Glorious Green Pullover

There is something very satisfying about teaching someone to knit. As the primary knitting teacher of the maker I claim full responsibility for this very smart jumper, although I did not knit a single stitch of it.

 

The starting point for this jumper is the free pattern "Waiting for Spring" by SeeSuzSew

However, you might notice that the free pattern is for a 10ply/Aran yarn, and the chosen yarn just happens to be 8ply/DK, Jo Sharp Classic Double Knit Wool in fact, which comes in many delightful colours. This jumper took not quite 11 balls of the yarn.
A tension square was knitted, washed and blocked, and after quite a bit of maths, an 8ply conversion of the pattern was started, using 3.5mm needles for the ribbing, and 4.0mm needles for the body.

The leaf cable was not adjusted, which means that the leaf is smaller in proportion to this jumper than in the original pattern, but it looks just the right size to me.

The sleeve was made more narrow throuought, as a fitting adjustment, and the waist shaping was increased to closer approximate the measurements of the wearer. She also cleverly adapted the front armscye shaping to permit the leaf cable to continue to the shoulder, which was not possible using the shaping in the original pattern in this size.
The other change to the pattern was to double the length of the neck ribbing, and fold it over for a firmer and warmer neckline.

 

This jumper had some intensive wear during a month spent at St George, and has proved beautifully warm and practical.

OWLS

Kate Davies' Owls pattern is now a knitting classic. I've been very late to the knitting party, but here is my first version of her lovely fitted jumper, knitted in 12 ply Guanaco. 
It took just under 5 x 100g skeins for the size S - a little less than the pattern called for, which surprised me as my tension was a little under the gauge.



Its a very quick knit, for a jumper, which is the very pleasing thing about knitting with 12ply.



There are plenty of 12ply patterns about, due to the speed of knitting with these chunky yarns, but very few of the patterns are so beautifully fitted. See those nice darts at the back waist!  Most 12 ply jumpers have a very cosy and oversized look - dare I say boxy...



The most delightful part of this pattern for me, are the owl cables.



These cables give just enough embellishment to make the jumper interesting to knit and wear, but are not too complicated for a relatively inexperienced knitter.
This is such a quick jumper to knit that I might be able to squeeze in another one whilst it is still cold enough to wear a snuggly alpaca/wool top layer

Transeasonal boy's cabled jumper, Sirdar Baby Bamboo 346

Knitting for the conservative Australian male is not for the faint hearted knitter. This venture can also be complicated by certain people who complain vigorously that most things itch.
Despite these challenges, I claim success. This has been worn quite a few times already.

The pattern is (mostly) from Sirdar's Baby Bamboo too, book 346, which despite the title and the beautiful infant on the front ,includes patterns up to a generous size 7 years.

The sizes are in fact so generous, that for my (admittedly slim) 12 year old son, I needed only to change the length of the jumper (body and sleeves) from the size 7 to have a jumper that is a relaxed fit in all directions.

 I did intend to make the sleeves to fit when the cuff was folded back, in an attempt to gain some longevity from the jumper, but the yarn relaxed a little with wear, so I am hoping some growth comes along to correct this minor fitting issue.

For a boy's jumper, this was fun to knit. The cable is only on the front as written, but by adapting the pattern to knit in the round from the bottom up, this cable is enough to keep things interesting up to the armscye, and I added a bit of cable to the upper back for additional knitting pleasure. I tried to introduce a little cable to the sleeve to prevent knitting doldrums, but this was "too fancy" according to the recipient.

I used the Baby Bamboo yarn for the jumper, this being rated completely non itchy by the boy, and coming in a wide variety of colours. This one is 150, Denim Dungaree, which sounds suitably boyish. The last colour I used for him was called "Coo", which is not something I mentioned to him when we were discussing colour options.
The yarn is tried and true at our house, being just warm enough for Queensland Spring and Autumn evenings, and machine washable (on delicate wool wash).

Bolero from Knit 2 in Jo Sharp Lumina

A pattern that works in several yarns, and in several styles is my favourite sort of pattern. I like to make up the exact garment planned by a designer as much as the next person, but adding my own variations is very satisfying.
This looks like a Summer garment.

 

Here is the same pattern, and same yarn, as an Autumn garment.

Last weekend, we went to a friend's house for dinner, and ate outside. It was a lovely evening, but the breeze became a bit chilly for the strappy dress I was wearing.
I could have done with this bolero.

Unfortunately, I don't have one yet, I actually knit this for a friend, to wear to her son's year 12 formal. It is modeled here by my daughter. It's a little big for her, but I think you can see the appeal of the garment better on a person than on a hanger, this yarn makes a beautifully drapey fabric.

The yarn is Jo Sharp 814 Halo Lumina, which is a gorgeous shimmering gold with integrated (soft) sequins. It's a perfect weight for spring and autumn evenings in our part of the world,.

Using Lumina for this pattern, rather than the Soho Summer cotton suggested in the starting pattern (Bolero from Jo Sharp Knit 2), makes the garment a little more dressy. Lumina requires some care in knitting, using bamboo needles and attention to detail when sewing up. I have written about working with Lumina in an earlier post

I adapted the pattern by knitting the backs and fronts in one piece to the armholes, by knitting the sleeves in the round, and by finishing the knitted on border and starting the sleeve cuffs with a stocking stitch edge, allowing it to roll over the ribbed binding for a softer look, with more textural interest.

I am impressed with the versatility of this pattern. After I'd completed the body, the sleeveless version looked rather smart as a waistcoat.
 There are 3 lengths of an A-line waistcoat in this yarn in Jo Sharp's Knit 4 book, which I admire, but this bolero version is equally as suitable.

The garment is fastened with a decorative kilt pin.

Mitred blanket of many colours

in retrospect (that means, once i recovered from weaving in ends and sewing the strips together) I really enjoyed making the Jo Sharp Mitred Blanket (enlarged), and almost immediately started a new version, which started out as a tasteful subdued version in pale blue, cream and darkest brown.

This was to coordinate with an Ikea print which is on the covers of the armchairs in my daughter's flat.

Somehow, all the other colours in the Ikea print crept into the blanket - and some more shades that didn't exactly match the print snuck in as well. Fortunately there are another 2 armchairs in a dark neutral where I can drape the blanket instead.

I find it quite easy to get carried away with stripes and colour creeping.

I did plan these colours, so the blanket had a 9 patch appearance, but when you see the thing overall, I can't see the 9 patch.

It seems to have become one of those scrappy colourful blankets that are cheerful and warm, but not terribly sophisticated, and that is just fine with me.

Mostly I have used Sirdar Baby Bamboo, Jo Sharp Soho Summer Cotton, Heirloom Capri and Aslan Trends Glaciar Del Celio. These are all 8ply (DK/light worsted) with less than 50% wool content. I wanted a no-itch blanket for the people who don't cope well with animal fibres against their skin, and it seems to be working, there is an "it itches" boy inside this, and I didn't hear a single complaint. Maybe I should start another one....

Weasley Jumper Pair

You may have noticed that I have more than one daughter. This frequently means that I need to make more than one jumper, and the Weasley jumper was no exception. This doubling of the knitting project however, was nearly entirely my idea, as I found the idea of having daughters with the correct intials for Harry and Ron jumpers quite amusing. They are kind daughters, and are humouring me, just not in public. Naturally, I had to make the H version in green. Once again I used free pattern by Alison Hansel, this time in the textured Ivy, with a little Willow, from the lovely colours of Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed

 

 This version, although the same size in circumference, had to be lengthened slightly in the arms and body, and I used an extra ball of the main colour (10). With the contrast yarn (1 ball) I again put a few lines at the neck, and also at the sleeve cuff. I also made a slightly higher and doubled over neck for extra warmth. I had to wait a long time to get a paired shot, as one of my daughters now lives in Brisbane for university, and I am pretty sure they have a pact to not both wear the jumpers on the same day, but here are my Weasley jumper pair.

The occasion is a family trip to the newly opened pick-your-own-strawberry fields at Cooloola Berries. The strawberries are delicious.

 By all reports, these are excellently comfortable and luxurious feeling knits. I wonder why my son doesn't want one? I suspect it is too cute to all have matching jumpers!

Peggy Sue Addiction

I made another one. I might be addicted. This is such a quick little cardigan. Peggy Sue by Linda Wilgus again, in Baby Bamboo again.
I still didn't get to wear it, but this time, I had actually made it for someone else. My older daughter has 2 versions, and this one is for my younger daughter.

 

I love the twisted cable detail on the sleeves

I love the fitted waist using the same cable

and like how the cardigan looks good both buttoned and worn open.

Its lucky for me that Baby Bamboo comes in so many colours. .

Weasley Jumper

It is not often that I get a detailed knitting request from my family, usually its something like "Do you think you could make me some gloves/a scarf/ a beanie from this yarn" and I get to pick the pattern myself, but recently, I had a very precise request from my younger daughter. She wanted a maroon Weasley jumper with her initial on it - this being the same initial as Ron Weasley's from the Harry Potter series.

 

Fortunately for me, I was able to show her the free pattern by Alison Hansel, which met her requirements perfectly - even to having the beautifully soft and luxurious yarn used in the pattern, Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed, in a gorgeous shade of a deep, dark maroon with flecky bits that looks great with jeans (colour now discontinued, sorry).

I made the size Child L/Adult Small, using 9 balls of the main colour, and 1 for contrast, and found it a very easy and quick knit.
The pattern does not include an R initial, but it was not difficult to adapt the included H.
I used a knitting graph paper from this site to make the R
 I knit this in, using intarsia, rather than doing duplicate stitch afterwards, and I also adapted the pattern to knit the bottom in the round up to the armscyes, and the sleeves in the round on double pointed needles. This meant that I had to break off the yarn after each line of the initial intil the front/back division, but as this is only a 1/3 or so of the initial the weaving in was not too painful afterwards.
There is an extra few lines of the contrast yarn in my version at the neck, as this idea took my fancy as I was finishing off the jumper.
The only other thing I can say about this jumper is that it is in terrible danger of wearing out in a single season due to overuse!

Peggy Sue Two

Last year, I made my daughter a little navy blue cardigan from the free pattern by Linda Wilgus, Peggy Sue. She has been wearing it frequently, and I coveted it myself, so I started to knit one, in the next size up, in Flirt. This yarn by Sirdar has the same composition as the very popular Baby Bamboo, 80% Bamboo, 20% Wool (I used the Baby Bamboo last time), but the Flirt yarn is marketed as being in a  more adult colour palette (personally, I think the Baby Bamboo colours are mostly excellent for grown-ups), and has its own pattern book for women.
I chose a quite beautiful purple, called "Hypnotic" (255). Like the Baby Bamboo, this yarn has a very slight sheen when knitted up. I was thinking I would like the cardigan for casual social events during summer  - a BBQ at a friend's house, or something like that.

The teenage fashion panel approved greatly of the colour, and for Christmas, my daughter was given a lovely print blouse with exactly the same shade of purple in it.
It was not very surprising that the cardigan ended up in her wardrobe.



Here she is wearing it to go out to a "Colour" themed party




Here she is wearing it with her work clothes.
It really is a most versatile cardigan, and I still want one for myself!

Once again, I modified the pattern. This time I lengthened the waist twisted rib slightly again used short rows to raise the back neckline.
I started knitting another one almost immediately, and will show you what happened to that one shortly.

Killorgin: Artesenal yarn in cable

I promised actual garments, and here is the first of several unreported projects.

 

 I have been a very long time posting this cardigan, because the construction is a very long story. I started it in October 2012, on a long car trip (to Winton, very outback, so lots and lots of passenger time). Killorgin is gorgeous a top down construction from Carol Feller's Contemporary Irish Knits.

You can see from its appearance on the cover that it is a covet worthy cover project. I was really keen to knit it, but wanting it to be worn a lot, had to think carefully about my yarn choice for our relatively warm climate.

I picked a fabulous Queensland winter weight yarn, Aslan trends Artesenal, which has a wonderful tweedy look, whilst also containing enough cotton to make it suitable for the subtropical-excuse-for-winter cardi. Its other fibre is Alpaca. I had not used it before for a close knit cable pattern, so was interested to see how it behaved in comparison to a wool blend.

 

 My tension swatch worked out perfectly, so I thought I was good to go, and gleefully knit down to the waist shaping, then tried it on. Unfortunately, the size I made placed the central spaces of the largest cable "circle" directly over each bust apex. Having sufficient bust to feel somewhat self conscious about this I ripped out a good 20 cm, of the whole darned front AND back, and knit a bit more with some less bullseye placement of the cables. If I hadn't been in the outback at the time with no alternative knitting project and no yarn shops in 1000km in any direction, I think I would have given up at this point.Frogging this much is very discouraging. By the time we had returned home, I was back to the waist again, then discovered a horrible cable error (of mine) in the middle of the back, which involved ripping back 20 cm again, as it was too complicated an error (and cable) for a local fix.

 Guess what, other projects took over.

 It languished about until October last year, when I got it out to finish for a trip to New Zealand. I thought a nice knit jacket would be a bit smarter than polar fleece for lolling about in National Parks. I finished it off with a few minor modifications ( doubled neck for robustness, and grosgrain ribbon as backing for the zip insertion).

 It looked absolutely terrific until I had been wearing it for 2 days, when it assumed gorilla arm proportions and mysteriously elongated in the body by about 10 cm.  In wear, the yarn was too relaxed to keep the tension gauge properly. I was not happy.

 However, my younger daughter adopted the cardigan for a stretchy grunge look -not what I quite had in mind (fitted smart jacket was more my idea) but at least it is being worn.

 I love the pattern (aside from the cable space placement) and I love the yarn, but they are not a good combination. If I can work up the courage, I will be trying this again in a yarn with high proportion of wool, just like the designer intended ;). Artesenal is much better in more relaxed style projects.

Soup socks

How are socks like soup?
Knitted socks, anyway, are usually beautifully warm and good for winter.
They are just the thing to make when you have no particular plan in mind.
They're easy to make.
You can make them in small segments of time then neglect them for a bit and they'll still turn out well
Everyone can use some soup, or some socks.
You can make both socks and soup from left over bits and pieces

Patonyle and Heirloom Jigsaw socks

 StitchBliss Child's sock pattern

Actual garment knitting has been occuring here - more to show very soon.

Luxurious Mitred Blanket

I have incredible delusions about my knitting. When I started this blanket, from Jo Sharp Knit 9, I seriously thought that I would be finished in a month or so. What could be nicer than sitting in front of the television with a very simple knit from luxurious yarn? Hardly anything of course, but I failed to consider several important points.



1. I don't watch much television
2. I have a lot of works-in-progress, all sitting next to the couch and keen to be worked on.
3. A 5 square blanket is not very big, and lends itself to expansion.
4. Sewing up is not my favourite thing.



I've ended up with a 8 square x 6 square blanket. Clearly it is no longer according to the pattern. I do wonder if this is what always happens to mitred blankets, as there are a plethora of patterns for them on Ravelry - everyone must make their own version!



It is beautifully soft and snuggly. I feel quite decadent wrapped up in a mix of wool, cashmere,mohair, silk and alpaca, and would never have thought of making such a luxurious blanket without Jo Sharp's pattern. She uses alternating strands of Alpaca Kid Lustre, Silk road Aran Tweed and Classic Double Knitting Wool in her version, with the same colourways throughout, but my version slips in a bit of DK silk road tweed, and uses a few more colours for some subtle variation between the blocks.



I am sorry to admit that it took me nearly 2 years of patchy work to finish this project, but the good news is that I have already started another one - in cottons!

Sock Love

I did knit over summer, but as usual, mostly small things.
Now that the weather might be showing some signs of cooling down in the evenings and early mornings, I am very glad that I have new socks all ready to wear.

The problem is, that I have made so many of these lovely plain yet interesting socks before, that there is very little to write about them. (The other problem is that once my daughter models them for me, I don't always get them back, but with this pair, so far, so good)

The pattern is my own.

The yarn is the delicious Aslan Trends Sante Fe, colourway Earth, with a tiny bit of Patonyle grey for the toes, as I was finishing the first sock whilst travelling, and did not have a second skein of the Sante Fe for the last centimetre of the toe ( A 50g skein of Sante Fe sometimes just makes a long enough sock for me, and sometimes is a tiny bit short).

They are very comfortable, and the variegation did not pool at all. I haven't had this happen to me yet with Sante Fe, but it is always a possibility with one of these multi colour yarns.

I may  have another pair or two to show you lurking in my almost finished pile - Don't you think that sounds so much better than UFO pile?

Maheno Beanie

Whenever I make something knitted for my husband, who is suitably grateful for handknits, and so, deserves them, I am reminded of how wonderful my daughters are at modelling.



This very plain, but rather useful beanie was made in response to a washing accident, when the previous use of this same pattern, in Jo Sharp Silkroad Ultra  (unblogged due to model reluctance) went through a hot cycle after a camping trip and turned into a much smaller, felted beanie, and is now worn only under a hood.

 This new version was knitted in Aslan Trends Guanaco (alpaca and merino), which would probably cope no better with washing accidents, but has a lower cost/yardage ratio, is beautifully soft and warm, and available in plain navy blue. Plain navy blue beanies could be boring, but are completely inoffensive to the conservative Australian male, so are worn frequently.

Modelling is apparently a high price to pay for a beanie, and one beanie gets approximately 30 seconds of modelling according to the recipient's modelling tolerance meter.

Fortunately, the beanie is knit in a nice plain single rib, and I don't need any detail shots, although I have lightened photos slightly so that the beanie is visible.



These photographs were taken on a sunset walk to the Maheno shipwreck on Fraser Island.The sunset was better before I lightened the photos, but I am pretty sure only knitters read this blog, so I knew where to leave the focus ;)
Before I read the National Park information sign here, I had a romantic idea that seamen on the Maheno might have worn classic navy blue beanies, but the Maheno was a scrap ship, being towed, when it came loose in a storm and beached here, so probably there were no seamen on it at all.

If there were, though, a beanie like this one would have kept them nicely warm.
 I am making one more test beanie from  this pattern - in Crofter Chunky, then I will add it to the free pattens on the website.

Reveal the contents of your handbag.

A perennial chick magazine topic is the alleged investigation of the contents of a celebrity's handbag. These handbags only ever have a brand new lipstick, some keys and a smart phone inside, but I am pretty sure this is not what most people have in their handbag.

Mine always has quite a bit of beaten up useful stuff, and a partially completed sock -unless there is a partially completed glove, but a sock is much more usual. Socks are portable and by now, I can knit one without a pattern, and not looking very often - not something I can say about a fancy cardigan with lace or cables, much as I enjoy knitting these - It is nice to be accomplished at some sort of garment!
I don't show socks here much because, I admit, they are not very exciting to look at.

I was reminded of this when Lynne commented that making socks could be considered the same sort of strange behavious as knitting a hand towel. Some commercial socks are relatively inexpensive - although somewhat limited in colour and design, and rarely made of wool. Lynne makes socks, so understands these things. Knitting socks requires a different approach to the world.

 I don't see any other swimming mothers making anything useful during hour long pool side waits, and the people hanging around miserably at the doctor's are usually picking up new germs reading ancient magazines rather than producing 10% of a sock.

Watching telly is, in my opinion, merely an opportunity to get some knitting done. Why would you just sit there?

Plain knitting socks, my own plain sock pattern.



Excitingly self stripey Kaffe Fassett sock yarn

Warm feet.
Better than doing nothing.

Wash cloth and hand towel - Strange knitting?

When I first started knitting, it would never have occurred to me to knit something that is readily available in the shops, and not particularly expensive in its most modest versions.
However, my brain has been addled altered by knitting exposure, and when it was getting a bit hot around here to knit woolly things in the middle of the day, somehow I started knitting handtowels to match my bathroom. I am really pleased with them







Doesn't everyone happen to have stray balls of yarn wandering into the bathroom so that you can see how well they co-ordinate with the bath?
Maybe I shouldn't ask that question ;)

I do have a pattern for a washcloth and towel, in Jo Sharp Knit 2, but this pattern book was not in my vicinity when the urge to knit these overcame me, so I had to make it up with a vague recollection of the picture. I think I came pretty close.

The washers are all moss stitch, and the hand towels have a  moss stitch border and a stocking stitch middle.

The yarns I have used are Jo Sharp Desert Garden Aran, 10ply cotton with microfibre.

This yarn makes a lovely absorbent towel or washer after the first wash through the washing machine. However, the Chamba (dark maroon) did run a little for the first week or so, although never enough to stain the pale yarn Solstice permanently, nor to mark the skin.

Having made these humble items, I find them incredibly luxurious to use. They are certainly on the list for my knitting-in-front-of-the-telly projects.

Raglan rib jumper, in Crofter Chunky

A friend of mine wanted to knit her teenage daughter a jumper in Crofter Chunky, having made a few scarves from this lovely soft yarn.
My go-to scarf pattern for Crofter is a 2x2 rib, on generous 7.0mm needles, to give a loose and drapey, snuggly scarf.
Naturally a jumper needs a firmer tension, so it won't fall apart with wear, so we went looking for a pattern.
There were none in the Crofter pattern books in 2x 2 rib.
There were a few on Ravelry in 2x2 rib, but none in smaller sizes that we could discover, and none were quite right - with raglan sleeves and a loose polo neck, as requested, so I made one up.

Sorry, you can't see much jumper here, so I will show you again.

I knit this for my own teenage daughter (size 6-8 in Australian women's sizes), using a much tried technique known as winging it.

I knit from the bottom up, in seperate pieces, to take advantage of the self patterning effect of the Crofter yarn. The repeats are not particularly long in this yarn, and if there are two many stitches to a row/round, the self patterning effect turns into an all-over colourful, non patterned look, which is quite appealing in its own way, but not what I had in mind. I wanted stripes.

Unfortunately, I mislaid the last 3 balls of this colourway (Misty Moor 61) and so did not have enough yarn to keep breaking the ball and winding on during the sleeves in order to make the stripes continuous across the front and back yoke. ( I later found the balls in a scarf kit, with rather annoying timing!)

My daughter did not even notice this stripe mismatch.

I will be trying out this pattern again in a different yarn, I think it has real possiblites. This is just as well, as my friend went home and looked through some magazines, and found just the pattern she was looking for - only about 3 sizes too big. I guess we will be sitting down with a calculator some day soon in order to convert it.

Peggy Sue in Bamboo

I love this pattern, Peggy Sue by Linda Wilgus (free download on ravelry).



I've made it in Sirdar Baby Bamboo (80% bamboo, 20% wool DK) for my daughter, in the size XS with a few judicious additions and operator errors alternate design decisions. It took only 5 balls, with mere centimetres of yarn left over, so I am feeling very thrifty about it all.



Most of my changes were at the back. This cardigan is knitted from the top down, and as written has a very straight neckline. In order for the neckline to sit higher at the back than at the front, I added 10 short rows, tapering at the sleeve increases at the back.



I also found the cardigan to be a little tight for my daughter across the back (the advantage of knitting from the top down is trying-on opportunities), so added a few stitches here also.

In the pattern, the waist cabling starts at the bottom of the ribs. I was knitting away merrily in stocking stitch on automatic pilot and failed to refer adequately to my pattern at a crucial moment. This means that I had knit nearly 9 inches of stocking stitch instead of about 9 cm, so my waist cabling is a little shallow, due to a dislike of frogging perfectly good knitting.

This does not bother me particularly, as I still think the cardigan looks great - with jeans, shorts or even with office clothes.

 

The Slightly Slouchy Beanie

I made this hat as a thank you gift for a friend who loves the outdoors. She hikes, and cycles all the time , does a lot of travelling, and does not wear anything fluffy or frilly – or, as far as I can tell, patterned .I wanted a hat that fit her practical needs, including being light and small to pack, but did not look like something only a bloke would wear.

 Fortunately for me, she not only said all the right things when I gave it to her, but a few weeks later told me how much she had been wearing it, so either I have been successful with my pattern, or she is very kind and has extremely good manners – or both. Even better, it was relatively quick to knit, and was a good use for some of my large stash of sock yarn. 
I used Heirloom Jigsaw sock yarn and Patonyle sock yarn for the contrast brim. The self patterning Jigsaw yarn  makes a nice non repeating variegated yarn as a beanie.

I am planning on putting this pattern up for free on Ravelry  - once I have some test knitting done.