love list: vests and such

1/2/3

Now that it is September, I have one thing on the brain - fall and fall only. I'm not at the point where I can imagine that it will be cold enough for sweaters any time soon, but these vests are simple and gorgeous and could knit up pretty fast, especially the middle vest! I love Danforth because of the really slight sleeve. It's gorgeous! And the Georgia cardigan looks beautiful both buttoned and unbuttoned. It looks like it would be great for layering as well. 

I can imagine wearing these to the pumpkin patch, out shopping on a Saturday or on a cooler evening. Let the seasonally-appropriate knitting begin! :)

swatching for timberline

I was talking with sweet Jennifer in Asheville this weekend about knitting, and life, and husbands. And knitting for husbands! The fun (and challenging) thing about knitting for my husband is that not being a knitter, he has no idea what I can and cannot do. He sees a knitted thing and says, "Can you make me that?" As is the case with Timberline. He saw it in my favorites on Ravelry and loved it. A richly cabled, seamed, shawl collared cardigan. Have I ever knitted a cardigan before? Nope. Have I ever picked up for a collar before? Nope. Have I ever knit a seamed sweater before? Nope. And yet, here we are, and I'm swatching for Timberline. 

The swatch that I knit took me nearly an hour, so this baby is going to be a marathon! We chose Knit Picks Wool of the Andes for its huge color selection and affordability (and they answered all of my questions about where their wool comes from, which made my ethical side very happy). This color is "Opal Heather" and it has a lovely variegation and has been pretty easy to knit with. This pattern I took from the back chart, and should have probably knit the whole piece, you'll notice that its uneven as I omitted one of the side cables that frame the center cable. I started down a needle size from the recommended and still came out to 25 x 4" instead of 31 x 4". So I will be going down at least another needle size in a second swatch, if not 2 sizes. After listening to Julie Hoover's interview on Woolful on my roadtrip, I'm thinking it might have something to do with the material needles I'm using. I'm pretty dedicated to my Addi clicks, but maybe it's worth trying another material?

I still have a tumultuous relationship with swatching. I know I need to do it, and I for sure want the garments I knit to fit! But I sometimes just can't wait to get started and swatching for a piece like this takes much longer than I'd like. Any tips from master swatchers out there to help make this process any easier? 

Is it too early to make a post about winter?

1/2/3

To be fair, it was recently Christmas in July. And while I agree that Christmastime deserves recognition during more than one month of the year, something about it being 87 degrees at night just doesn't get me in as festive of a mood. :)

Anyways - as we inch closer and closer to the start of school, bouquets of sharpened pencils, end of summer clearance, and the like, I get so excited. I've been enjoying seasonal summer food this season in a new and wonderful way with my job at the farm; our whole menu this week has been planned around ripe tomatoes. Glorious. But still - on some level, summer is a season I get through to get to fall and winter. It might be blasphemous, but it's true. 

What's exciting about planning my fall and winter knitting is that I actually already have the yarn for all three of these projects! The Lila Winter sweater is a bulky variation on a shape that has really been popular this year, and I have plans to dye some wool for it before the season is over that I currently have in my stash. The Trellis Scarf is already in progress in worsted weight, after frogging a failed shawl design and refusing to let the 2 skeins of Flax Down that the hubs gifted me go to waste on a crummy pattern. And then, Timberline. I'm a bit scared of this pattern. The schematic is comprehensive but daunting, this will be my first seamed sweater, and the charts, while very doable, are LONG. Just what I get for letting B pick out whatever men's sweater he liked from my favorites on Ravelry ;). It will be a fun challenge, but I can see it also being a marathon. The swatch alone took me an hour. But we've bitten the bullet and decided to go for Knit Picks Wool of the Andes for the beautiful color and affordability. (And they answered all of my questions on where they source their wool, which made me pretty happy.)

The great thing about these patterns too, they are all so cozy. We don't get "real" winter in NC the way so many others do, but I literally get so excited thinking of snuggling up in all of these knits with snow falling outside and watching a movie. It's going to be glorious. 

Only 148 days til Christmas!

And only 79 days until the NY Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY! I just found out today that I'll be going again with Virginia and her crew. Anyone else planning on going this year??

Off the needles: Gable

It's done! It's done! It's done!

Gable by Hannah Fettig

Started: March 18, 2015

Finished: May 28, 2015

Fiber: O-Wash Fingering in color "Barn Owl", 3.5 skeins

Notes: This was SUCH a great first sweater. I've admired Hannah's classic and beautiful designs for a long time and knew I wanted to knit one, and this one is just great! The twisted rib was simple but just different enough to be interesting, and I even took on short rows. Only somewhat successfully, but still. Like I mentioned in my first post about this sweater, I was a little nervous about not alternating skeins with this yarn that came with instructions to do so, but even now looking at it I can't tell even the slightest variation or pooling of color, so I'm glad I didn't go through that process for this project. 

I knit a size 38" to accommodate for the intended 1-2" of ease. The only real modifications I made were to knit the sleeves about a half inch shorter, and when I got to the collar I got a bit impatient and only knit about 1.5" instead of 2". :) And the only real panic moment I had (aside from the short rows) was when I blocked the sweater and laid it out flat to dry. The weight of the water, even after I dried it with a towel, stretched the garments' gauge out significantly. Even though the yarn is an organic superwash, I was afraid to throw it in the dryer. However, when I did put it in the dryer for about 10 minutes, it went right back to the gauge I had swatched and was perfect. How great is that? One of my favorite things about this piece is that I don't have to worry about accidentally shrinking it, but also that the fiber was made organically. And it is so soft. It's been such a bummer that I finished it right as summer is really kicking in here, because I just want to wear it all. the. time. 

I'm not going to lie, I definitely got a little bit sentimental finishing this sweater, as I thought about all that knitting has brought to my life over the past few years and all the ways that I'm excited to grow. If anyone is looking for a fun, slightly challenging first sweater, I highly recommend it. Thank you to Jocelyn for making this awesome yarn, and thank you Hannah for this beautiful pattern! I cannot wait to knit more. 

And just for kicks, here's a picture of a sleepy kitten :)

Gable progress

I realized it's been a while since I gave an update about my first sweater! Luckily, there's lots to talk about. 

The twisted rib is really elegant, and with a minor mishap in counting I even managed the short rows without much difficulty. A little side shaping, a lot of stockinette and the body was done. Huzzah!

I have a little bit of doubt about the sleeves. I tried the first one as I went and it seemed a bit baggy, even though I was on gauge and was following the size prescribed in the pattern for my body size. The model in the picture for Gable is wearing a button down under the sweater, so it's possible that the ease is intended and it is going to look great. Only time will tell.

Since this picture was taken, I'm about two-thirds of the way through the second sleeve and then starts the yoke! I've been told that the yoke tends to go quickly on bottom-up sweaters, which is a relief. I want to finish this guy before Me Made May is over!

Aside from the fact that it's taken me so long to make, it's nowhere even close to being seasonally appropriate anymore, I am loving this.

What about you, do you knit sweaters all year round, or just when it's cold outside? From all of my experience with linen and cotton, I am a wool girl all the way through.