Climate-Appropriate Knitwear

I love my mother-in-law. I know that this goes against convention but hey, that's me. I'm a rebel.

So when I wanted to make something for her birthday, I wanted it to be really special. Last year, I had this crazy notion that I wanted to knit her a shawl. Looking back, this is crazy because I hadn't picked up my knitting needles in over ten years and had to go to the library to get a how-to book. Who knits a whole freaking shawl as a warm-up project? Also, I knit it out of acrylic. I know, not too classy but I wasn't the fiber snob that I am now. And she lives in the desert - Palm Springs California where winter is just one week long and it's not even a proper winter. She swears she used it when she would sit out on her patio at night. But I don't know... I think she's just trying to be nice.

Pattern: Sunspots Cardigan KK275 by Karabella
Yarn: KnitPicks Cotlin in Coral
Needles: US 7

The pattern uses a Barbara Walker stitch pattern called Sunspots. It's a fun knit - definitely not TV knitting. But so many errors in the pattern. Left and right are mixed up at one point and the charts for the decreases are completely wrong. I searched Karabella's website for errata and when I couldn't find anything I emailed them. Two weeks later I got a response telling me to email Berta K (the designer) directly. Nothing. So I winged it. I got out my trusty Stitch Motif Maker 3 and charted the decreases myself. The first chart I did is a little wonky although it didn't make much of a difference in the end result. It was so frustrating that for a pattern I actually spent money on I couldn't get any help on the errata. But I do have to say that by the end of this project, I was feeling pretty confident. Yeah, I got skills. I got mad skills.

As for the yarn, I had knitted with Cotlin before and liked it but I'm not sure if it was the best yarn for this project. I chose Cotlin because I wanted to keep in mind that the recipient lives in the desert. Cotton and linen are ideal fibers for warmer weather but the end result didn't drape as well as I would have liked. Too stiff. Maybe it will relax with wear.

My mother-in-law loved it. She called the Yarn Widower right away (I rarely answer my cell phone and often forget to turn it on). I knew he was talking about the cardigan when he said, "It beats the crap out of anything Nan used to knit." Cheeky.

Here's a crappy picture of me modeling it. I should have used the flash. And sat up straighter. And put on makeup. Maybe drop a few pounds. But hey, I still got mad skills.

May Baby Dress

Pattern: Dress with Eyelets by Debbie Bliss from her book Baby Knits for Beginners
Date finished: May 30, 2008
Needles: US 6 to get the recommended gauge
Yarn: KnitPicks Cotlin in color Swan
I used approximately 6 balls (730 yards)
Modifications: see below

I was waiting for better pictures before posting this one but I'm afraid it may never happen as the intended recipient is a very busy 15 month old who will probably grow out of this garment before getting a chance to model it for me. Such is life.

For this dress, I knew I wanted to substitute the recommended wool/cotton blend for something more suitable for steamy DC summers. I had been playing around with Knit Picks Cotlin for another project and had even swatched and washed it to see about shrinkage. Since it had the added bonus of being machine washable, it seemed like a natural match for this pattern.

The Yarn: The Cotlin is aptly named as it is a blend of cotton and linen. Knit Picks is known for quality yarns at reasonable prices (only $2.49 a ball; the materials for this dress cost me about $15). The resulting fabric is soft and totally wearable. I suspected that machine washing would cause some shrinkage and I was right - mostly in length. Easy enough, I just knew that I had to add an inch to the skirt and bodice.

The Pattern: I know I usually complain about Miss Debbie Bliss, knitwear designer extraordinaire with her own line of yarn. But I'm still so drawn to her simple lines and clean aesthetics. That being said, her pattern writers and editors usually leave a lot to be desired. Her book Baby Knits for Beginners is not a great book in which to learn knitting techniques although she does have some nice illustrations. However, it is a good book for beginners armed with some basic knitting know-how and a good knitting manual. This pattern was reasonably well written and easy to follow.

My only modifications were to add an inch to the skirt (forgot to add an inch to the bodice) and to knit a fold-over hem instead of the recommended garter stitch hem.

Overall, I was very pleased with this little garment. It looked lovely on the hanger and hopefully would have looked lovely on a real live girl.

sigh. It's hard being an aunt.

Sunny Yellow Shalom

Pattern: Shalom Cardigan by Megan McFarlane - free internet pattern available on Megan's blog
Date finished: July 22, 2008
Needles: US 11 to get recommended gauge
Yarn: The Fibre Company Savannah Bulky - approximately 7 skeins or 455 yards
Modifications: I added a second button just for the heck of it. I'm crazy that way.

I had been pondering this yarn at a local yarn shop for months now. I'm a sucker for interesting fiber combinations and Savannah is a blend of organic cotton, linen, soy and merino. Intrigued, I was however put off by its price tag. Each skimpy 65 yard skein retails for a whopping $16. Eep - too rich for my blood. So there it sat on the shelves, admired only from afar.

Isn't it a wonderful thing when patience is rewarded? Savannah went on sale. Half off sale. Now that's what I'm talking about. After a brief search, I came across this pattern and it just seemed perfect for this yarn. The pattern is by first-time designer Megan McFarlane who says she's a grad student in art conservation but is really Martha Stewart's heir apparent (the brilliant doyenne of domestic arts Martha, not the insider stock trading, bitchy ex-con Martha). The writing and directions are clear and unfussy. The photography is pleasing to the eye and the production of the pattern is very professional - you can download a pdf directly from her website. The cardigan itself was a joy to knit. Very quick too - love that about bulky yarns.

The only thing that I would do differently is to add fewer stitches under the armholes. It's just a wee bit gappy right now on my not very well endowed frame. Besides that I'm very pleased with this one. It will be great to throw on over a long sleeved tee in the fall.

As for the yarn, it is a very intriguing mix. It's soft like you would expect merino wool and organic cotton to be. And soy fiber tends to be pretty soft too - almost woolly. But the linen in this yarn shows up as individual strands of vegetation. You can even pull it out at some points. Oddly enough this makes it feel a bit scratchy on the skin. I would have left out the linen and just substituted more cotton into the blend.

Overall, it's a rustic looking 2 ply yarn - slubby in some places. The Fibre Company doesn't mark dye lots - just names of their colorways. This one is dubbed Marigold. However, if you look closely in the picture, you can see that the middle panel in the yoke is a different shade. That was definitely from a different dye lot. I didn't notice until I had joined the new skein and by some stroke of luck the skein ended with the panel. A design element? Sure...

I would definitely knit this cardigan again - it's quick, cute and relatively easy. Perfect for gift-knitting. But I don't think I would get this yarn again. It's a luxury yarn as reflected by its cost and I'm glad I got the chance to knit with it. But the cost and the short yardage leaves me looking elsewhere. My friend Gwen (aka Bugheart in the Blogosphere) knit her Shalom with Cascade Revolution - a smooth wool/nylon blend. It looked quite nice on her. Maybe I'll have to get me some Cascade.

Lovely Leaf Lace Skirt

Pattern: Lovely Leaf Lace Skirt by Celeste at Lanaknits available at hemp for knitting's website
Date finished: July 10, 2008
Needles: US 3 to get the recommended gauge of 6 sts/inch in stockinette
Yarn: Hemp for Knitting AllHemp 6 in color 21
I used approximately 4.5 skeins (760 yards?)

The only modification I made was in length - I wanted more of a pencil skirt silhouette, i.e., I wanted it to hit just below the knee. Since it is knit in the round from the bottom up, I just slipped it on after I was done with the waist decreases and kept knitting until I hit it right.

The Yarn - this was my first time knitting with hemp. Yes, it is stiff stuff but man, is it worth it. The end result is amazing. After I blocked it, it softened right up. And the drape of the resulting material is perfect for a skirt. Enough give to be comfortable but not so much that it droops around the derriere. Hemp for Knitting does a nice job with this yarn - I did not come across a single knot in all 5 skeins. My only complaint was the dye was slightly uneven in one skein despite all the skeins being from the same dye lot. This resulted in a small horizontal line near the lace part of the skirt. I only noticed it after I'd finished the lace hem and it was not enough to make me want to rip back. You can see it faintly in this picture. Despite this little glitch, this yarn made me very happy and I would gladly knit with it again.

The Pattern - kudos to Celeste. This is a gorgeous pattern. The lace hem is fun to do and I really like the end result. The pattern is written so that the lace continues up along the sides of the skirt. Which looks great but I always find that my skirts don’t behave and by the end of the day the front of the skirt is covering my bottom. So I debated about just doing a straight hem but in the end decided to just follow the pattern. After wearing it a few times, I'm glad I did. Since the i-cord drawstring sits up front, there is very little sliding around on the hips.

Pre blocking: puckered mess







Post blocking: nice, well-behaved knitted lacy thing. By the way, this skirt is only see-through when the wearer leans over to photograph the hem while standing in front of a sunny window. Fear not, intrepid knitter for this skirt is quite respectable when worn in the usual manner and does not require a fussy slip to protect anyone's modesty.

Aesthetics aside, this is also an incredibly well-written and comprehensive pattern. Celeste actually tells you what bind off to use and explains how to make an i-cord. Unlike some other pattern writers (ahem, Debbie Bliss) there was not a single head-scratching puzzling moment on the user end. Something this particular user really appreciates. Well-written pattern for lovely garment makes for happy knitter.

As Celeste mentions in the pattern, this garment stretches when wet. I ended up making the small (even though I'm more of a medium these days) and just blocked it to what I needed. Like denim, the skirt tightens up after a trip through the washer and dryer and eases a bit with wear. The small fits me fine - for now anyway.

And the Yarn Widower seems to like it. Va-va voom, he said when he saw me wear it for the first time. Or maybe those weren't his exact words but something along those lines. ;)

Plain Grey Socks - not boring

The men in my life like simple, dark knits. Nothing fancy, they warn me. No stripes, no cables, no crazy stuff. Just plain. Some would say boring. But hey, as long as the sock gets worn, I say!

Despite the obvious lack of crazy, these socks took some time. I finished them just last week about 2 months after my brother's birthday. However, the recipient was quite gracious about the whole thing. Although he very kindly reminded me that as it is now May, wool socks are not really appropriate. "And what's the deal with buying socks for me anyway?" Zoinks!

So I, in turn, very graciously told him that they are actually a nice cotton/wool blend and I didn't buy them, I made them. At this, his eyes lit up and he slipped them on his bare feet and proclaimed that they were so comfortable! Needless to say, I was bursting with joy. Nothing like an appreciative audience for my knitting efforts. Makes my little knitterly heart all pitter patter.

Later in the day, we decided to venture outdoors. My brother still had his socks on and was reluctant to take them off. Here he is imitating a German tourist.

My First Sock EVUH! And the object of my affection

I joined ravelry a few weeks ago. I finally posted my first project today. Here 'tis. I used Cat Bordhi's Simple Sock in Three Sizes pattern and a great fingering weight yarn from Neighborhood Fiber Co. Merino and seasilk. Yum.

One skein made up a good size Men's medium with enough to spare. My only regret is that the pattern isn't toe-up because then I would have just made the leg part longer.

So the recipient of these socks is the husband for whom this blog is named. Since I started knitting this past summer, he's been alternately amused and resentful. Amused at the knitting and my obsessive yarn-hoarding and resentful that EVERYONE has received some finished object but him. So here is my first finished object (FO) for the object of my affection (O0MA). He was a bit dubious about the stripes - being a conservative fellow, he likes solid black. Maybe brown or blue on casual day but not all in one sock. Regardless, he seemed to like the softness of these suckers and promptly agreed to wear them around the house.

He says maybe he'll wear them in public. Maybe.