I don’t remember how and when it happened, but at one point boyfriend B asked me to knit him a sweater. Thing is, boyfriend B doesn’t wear sweaters. He feels unduly constrained by any sort of layering action and is so warm blooded he goes out in the snow in his shirtsleeves. If the weather does get cold enough to make him want something more than a poplin button-down it’s usually a hoodie he’ll reach for - not a sweater. So for a while I just didn’t believe him, though I did think it was awfully sweet of him to want to flatter my knitterly ego.
Eventually he was able to convince me that he did actually want a sweater, that the reason he didn’t wear sweaters is because he didn’t have any he liked, and that he’d much rather have something custom than something from Banana. Well cool, especially since I already knew what the perfect B sweater would be. First off it would be tweed, I watched a lot of All Creatures Great and Small in my formative years and I really think men should wear tweed whenever possible. (I’m totally serious about this - I also watched a lot of MASH, just guess how I feel about epaulets and olive twill.)
It would be a cardigan (good for both ease of use and ventilation,) and it would be long enough to look good on his 6′4″ frame without any additional tugging, stretching or pulling. The neck would be tall (just ’cause I think it looks handsome,) but lined with something soft.
And it would definitely be E.Z.’s Hybrid (Rav link) with the shirt yoke across the back. I’ve always wanted to try that crazy construction for myself, just to really see how it all comes together. Besides I don’t think there could possibly be a more flattering shoulder treatment for a men’s sweater (I mean besides epaulets.)
The hems would be ribbed instead of turned though, so I could continue the ribbing up the sides of the sweater, adding the tiniest bit of ‘zazz to all that stockinette.
By the time my yarn emigrated from Bishops Stortford to Texas at the end of October I was full of enthusiasm. This would be my project for NaKniSweMo and B would have his sparkley new sweater just in time for Thanksgiving. I actually came really close. Thanks to bulky yarn and the power of audio books the knitting seemed to go quickly, and I happpily chugged along, excited to see how it would turn out. Unfortunately I decided to do the button bands with a double pick-up. I’ve done this before with not too many problems, and I’m always happy with the result, but for some reason this particular band took hours, was a completely maddening experience, and by the time I was done I felt like all the tendons in my right hand were on fire. I think you see where this is going. I didn’t finish a Swe for NaKniSweMo, there was no tweedy goodness at our Thanksgiving dinner, in fact I have put off knitting the other button band, and so finishing the sweater, for over two months. The sad thing has lain in an ignored and useless lump through three big holidays, our anniversary, and probably the only cold snap we’ll see this year. I was doing pretty well at ignoring my feelings of guilt about that until I saw this.
Jinkies! We’ve made almost the same sweater at the same time, how weird! BT’s sure is pretty though. Notice anything else about it, besides the loveliness I mean? Yeah, his is done. See how nice it looks, all done and everything? Kinda makes me feel like I should finish mine. After all only one ribbed band, some blocking, and a few buttons stand between me and the glowy feeling of satisfaction you get from a job well done, or at least finished.
That’s the other hold up though, buttons. I’m sure that somewhere in Austin there is a cute little fabric shop. I’m sure they carry Denyse Schmidt, Amy Butler, and imported Japanese linen. I bet the place smells good, all the little tchotchkes they sell are charming instead of cheesy, and everyone who works there is knowledgeable, well spoken, and has nice hair. I bet they have some really great buttons. Unfortunately I’m not a sewer so I’m not in the fantastically cool sewing shop loop. Instead I’ve gone around to Hancock, Michael’s, and Jo-Ann looking for something appropriate. No luck. Instead I’ll have to order them, which is not good news for the sweater. Normally I’m an indecisive shopper, throw the internet into the equation and I’m at a standstill. Fortunately there is the magic of Photoshop and (hopefully) opinionated blog readers.
Which one would you go for?
30 Jan 08 | 5:30 am
Favorite.
Anyway, here’s the hat I made for him.
Yarn: Reynolds Odyssey, color #502, 2 balls. Blue Sky Alpacas Sport, color #527, less than 1 ball.
I really like the Odyssey - pretty colors and it’s merino, so nice to knit with and wear, even when it’s knit at a dense gauge. I’m a little worried about its delicacy though. As soon as I was done making this I put it away in my ugly but useful yarn organizing thing, when I pulled it out lots of the stitches had been pulled. So either the cats got it out, had a field day, then put it neatly away, or it got thrashed simply by sitting in a drawer with a bunch of yarn. Very mysterious.
Needles: 6.0mm/US 10 for the cast on, 4.0mm/US 6 for the ribbing and lining, and 5.0mm/US 8 for the body.
Pattern: My own.
This is pretty much my standard guy hat. If you’re a guy, and I made you a hat, it’s some variation of this one. The math involved is not taxing at all (even for me,) there’s only one fiddly bit, and no time consuming stitch patterns, so they’re easy for me to crank out. ‘Course that doesn’t mean that each and every one isn’t made with love, care, and all the other insubstantial goodness that a hand-made gift simply reeks of. I use this pattern a lot too because fashion-wise it’s unadventurous. Normally I’m all for ‘zazz, but when giving a gift, especially to a man, and especially one he’s supposed to wear, I feel a bit safer making something basic but useful. Still, what details there are I like.
Like the double hem, it looks folded but is actually attached, so he doesn’t have to futz around with it. And since the lining doesn’t show I can get away with using a crazy color if I want.
Usually it’s alpaca, keeps ears super toasty, it’s silky soft and hypoallergenic, ‘cuz giving someone a hat and a mysterious rash is not what I’m usually going for. Plus with a lining I can use any scratchy thing (Noro) I want for the rest.
Then there’s the spiral crown. Love nice, neat k2tog, hate all its sloppy left-leaning counterparts. So as far as hats and I are concerned, spiral crown = instant best friend.
Besides, it’s pretty.
09 Jan 08 | 12:9 pm
I knit some socks for B, and we’re both quite pleased with ‘em, but other than that I can’t really think of too much else to say. So today’s post will be written by my good friend (and non-knitter) G, pictured last time with the pub quiz trophy he, and his thorough knowledge of Norse mythology, was mostly responsible for winning.
Firstly Id like to thank Maia for immortalizing my midsection and right hand and forearm on the internet. Secondly Id like to thank Jesus for making large beer steins and Spaten beer.
If I were you Id be knitting some of these bad boys because they go well with jeans and concrete everyone has some of those. Seriously though I would always carry a pair of these socks in case you step outside of your apartment barefoot in the cold. That way you could whip them out and have warm and toasty feet like no problem.
There you go, good advice from G. Personally, I think that having “warm and toasty feet like no problem” can only make a day that much better.
Yarn: Regia Patch Antik, color #5759. 1 ball.
Needles: 2.75mm/US 2
Pattern: My own, for feet of unusual size.
12 Dec 07 | 11:12 pm
Sorry about that. Two months and counting without a post, what a ludicrous way to start a blog huh? Truth is that for a good while there I was too distracted with birthdays, showing off my fabulous town to friends and family, enjoying what it is that makes my town so very fabulous, and uh, wining gigantic beer steins at my local pub quiz, to do any knitting.
Yup, there was no knitting, sorta unheard of around here. Fortunately (and strangely) October brought with it a near constant demand for ipod socks.
These little guys were quick, simple, and totally made me hungry for longer, more complicated projects. Knitting appetizers if you will. So yeah, it’s now almost December and I’ve been making other things that I’m all excited to talk about, but why not start off with what got me back on the couch in the first place?
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM, color #115, way less than 1 ball.
Needles: 2.75mm/US 2
Pattern: Made it up, but in a nutshell:
- C.O. enough sts to stretch around your ipod (should be divisible by both 3 and 2,) join.
- Work in 2×1 seed or broken rib for an inch or so. P 1 round. K until the thing is long enough.
- Divide sts between 2 needles and graft together.
Yarn: Regia Strato Color, also way less than one ball. I’ve no idea what color because I lost the ball band and the internet isn’t helping me out either.
Needles: 2.75mm/US 2
Pattern: This one’s even simpler and more obvious but:
- Magic C.O. enough sts to stretch around your ipod (should be an even number.)
- K around until your sock is an inch too short. Work k1 p1 rib for an inch or so.
- Tubular B.O. all sts.
01 Dec 07 | 1:1 am
Sorta. I mean there’s 2 of them, they match, they’re attached to the sweater, and the seams are half their previous size.
Can you tell? My armpits sure can.
I was all resigned to classic set-in sleeves for this sweater when I found yet another top-down method in Knitting in the Old Way. P.G.R has you pick up 20% of the sleeve sts along the top of the armscye, slip the 1st st and purl back across, picking up 4 more sts along the armscye. You avoid holes (and all the wrapping, y.o.-ing, and safety pins usually involved in avoiding them) by picking up the first st immediately after the sts you’ve just worked. Keep on slipping, knitting, and picking up, back and forth, and ta-dah! Sleeve cap. So simple.
Great. Except here’s where the “sorta” part comes in: the sleeve cap wasn’t deep enough, so, following Nona’s excellent tutorial, I added 6 Japanese short rows. Adding short rows after the cap was pretty much a half-assed maneuver, there’s a certain funkyness about the resulting shape that’s less than ideal, but this was about my ninth sleeve attempt and I was just really, really over it.
Basically it’s a win, but with added unsatisfactory bits. Like the raisins in what you thought was a chocolate chip cookie.
12 Sep 07 | 11:12 pm
It’s coming along.
I love Big Kureyon and in order to fully embrace its Noro-ificness I wanted each piece of this cardigan to be different from the others. To keep the color runs in the back a consistent width with the rest of the sweater I knit it in 2 halves, just like the front. I’m thinking a visible seam will play very nicely with the rustic quality of this yarn. Sorta like this:
I knit the two back halves first, and whether I was sleep deprived or just operating in my usual goof ball mode, I wound each ball of yarn in opposite directions and didn’t notice the color sequence was reversed ’till a quarter of the cardi was knit. I’m not bothered though, this was meant as an easy going knit and it’s gonna stay that way, I’ll just continue alternating directions from piece to piece and hope for the best.
Originally this was gonna be a stockinette sweater, but as I was taking these pictures the purl side started working its magic on me.
It’s nice how soft, hazy, almost felted the knit side is, but I’m really digging the nubby texture of the purl side. Plus, as is always the case with stripes and purl sts, it’s making the color transitions a little more interesting.
The other thing I need to decide is which seaming method would look best for the back. Mattress? Overcast? Should I try to finagle some sort of sideways three needle bind off? Right now overcast is looking very attractive, but I’ve never used it before and I’m not sure how strong it is. Any thoughts?
In the mean time how about a picture of a cat with some knitting? 100% irony free.
09 Sep 07 | 1:9 am
I really wish Vogue Knitting would follow Interweave’s lead and give their patterns names instead of numbers. I happily sped through the body of this little piece of chunky, summery goodness, but the sleeves are giving me a headache.
Usually when I have any sort of knitting question I turn to my friend the Internet, because I’m #16231 on the list, this means Google. In an effort to find out how other knitters have handled the sleeve situation I searched for every combination of Twinkle, Wenlan, Chia, cardigan, Vogue, spring/summer, 2007, I could think of. No luck, either no one in the webby world is as enamored of this thing as I am, or I ‘m a very bad googler indeed. Calling #28… say Chevron Cardigan (if we’re trying to be like Interweave,) or Penelope (if we’re trying to be like Debbie Bliss) might not have gotten more people to knit it, but it certainly would have made finding out how very, very alone I am quicker and easier.
Anyway, here’s the problem: this is a chunky sweater, made out of chunky yarn, and as such it has chunky seams. I know right? Who knew? It’s got four seams total, one at each shoulder and one at each armscye. Normally having these be big fatty seams would be less than ideal, but I’ve made the whole situation worse by knitting it one size too small (I think - we’ll see what blocking does.) I don’t really blame the too smallness on user error though, I blame it on this:
I know it’s sorta standard in knitting diagrams to give the body width at the hem of the garment, but I don’t think this is helping anybody decide whether the small or the medium will fit better. I went with the small, just ‘cuz that’s what I usually wear.
In good faith I knitted one sleeve as per instructions from the bottom up and sewed it into the armscye. Check it out:
Huge right? That bit on the left, by the way, is the shoulder. Not cool. In an effort to half the size of that ridge, I decided to pick up sts around the armscye and knit the sleeve from the top down, something I’d never done before with a set-in sleeve. First I went with Barbara Walker’s method, which has you pick up sts all the way around then begin short rowing, wrapping as you like. Perhaps I’m doing it wrong, but I ended up with too many sts for the circumfrence of my sleeve. I thought about decreasing them away after the short rows, but decided that would probably result in something very wonky, not so much a cute little puffed sleeve, but rather straight across the shoulder and baggy at the sides.
Hmm, what to do? I decided to seek the assistance of Our Lady of Perpetual Ingenuity. In her Kangaroo-Pouch sweater recipe E.Z. has you pick up 2/3rds of the sts around the armscye, knit straight for about an inch, then basically work a turned heel as the sleeve cap. This causes you to widen the sleeve cap by one st each row, while at the same time decreasing the circumference of the sleeve by one st each row, which (hurrah!) was exactly what I wanted to do. The result was underwhelming though.
It certainly does the job, and now I’ve got a smaller seam, but the pattern created by knitting straight and then short rowing seriously bugs me.
Besides, I think the ribbing looks better knitted from bottom-to-top than from top-to-bottom.
Can you see it too, or am I being sorta fussy and neurotic?
So far I’ve got three options:
- Knit the sleeves as the pattern directs, learn to live with the bulky seam, and hope for the best.
- Knit the sleeves as E.Z. directs, learn to live with the visible short rows, and hope for the best.
- Knit the sleeves as E.Z. directs, leaving out the inch of straight knitting in the hopes that the short rows look better flush against the picked up edge.
Right now I’m giving #28 a time-out for bad behavior and spending some quality time with the totally unfussy Big Bad Noro Shawl-Collared Thing. Yay. If anyone has any bright ideas as far as sleeve wrangling goes - please shoot them my way.
04 Sep 07 | 3:4 pm
Yay!
Pattern: my own
Yarn: Elann Peruvian Baby Cashmere in cashmere blue, less than one ball.
Needles: 3.25mm/US 3
Mmm, pretty, no? I wish I’d thought of attaching the I-cord to the inside and making it the “public side.” ‘Course then the bonnet wouldn’t have made such a matchy set with the socks, and the seams might have made baby E’s head look too much like a baseball.
I am digging the gathers at the back of the neck though, and of course the picot edging.
My apologies for the denim, I just didn’t have anything even vaguely baby shaped lying around the apartment. Instead of my knee, try to imagine one of the charming creatures from a Debbie Bliss book doing the modeling.
Even with the extra step of writing a pattern, this was a very smooth knit. The only rough patch was the tedious business of the attached I-cord, the row of sts I picked up around the neck were too loose and the cord sorta flopped around instead of sitting snuggly against the bonnet. At first I though I was going to have to frog and pick up the sts again with a much smaller needle, but a bit of strategic tugging with a tapestry needle evened things out just fine.
Overall I’m pretty happy with it, I wanted something simple and unfussy to match the socks and the bonnet pretty much fits the bill. Still, it’s not the most exciting thing either, and I’m not sad to see it off on its merry way to San Francisco.
Wanna see what I am excited about?
I’ve got plans. Big, cozy, shawl-collared plans.
I’m trying not to let the giddiness get in the way of my ability to do math.
12 Aug 07 | 10:12 pm
So knitting time was limited last weekend,
and this weekend I was up to other things, but I did get the chance to start on a little something. A very little something actually. Because I like sets, and because I think it’s the garment least likely to be thrown up on (Baby Cashmere is unfortunately not machine washable) I’m making a bonnet to match the socks.
All the stockinette is done, and now I’m on to sewing the thing together. Which brings me to my point: I really like seaming. Having done my fair share of knit blog lurking, I suspect that this makes me kinda odd in the knitting world. Maybe not though, maybe the “I hate seaming! Blegh!” crowd is just more vocal than the “Hey, seaming’s alright.” crowd? Odd or not, the way two flabby, floppy edges come together into one neat join always fascinates me.
I mean lookit! I turned a weird stockinette T-shaped thing
into what my mom referred to as a “sorta Amish hat.”
What could be better?
31 Jul 07 | 4:31 am
When I was still a semi-beginer, knitting wise, my oldest friend announced she was gonna have a kid. She was the very first of my friends to do so and visions of smooshy blankets, little cardigans, tiny hats, and most adorably, booties that can fit in the palm of your hand, danced in my head. I bought this book and picked out a basic bootie pattern. I also bought some yarn, it might have been called Softee Sweetee Cloud for Angel Baybees, or something. Anyway, it was light blue, it came from a big ol’ craft store and it was acrylic.
The pattern really was ok, clearly written, error free - all that good stuff. It was just a little too adventurous for a knitter who up until then had a pretty monogamous relationship with scarves, perhaps occasionally cheating with a hat or two. The foot/toe junction was awkward, confusing and required a fair bit of blind faith on my part. Finishing was worse: one regular straight seam (no problem there) one between two pieces of curved seed stitch (scary) and some grafting (scarier.) None of this made any easier by my yarn choice. However, between The Big Book of Knitting, the internet, and my own willingness to do the same tedious thing a couple times over, I got through it. And I even ended up with one fairly cute, honest-to-god baby bootie. But that’s it, just one. I was so over it that I have never ventured into bootieland again, not even to finish the pair.
Little tiny feet are undeniably cute though, as are little knitted garments to keep them warm. So when another favorite couple announced their big news I decided to make these:
Besides I like making socks, socks are fun.
Pattern: Better-than-booties baby socks by Ann Budd. Free from Interweave.
Yarn: Elann Peruvian Baby Cashmere in cashmere blue, less than one ball.
Needles: 2 mm/US 0
Man I love a picot hem. No matter how fussy it is to k2tog off eight tiny needles, I always think the end result is charming.
I also really like the zig-zag bind off. It sorta mirrors the picot hem and makes a functional element decorative. Plus I’d never seen it before. I don’t know when my attitude changed, but nowadays coming across an unfamiliar knitting technique is thrilling, not scary.
My one mod was to replace the the chevron lace with a row of 9st diamonds I unvented in the interest of gender neutrality. I realize that the idea of a picot sock with lacy diamonds being less girl-specific than a picot sock with lacy chevrons is silly, and if I had truly been committed on the whole gender neutrality issue I would have made some plain ribbed socks, but these were more fun.
21 Jul 07 | 6:21 am
