Week 105 - Freshly Minted Boy Sweater

I am sewing this sweater up and placing the raglan seam buttons. But this is finished.

I hope to get better photographs next week modelled by my boy. The green is much more pronounced than my iPhone camera can show. Its washed out a lot more on the knit fabric than the wound skein.

I used seven and a bit skeins of yarn. Sunrise Fibre Co Aran Tweed is 181 yards a skein. I think that's over 1300 yards.. for a ten year old boys sweater!
I know I sized it to be loose and slouchy, and he is getting very tall… but that is well into adult sizes.
There is no "whipping up kids knits" anymore in my family.

The yarn colour is Fresh Mint. The eight skeins I bought were reasonably matched, a few have more pronounced variegation than others but by alternating with two skeins throughout, they blended pretty well.


Its a very busy week, but I hope for lots of photographs next.

Week One Hundred and Four

I made a quick summer dress in this digitally printed silk satin. Its called "Where in the World" and I used one panel piece. The pattern is Vogue 8683

I decided to not have a belt which would break the line of the image and also require me to raise the graphic much higher (so the centreline would be at the waist).

The seams are french seamed and I hand stitched the hems.

The naughtiest spaniel in the world (yes, that's her in the picture above with the plastic top from a can of spray adhesive) chewed my daughter's pink hat brim. We added some crafty inspiration from the ribbons box.

Week One Hundred and Three

I finished sewing a dress. A new pattern for me and one which I'll be repeating.

Vogue V1351. This is a lightweight wool crepe, bought from Tessuti some time ago. Its lined with cream silk (it was a bit too sheer).

I hand stitched the side zip.

The pattern length was well above the knee on me, to get it to fall just on the knee I had to add 15cm to the length. Other than that detail I won't be making any modifications to future versions.

Although I'm considering an unlined (or bodice only lined) version. I have a silk crepe fabric lined up as possibilities though and that will need lining.

I continued knitting on my son's sweater. I found buttons in the stash for the raglan side. I can't remember buying these, they might be fifteen years old but they're a good match.

I had other vintage glass buttons to choose from.  Were this a more feminine sweater for my daughter I would have been tempted into using them. My son is rough on his sweaters and this is super wash yarn, so better to stick with the more robust buttons. 

Garland is coming along. I had a setback when the puppy grabbed the knitting from the table and I lost a bunch of stitches. It was hard to rebuild the stitches as mohair and silk is a very 'sticky' fibre.

This photograph doesn't show the lace detail quite so well. I have completed the ribbing and the decorative border to the bottom of the sweater. I have a distance of plain stockinette now until I break off and split at the level of the armholes.

I cut some more material. This is a digitally printed silk satin named "Where in the World"  (also from Tessuti). 

I am trying a sleeveless column/ shift without shaping or a belt.  I hope it doesn't look too sack-like, or the design look too awkward. I think the challenge will be getting the length right and the positioning of the cityscape. 

Week One Hundred and Two

An early post because I'm in the city only for a day.

The finished Belladonna cardigan.

In daylight, the dye lot variation isn't as noticeable. The left sleeve is a bit more pronounced than the other pieces and its a bit 'stripy' in close up.
The buttons are shell, bought some time ago form All Buttons (sidebar link).

I modified this pattern extensively. It has a lot of length added. (only to below waist even though the dress form makes it look much longer) and the rib is carried throughout rather than just to bottom edges.

Here is the baby cardigan made a short while ago. The yarn is Debbie Bliss Andes in a  duck egg blue. The small plastic buttons are from stash.

While I was about it, I knit another using Mirasol Conanini yarn (60%cotton, 40%wool) for a baby yet to be born.

The buttons are from stash, I think I remember my daughter buying them. At the time I thought they were a little sparkly and glitzy  (exactly the qualities to appeal to an eight year old girl)  But on this cerise knit they are perfect.

Finally I have cast on another new project. This is a mohair and silk oversized sweater for me from the Autumn/Winter 2013 Pom Pom magazine. Its Garland and I have the Softrope Kidsilk lace in colour Conch.

I have ball wound the first skein and love the way the mohair has fuzzed up like a little cocoon in the centre.

Week One Hundred and One

I am still out of the city and haven't extracted my camera images, so the finished Belladonna Cardigan photographs will have to wait.

I have two new projects to show.

A simple raglan sweater for my boy using Sunrise Fibre Co Aran Tweed. I though I would try it out as its unusual to find a super wash tweed yarn and it seems good for childrens sweaters. This colour is called Fresh Mint.

The second cardigan is in Rowan All seasons Cotton in the colours Scarlet, Tornado and Organic. (I'm trying to stash-bust my ASC yarns)

I browsed my library and remembered how much I love the Miss Bea series of books by Louisa Harding. My girl has outgrown the sizing for these of course, but this Ballerina Cardigan, when knit in aran gauge instead of the original hand knit cotton gauge, plus the addition of a very few stitches will make a cute cardigan.

The off white is intarsia and I have duplicate stitched the blue.

Week One Hundred

One hundred weeks of crafting!  I'm out of town this week as it is Christmas Week.

I can't upload photos when I'm away. Next week I will extract what I hope will be a wide assortment of images on my camera.
I will update my knitting progress on Ravelry.

Week Ninety Nine

I finished my daughter's Crown Sweater. It is knit in Rowan All Seasons Cotton,in Framboise and Scarlet. I'm hoping it will suit well next year, Rowan ASC was very hardwearing for my kids pre-schooler sweaters. But she is getting taller, so she will probably outgrow it before it is worn out anyway.

The motif is from a chart originally designed for a baby jumpsuit in lace weight yarn. Knit in worsted gauge yarn it has come out big enough for a pocket. The mismatched buttons from the stash box are our own choice.

Belladonna Cardigan is progressing. The pattern is Brigid Jacket by Courtney Kelley. I have modified it to make it much longer (the original is cropped with 3/4 sleeves). I have knit ribs throughout, including all the way up the sleeves. (Seaming these in will be a challenge!)

I finished knitting the two cabled fronts and have set them out blocking.

I'm still very unhappy with the dye lot variations. I tried to blend the skeins but some pieces are still pretty 'stripy' where the 'more plummy' contrasts the 'more blue-grey'. I'm hoping that when all the pieces are assembled the overall effect won't be as noticeable.

I have two button options.

The first is a russet plastic. They have been in stash for a while, I might have bought them when I received this yarn. (I can think of no other project reason I would have them). The colour is within the range of yarn fibre colours and the russet does pull the plum tones out of the yarn quite prettily.

This picture shows the variation, even with alternating skeins one front is darker than the other.

I'm not completely sold on the russet buttons though because I fear that with everything being so inconsistent, choosing another not quite the same element might just be too much. Makes my eyelids twitch.
In which case I'm considering simple pearl shell buttons for a higher contrast.

The wide ribbed button bands are still to be knitted on.

Both the buttons are the same size and in both cases I'll sew six on. So I can decide at the very last moment and take into account how I'm going to wear this cardigan.