled from the old back. I'm sure it's a big NO-NO, but oh well. Somehow, doing it this way is a bit less painful--almost like a transfusion from one to the other. This time around, it'll be better. I added back a little more wearing ease to my recalculated measurements so that it won't be so snug. I'm changing the shape of the bottom half so that it has a nip at the waist, rather than the big "V." And, I'm using a garter stitch selvage, which is working out much better for me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)