Tag Archives: Cardigan

May 14, 2012 · 5:20 pm

Just a progress report!

I’ve been bad this past week and haven’t been too devoted to my knitting, but I am slowly making progress.

First, my Oaklet is coming along nicely and I really love the deep dark browns in the  colorway, called Dark Chocolate.  Each time I look at my progress, I seem to have a craving for chocolate covered caramels!  I’m just about ready to start the lace portion, so the following photo is about three days old.

Progress photo of Oaklet

My Vodka Lemonade is coming together as well but I have neglected it terribly!  So far I’m still working on the increases in the sleeve section.  I really do like Thea’s design for the sleeve section, gives it details with a bit of texture.

Progress photo of Vodka Lemonade

I’m hoping to get both of these projects completed by the end of the month so I can concentrate on my two Craftsy classes – Knitting with Beads with instructor Laura Nelkin and The Perfect Fit Seamless Crazy Lace Cardigan with instructor Myra Wood.  I have two lace projects that I want to attempt this summer, and one has beads!

I have found quite a few cardigans and sweaters that I want to knit this year, as well as years to come.  One brand new design that caught my eye today incorporates two elements I love, knitting and crochet.   Evelyn Siatra‘s new release, Silk Knitted Jacket with Crochet Embellishments, is quite stunning and shows how we can use crochet as a lovely edging to any style garment.

Courtesy of Creations by Eve

 

 

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

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May 7, 2012 · 4:45 am

Pattern Spotlight: Skipperdee !

As you can tell, I’m madly in love with cardigans, especially when they are knitted all in one piece.  I was so excited to see a lovely new bottom-up design hit the Ravelry pages this past week and had to share.

Skipperdee designed by Julia Farwell-Clay of Moth Heaven has created a gorgeous cardigan that has a lovely cabled design edging the top and the cuffs.

This cardigan was inspired by a long standing interest of mine in all those beautiful sideways cable sweaters, and my frustration with the way they fit me. This cable will not bind at the shoulders, and the sweater fits and feels great on the body, whether buttoned up or not. ~ Julia Farwell-Clay

Photo ©Caro Sheridan – Used by permission by Julia Farwell-Clay

The Facts:   I truly love that this project is seamless, worked flat and then joined at the yoke with the arms worked in the round and then completed all in one piece.   I also love that Julia has provided finished bust sizes that range from 33 3/4″ to 54 3/4″, making this cardigan perfect for just about all shapes and sizes.

Knitters will enjoy very well written easy to follow instructions that includes a chart for the cable stitch design found on the cuffs and the yoke.    Julia has also included detailed notes on special stitches used for her design, as well as excellent finishing techniques, abbreviations and a sweater schematic showing all measurements.  This project is perfect for an intermediate to an advanced knitter.

Materials:  For this project you will need  6 to 11 skeins of Spirit Trail Verdande ( 75% Superwash Merino, 15% Cashmere and 10% Bombyx Silk) or  approximately 1,320 to 2,420 yards of  any worsted weight that will match the gauge of 19 stitches and 28 rows to equal 4″ over stockinette, a size US 5 and a size US 7 needle,  8 buttons that are 3/4″, stitch markers and a darning needle for weaving in the ends.

You can find more of Julia’s designs online at Ravelry and on her website, Moth Heaven.  You can also find her online at Twitter.

___________________________________________________________

Today is Julia’s birthday, so she is celebrating by offering one free PDF Download of her new design, Skipperdee to one lucky blog reader.

To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment, and do be sure to leave a means of contact if your email does not automatically attach to your comment, for example your Ravelry ID or Twitter ID.

This giveaway is open to all ~ meaning, it’s open to international blog readers too !

The  deadline to enter is Saturday, May 12th at 4:00pm Arizona Time.  The winner will be selected by a  random number generator and will be announced on Sunday, May 13th .   Please note that the winner will receive their PDF download of this pattern directly from Julia via Ravelry or via email.

So who wouldn’t want to win a free copy of this wonderful new design!

Thank you for entering ~ this giveaway is now closed!

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May 6, 2012 · 6:48 am

Casting On and Casting Off: Two new projects on the needles!

I’ve decided to participate in two KALs (knit alongs) for May, which I’m very excited about. I’m using my stash yarn, which is a huge goal for me this year, and I’m knitting projects for myself.

I’m in love with cardigans, especially top-down raglans, and fell in love with one pattern on first sight, Vodka Lemonade by Thea Colman of of Baby Cocktails.  I love Thea’s designs and have purchased Cassis, as well as Dark and Stormy.  I hope to be able to knit these up this year as well, but first I must finish this one!

I was tickled to find out that in the MadelineTosh Group, there was a KAL for this sweater, so I casted on and have joined in the Mad May fun!

For this project I’m using my stash of Madeline Tosh 80/10/10 Sport Weight in the colorway of Badlands and a size US 6 (4.0 mm) circular needle.  I love the way this yarn is knitting up and can’t wait to see what the body of my cardigan will look like.

The color is complete and now on to the sleeves!

I typically have two project going so I can go back and forth to keep my interest going, so I’ve also casted on Oaklet by Megan Goodacre, a.k.a. the Tricksy Knitter.  This simple top down triangular shawl will be a soothing knit and compliment my cardigan quite nicely ~ yes, I’m thinking about wearing them together when all done!

For this project I’m using fiber pal Wendy’s beautiful Dark Chocolate colorway in a 100% merino wool in fingering weight and a size US 5 (3.75 mm) circular needle. To keep me motivated,  I joined Wendy’s KAL for May and I’m having fun knitting along with the other gals that have a variety of projects going using yarn from Indieway Yarns.  You can find Wendy’s hand-dyed yarn online at Indieway Yarns.

81 stitches done and 152 stitches to go!

 

So what projects do you have on the needles or hooks?

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

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April 26, 2012 · 5:37 pm

Casting On and Casting Off: One down and a new one on the needles!

I’m so excited to have finally finished my Cotton Raglan Cardigan!  This was truly a very enjoyable knit and would have been finished much sooner but due to work, family and other obligations, it was placed aside for a while.

So, here’s the scoop on this project!

Pattern:  Lion Brand Simple Raglan Cardi

Yarn:  I ended up using 8 1/2 skeins of my stash of Elsebeth Lavold Cable Cotton in Straw.  This leaves me with 6 full skeins for another project of some sort, which I’m quite happy with.  This project ended up costing me a total of $ 10.80 (originally $6.00 a skein and purchased at a LYS that was closing).

Needle:  I using an US 7 ( 4.5 mm) 29″ circular needle for the majority of this project and an US 7 (4.5mm) 16″ circular needle to finish the sleeves.

Notes:  For interest, I decided to use the Lace Insert pattern stitch from Lace & Eyelet Stitches (A Harmony Guide) by Erika Knight. It’s quite simple and super easy to memorize too!  This just gave the touch I was looking for and broke up the monotony of the solid colored yarn.

I’m currently blocking and only need to sew on my button to finish up this project. I’m looking forward to wearing this new cardigan to work next week!

Currently blocking!

So now that this project is all done, I’m trying to decide whether to cast on Kristen TenDyke’s (Catapillar Knits) lovely lace pull-over Homa or her classic top-down pull-over Mudita.

I have two yarns in my stash that would be perfect ….

Elsebeth Lavold's Cool Wool for Homa

Elsebeth Lavold's Cotton Cable for Mudita

 

Now if I can just decide on which one to start I’ll be doing good!

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

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April 4, 2012 · 6:31 pm

Wednesday’s Pattern Spotlight: A tale of woe and a super quick pattern review !

I do apologize for not posting too much these past few days but needless to say I’m about ready to throw my computer and wireless system out the window!  The last few weeks I’ve been having computer issues which has caused me much grief and to the point where I’m down more than I’m up when it comes to the internet.  If I do not get back to you right away when you email, please contact me via Ravelry – I have access to that via another location that I can check from time to time during the day.

With that being said, on to the fun things that involve fiber!

This time of year is a time rejuvenation, a time for change and a time for us to start knitting, or crocheting, items that are lighter weight or that have shorter sleeves.  Let’s face it girls, spring is here and summer is just around the corner!

I came across a gorgeous new design by Andi Smith today on Ravelry that I had to share.  Bide, is a short sleeve, top-down seamless cardigan with a chain stitch design for interest.  This little number is perfect to wear to work with a skirt or a pair of slacks, or even a pair of capri pants.  I love the simplicity of this design and the pattern is versatile enough to make it short (as shown) or a bit longer.   This design will require 600 to 1,000 yards of worsted weight yarn and has bust size that range from 32 to 48 inches.

Courtesy of Andi Smith of Knit Brit

I love lace and Amy Swenson‘s new vest design, Riverbank Road, is adorable!  This one piece, seamless bottom up design is perfect to wear over a tee or a tank, or even a summer dress.  This design requires 300 to 600 yards of fingering weight yarn and has bust sizes that range from 30 to 46 inches.

Courtesy of Amy Swenson of Indi Knits

I’m a huge fan of Cecily Glowik MacDonald of Winged Knits and truly love her latest design, Floating.  This one piece top-down design is knitted in lace weight yarn, which provides a very light weight garment.  Cecily has also added just the right amount of lace for a very soft and feminine piece. The design will require 690 to 1280 yards of lace weight yarn and a size US 5 (3.75 mm) 29″ circular needle.

Courtesy of Cecily Glowik MacDonald

To celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic, Kirsten Kapur’s Unsinkable is a beautiful shawl that is perfect for evening or for those cool summer nights.  This bottom up delicate lace design uses short rows to provide a gentle curve that allows the shawl to stay on ones shoulders.   This project will require 350 to 400 yards of fingering weight yarn and  a size US 8 (5.0 mm) circular needle.  Kirsten provides both charted and written instructions.

Unsinkable is the result of a collaboration between Anne Podlesak of Wooly Wonka Fibers and myself. We were talking about strong women in history and Margaret “Molly” Brown came up. I was born on the 50th anniversary of the Titanic disaster – the iceberg was hit at 11:40 pm on the 14th of April (my birthday) and sank in the wee hours of the 15th. As a result I have always been fascinated by all things Titanic. Since both the Titanic and I confront big anniversaries this month it seemed appropriate to design a pattern to commemorate the events of April 14-15, 1912 and honor Margaret Brown. ~ Kirsten Kapur

Courtesy of Kirsten Kapur of Through The Loops!

I hope you enjoyed more pattern choices today and that it has inspired you to start a bit of spring, or even summer knitting.

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

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March 15, 2012 · 7:01 am

Cardigan and Workshop Progress ~ Loving it!

I must say that I’m really enjoying my current project, Simple Raglan Cardi by Lion Brand Yarn, and that it is knitting up quickly for me.

I have finished the yoke, placed the sleeves on scrap yarn and now I’m working on the body.  I joined the Lion Brand Custom Raglan Cardi KAL on Ravelry and have been inspired by what a few other knitters are incorporating into their cardigans.  So, I’ve decided to incorporate a lace insert in the body and it’s looking good!

I have evenly placed the lace insert around the body of the cardigan.  I choose to knit 8, knit lace, knit 8, knit lace, knit 16 (underarm), knit lace, knit 8, knit lace, k16 (middle of the back) and continued.  This made it look more even to me and I really like the effect.

So far I’ve used 4 skeins of yarn and since I have enough in my stash, I plan to make this cardigan fairly long and will also make the sleeves a bit longer.

Back of cardigan that shows the lace insert.

I could not get my needle to stay down but here's the front view!

As I mentioned earlier, I also joined the online workshop,  The Perfect Fit Seamless Crazy Lace Cardigan with instructor Myra Wood.  Last Sunday I spent time on lesson one, which covered measurements and how to obtain proper measurements to insure a good fit.   I had hubby help me with my measurements and wrote down everything on the provided basic sloper template.  The measurements taken included the neck, shoulder to underarm, front bust, back bust, distance from bust to waist (taken from the underarm to the natural waistline), waist and hips.  This will help me when I start customizing my on raglan garments, especially when it comes to inserting stitch patterns.

Since I don’t have much time during the week for this workshop, I’m looking forward to the weekend so I can continue to lesson two, which covers top down construction.  I really like how you can stop and go back to review the online videos and interact with others online.  Myra is an excellent instructor and is easy to understand, which makes this class even more fun!

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

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March 11, 2012 · 7:27 am

New knitting project in the works.

I’m a very slow sock knitter.  While I love hand knit socks, I get bored very easily when knitting them and have to find other projects to turn my attention to.  One such project has been a new the Simple Raglan Cardi by Lion Brand Yarn.  I love raglan style sweaters and cardigans. They’re always easy to knit, quick and create a perfect fitting garment for me.  I still plan to knit the   Summer Waves Cardi designed by Vera Sanon that I mentioned in an earlier post, but I wanted a quicker project at this time.

Courtesy of Lion Brand Yarn

While I do not have the yarn that this project calls for, I do have a lovely cotton in my stash that meets the gauge.  So for this project I will be using my stash of Elsebeth Lavold Cotton Cable in the color Straw, a size US 6 circular needle 29″  and a size US 7 circular needle 29″.   I plan to make a longer version of this pattern as I’m rather “hippy”, which mean I prefer a cardigan to fall in the middle of my rear and not my waist.

This is a very well written, easy to follow pattern and I would venture to say a good advanced beginner pattern – meaning if you understand knitting basics this pattern would be a great start for a larger project.

Progress photo

 

I’ve also joined a new online class,The Perfect Fit Seamless Crazy Lace Cardigan with instructor Myra Wood.  I’m really excited about this class and already can say “I LOVE IT!”.  Myra teaches you how to get a perfect fit no matter what your shape or size, how to obtain proper measurements, how to be creative by inserting lace designs, how to create correct body shaping and more.  This designer class is really going to inspire me to branch out and create unique one of a kind designs that incorporate color, texture and even lace.

Photo: Courtesy of Craftsy.com

For a limited time, this wonderful online class is available for $29.00, which is 50% off.  If you enjoy knitting top down raglan style cardigans, this is a wonderful class to take and the step by step videos and instructions are awesome!

While picking up a few more needed supplies for my online cardigan class, I purchased a new knitting tool by Boye.  The all Around 3 in 1 Needle Gauge  provides a gauge check, a needle and hook check and includes yarn and gauge recommendations.  This is a very handy tool for your knitting bag and not that expensive, I paid $3.99 at Joann and it’s listed for that price online at Amazon.com.

Photo courtesy of Amazon.com

 

Until next time, happy knitting, crocheting, spinning and crafting!

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September 17, 2011 · 5:16 pm

Casting On and Casting Off: WIPS!

I’m so excited that I finished one WIP and will have another just about finished this weekend !  It really feel good to get these projects done and out of my knitting basket, especially on in particular that I’ve been working on since April of this year!!!

Casting Off:

My Yuletide Scarf   is now finished !  This is a super quick knit and great for knitters wanting to learn how to knit without using a cable needle.   I ended up with a finished size is 4″ by 45″ and have just enough yarn left to make a pair of  Sweet Fern Mitts  by Clara Parkes that I think will go nicely with my new scarf.

WIPs:  

I’m so happy to report that this evening I will be finishing sock number one and casting on sock number two of   my Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt.   This was one of April’s pattern choices that is still on the needles for the YOSS Group on Ravelry ~ just a wee bit behind.

Knitting that still needs to be done by the end of the year for the YOSS Group on Ravelry:

  1. Cookie A’s Monkey Socks – June’s pattern choice using my stash of  Wisdom Yarns Poems Sock 
  2. Linda Welch’s Spring Forward Socks – September’s pattern choice using my stash of Woolen Mill St Yarns in Firefly-Mal
  3. Rhiannon Don’s Celtic Moonrise Mittens – February’s pattern choice using my stash of Plymouth Suri Merino 
  4. Deb Barnhill’s Back to Basics – Pattern choice for all months as a “plain vanilla” sock pattern.  This pattern would be perfect for my stash of Patons Kroy.

I’m also still working on my Dynamic Cardi by Drops and have made pretty good progress – 7″ knitted so far!  This will be a very slow project for me due to small needles and DK weight yarn but I’m very optimistic this will be done come October.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!  Be sure to enjoy things for yourself, your family and of course, knitting!!!

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June 15, 2011 · 9:33 am

Wednesday’s Pattern: Year Round Cardigan

Today’s featured pattern is the Year Round Cardigan designed by Susie Bonell for Cascade Yarns.

By using a seed stitch for the border and front edges, along with a cable design for the sleeves and front panel, Susie has created a classic cardigan that is perfect to wear to the office, to wear with a pair of jeans for the weekend or keep warm on cool evenings.  This  truly is a cardigan you could actually wear “year round”.

For this project, you will need approximately 6 to 8 skeins of Cascade Soft Spun (1182 to 1576 yards), or any worsted weight yarn to meet the gauge of 4.5 sts  and  5 rows to equal 1” in stockinette stitch, a pair of US size 9 needles, 5  buttons, a cable needle, a yarn needle and stitch markers.   When finished, this cardigan will fit bust sizes 38″ to 47″.

Yarn Suggestions:   Berroco Blackstone Tweed, Berroco Vintage,  Classic Elite Yarns Liberty Wool, Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool XL , Fibre Company Canopy Worsted or Plymouth Encore Tweed.

Courtesy of Cascade Yarns

You can find this pattern, as well as many others, online at Cascade Yarns.   Be sure to check out Raverly for all of Susie’s designs that feature Cascade Yarns.

On a personal note regarding the use of Cascade Soft Spun for knitting, I must say I love it!   To me, the one thing I enjoy the most about using the Soft Spun for projects, such as this one, is the fact it’s a single ply, it’s very enjoyable to knit with and it gives an excellent drape to your finished garment.  For those of you who are new to Cascade Soft Spun, this extremely soft yarn is 100% Peruvian highland wool that comes in skeins of 197 yards.

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April 28, 2010 · 12:15 pm

Fastest socks in the west!

I just finished a pair of anklets in two days, which is a record for me as it usually takes a couple of weeks to finish socks.  I used the Duckies pattern by Samantha Hayes, which is an easy pattern to memorize, and made the pattern into anklets to use up a last bit of my NH Knitting Mama Durham yarn.   One reason this project went so quickly was due to DK weight yarn and a set of size US 4 circular needles.  I love to use fingering weight (sock weight yarn), but it takes me forever to get a pair of socks done.  Using the DK weight was great and this pair turned out perfect!

I’m on to my next project, a pair of Cabin Socks from Clara Parkes Knitters Book of Wool.  This pair will be anklets too and I’m using Schachenmayr Nomotta Denim (100% cotton) in a denim blue color.  I love the broken rib stitch pattern used for these socks and have already knitted about 2″.  Looks like another fast project!

Coming up in May is Rosamund’s Cardigan by Andrea Pomerantz from the fall 2009 issue of Interweave Knits.  I’ve chosen to use my stash yarn for this project, which is Berroco’s Vintage (50% Acrylic, 40% Wool, 10% Nylon) in colorway #5117 Chambray.   This should be a fun project and I’m looking forward to knitting a cardi for me!

Rosamund's Cardigan

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