Cozy Sweater Replacement

by alwaysacraftylady

Back in 2013 I had the pleasure of beta testing new software from the amazing and inspirational Amy Herzog. The software became a web based program called Custom Fit and it is a phenomenal tool for the intermediate to advanced knitter who is sick of having to write out their own sweater patterns. You input your measurements and your yarn information and poof! Your very own custom sweater pattern! This week after a depressingly long 9 month drought of finished sweaters I bound off my 9th Custom Fit sweater. (Sweaters 10, 11, and 12 are already in progress!)

One of the fun things Amy has started doing with Custom Fit is to have a collection called Basics. These are sweater patterns built into the Custom Fit site for really classic designs. This design is Reservoir: An Open Cardigan. It was started back in…March? Yep March. Just a couple weeks after the Basics collection went live. But then I lost my knitting mojo and took a break of sorts. But now with Fall coming soon-ish I am so happy to have something soft and warm ready to go. I love this sweater. I love it so very much. Nice enough to wear to the office, but casual enough to fit into my home life too.

It is knit with Wollmeise Merino DK in the color way Sabrina. WMDK as it is called is a 6 ply yarn that I would say is a pretty standard DK weight and is less prone to pilling than most other yarns I’ve used. It also comes in nice big skeins of 200g or 468 yards! Gotta long a sweater that takes less than 3 skeins and I’m so happy to own another two sweater quantities of this base.

To jazz it up a bit I took the lace design from Georgie Hallam’s kid sweater design Ferris Wheel. There is also an adult version called Summer Festival too. I have dreams of knitting Lu the kid version as a school sweater. We’ll see when I get to it. Sometimes my plan is faster than my abilities.

But for now I am just so happy to have cast off something! And such a lovely something too.

Have questions about sweater knitting with Custom Fit? I am always happy to answer!

Editing to add – I just realized the post title makes no sense! Replacement? What do you mean? Well back before Custom Fit I made a Calligraphy Cardigan by Hannah Fettig in WMDK and it is one of my most worn sweaters. But the fit is horrible. So Reservoir is mean to be a replacement for Calligraphy as my ‘can throw over anything’ sweater. Now here is a bonus photo from early 2013 with bonus not-quite-1-yet Lu and our dog Dottie waiting to snag a tasty morsel.

7Aug2015

Why I Knit for My Kids

by alwaysacraftylady

Knitting takes a lot of time. After work and taking care of my family there are not many hours left in my day, but I spend much of my free time making sweaters for me and my daughters.

I hear the argument for buying kids clothes. They grow so fast. The are too messy. Kids ruin wool. Acrylic is better.

But I don’t care. Seeing my girls wearing their knits is worth the time, the money, and the love I put into them.

Lu from December 2013

And Lu today August 2015

She said she was cold and put this on despite the fact that it is summer! Looks like she’ll get a third winter out of this one and I’m glad for it. One of my favorite things I’ve knit for her.

This is the Sunday Sweater by Ginny Sheller. A sweater I loved knitting and plan to make again. Yarn is Madelinetosh DK Twist in Heuchera. DK Twist is my favorite yarn base for kids clothes. Soft, bouncy, and washes really well for 100% wool.

3Aug2015

Baby All Star Blanket

by alwaysacraftylady

Confession time. Making baby quilts is a lot more fun than knitting booties and hats. Especially when your friend is having an August baby. August is so very hot in California and who knows what size her son will be by the time we get any kind of cold weather. A quilt can be useful for years!

And when your friend and former roommate of 5 years has her first baby it is well worth pulling out the good stuff!

The pattern is a free download from A Bright Corner and called Charming Lucy. As written the finished quilt is about 35 x 35, but I wanted it a touch bigger, so I made each block just a tad larger. I’m fairly certain I used 6 inch blocks instead of the 5 inch charm pack blocks the pattern recommends. It’s kind of hard to remember the exact details since I finished the quilt back in June and packed it away until the baby shower. Pre-planning is great for stress free shower attendance, but terrible for remembering pattern modifications.

The fabrics are from a few different places. Most of the blocks are made from fabrics I received in Westwood Acres I Want Her Stash Club. These are from February’s shipment which was curated by Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew. And the bold primary colors are a perfect nod at sports without covering the quilt with footballs and baseballs. The white background is Architextures by Carolyn Friedlander. It has become my go-to fabric for sashing because it gives interest to the quilt without over powering the other prints. The quilt is backed with Play Ball by Lori Whitlock and the binding is a random polka dot I found in a bargain lot that just happened to fit the ~~team~~ theme perfectly!

Whew!

In the end, I love this little quilt. It is simple and sweet and I’m so very glad my friend loves it.