Persnickety

April 23, 2007

What I've Actually Been Doing With My Time...

Instead of writing the papers I'm supposed to be writing or doing the spring cleaning that my apartment desperately needs, I've been knitting. Granted, one of these was necessary. I had a baby shower Sunday that required a cute girly item to be gifted. Hence, this Elizabeth Zimmermann baby sweater:

Design: Baby Sweater on Two Needles, in Knitter's Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmermann

Yarn: Knit Picks Elegance in Wild Rose

Needles: US 6s

Begun: April 19, 2007

Finished: April 22, 2007

I am starting to get the EZ mania. I wasn't sure what to expect, but her book was not it. She intersperses patterns with stories about the garment's creation and other notes. I love the hand written charts and the minimalist directions. So different from the splashy, graphic design oriented pattern books that are popular now. It strikes me as a throw back to a generation of women who all knew intrinsically how to knit and didn't need step by step directions. They just did as they went. I had a few 'what-the-crap' moments when reading ahead in the pattern, but as I got to that point in my knitting it all made so much sense. The construction is really nice, as the only seaming involved is up the sleeves.

The sweater turned out better than I could have expected. The lace 'gull' pattern is just adorable. And let me tell you, that Knit Picks elegance is an unbelievable yarn. It is SO soft and the fiber makeup allows the stitches to just pop. Knit Picks hits another one out of the park. It was a huge hit at the shower and I got another round of, I can't believe you made this! I'm apparently taking on a knitting apprentice this summer too :)

I would highly recommend this piece to anyone needing a baby gift (and thanks to Karma for recommending it to me!) It knit up so fast, I did it in an evening and an afternoon. The skills involved include basic garter stitch, some basic lace, and the ability to decipher an EZ pattern. A + + +

And how cute are these buttons?

In addition to that, I've almost finished Cherry. I need to find some buttons and a ribbon to weave through the waist detailing. I tried it on to see how it was shaping up and I think this might be my favorite knit object I've even made for myself. It fits unbelievably well and has a certain shexy librarian quality that is adorable. I cannot wait until it's finished! Plus the Chicago weather is absolutely perfect right now for a cute, short sleeved cardi.

This mess of mohair is the making of a vest. I saw a mohair vest on some girl while I was in London over a button down shirt and thought it was so adorable, so I'm trying my hand at a re-creation of some sort. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm trying it at a large gauge with some cabling up the center. It could be really cute or a total disaster.

And lastly...I joined Li's Knitterly Letter Swap. I forgot to take a picture of the letter I sent (this picture is the one I received) out but I'm hoping she got it by now. She lives in Canada so who knows how long the post will take. It is so much fun to send and receive actual letters. Hand written on pretty stationary in long hand letters. When I was younger, I had so many pen pals. Girls I had never met who all shared a love of horseback riding were matched up through this magazine I got. I was obsessed with checking the mail every day to see who responded to my letters. Seeing someone's handwriting makes it so much more personal than email. You can also see how well they actually can spell!! I'm looking forward to getting a response from my letter and also to writing a response to my first pen pal. That is, when I actually get my final projects and papers finished for school. Wish me luck and focus!

09:45 Posted in 2007 Finished , Baby Gift , Cherry | Permalink | Comments (13) | Email this

June 13, 2006

Of Weddings and Knitting, the knitting part

This is the baby tunic I've been working on from the Kids, Kids, Kids book. It is a really fun book for small children clothes and toys. I've actually made a whole lot more progress on it since I took this picture, but just the lace pattern alone is worth flashing. I'm using Knit Picks Shine, which is SO soft and works up into a beautiful fabric. Lovin the Knit Picks!!!

Design: Sweater and pants set from Erika Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies
Yarn: Knit Picks Sierra in coal for the sweater & Knit Picks Palette in Cream, Ash, & Fog for the 'pants' (really more like diaper covers)
Size: 6-12 months
Novelties: buttons bought at JoAnn's
Begun: January, 2006
Finished: June 10, 2006

This is a little baby boy outfit I just sent on its way. The young one was born a couple of months ago and I made the 6 month size so he could wear it this winter. This was also done in Knit Picks yarn, which I really liked. The Sierra gives great stitch definition, especially with the black being so hard to see. The shorts were my first ever attempt at stripes. It turned out pretty good but weaving the elastic into the band didn't turn out so hot. I was under a bit of a time crunch, otherwise I think I would have ripped out the band to do a double long rib and fold it over, enclosing the elastic that way. I'll know better for next time! Erika Knight's patterns are really easy to follow and turn out beautifully! Plus baby knits are such instant gratification.

Thanks for reading the longest post ever! Happy Tuesday :)

09:15 Posted in Baby Gift , Finished , Lydia's Lace | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this

May 19, 2006

The Small Ones

Aren't babies just the cutest? I've been working on a gift for a friend's brand new baby, who I actually got to meet for the first time last night! He's only 2 months fresh and still has that newborn baby softness about him. Absolutely precious. I finished up the shorts part of the ensemble yesterday and just require some elastic to sew in before the gift will be ready. Pictures to come shortly.

This weekend is a big wedding extravaganza. My husband's sister is getting hitched so we're running about like crazy people. So in light of the fact that posting will not happen until next week at least, head over to Zarah's blog and say hi. I love her site, I think it's absolutely adorable. Plus she's getting ready to knit on some fabulous things.

Happy weekend!

09:31 Posted in Baby Gift | Permalink | Comments (2) | Email this

May 11, 2006

Swatcheroo

My living room is smelling of lavender lately. I'm following in Grumperina's footsteps and washing/putting my sweaters away for summer. So there are about 5 sweaters rotating off and on from the drying towels smelling of lavender Eucalan. It's delightful!

Also drying with the sweaters are a couple of swatches for future projecting. The first is for Eunny's Deep V Argyle Vest. This is going to be gorgeous! I have never done any Fair Isle knitting before, so with the help of the Vogue Knitting Know it All book, I set to work with some DPNs to swatch. As I was going, I was getting all giddy. It feels so fabulous to be good enough at something to sit down to learn a new skill within the craft and get it quasi-right the first time!!! I did 4 pattern repeats wide and probably about 1.5 high. Now, using the DPNs, I got a bit of puckering. That shouldn't happen though when knitting on the larger circular needles though. I tried a couple of different techniques for carrying the strands over more than 3 stitches. The Big Book of Vogue offered two techniques: weaving and twisting. I prefer weaving actually. I'm sure there are other techniques out there too. Always something new to learn! This vest is going to be so warm...I don't know why it never occured to me that carrying the yarn behind the knitting really does create a whole second layer of sweater. Warmth. Good thing I live in Chicago! I'm using Knit Picks Merino DK in the white and black colors. Gauge was a wee bit off so I'm going down one needle size and will probably swatch again just to be on the safe side. I am very excited to get to work and learn steeking too!

I also swatched for a darling baby sweater for my cousin's little girl due in July. I'm using Knit Picks (gotta love the Knit Picks. It's amazingly cheap and really good stuff) Shine Sport in Orchid. I'm really loving the baby knits. The are SO cute and so fast. Plus this will be a fun lace pattern to work on.

I know I mentioned in my last post that I bought some Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora to use for the Phildar sweater. Don't think that's going to happen. I went to swatch and well, it's just not working for me. Have you ever done that? I really thought this yarn would be perfect but it's just not. I definitely don't want to go through knitting this whole thing to be unsatisfied. The gauge is not quite on and for this sweater the gauge is SUPERTIGHT. It looks a little odd with the slight fuzziness of the angora. So this yarn will be put aside to be used for something else. I found some Alpaca on Elann that I think might work really well. In that cocoa brown color. Apparently I'm into the brown lately because I just started Green Gable in Cascade Sierra. The color is a gorgeous chocolately brown. I'm really looking forward to this knit. I need something to wear in the warmer weather and almost everything I have on my needles right now are cold weather items. I'm hopefully going to be able to finish up Salina this weekend too. Although between mother's day and a bachelorette party to attend, that's a questionable goal. We shall see!

14:50 Posted in Baby Gift , Deep V | Permalink | Comments (3) | Email this

April 19, 2006

A Plethera of Pictures

I have a bunch of photos to share. I'll start off with a FO!

Baby Sweater

Design: Baby Sweater from Erika Knight's Simple Knits for Cherished Babies

Yarn: Knit Picks Sierra in Coal

Needles: US 10s

Begun: January, 2006

Finished: March, 2006

Modifications: I cast on 6 fewer stitches for the sleeves as they look ginormous when doing the called for amount of stitches. I know babies have fat arms, but come on.

This sweater was the first baby item I've ever knit and I'm sure it won't be my last. This is for a friend of mine who had her first boy (she currently has 3 girls!). Knitting for babies is such immediate gratification, especially when it's done on size 10 needles!! I made the 6-8 month old size to account for the fact that it's already too warm for wool. It should be just perfect for next winter! I found the buttons used to close the sweater at the shoulder collar from Jo-Ann's. They have an ok selections of buttons, but these were on sale and the marbly look compliments the dark dark dark grey of the yarn so well. In all I'm very pleased with how it turns out and hope that the little guy will be as well. The other part of the present will be shorts:

That is, when I get through weaving in all the ends. This is the first project I've ever done with multiple colors. There's gotta be an easier way to do striping. Holy cow, it's going to take me like 4 episodes of 24 to get through this. (I'm addicted to season 3 right now on dvd...just can't stop watching!!!)

This is Orangina. Actually, she's not even on the needles anymore. I got really excited last night and cast off and am currently seaming! I'm a little worried though about how the waist looks though. I think I'll try steam blocking it pinned down so the cast off edge doesn't show so much. Is there a better alternative to casting off in ribbing than just a regular old cast-off?? As you can see by the moving box in the background, I'm in the process of unpacking my house and haven't found all my technique books quite yet.

I also have a question about ribbing. This has only happened to me working on this project and I think it might have something to do with the Rowan 4ply cotton.

See how on the right hand side of the purl stitches there is a huge gap between the knit and purl?? I tried pulling tighter as I worked but that just pulled the knit stitches all wonky and out of shape. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I'm at a loss. It looks fine just hanging but it seems like that is not a good thing. Maybe I'm just crazy.

Project Spectrum

I'm not really an orange or yellow girl, so this month's spectrum is really not going to be reflected in my knitting. So here is some bright yellow POW from around my new place.