well, a bunch of people have made my pattern (seen in my icon) and everyone has such nice things to say about it! it actually has a 5/5 stars rating on ravelry, which makes me totally giddy.

this girl even dedicates a blog post to the one she made.

perhaps i have a future in knitwear design. ;)

this weekend i started a knitalong with KnittingRose, KnittingSam, and happy2beso. we're all knitting the same sweater which is pretty fun!

i am modifying mine to be a bit longer than the pattern calls for, because cropped cardigans are not a good look for me. ;)

the yarn is an insanely soft cotton blend (KP shine worsted for those in the know). i'm having to knit quite loosely to get gauge, which is stressing me out a little, but i'm hoping the fabric firms and fluffs a bit after washing. the softness and drape seem to suit the pattern well, though.

back of the sweater:

so, once i finished the body and hood of the sweater, i decided that i really liked how it looked as a vest. plus, i was really over it and dreading doing the sleeves, so that was an added incentive to finish it up.

not loving these pictures, but that's what happens when i don't get to take them. ;)







all in all, this was a great project. i don't LOVE the yarn (kraemer tatamy tweed) - it feels a little more acrylic-y than i had hoped. i haven't washed it yet, so we'll see if that improves my feeling about it.

in any case, this is the first garment i've made for myself that i know i'll wear, and that's pretty exciting. and i'm starting my next sweater today!

my CPH has a hood, and for the first time since i cast on there's no needle in the sweater.

i'm casting on for a new sweater this weekend, so i'd love to finish the button band and the sleeves this week. that might be a bit of a stretch, but i'm gonna try.

i tell you what...if i finish this sweater - and i actually like it - i think i will feel more accomplished than i ever have in my life.

i will post a picture soon.

* * *

it occured to me today that the cowls i've been making would be really great for toddlers & kids. especially since it's not really safe for the little ones to wear scarves. the cowls can't really be tightened into a choking hazard the way scarves can... we went to the park today and i kept thinking i wish i had something warm for tate's neck. duh!

so, as soon as i finish seaming together the body of this darn sweater i'm going to make one.

if i love it, i might make some more to bust through some of my stash yarn and sell them!

so i finished the replacement cowl. i LOVE it.



i also love the picture that i took of me wearing it. i look so much better than i do in real life. and so, it's my NEW new icon. :D

* * *

i'm gonna write up the pattern along with a tutorial on the cool way i seamed up the back. i think i might have actually invented a new technique. i've never heard of it anyway.

but i'm too tired for that now. i'm doing early bed tonight.

i finally bought some malabrigo, and now i'm mitting a luscious new cowl. the stitch patttern is so beautiful and the yarn is just gorgeous and so freakin' soft.



* * *

i had a really good time hanging out with some knitting friends last night. i discovered a while back that one of the women who works at the yarn shop - barb - actually lives on my street! and as i get to know her i realize that we are VERY much alike and get on super well.

rose, did you get your stuff done?

needed a scarf-type thing. fell in love with rowan cocoon.

and the quickie cowl was born:

a little something i whipped up this week for maggie_maybe's impending arrival.

this is knit with rowan calmer - which i have knit with in the past and LOVE, but i'm realizing that it's stretchiness makes it difficult to keep a uniform tension.

by the way, maggie - it's machine washable, though i'd probably let it air dry flat!







pattern by happy2beso - slightly modified for gender neutral-ness. :)

i was so excited that i'd gotten to the point in my sweater that i could start shaping the armholes...

so i did the first 4 rows of binding off and then suddenly remembered that i was adapting the pattern to knit the body all in one piece, meaning that i'd just bound off on the two front sides of the cardigan.

oops.

i guess it could have been worse...

i'm so excited about this sweater!



( +2 )

so, i made christmasy dishcloths for fisher's preschool teachers, and used them to wrap up a bottle of holiday-scented dishsoap (i was going to make my own, but ended up dividing up a bottle of winter forest soap from williams-sonoma, because i'm cheap)

also, i made gift tags by making a stamp out of some rubbery stuff i had laying around, and some poster paint. cute, no?





then, i made this purse for our homemade-item white elephant gift exchange for our annual girl's night last night. i LOVE how it turned out - will definitely have to make more. i'd really like to start selling some of my knitting, but at the same time i hardly have enough time to knit all the things i want to make for myself!



closeup of button:

so today i took fisher to the yarn store to pick out some yarn for a new hat and mittens. i was in the mood to knit something big & chunky and he picked out this this kermit-colored yarn. it's...bright. i tried to convince him to get grey, but he wasn't going for it.

at least i was able to direct him away from his first choice....pink. heh.

aaaanyway, it knit up super quick and it's really cute.

( there's only one problem )

here's fisher's wallaby, all blocked and dried. it's SO CUTE, fits perfectly - just big enough that it should last a couple of years - and SO SOFT! 100% superwash wool (dream in color - classy for you yarnphiles). i'm incredibly proud that i finished this in just 12 days.

in case you can't see, it's got a pocket in the front for full hoodie-ness.



he didn't want to wear it today, but he promised to wear it tomorrow. ;)

now scott wants one. and i want one. heh.

actually, i still have a bit of finishing up to do on my brown sweater. it's still sitting there finished, but not.

(oh, and i think instead of starting a knitting blog, i'll just make all my knitting entries un-locked.)