All posts filed under: sweaters

fo : ease pullover

I took the path of least resistance on this one. I decided to just accept that my third hand-knit sweater’s gonna be one of my more loose, comfy ones. The color’s gorgeous (not one I’d expect I’d like so much,) and the pattern was easy enough to follow. 
 I’m also happy to report that a friend reached out to me, letting me know that my WIP inspired her. She started an Ease sweater of her own, with Knit Picks Hawthorne! Knitting-evangelism +1. pattern : Ease by Alicia Plummeryarn : Knitpicks Wool of the Andes Superwash in Mineral Heatherneedle : US 6,10 [4mm, 6mm]
size : Large Alicia Plummer’s thoughtful design elements in this pattern were much appreciated here. The use of a purl ridge to encourage a crease on the stockinette knit fabric was a nice touch and made a pretty effect. I used Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy bind-off method for the end of the body and the sleeves—Highly recommended. After the first wash this garment bloomed…a lot. I’m reserving this sweater for days like this …

fo : clarke, rhubarb show-offs

2017 has been a year focused on a lot of other things, like the surprising turn my career took, the first apartment I moved to (with a partner I never thought I would meet and grow with). I lost a lot of good knitting time this year being swept up with a lot of that but still managed to get a few things off the needles. The problem (?) with taking so long to blog about something you’ve knit is that it’s likely that you’ve already spent some time incorporating them into your life and putting them into use. pattern : Clarke Pullover by Jane Richmond yarn : Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Cobblestone Heather and Garnet Heather needle : US 6, 7 [4-4.5mm] size : 40 My Clarke sweater’s already a little rough around the edges. I haven’t really felt the push to block the garment to make this look as attractive as possible for the blog, I hardly even wove the ends in! As soon as it was bound off I wore it …

how ease-y is too ease-y?

After toiling on my NaKniSweMo project, I figured it was safe to actually try this thing on to see how the project was coming. My first response seeing myself in a mirror in this thing was ‘ugh, I look like a bag of sausages under a knit tarp’. Alright, I don’t exactly have stellar self esteem here, but really–how big and comfy is too big and comfy for a sweater? This is a really really comfortable garment to wear and all, but with these wizard sleeves and the waist-decreases that didn’t seem to amount to very much at all on my figure, I’m beginning to think there’s more to sweater sizing than, idk, carelessly matching the bust measurement in the pattern and just going for it. Expecting some positive-ease to my sweater, I thought it was safe to do just that and get enough yarn for the Large size. 45″ can work well with my 42″ bust, but the waist on this thing is 37″ (I’m something like a 32), explaining clearly why my sweater …

wip: nakniswemo2016, slide + knitpicks stash acquisition!

Happy November! I recently made a big yarn purchase from Knitpicks for this special winter month, and now that they’ve arrived, I can finally show you. But first, a sock WIP update– Monkey Socks sometime soon. As for the Zen Garden yarn–it’s easily the softest sock yarn I’ve had the privilege of working with to date, but I think the colorway shifts too aggressively for the purpose of this design. I’ll likely keep knitting it, but another go at this project with a softly solid MadelineTosh might be in order in the future. Ease , a gorgeous pattern that has been sitting in my queue for a long time. I chose Knitpicks’ Wool of the Andes Superwash in Mineral Heather, which looks even better in person. This lovely but kinda garish set of Brava Sport is another new addition. I bit the bait hard and shelled out the ~whopping (not) $25 for a Rainbow Hue Shift kit from Knitpicks. This is gonna be my first afghan project (well, one that isn’t a sausage project anyway). …

fo : thurman

pattern : Thurman by Lidia Tsymbalyarn : Patons North America Kroy Socks in Flaxneedle : US 8, 9 [5, 5.5mm]size : Large Thurman would be my second sweater ever knit (not counting baby sweaters), and was, like the first one, a very fun and enjoyable experience. I’m happy to have finally found the time to photograph it. Because of my smaller budget, I opted for skeins of Lion Brand Wool-Ease instead of a pure wool or wool-blend. I think it resulted in a different fabric density than intended for the pattern, but the extremely low-maintenance washability is a huge plus for now. Finances permitting, I intend to work through this pattern one more time in something like a brooklyn tweed. The big feature that attracted me about this particular design was the ribbing and how that played into fitting the shape of the shoulders and wrists. I’m a very big fan of ribbed knitting! It was a joy to see how much give that particular pattern gave to this sweater. Unfortunately the price I pay …