Last but one

Tags

blanket, cardigan, Germany, knitting, Lana Grossa, socks, yarn

Since I arrived back in Sydney last month I’ve been working very hard to complete the Final Secret Project. It’s finished but still a secret for now.

When the light’s not been good enough to work on that I’ve been knitting some more pieces for the Lizard Ridge blanket I started almost 18 months ago. The end is in sight. I have one more piece to finish and then comes the major job of sewing them all together…

I’ve been really good and haven’t worked on anything else at the same time. Not the socks I started in Germany, not the cardigan I want to make for me.

However, it’s almost time to head off to the airport for another long-haul flight back to Germany. (That really makes me sound like I’m some kind of jet-setter when it’s just been how family events have turned out). I’m looking forward to some serious knitting time. I have that sock I started and I have a new cardigan to cast on! The sock is a Magic Zauberball Stripe sock but I’m using a Lana Grossa yarn that also has long colour stripes.

The cardigan will be my third and final attempt project with this lovely black yarn with flecks of red and blue in it.  The cardigan is knitted seamlessly but from the bottom-up. It’s an ideal travel project if you want something a bit more substantial since the sleeves are knitted separately and then joined to the body. Once you’re manoeuvring the whole garment in your lap you’ve only got a short way to go. There’s more to this story but I’ll cast on first!

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A Sunnyside for Easter

Tags

baby, cardigan, Germany, gift, Ravelry

When I flew to Germany late February, my travel knitting project was, surprisingly not a sock.

I thought I’d knit a cardigan instead. Well, a small cardigan. Having recently learnt how to cable without using a cable needle, this was the perfect opportunity to put my skills to the test. Sunnyside has cables down the fronts as well as at the raglan shaping. The yarn was an impulse buy in the first flush of ‘I’m going to be a Granny-ness’. It’s an acrylic-nylon blend, similar to Patons Big Baby but not as good. It was a bit splitty at times. However, the colour is just right for a baby in summertime and the cables show up nicely.

The cardigan was easy to knit once I’d read a few helpful hints from other Ravellers and colour-coded my shaping markers. Red rings for Right-leaning increases and bLack rings for Left-leaning increases. After the set-up I could knit huge chunks without referring to the pattern. Just perfect when travelling.

This is how far I’d got after two long-haul flights  (Sydney to Tokyo and Tokyo to Vienna).

I also followed what some other Ravellers have done and altered the direction of some of the cables (the pattern has them all going the same way) to make the cardigan symmetrical. 

The buttons were bought in Germany and  the cardigan was given a quick wash and laid flat to dry before handing over as an early Easter ‘egg’.

This project is here on Ravelry

 

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Some more of those secrets

Tags

baby, Bendigo Woollen Mills, blanket, blocking, cardigan, Ravelry, secret, texture, yarn

Here’s the second part of the big reveal where I can share some secret knitting now that Younger Soknitsome Daughter’s daughter has arrived.

Planning ahead I knitted a cardigan for a 12-month old child. Since a baby/toddler of that age is moving around and not lying still I thought that it would be more practical to have buttons all the way down. This avoids having cardigan fronts that can flap and get in the way. The pattern is a freebie from Ravelry: Little Avery by Taiga Hilliard Designs and it’s a seamless top-down knit. Like the little red jumper in the previous post, this is knitted in Australian machine washable wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills: Luxury 8-ply.

The biggest item I knitted was a baby blanket. This is Twinkle Twinkle Baby Blanket by Helen Stewart. I thought Younger Soknitsome Daughter might appreciate something she could use and wash with abandon rather than a more traditional lacy shawl or blanket that would need space and time for blocking after each wash.

Younger Soknitsome Daughter likes purple and as I wanted a unisex colour this yarn looked perfect. It’s another yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills – a blend of wool and bamboo – and has a lovely sheen to it. I struggled slightly with the pattern as there was no way my swatches were blocking out to the size and tension of the pattern. (A common remark on projects is that this blanket turns out smaller than the original). I even knitted squares with various needle sizes and left them out for pondering while I knitted something else.  In the end, I went with the recommended needle size since I preferred the finished fabric.

To replicate Younger Soknitsome’s laundry practice, I just hung the blanket over a drying rack and was very happy to see the final size after washing. It grew but without becoming loose and floppy. There are photos of the little one wrapped up in her blanket but these are my daughter’s pictures.

(Images link to Ravelry project pages)

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Some secrets are secret no longer

Tags

baby, cardigan, hat, jumper, Ravelry, secret, stripes, texture, yarn

Now that Younger Soknitsome Daughter’s daughter has arrived I can share some of my secret knitting. I’ve started updating my Ravelry project pages with photos.

The first item to be knitted was a white cardigan. White cardigans may not be very practical but doesn’t every newborn need a white cardigan? I think so. I chose a traditional classy looking cardigan, a French design, but just to be on the safe side knitted the 3 months size rather than newborn. This cardigan was knitted in Patons Australia Big Baby 4-ply, a very soft machine-washable blend of acrylic and nylon.

After that I made a red jumper. Red is good for boys and girls. The pattern I chose is actually labelled as being  ‘boys’ sweaters and vest’ but I think textured sweaters are unisex. The pattern is a Sirdar one (there are lots of Sirdar paper patterns available as PDFs on Patternfish) and as such, traditionally written: knitted in pieces and seamed. I didn’t fancy seaming such a little knit in Dk/8-ply weight so I knitted in the round to the armholes then to and fro for the front and back. I did a three-needle-bind-off for the seamed shoulder and finished the one with button flaps as in the pattern.  I picked up stitches around the armholes for the sleeves and worked short rows for the sleeve caps. For this jumper I used Australian machine washable wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills. It’s lovely and soft, quite plump, perhaps slightly thicker than many 8-ply / DK yarns.

The third garment I made (well small clothes are just so lovely to knit) was a stripey cardigan in green and white. I used more of the Patons Australia Big Baby, holding the yarn double to replicate DK thickness. Strangely enough, the DK version of this yarn is not nearly as soft as the 4-ply. Once again I didn’t follow the pattern exactly. I didn’t slip the edge stitches as I prefer picking up stitches for button bands in the ratio of  3 for 4 stitches.  To turn the cardigan into an outfit I also made a striped hat but with thinner stripes.

Despite Soknitsome Granddaughter’s displeasure at being dressed and undressed I was keen to get a few photos so I could see how the garments fit in relation to their supposed size.

     

There are photos of her looking happier but these were usually when Younger Soknitsome Daughter was holding her and are not intended for publication.

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Hot off the needles for some winter warmth

Tags

Berroco, bottom-up, buttonholes, cardigan, knitting, Ravelry, texture, Thea Colman

comes my new cardigan. This is Golden Rye, my version of “Rye” by Thea Colman (Ravelry user name babycocktails).

I was asked by a friend if I’d made “a few” modifications to the pattern (she had this blue cardigan in mind where I made a heck of a lot of changes!) Yes, there are some modifications but only a few 😉 :

• I wanted an in-between size to give me the suggested ease so I added eight stitches to the width and knitted the body without the waist shaping.
• I wanted the cardigan to be longer.
• The sleeves are full length and a bit wider than in the pattern. I increased every eight rows until I was just short of the next size and then knitted straight. I knitted the sleeves flat to avoid the twist I seem to get when knitting them in the round and to maintain the tension/gauge.
• Button placement – I made more buttonholes to prevent the fronts from gaping. I may have overdone it slightly but I intensely dislike gaping fronts so I’d rather have too many than not enough!

Why did I choose this pattern?

• I needed another warm jumper or cardigan. This is perfect for outdoors as a jacket replacement on sunny winter and spring days and keeps me warm and snuggly indoors when the temperatures drop.
• The texture appealed to me and I had bought some suitable yarn in a LYS sale.
• Once again, I liked the idea of knitting the button bands at the same time.

Criticism?

• There were no other projects on Ravelry bar Thea Colman’s own. She designed this cardigan for Berroco. I usually wait until there are more projects. Since her other patterns have had test knitters and people seem very happy with the patterns and how they’re written, I decided to go ahead anyway.
• My buttonholes look further away from the edge than those in the photos. However, as I had already done two (following the pattern instructions) before I realised this, I continued. It’s still winter here and the idea was to wear this cardigan soon.

Helpful hints

• I worked the ribbing on 4.5 mm needles as it looked too sloppy on the 5 mm ones. The 4.5 mm needles are mentioned in the materials list but not anywhere in the pattern.
• It’s important to pay attention to the blackberry pattern once the raglan decreases move into the textured panels! If you can’t “make 3” don’t decrease 3 together! Quite obvious but easy to forget, particularly if you’re chatting and knitting at the same time. I had to undo several rounds due to too much nattering and not enough counting!

Yarn used?

• I made my cardigan from Shepherd’s Own by FibraNatura. It’s a lovely undyed sheepy wool that comes with flock numbers instead of dye lots! It was lovely to work with and had no knots in any of the 100g skeins.
• I bought my yarn at Morris and Sons, Sydney. It was a really good deal in the winter sale but according to Ravelry this yarn has been discontinued.

The 60 million dollar question: would I make this again?

• Yes, I probably would. I think it would be easy to replace the blackberry stitch sections with differently textured panels to give a similar but different look.
• The pattern was very easy to follow. I enjoyed knitting this bottom-up. It seemed less bulky than top-down since you’re on the decreasing rows for the raglan shaping once you have piles of knitting in your lap.
• Even if I don’t knit another, I will certainly take a closer look at the rest of Thea’s patterns.

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Thursday Night is Knit Night

Tags

cardigan, friends, patterns, Ravelry, shawls, yarn

Thursday night is knit night. It’s a lifesaver for someone like me, a trailing spouse slash part-time freelancer working from home. Not that I’m unhappy or bored in my own company (I’m a knitter after all!) but particularly in the weeks when Mr Soknitsome travels overseas on business, I appreciate the friendliness and warm-heartedness of my knitting buddies. We have a good laugh. We ooh and aah over each others’ projects and yarn  – and there was some breathtakingly drop-dead gorgeous yarn out tonight! We sympathise over daytime office dramas. I find it pretty useful, too, for understanding how things work here. I now know where I’ll go in search of my next pair of specs. I hear about places to see, museums to visit and festivals to enjoy. It helps me to feel at home here and that is priceless.

So what have I been knitting?

I’ve knitted a bit more of my East Gable Shawl. This is a pattern by Judy Marples and is as always very straightforward. This pattern is slightly less intuitive than some others as it grows in a feathery/fern way rather than geometrically. I’m using Madeline Tosh Merino Light in a kind of blueish turquoise and I love it. It’s a bit hard to see the pattern here – it’s all so squashed but I  know I’m going to love this once it’s blocked.This is my home knitting. Since Mr Soknitsome is away I have a little more time, so I listen to various book readings on the BBC while I knit. Some are classics that make great audio dramas especially as you know you’d struggle to read the book; others are new publications. They are always good.

Thursday knit night really requires simpler knitting. This is the body of Rye. It’s a very new cardigan pattern from Thea Colman. I’m using a yarn that comes in limited un-dyed colours – there are flock numbers instead of dye lots! It softens up after a bath. How do I know? Because I’m a good girl and always knit tension squares. I’m being quite adventurous here and knitting an in-between size. More soon…

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Wearing Lipstick

Tags

buttons, cardigan, Joji Locatelli, knitting, Lipstick, Morris and Sons, Ravelry, texture

Sydney isn’t all blue skies and sunshine. We’ve already had a few rather chilly days so I’m really pleased that I went ahead and knitted this cardigan. It’s Lipstick by Joji Locatelli and I’ve had my eye on it for a while but kept thinking that it was perhaps a little warm for this climate. Not so. Not so at all!

And I had seen some lovely yarn, so, well, how could I not knit it? After knitting 800 metres of laceweight yarn, this project in 10-ply/worsted/aran (depending on where you come from) grew at a most satisfying rate. Lipstick is an interesting mix of textures with twisted rib on the shoulders, mesh/lace blocks on the sleeves and smooth stocking stitch for the body. Even that isn’t tedious because the front panels are in reverse stocking stitch with a little twisted stitch in-between. The yarn is Morris and Sons Empire. It’s 100% merino and comes in lots of lovely colours, some of which like this red, are also available a ’twist’ variety of two different coloured plies.

I wanted to make changes to the original design and have long sleeves so for Yarn Management Purposes I knitted the button bands and neckband before doing the sleeves.  This was an excellent idea as ‘pick up and knit’ is always my least favourite bit about cardigans. This time I got them out the way and could look forward to more interesting knitting. This cardigan is seamless and I had joined for the underarms at a length that made the armholes two sizes larger so that I could be sure of wearing clothes underneath. So I then picked up the corresponding number of stitches for that size. I shortened the knitted the mesh/lace blocks by half-an-inch and then switched to stocking stitch. I decreased in that first round and then twice more after 8 rounds and then every six rounds until I almost reached wrist length. I finished with the rows of ribbing as in the pattern.

Since this only needs four buttons, I chose something special. These are printed coconut buttons and came from this lovely button shop, Buttons Buttons Buttons down at The Rocks. I was there for ages with my cardigan lying on a glass cabinet while I tried various options. The red colour is actually a bit tricky to match so I also considered various metal buttons – modern and traditional – before choosing these.

This cardigan is the second one of Joji’s designs that I’ve made and, once again, as with my Neon cardigan, the pattern was a pleasure to knit from. It was easy to follow. There are references with stitch counts so you can check you’re on track. Instructions are clear – for example “repeat rows 3 to 6 two more times”. That more certainly avoids any ambiguity. Abbreviations are clearly explained (e.g. m1l or m1r). I’m sure I’ll be knitting more of Joji’s designs in the future but for now I’m going to enjoy wearing lipstick!

Casting off – the whole story

Tags

Ankestrick, Be Inspired Fibres, buttonholes, cardigan, contiguous, Holst Garn, i-cord, knitting, Ravelry

The preschool children I taught in Singapore often used same same to describe identical objects and same for similar ones. I think that sums up this cardigan perfectly.

The pattern is “Same Same but different (contiguous Walnuss)” by ANKESTRiCK (Ravelry user name Fallmasche) and by my standards I made a heck of a lot of changes to the design:

• I wanted the fronts and the back to be the same length so I ignored all the directions for making side pleats.
• The cardigan is longer so I increased the spaces between the shaping rows.
• The sleeves are wider than in the pattern. I picked up extra stitches under the arm, which is what many knitters do to avoid holes, but instead of decreasing them away, I followed the pattern’s system of decreases.
• My sleeves are a little longer than in the pattern.
• Button placement – I made more buttonholes to prevent the fronts from gaping.
• I made changes to the i-cord bind off/cast off for the sleeves and the neckline; mine is one stitch narrower than in the pattern.

Why did I choose this pattern?

• It is a lightweight cardigan that should serve me well in Sydney winters and Cologne and Edinburgh springs/summers.
• It was one of very few lightweight patterns that showed projects with people wearing blouses underneath and not just a tee-shirt or skimpy vest/camisole top, increasing its versatility.
• The only negative comments on Ravelry were to do with button placement (and this was easily fixed). The few projects that have been ripped back or abandoned seem to be because the knitters were bored or the fit wasn’t right (tension!).
• I liked the idea of knitting the button bands at the same time.

How did I proceed?

• I never jump in blindfold. I chose this pattern for its practicality as part of my wardrobe as well as its appearance.
• I checked the projects on Ravelry for useful comments. There are currently 378 projects on Ravelry. Please don’t think I checked through each and every one. There are filters like ‘helpful’  which can draw your attention to any critical aspects (like the button placement here). You can, of course, also search specific criteria like buttonholes or sleeves.
• I looked at the photos of women wearing the cardigan. Regardless of how poor the photo shot, I actually appreciate seeing real women in real garments rather than just perfect photos of lovely cardigans on dressmakers’ dummies or clothes hangers!
• I had a very good (knitting) friend, M, measure across my shoulders, as stated in the pattern, to determine size. This was a smart idea as Same Same but different is knitted with saddle shoulders and using the contiguous sleeve method so the back and shoulders need to fit well.
• I knitted two tension squares (aka gauge swatches). Why two? Because the first one didn’t give me the exact measurements stated and I wanted to be very sure before committing myself. Just half a stitch in difference doesn’t sound like much but expand that over each of your four-inch repeats and suddenly your card end up being bigger or smaller than you were hoping for!
• I made a lot of notes on the pattern. I tend to count in ‘garden gates’ with dots above for shaping, which is helpful when it comes to knitting the second sleeve, for instance. I highlighted the instructions for the button and buttonhole bands. I could not remember them for the life of me (there are slipped knit and slipped purl stitches) and at least this way I always knew what to do.
• I followed good suggestions on Ravelry for having more buttons and for marking each buttonhole row as I went along. This is actually a bit  ‘duh’ / slap head / why didn’t I think of this before. It made sewing on the buttons so much easier as there was no counting involved afterwards. I sewed on the buttons prior to blocking and then buttoned the cardigan shut for its bath.

Pattern notes

     

Criticism?

• None bar what I knew already – knitting a seamless cardigan means each row of knitting is very long! Yes, you alternate plain and purl but it is still dull. I had a bit of a mental block after I’d separated the sleeves from the body. The rows were still so long and it seemed as if I would be knitting for ever. I abandoned this for a while but with a touch of regret. I loved the feel of the yarn, its tactility, but those loooong rows were so off-putting.

Yarn used?

• I made my cardigan from Holst Garn’s Coast. It’s a lovely blend of cotton and wool and feels very soft. If you’ve knitted with Holst yarns, you’ll appreciate the colour range available. Coast is softer than Supersoft. It blooms a bit on contact with water (which is another reason for checking tension upfront!) so what feels a tad skinny on your needles works out to be perfect in your finished garment.
• I bought my yarn at Be Inspired Fibres*. This isn’t my LYS but it is my LYS when I visit my parents and long may that remain so! Mei’s shop is literally a ten-minute walk from my parents’. Mei is always so wonderfully helpful. If you want to know more you can find her here: shop details on Ravelry, on Facebook and Mei’s online shop is here. You can also follow Mei’s Be Inspired Fibres blog here on WordPress.
  and I’ve mentioned her in Smitten, Be Inspired and Be Inspired – Edinburgh Delights posts, too.

The 60 million dollar question: would I make this again?

• Yes I would. I’m really pleased with the fit.
• The pattern was easy to follow. It’s broken down into sections which make instructions like ‘continue with saddle increases on every row and add front edge increases on every second row’ straightforward.
• I love the yarn. My cardigan is so light and airy and weighs just 127g.
• There is one but, however – the button bands! I would increase their width and probably use even more buttons.

And because I’m so happy here are a few photos – with even more on Ravelry. I couldn’t help myself!

*PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT A PAID ENDORSEMENT BUT A PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION.

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Casting off… and casting on!

Tags

cardigan, FO, knitting, Manos del Uruguay, socks, wrap

I’ve finally finished my cardigan but it deserves a post of its own so here’s a little picture in the meantime.

And because a pair of socks is not enough to have on the needles at any one time, here’s a little peek at a project that I’ve just cast on. I’m making a wrap using Manos del Uruguay yarn. It’s not for me and I already know that I’ll be loath to part with it. The colour so suits the pattern but more of that later…

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Knitting in Sydney … but not mine

Tags

cardigan, Coogee Pavilion, knitting, lampshade, progress, Ravelry, socks, Sydney, toe-up

Isn’t this just a great piece of knitting?

You can see it in all its glory hanging from the ceiling in the Coogee Pavilion. (The Pavilion is an 1880’s building that started life as an aquarium and swimming pool and now houses a restaurant, café and more. Coogee is a beach suburb situated to the south-east of Sydney.)

This lampshade is a good metre in diameter and if I lived in the kind of home that had space for a giant chandelier I would definitely consider a lampshade like this one.

I have been knitting. I have. But nothing as spectacular as lampshades. Just chugging along with my cardigan which I’m now keen to finish so I can start the next project I have planned.

There’s another toe-up sock on my needles, too, but goes without saying and, anyway, I needed some easy and portable knitting to take to the Thursday night knitting get-together.  All will be revealed soon.

In the meantime, did you know there are 156 patterns for lampshades on Ravelry?

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