sweater! sweater! sweater! sweater!

Look Ma!  No hands!

 I finished my sweater (my first sweater!!) right before Thanksgiving dinner.    It ended up a lot more floppy than intended, but I wore it anyway, and have done so several times since then, despite it being completely unseasonable and not nearly warm enough.   For it is my sweater and I hath knitted it.  

All hail the twisty cables that have been my trusty companions for a little over a year.   

in which I make good choices.

I'm probably about five hours from finishing both the sweater and the coat.   I *need* the coat, and yet I keep puttering away at the sweater.

Better pictures in that happy day when sunlight comes again.   Also pictures of all the stuff I've been making, but not blogging, due to lack of convenient garden for photography.   Must work on that....

Progress - slow and steady

the leaping dolphins are straps

 a couple weeks ago I looked at my calendar and realized how close we are to the first of the six (SIX!!!) weddings I've been invited to this summer.   (It is utter maddness.)  Which meant it was time to get cracking on what I've started calling *my* wedding dress, since I think I can probably get away with wearing it to all but one of them (in which I am a bridesmaid).  Oddly enough, they are all in different groups of friends, so there won't really be any overlap and I can be shiny and new each and every time.

mighty pockets of glory

Anyhow, I have the shell almost done, the lining put together and even made my own binding tape for the pockets.    This dress is going to get a lot more wear than my formal stuff usually does, so I want it mighty and ready to scoff at anything the washing machine can throw at it.

somehow, they will end up long enough....

There has even been progress on the sweater (it comes and goes)  although I'm getting steadily more worried that the sleeves will not be long enough.   The two and a half skeins pictured here are all I have left, and I'd like the sleeves to be about double the current length of the longer one.   I may have to get more yarn - possibly even from another dye lot -- but we shall see.   fingers crossed.

the pile of desire

And finally, my snuggly shirts got kicked down the queue when I looked at the calendar, so they're hanging out (cut out!) waiting for me to have time to re-thread my serger.  (Yes, it takes all of five minutes.  But somehow it always seems like an immense burden.)   Considering the change in the weather, I'm also thinking of going with the scoop neck, rather than the cowl option I've cut out.   It would involve adding a binding instead, but it would mean I could use the shirt in spring and fall, and they layer it in winter.

The problems of going rogue

Happily knitting away on my sleeve, when I noticed I only had three skeins left and no sense of how much I'd already used....   So I promptly stopped and am knitting the other sleeve to match.   Once they are the same size, I'll divide the remaining yarn in half and hope for the best.... but things are looking a little short right now.

::fingers crossed this doesn't end up being totally ridiculous::

It's starting to look like a sweater....

Check this out - body, neck, arm holes -- its getting all garmenty

The patterned border continues around the neck, to the center back, where it joins in a slightly lumpy manner (in my defense, its my first time sewing knitted stuff together, so I'm actually rather pleased with the result)

And thanks to Penny, diffusing some of the sunlight, this is a more accurate shot of the real color of the yarn.

Next challenge:   sleeves!

more snowstorm sewing

I've been working away at the crinoline that's going to go under my new B5748, to give it the proper oomf.   Rather than going with anything fancy, I chose a quilting cotton I can toss in the wash between wears.  (I know this isn't a popular point of view, but I love clothing made of quilting cottons.  They are nice and solid, but still have a good drape)   

The crinoline is  fluffy and enormous, and not as ridiculous as it appears in this picture - I was fending off cats, while trying to take advantage of the early morning sunlight.    When its on, and is sitting normally, everything is even and lovely (and made of french seams!)  The fabric is a pale pink  (about halfway between how it appears in the two pictures) that reminds me of dessert.

And, because I really don't have enough going on, I decided I need a cowl, to fight off these ridiculous winds from my poor cold ears.   I also forgot I don't knit a foot a night, even with chunky yarn, so this may take a while...

I'd originally looked at patterns, but ended up just going with a 90 stitch, stockinette, in the round giant tube thing.  Stylish, no?

Sweater Progress

Chugging along with my cardigan.

The left and right extended sections will be the front sides, while the lower clipped area in the center will eventually be the upper back.  

I'm not really following a pattern, (I've stolen bits from several, but am really just mucking around), so I'm not entirely sure how this is all going to come together (and I know the back is going to fit weird -- I may have experimented with shaping, it it may have ended up a little wonky) But it will be something - so, fingers crossed.  Toes too.

a bit of knitting

For a while now I'd been playing with the idea of getting back into knitting - looking at patterns, getting book with interesting techniques, stalking people on ravelry, etc..     A couple of weeks ago I ended up in a part of the city I don't usually frequent and happened to walk by a yarn store.... so in I went to start petting the merchandise.  I can't wear wool next to my skin (even cashmere or merino - trust me.  I stuck my arm into the boxes of yarn to test it out) so the original plan was cotton with some spandex and the owl sweater.

 However, I didn't like the colors they carried, so I continued petting things until I came to a silk and cotton blend I fell in love with.(Seta Tweed, by Lang Yarns in a sort of turquoise color - its brighter and darker - I guess more intense - than shown above)  I was paranoid about the stretch and recovery, so I ended up going with a franken-pattern of a cardigan from Textured Stitches by Connie Chang Chinchio (plus the inevitable screwing around that happens with all my projects)   the next big challenge is getting the arm holes to come out right... wish me luck!