I received two knitting kits for Christmas this year. One was my Oregon Vest, which I already posted about. The other was my Tamback Scarf, designed by Carol Sunday. Surly and I each bought one for the other for Christmas! I felt “obligated” to get it on and off the needle ASAP!
When I saw this, I was just stunned! It is such a unique design. It was fun to knit, and a ton of work! Check that box!!
Yes, it’s time again to celebrate Surly!! Talented, funny, at times silly, Little Sister Surly!! I miss my little sistie — and don’t know when we will be together again. We talk often, but it’s really not the same. But I have hopes for this year.
Happy Birthday from your big sis (“It’s the big one we don’t like!!”)!!
It’s really not too late to knit up my free 2022 Winter Games Hat! It’s not as cute as 2018, but it’s done in bulky yarn which is all the rage! Actually, it should have been knit in Malabrigo Rasta, but I was too cheap to use it for a free pattern. 😉 I used Cascade 128 yarn and included a Rasta recipe. This is a fun, quick knit. FYI: the word TEAM is on the other side!
In 2005, Surly and I took a trip to Scotland where we had the ultimate honor of attending a class held by the legendary Alice Starmore herself. In the class, she cut the steek of her Oregon Cardigan, Autumn Colourway. I was hooked! I immediately embarked on that knitting journey, which was chronicled here in the blog for MONTHS. Fifteen years have passed and alas, my cardi no longer fits (I blame the sweater 😉 ). So, I decided to reknit Oregon, but as a vest this time. My husband got the kit for me as a Christmas present (“John, you bought me this kit for Christmas!”), but I opened it a week early!!
I decided to knit it at a looser gauge. The cardi had a potholder-like, felted quality to the fabric. I am so glad I did! It looks less refined when held up to the cardigan, but that is never going to happen!! The vest took me a month. Retirement (and no children in the house!), not faster knitting, is the secret!!
I used the buttons purchased for Elizabeth of York — they are gorgeous!! I gave my Elizabeth of York to Surly because it didn’t fit (I blame the vest 😉 ).
I searched everywhere, including my old class notes, to find a really nice buttonhole for corrugated ribbing, but wasn’t thrilled. So I invented one!! It is virtually invisible and accommodates this fairly large button — a tight fit, but it does work. I wouldn’t want to button/unbutton often, but I believe it will get easier with use. I describe it in detail on my Ravelry project page. I am experimenting with this BH for regular 2×2 ribbing. It looks great if done starting on the wrong side, like I did for this vest. I am going to keep trying!
For old times sake, here is the original cardigan:
The good news is, the vest DOES fit!
PS to Poodletail: I used a US sz 5 for the bottom ribbing and the body of the vest. I used a US 4 for the armbands and buttonbands, but should have used a 3 for the WS rows of the buttonband.
I’m here to say that I finished one of the projects I talked about in November. Whew! First, however, I’d like to thank those of you who have reached out to make sure we are okay.
As many of you know, we moved to Boulder about four years ago to live near our daughter. And, as you’ve probably seen on the news, a devastating fire destroyed whole neighborhoods in several communities in and around Boulder just before the new year. It’s hard to describe the scope of the damage. Almost a thousand houses burned to their foundations in a matter of a few hours. We were having such high winds that the fire was racing the length of a football field every few seconds.
You can get an idea from this Map. In it, the red markers are houses that were destroyed, blue indicates damaged. If you zoom in on the affected neighborhoods, you can see the scale of the loss. My neighbor’s daughter lives in one of the areas that was hardest hit. Her home survived. It’s the only one in the neighborhood that did. Please keep the residents of Superior and Louisville in your thoughts. It is going to be a slow and painful recovery.
Back to knitting. I finished Hinterland by Jennifer Steinglass. I had originally set it aside after knitting the yoke. That was the fun part, right? I did eventually knit the body, but was left with the dreaded sleeves. Despite wanting to start so many new projects, I persevered and it’s finished. My husband thinks it will make the perfect après-ski sweater when we hit the slopes later this winter. (Weather and Covid permitting.)
The main yarn is Arranmore Light by the Fibre Company in the color Meara. The contrast color is Salty Dog, Spincycle Dyed in the Wool. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to have the design at the cuffs or leave the sleeves plain. I finally went for the color work because I thought I should be more daring. I deliberately mismatched the cuffs just to show more of the color changes.
I became enamored with the cutest sock pattern ever, called Holly & Jolly! But, I don’t like knitting socks, so I made some handwarmers instead. They demanded a hat, so the hat was next!!
The candy cane chart has a simple fix to eliminate the jog. Check out my Ravelry project page to learn more! This picture shows the BOR and no jog in sight!!
Are you ready for the holidays??
It is time for my third annual Hostess Hat launch!! And it’s FREE on Ravelry!! It’s called the Noël “Ugly Sweater” Hostess Hat. Maybe not the best name, but the hat kind of looks a little gaudy!!
The hat trio!!
All the details, including my source for beads, are included in the pattern. I would love you to knit one up and embellish it to suit your own taste!!
I am notorious — notorious — for putting knitting projects aside before they are finished. Why? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I hate knitting sleeves. Maybe it’s because something new and more interesting (for the moment at least) came along and pushed it aside. Now, I often do go back to these projects (which I have nicknamed head start sweaters) and finish them although I confess many do end up in a sort of knitting oubliette never to be seen or heard from again. (An oubliette was a French dungeon with an opening only at the top so there was no escape. It comes from the verb oublier to forget.)
Today, I’m going to share three sweaters that have been put aside but are not in the oubliette. I expect to finish all three within the next few weeks. For realsies! You will see them in all of their raw, unblocked glory.
First up: Tapestry Wrap designed by Marie Wallin and knit out of her beautiful British Breeds yarn. This was the project for her Fairisle Club 6 and you may remember that Susan made it as well. I finished all of the knitting months ago. But I realized I needed additional length for the collar lining and I just never got the motivation to undo the bind off and knit those extra rows. I finally made myself do it and now I need to weave in ends and actually sew the collar lining down. Here is a photo. Sooooo close to being wearable.
Next up is Hinterland by Jennifer Steinglass. I am on the hem and then I have the dreaded sleeves. The sleeves in the original pattern are patterned at the cuff and I can’t decide if that’s too much or not. That’s my excuse for not finishing but I plan to steamroll ahead. I’m using the Fibre Company’s Arranmore Light in the color Meara for the background and Spincycle Dyed in the Wool in Salty Dog for the color work. I did a provisional cast on at the neck so I guess I have to figure out how to finish that, too. Sigh.
Last, but certainly not least, is Tia Teva designed by Carol Sunday. It’s a really interesting pattern that places fair isle in short row sections. I’m using Carol’s Eden yarn in Twig and Storm. I’m on the sleeves. I started one, thought I’d made a mistake (which I hadn’t — d’oh), and ripped back. When I picked up the sleeve for the second time, I didn’t like the pick up I did which is why poor Teva ended up near the oubliette door. However, I love the pattern and plan to make myself finish the sleeves ASAP.
So — does anyone else have a knitting oubliette?
All business in the front and party in the back! My Color Block Go-To Cardigan is finished and has been worn twice!! It’s a simple, non-showstopper, but very wearable sweater. Lightweight and perfect fit. I made some fairly significant mods: added pockets and did the sleeves top-down/set-in vs bottom up seamed (see my Ravelry project page for details). I sewed the buttons on using my “large bead as shank” method, using turquoise-colored beads. It’s cute because you see an unexpected little color burst when you look down! Oh, and I did not do a sewn-on buttonband! Ugh!!
I used three shades of Rowan Felted Tweed: Boulder for the fronts, Treacle for the sleeves, and Turquoise for the back. I love my color choice!!
The pattern is from Churchmouse and quite expensive, but it’s well written and gives a lot of details for the more novice knitter — and they were for the most part good tips!! This will definitely be a sweater that I wear and wear again!!
So, I finished my hat/mitts from the Progressive East End Project Mystery KAL. The original pattern was for mittens, but I chose to do mitts instead. Good thing because I did not have enough yarn to knit more!!
It’s a cute set and fits well. I made the large hat, and used my standard crown decreases (from my Gansey Hat for Everyone pattern). I started the large mitts but they were way too big, so I ripped and knit the smaller ones. Still a little big, but cute!!
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