This Isn’t the Whole Rainbow?

by alwaysacraftylady

Woot! Woot! I finished knitting a sweater. The best sweater ever because it has 6 shades of purple. It’s like a whole rainbow with only my most favorite color!

Yay purple!

I’ve been knitting this sucker for 2 whole months straight and I could have it done in nearly half the time except I had to rip the whole thing apart when I discovered it was too large. Way way way too large.

I won’t lie. It was painful to pull apart all the little lengths of yarn from each stripe. But in the end I am so glad I persevered to finish. Worth it.

The pattern is Jagged Little Stripe from Mary Annarella. Mary is a fantastic knit wear designer. Everything she creates is classic with a fun twist and her patterns are wonderfully clear. Its a treat to knit them.

I did need to alter the pattern for a couple reasons. 1) I was using a gradient set as the main color and 2) I needed to add more stitches to the front to accommodate my bust and tummy.

Working with a gradient set came with some challenges. I needed to figure out how to work with the stripes to make sure the colors transitions naturally. What I found through trial and error was that it didn’t matter where in the color sequence I ended for the short rows. In order to achieve my vision I only needed to start with the lightest color at the shoulder and the first row of the waist slash. Then finish the hem, sleeves, and waist slash with the darkest color. I also made sure to end the first row section with cream and end the waist slash with the cream color.

Now Mary is a different build from me, so I had to knit things a little different shaping wise. First I added extra stitches to the sleeves as I was already doing the increases. Then to accommodate my bust and tummy I added 10 stitched when casting on the neckline to join in the round. My waist is also higher and bust lower. So I knit more rows before starting the short rows and worked the waist decreases earlier. All of this worked great. It is not super fitted through the waist, but I like the ease as it is.

My daughter Lu took these pictures. She’s very funny and demanded she take a photo of my skirt and shoes as well as the sweater. The skirt is Gabriola which I talked about in my previous post. So you can see a bit of the funny stitching around the zipper.

In all honesty I made that denim skirt specifically to go with my purple gradient sweater. This sweater is a big reason I switched to a skirt with a closer fit through the hips and is much better suited to wearing a top untucked.

The yarn is from Astral Bath Yarns. Its the Spectra base and I love working with it. I bought the gradient set off my friend. Well I bought half the set as neither of us needed the full 3,000 yard of yarn it contained. Then I bought two skeins of naked yarn to pair with it. I still have a ton of both left so now I need to decide if I keep the left overs or try to destash them.

Anyways, now I’m off for the glorious first holiday weekend I’ve had in many months. We’ll be busy busy busy, but I’m hoping I can sew together the new summer dress I cut out this evening. I think I can. I think I can!

26Oct2015

This sweater is cursed!

by alwaysacraftylady

I swear. It really feels like this sweater is cursed. I’m sitting here wearing it and loving how it feels, but…blah. I’ve procrastinating writing this post and hoping I’d finish something more fun, but I seem to be hitting a streak of unsatisfactory projects lately.

Back in November of 2014 I’d just had a baby and I was on maternity leave and determined to make as many things as I could before returning to work. So I pulled out my stash of Miss Babs Yowza in Aubergine. Hello gorgeous! Nice soft yarn with a fantastic reputation. I’d purchased it from a friend who didn’t love the color, but I found it to be so beautiful.

And at first I thought it was destine to be Fannie Fouche. Sort of a jacket/sweater combination. But then I read a few comments on Ravelry about the pattern and got cold feet. It seemed I would need to make too many alterations to the pattern for my sleep deprived mind to handle. Next!

Then I choose the pattern Effervescence Cardigan. I bought this pattern back in September 2013 and have wanted to knit it ever since. I love the look of it! Really, I do. Several of my knitting friend have made Effervescence and it looks fantastic. I got to work and knit the back of the sweater using a mash up of Custom Fit and Effervescence. And then I just stalled.

The yarn was an issue. One of the skeins looked like maybe it had a tiny bit of a moth (!) problem. Or maybe it had accidentally been snipped at some point. By the time I would it all up I had several little balls of yarn, no, evidence of a moth problem, and no desire to actually keep knitting it.

Stall…

But then, magically I found some desire to pick this project back up and transform it into the ultra classic and chic Acer Cardigan!

Isn’t it pretty! But of course there were further complications. I got to the end and lost one of the sleeves! Frustrated and annoyed I just bagged up the pieces and hoping I would some day find the other sleeves. Finally in July I found the other sleeve! YES!

It all got sewn together and I bought buttons last month and managed to get the whole thing put together.

The detailing is so so so pretty. And it fits pretty well considering I knit it to fit my pre-baby #2 body. Wishful thinking. Though a little tight across my backside.

Over all very wearable and pretty. But I swear this sweater was just destined to be cursed because today is only the third time I’ve worn it and it is already pilling like crazy. At least it is no longer in my works in progress bin.

7Sep2015

So This Is Love Sweater

by alwaysacraftylady

I’ve been finishing up a lot of lingering projects lately, but this is my favorite. My husband and I celebrated 5 years of marriage in June, so I cast on a sweater the same color as my dress.

And I think you’ll agree the sweater is a fitting homage.

I had a lot of fun knitting it. This sweater went beer tasting on our vacation.

And to see a concert performed by a few hundred french horn players.

And for more beer. I guess you could say this sweater is brought to you by beer. But my husband is a home brewer and we went to Belgium on our honeymoon so bar knitting is fitting.

The design is mine on a base pattern from Custom Fit. I wrote about Custom Fit recently and the program makes is so easy to take an idea in your head to reality! In this case I wanted a lace panel up the front and along the side seams and onto the shoulder.

I’ve never seen a set in sleeve pattern with lace along the outside edge of the shoulder.

But I fell in love with the design feature and plan to try it again in the future! It look a little more thinking ahead, but not that much.

The yarn color is Pocket Full of Posy from the supremely talented Ridgely at Astralbath and the base is Compass which is very similar to Madelinetosh Sock.

This sweater also gave me a chance to break into one of my Japanese stitch dictionaries! I’m not sure what the title is, but here is a photo of the cover. Japanese stitch dictionaries are great because they have photos and charts for all the stitch patterns!

Happy Anniversary babe!

31Aug2015

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.

20May2015

Almost an Easter Sweater

by alwaysacraftylady

Well, this was almost an Easter sweater if you think finishing something almost 3 weeks after the holiday counts. Ha!

It would have looked so cute with her Easter dress, but instead Lu will have to settle for wearing her new sparkly pink sweater over her new school dress. I think she’ll survive.

I used Brooklyn Tweed’s pattern Petal. The first minute I saw the pattern it was begging to be knit. So feminine and delicate a pattern. Something my girly girl would love. Then on a wet and soggy day I went shopping at The Yarnover Truck and spotted Anzula Nebula in Petals. Kismet? Yes, I think so.

Unfortunately Petal is kind of a pain to knit. So much patterning. Patterning on every single row. Twisted stitches. Lace. Small gauge. Almost everything I dislike in knitting, but yet the finished sweater is nothing short of perfection. Totally worth the nearly two months worth of knitting.

Her new dress is pretty cute too! I know you cannot see most of it in these pictures because Lu was too excited about her sweater to remove it, but trust me when I say it looks and fits nicely. There are (poor quality) pictures of the dress in this post.

For the dress I used Oliver + S’s pattern Hopscotch (same pattern as the skirt I posted recently). It is fantastic. Really I have yet to find anything bad about Oliver + S patterns in general. They are nothing but professional quality with clear directions.

Fabric is nothing fancy. I only recently started sewing with knits, so this is some inexpensive cotton/poly blend interlock I bought at JoAnn’s. I bought 3 yards and even after making a skort, a dress, and a skirt there is still more than a yard left!

Anyways, looking back I know realize I haven’t shared modeled photos of most of my Kids Clothes Week projects! Sorry about that! We’ve had a wee bit of drama at preschool and it has been a major distraction in my life, but hopefully I’ll have more brain space for writing very soon. I’ve been sewing up a storm as an outlet for the stress.

27Apr2015

Kids Clothes Week: Day 7!

by alwaysacraftylady

Ta-da! Last day! Here on the West Coast I suppose I still have 90 minutes, but I’m calling it done. Today I managed to fit in one last project. Another Geranium Dress for my younger daughter Charlie.

My friend Erica gave me a completely random package of fabric. It turned out to be maybe several eighth yards of the Moda Grunge collection as far as I can tell from what I could read from the selvedges. And I had lots of small pieces of fabric left over from the dress I made from Cotton + Steel double gauze. The little slip of Moda fabric was exactly as much as I needed to cut out the bodice of the dress.

It was also the perfect color match. I even had buttons to finish it off and a husband who took Charlie to run errands while Lu took a nap. I almost had it totally finished by the time he returned.

And I love that it is lined with double gauze. Nothing but softness for my pretty little baby.

So here is the full lineup of what I completed this week.

And everything even has buttons.

Happy Kids Clothes Week!

28Feb2015

Stitches West!

by alwaysacraftylady

Whew! What a week. It was my last week of maternity leave and DD1 was sick and well, I was busy. But Stitches West was great! Look! Knitting! Bless my mother who did the majority of the driving while I knit and tried in vain to get DD2 to relax and nap in the car.

Stitches itself was really great as always even if I was only there for less than 3 hours. The marketplace was filled with fun vendors and I was especially glad to meet the ladies of The Frosted Pumpkin since I’ve picked up cross stitch again. And my friend Erica snagged me one of the exclusive kits The Frosted Pumpkin was selling. So cute with little sheep and socks and such! My sister was thrilled to see Stephen West’s outfit.

There was also Jennie the Potter. I’ve heard a ton about her beautiful work from people who have attended Rhinebeck. I told myself I wouldn’t buy a mug, but I ended up buying a small tumbler to bring out on special occasions (when the kids aren’t around).

Mostly I like to just walk around and see what’s new and hot. Last year Plucky was all the rage and it was clear YOTH was this year’s hot ticket. By the time I got there around lunch on Friday a lot of their stock was already gone! But I hear they are coming to Vogue Knitting Live in April, so maybe there will be more selection there. Also, note to self – track down this gorgeous purple from Jill Draper Makes Stuff.

My girls also had a good time. My mom and sister took DD1 while I shopped. I think the escalator was her favorite part, though her chocolate milk snack was a close second. DD2 had a great time snuggled up against my chest. I swear I couldn’t go more than a few feet before being stopped by someone wanting to take a peek at my red headed girl, but I don’t blame them. Babies in hand knits are irresistible!

In the end here is my haul of goodies.

I’ve been busy sewing almost every night this week, so I hope to have more to share soon. But it will depend on if we get rain this weekend. I hope we do because we need it so badly!

19Feb2015

Stitches West Bound!

by alwaysacraftylady

Tomorrow I’m off to Stitches West! That’s right. My mom and I are loading up her car with enough stuff to take care of two small children for fours days and heading up north tomorrow morning. My sister also lives up north so this is perfection in a visit. A little yarn and fiber goodies and a little sister time. Plus my sister got engaged last week. Squee!!!!!

See you in a few days!

26Jan2015

Sugar Plum Baby

by alwaysacraftylady

The moment I saw the Sugar Plum Cardigan by Jennifer Beaumont, I knew I wanted to make one for one of my girls. It is the cutest little sweater design. But it meant steeking. Eek! And stranded color work too. Something I hadn’t attempted in 4 years (and it didn’t go all that well).

But it was a fun challenge and attempting a new-ish technique on a size 3 month garment is certainly a lot easier than on an adult garment. This little sweater was made with Cascade 220 Superwash in the colors baby denim, berry pink, and blue velvet. The pattern is worked top down with set in sleeves. I wouldn’t say it was an easy pattern because not only is there steeking and color work, but you are also instructed to work the pixelated patterning while shaping the shoulders, sleeves, and neckline. But the end product is completely worth it and Jennifer’s instructions are perfectly clear. She has such a great sense of color that I encourage you to check out her designs!

Darling daughter #2 will be 3 months old on Thursday. I was supposed to go back to work today, but I am thankful I am able to stay home with her an extra 5 weeks. So hopefully I will have time to make her more pretty things.