Eleven Stitches

Ocean Toes

Flush with victory, I needed to cast on for a new project.  One restriction: the project needed to be NOT ORANGE!  (I love orange, but whew, that was a lot of orange in the last project.)  The solution?  I cast on for the second of my Ocean Toes socks in a nice blue-y purple color.

Pattern: Ocean Toes Socks by Cat Bordhi in New Pathways for Sock Knitters
Yarn: Koigu in P722
Needles: US 2
Time to Knit: Aug 21 - 24 for the second sock, and about a year for both socks!

I had a lot of fun knitting these socks.  The new architecture and the many different charts kept the socks interesting throughout.  About the time I started to get bored with the pattern, it changed into something a little different.  And knit on size 2 needles, they knit up quickly!

I documented the architecture pretty thoroughly in my first post about these socks, so I won't go into it so much here.  I noticed that I wrote that post exactly a year ago today.  Fitting, huh?

PS.  The socks *are* the same size.  The one on the right is just scrunched down a bit.  Why does that always happen?

The Thrill of Victory

I'm happy to show you my Olympic Sweater!  I'm so happy with the outcome, and I'm thrilled that I was able to complete it on time (early, even)!

Pattern: My own
Yarn: Briar Rose Fibers' Grandma's Blessing
Needles: US 4 circulars and DPNs
Time to Knit: August 8 - 22

I had been putting off knitting this sweater for a long time because I thought that sportweight yarn would take forever to knit up.  I thought it would be a good Olympic challenge, and I imagined having to explain why I actually just got bronze or silver because I hadn't finished the sweater in time.  But seriously, the knitting went by so quickly!

I'm glad that I decided to make 3/4 length sleeves.  That, and the fact that it's a cardigan, make for a very versatile sweater.

Whitney guessed correctly that the motif would become Olympic Rings.  This was very appropriate because I admired the motifs she added in her Tour de Gansey sweater, and that was partly the inspiration for this design detail.

Also, aren't those buttons great? 

I finished the knitting on Thursday, and I sewed on the buttons on Friday.  It was nice to finish up without stressing about time!

Remember how I had to add a steek to the back to take out some bulk?  I can tell where it is in this picture if I look for it, but I'm guessing that most people wouldn't notice.

So to recap: Yay!

First Finish Line

My first Olympic project is finished!  I count it as a huge success.

Pattern: Butterick 5209, View B
Fabric: From Amy Butler's Midwest Modern Collection

This is essentially a halter dress with a back and sleeves added to it.  I love the shape and fit of the dress, as halter styles and V-necks usually look good on me.  I think that if I did make the halter version of this dress, however, I'd have to make some adjustments.  The neck comes up a little high in the back.  It looks nice on this dress, but it wouldn't be very "secure" in a halter style.

The pattern was pretty straightforward, which is a little bit unusual for a retro Butterick pattern! The only difficulties I ran into was with the lining.  The bodice is fully lined, and it was a little tricky getting everything folded around correctly.  It worked out.

Again this dress is my new favorite; it surpasses some of my previous favorites I've raved about before :)  I feel so pretty in it!

So the easier of my Olympic projects is completely finished!  My sweater is blocking right now, and I'll have a post about it after I sew on some buttons!

Retro Redux Shrug

I finished up one little project that was on and off the needles before I took time to blog about it. 

Pattern: Retro Redux Shrug from Lace Style
Yarn: Berroco Pure Merino, 5 skeins
Needles: US 8, 9, 10 and 10.5 Knit Picks Harmony Circulars
Time to Knit: July 3 - 20
Modifications: I knit the sleeves (in the needle size 9 section) longer by about 4 inches on each side

A few weeks ago David mentioned that I hadn't bought any yarn recently, and he really thought that I should.  Now, this wasn't a random comment.  He really wanted me to be running more, and he wanted a reason to make me do it!  I headed over to my LYS with this project in mind.  It was fun to buy yarn with consideration-- most of the yarn I've bought since my resolution has been of the impulse purchase variety.   I considered Malabrigo since I've seen great versions in this yarn, but I've knit a lot of things out of Malabrigo and I wanted the chance to try something new. I have been wanting to try some Berroco yarn for a while now, and I was excited to find the Pure Merino in a great chocolate color.  It's very soft, but it also feels like it will hold up to wear. 

I cast on for this pattern on the train to Rhode Island for our clam bake.  It was the perfect project for this trip-- interesting enough, and easy to do even while having a conversation. 

I have to admit that I like the shrug a little better now that I've seen the pictures of it!  It feels a little bit weird to wear, but I do like the way it looks with my vintagey dress (which is store-bought, I must admit). I hope this will make me able to wear all of my dresses a little later into the season.

It's definitely warm.  I was really ready to take it off by the end of my little photo shoot. It's hot outside!

 

Afterthought

I finished another pair of socks.  Even though I'd already made a pair of Monkeys, when I saw this pair on Ravelry using yarn that I also had (Yarn Pirate BFL in Solstice, from her sock club), I had to be a copycat.  And well, I did try.

The first sock had a short-row heel to preserve the wonderful striping. But I can't get past the fact that I hate short row heels, so I decided to switch it up on the second one.  An afterthought heel gives you the same results (continuation of stripes without pooling), but it doesn't have those dreaded wrap and turns.

Once I got past the seventh repeat, I knit across 32 stitches with waste yarn, and then I knitted seven more repeats to get to the toe.  I realized sometime while knitting the toe that the second seven repeats were exactly, exactly, like the first seven.  There's no stockinette on the sole.  Oops!

The patterning on the sole doesn't seem to be bothering me very much, so I'm fine with it.  They were fraternal socks anyway, and now the second one is just a little bit fancier!

Soothing Socks

Brown is one of my favorite colors.  I remember that I used to think that it was boring when I was little, and I felt sorry for the kids at a neighboring high school whose school colors were brown & orange.  Now, I'd love to have a school sweatshirt in those colors.  But I digress.

Brown is soothing, warm, and it goes with all of my other favorite colors (red, orange, pink and purple).  It looks good in almost any shade, and it makes for very soothing socks.

Pattern: Charade Socks by Sandra Hearts Hearts (formerly I May Be Knitting a Ranch House)
Yarn: Socks that Rock Lightweight in Terra Firma, one skein
Needles: US Size 1

This is a rare pair of socks for me.  I cast on for the second one within days of finishing the first.  The pattern, with its four stitch / two row repeat was simple yet fun, and it was perfect for all of those stressful days leading up to the wedding.  It was also a great pattern for purse socks.  (Everyone has a sock-in-progress in her purse, right?)

I have to admit that I didn't really look at the pattern after I memorized the stitches, but I think it was kind of designed to be that way.  It's a simple sock that looks really good in so many different yarns, even multicolored ones.  Love it.

I'm certain that this will be a favorite pair come winter.  It goes with almost all of my clothes, and it feels good to wear, too.  What could be better?

Dressed for Success

So I wore a dress I made to an important interview last week, and things could not have worked out more nicely.  I'm going to be changing careers very soon, and go from being a computer programmer to being an elementary school teacher!  I had been wanting to make a change for a while now, and this opportunity is one I'm very excited about.

I'm not saying that the dress was the only reason I got hired :)  But I am quite proud of it, and I know that I felt good wearing it.

Pattern: Simplicity 3833
Fabric: Timeless Treasures Taxi Collection
Time to Sew: May 26 - May 30

I had a terrible time with self portraits in this dress.  Almost all of the pictures were overexposed.

This was a really simple dress to make (much simpler than the last one, actually), and I really like the way it fits.

When I saw this fabric at my local quilt store, I just knew it had to become this dress.  It was such a fun way to put together these contrasting fabrics!

Piedmont Park Hoodie

Now that it's the first of June, I have a woolen sweater to show you!  I knit with wool year round, and while that's not always temperately logical, at least this sweater has short sleeves!

I bought the kit for this sweater at Knitch in Atlanta, when I was visiting one of my bridesmaids a few weeks before our wedding.  It was exactly what I needed when I got it-- both indulgent and cozy.  Even though I had to run three miles to earn this yarn, I thought it was totally worth it!



Pattern: Piedmont Park Hoodie by Nell Ziroli
Yarn: Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran, 7 skeins (1 more than suggested)
Needles: US 7 circulars
Time To Knit: April 3 - June 1

I had some problems with gauge for this sweater.  I had to go down a needle size to get it, and when knitted up the back was becoming impossibly small.  So I went back up to the recommended size and kind of ignored gauge.  Despite having a too-large gauge, I still had to add 3 cable repeats in order for the bottom part of the sweater to be as long as specified in the pattern.  Weird. Adding these repeats, I think, made me run out of yarn, but I was able to find a seventh skein at a LYS. Fortunately, it all turned out very nicely with my modifications, and I'm really happy about the fit!



I liked a lot of the details in this sweater.  The cables pull in the waist, and I really like the way seed stitch looks.  (It also doesn't bother me very much to knit in seed stitch, which I find fortunate.)  Also, there is both a hood and a collar, which I thought was a great idea. 



I'm certain I'll be using this sweater on cool summer evenings, and it will also be a welcome part of my wardrobe this fall!

A Summer Dress

Memorial Day weekend created the perfect conditions for a new summer dress.  Simplicity Patterns were on sale at JoAnn Fabric for $1 apiece. The weather was perfect so I felt like a drive to my local quilt store.  And the three day weekend gave me time to finish the dress before heading back to work!




Pattern: Simplicity 3744, View A (minus the back tab and top stitching)
Fabric: Annabella by Tina Givens
Time To Sew: May 24 - 26

This was a great pattern. (Do you recognize it?  It's the one Pam used to make her Wasp Dress!) It came with options for three different bust sizes for each dress size. I think I ended up making this dress a size too big for me.  I took in 2 inches at the waist, and the rest of it could have been shrunk down too.  I'll keep this in mind for next time!  I've learned how to fit knitting patterns to myself correctly, but I'm still working on figuring it out with woven fabric.



Also, this dress has a pocket!  It's not the best place to store my car keys, for instance, but I like having a place to put my hands. 

I have been knitting too, I swear!  I'm about to finish seaming my Piedmont Park Hoodie, and after a block and some buttons, I'll have a FO to show you!

FO: Bird Shirt

It turns out that sewing patterns don't have the catchy names that knitting patterns do.  So instead of calling this shirt by its numeric name, I'm calling it my bird shirt.


Pattern: Simplicity 4122, view C
Time to Sew: May 12 - 17
Fabric: Alexander Henry, but I can't find the name of the print It's actually from the Joel Dewberry Aviary collection.  Thanks, Ingrid!

This was my first non-dress pattern, and I found it pretty straightforward. There are gathers in the front and back of the pattern, which made it an easy fit for me.  I've found store-bought woven shirts to restrict my movement, but this shirt fits me quite well.

I didn't include the lace written in the pattern, and the only other modification I made was to the sleeves.  The sleeves as sewn were a bit flyaway, and not really to my taste.  I just sewed a pleat into them, and they were perfect.



I'm really enjoying this sewing thing, and I've even got more FOs to show you soon!  Also: I cut my hair! I think it made a dramatic difference, and I love it!