Where Have You Been?

It's been five months since my last entry.  During that time, I relaxed with friends and family over the summer months.  I also worked on a few knitting projects. The first is this top-down pullover sweater knit using Classic Elite's Classic Silk yarn in colors purple and cream. This was my first time knitting with silk yarn and I loved working with it. The warm silk yarn felt good against my skin as I was knitting.

The pattern, called Incan Pullover, is from Knit Simple magazines Spring/Summer 2008 issue. The designer, Cathy Carron, is known for her top-down designs.  There are two versions of the sweater in the magazine.  The first, pattern #10,  is made using cotton yarn and the second, pattern #11,  is made using a worsted weight yarn.  I used pattern #11 and made the sweater in size Large.

The sweater was made using 7 skeins of purple and 3 skeins of cream yarns.  I admit I didn't do a gauge swatch prior to starting the project and knit the sweater using size 0 40" circular needles. The result is a sweater that looks and feels more like a poncho than an actual pullover sweater.  The lack of waist shaping causes the sweater to ride up across my shoulders and towards the front of my body as I move.  I find myself having to re-adjust the sweater towards the back of my body.  These problems could be due to my knitting in the wrong gauge or using silk yarn rather than the required worsted weight yarn.  If I made this sweater again I would make it in a size Medium. 

The sweater was meant to be wore in the late spring.  However, I underestimated the amount of time it would take to work on the pullover.  I started knitting the sweater in early May while vacationing in Washington, DC and didn't finish the sweater until I got back from my summer vacation in Martha's Vineyard in early August. 

This project couldn't hold my attention.  Since I was also working on more challenging projects along with this one, it was often put to the side.  In addition, I was growing bored with continuously knitting in the round.

Once I finished knitting the sweater, I still had to sew up the seams and weave in all the strands of yarn used while knitting in intarsia around the placket, sleeves, and sides of the front and back.  It was a daunting task that I avoided as much as possible. 

Nevertheless, as the cooler temperatures appoached, I realized that this pullover is perfect to wear with a pair of jeans on the weekends. I decided to dedicate my time to finishing the seams and weaving in the ends.  I love it because it is casual and easy to wear. 

Happy Birthday, Lydia!

Today is my daughter's 2nd birthday.  She is the joy of my life!

 You're the best, Lydia!

Jaywalker Skirt

I haven't knit a pair of socks in almost two years. My enjoyment of knitting clothes for my daughter Lydia has replaced my enthusiasm for knitting socks. Also, I'm bored knitting the same basic sock patterns, but too nervous to attempt more challenging patterns involving cables, yarn-overs, and intarsia using double-pointed needles.  But now, thanks to Ravelry, I've discovered a plethora of sock patterns that have piqued my interest in knitting socks again.

I decided to make Grumperina's Jaywalker pattern my first "challenging" pattern because the finished socks appear more complicated to knit than they actually are. In fact, it's actually quite similar to knitting a basic pair of socks. The first round is knit and the second round uses double decreasing (DD) and knitting through the front and back stitches (K-f/b) in order to increase and decrease stitches at various intervals throughout the round. The two rounds are repeated and eventually create an interesting zigzag pattern.

I purchased one skein of variegated Noro sock yarn at The Point in New York City to make the socks. I really enjoyed knitting the zigzag pattern. I loved seeing how it evolved using variegated yarn. Since it was such an easy pattern to remember, I worked on the socks while traveling to and from work.

As I was knitting, I started thinking about how the pattern would look if it were knit continuously in the round as a skirt for Lydia. I eventually put the socks to the side and decided to try my luck instead at a Jaywalker skirt for Lydia. I used a stash of red Louet Gem Sport Weight yarn for the skirt. I picked this yarn because it is machine washable and had been sitting in my yarn basket for over a year.

Since the skirt was an experiment I decided to cast on 128 stitches using size 0 circular needles. I worked straight in K2, P2 for 1". I then purled all the stitches on the following row. This purl row formed a turning ridge for the waistband elastic casing that would be sewn in later.  I placed a marker at the end of the next row and joined in the round. I knit another K2, P2 for 1".

At this point, I started the Jaywalker zigzag pattern.  I knit all the stitches for Round 1.  For Round 2, since I cast on more stitches than required for the sock pattern, I knit 13 stitches between the K-f/b and the DD. As a result, Round 2 looked like this -- K2, K-f/b, K13, DD, K13, K-f/b.  I repeated Round 2 four times around. 

About 2" from the K2, P2 ribbing, I switched to size 1 needles.  I continued increasing needle sizes every 1 1/2-to-2" in order to get the skirt to gradually widen to an A-line shape.  The last set of needles I used were a size 5. I cast off on Round 1.

I sewed the ribbing section down on the reverse side of the skirt.  I placed a 1" elastic band inside the waistband casing.   I blocked the sweater to measure 11" in length and 9" in width at the center-most point of the skirt.  I wound up using about 3/4 skein of yarn for the project.    

Overall, it is a lovely skirt and I am surprised at how nicely it turned out.  The main problem is that it is too small for Lydia in the waist.  I think it would have fit her when she was a year old, not now that she's almost two.  The next time I make the skirt I will cast on more stitches and make the ribbing at least 2" longer.  I had a difficult time getting the 1" elastic band inside the waistband casing.  In addition, I will use larger size needles immediately after working the ribbing section in order to widen the hip area of the skirt.

Uh Oh!

Have you ever worked on a pattern and you did everything right, but it still turned out wrong?  This is what happened to me when I was almost finished with the first sleeve of my Canopy Cardigan by Amy King.  When I came to the sleeve cap shaping section, I noticed that the upper sleeve was not going to fit around my arm. Even if I blocked the sleeve to widen the upper arm, it still wouldn't fit correctly.

I got the correct gauge of 16 stitches and 22 rows for a 4" square using size 3 knitting needles.  I checked for pattern erratas prior to starting the project and found one issue involving binding off stitches at the very end of the sleeve cap shaping. However, this errata had nothing to do with the actual width of the sleeve. So I couldn't understand what happened. 

When a project doesn't come out the way I had hoped, I usually blame myself.  I assume it didn't turn out well because I didn't use the yarn the pattern called for, I didn't do a gauge swatch, or I didn't read the directions thoroughly.  However, with the Canopy Cardigan, I did everything right, though I did use a different yarn than the pattern called for. The pattern called for Ornaghi Filati Tibet wool. I used Paton Tweed yarn instead. It never occured to me that the project itself may be flawed. 

I knitted the body of the sweater in size 46" and it turned out nicely. I expected the sleeves, using the same sizing, to be correct as well. But unfortunately, they are not, which I learned the hard way,  Now I am going to have to re-do the sleeve in the next size up, which is size 50". Naturally, this does nothing for my vanity, having to go up another size.

I'm frustrated by the problem, and still do not understand why it happened.  I even considered contacting the designer, but didn't want her to be insulted by my questions.  I really want the cardigan to turn out well. I even bought a new pair of pants to wear with it. I will start working on the new sleeve very soon, and hope to wear the cardigan before the weather gets too warm.

Think Spring!

For me, the month of March has been dragging on for so long that I've been feeling a bit down lately. The weather hasn't helped matters much. Athough we have had a few "teaser" days of warmer temperatures here in the New York City area, for the most part it has been cold, wet, and grey.

To alleviate my miserable mood, I started making some Spring/Summer outfits for my daughter Lydia. The first outfit is this Monica ruffled tank top by Christine Schwender I found on Knitty. I used two skeins of Lion Brand Cotton-Ease yarn in the colors azalia and pink.  I knit the first three rows of the body of the sweater as well as the bottom and top portions of the ruffles in moss stitch. I then knit the rest of the tank top in stockinette stitch.  Although other knitters on Ravelry made the Monica pattern in the round using circular needles, I chose to work the front and back separately and seam the two sides together at the end.  The finishing work involved in sewing the front and back together, including the ruffles, was minimal.    

 

Knitting the tank top in the bright-colored yarn definitely cheered me up. It was fun thinking about how Lydia would look in the ruffled top.  I even learned how to use three needles at the same time when I had to attach the pink ruffles to the body of the top. 

The top was very easy.  I was able to make it while commuting to and from work on the train.  I finished the project in one week.  The only issue I have with the pattern is that the straps are too long. The top keeps falling farther and farther down Lydia's chest the more she moves around in it.  I will need to shorten the straps by hand-sewing them up higher along the back of the sweater.     

My next Spring/Summer projects will be a cotton hat and skirt for Lydia and a tunic top for myself.