More Finished Objects: Sweater & Jacket

I finished a sweater for my oldest grand-nephew before Christmas. Last year, when I knit a sweater for his older cousin, he (at the ripe old age of 5!) asked me if I could knit him a sweater that had buttons in the front. (He doesn't like pullovers.) Green was the color he requested, and green was the color of the sweater he got.

The sweater was a modified version of Ann Norling's Basic Kids' Sweater and Vest pattern---the same pattern I used for his cousin's sweater. The cardigan was knit with 3.5 skeins of Plymouth Encore Worsted yarn in color 054. I was not there to see him open it, and my niece has not yet sent me a photo of him wearing the sweater, so this photo of the sweater blocking is the best I can do. (As always, click on any photo to enlarge.)

I knit the sweater in one piece to the armholes, then knit the back, then knit both front sections simultaneously. I used a three-needle bind-off for the shoulder seams, then I picked up and knit the sleeve stitches at the armhole and knit the sleeves down. This deviation from the pattern required minimal finishing and produced stronger seams, making it perfect for an active, six-year-old boy. I started the sweater on 11 November and finished on 17 December.

The next finished object was a jacket that had been lan- guishing on the needles for about 18 months until I started my "race to the finish" back in October. Long-time readers of this blog will recall that it was one of my entries in last year's Ravelympics---one that, regrettably, was barely touched during that time. The photo shows its state in February 2010.

I call it the Coat of Many Colors, for obvious reasons. The pattern is Elizabeth Zimmer- mann's Adult Surprise Jacket.

My jacket was knit with seven different colorways of Noro Silk Garden. I started this project on 28 December 2009, made good progress until late January, when only the placket remained to be knit, then ignored it for far too long. I had a difficult time with the shoulder seams: the fourth attempt did the trick, but I'm sure I gained some grey hairs in the process! I finished the jacket on 19 December 2011 and wore it for Christmas.

I chose not to extend the sleeves, making the jacket more kimono-like. That decision led me to rip out the placket and the buttonholes therein, and re-knit it without buttonholes. I finished the jacket with a border of single crochet. Since I never liked crocheting, that choice was a difficult one, but the crocheted edging gives the jacket a more finished look.

Since finishing this jacket, I have knit (start to finish) a shawl (currently on the blocking board), finished a shawl of my own design I started last year (waiting to be blocked), a pair of socks (blocking), and another jacket (waiting its turn to be blocked). The Coat of Many Colors and the latter three garments were the main focus of my "race to the finish"---my attempt to finish a number of garments that I hadn't touched for months, so I could start new projects in the new year.

I haven't decided whether to start 2012 knitting a sweater---I've narrowed it down to two patterns---or a shawl---choices narrowed down to three---or both. What are your knitting plans for 2012?

Susannah

Progress

I finished the shawlette for which I was test knitting the pattern on Wednesday (the 11th). I was afraid that I would run out of yarn before I reached the end of the pattern, but after I bound off, I had two whole yards of yarn left. That's about as close as I care to come.

With the wedding stole, on the other hand, I will have yarn left over when I reach the end of the pattern. Last night, I hit the 85 percent mark: I left off halfway through the ninth pattern repetition. (The pattern calls for ten repetitions.) I may add a few more pattern repetitions, to add a bit of extra length and to use all the yarn.

I will post pictures of the shawlette and the wedding stole once the designers publish the patterns and/or give me the okay to post photos of their designs.

I was waiting to finish the shawlette before casting on a shawl of my own design, but despite the shawlette being finished (not blocked yet---that's a project for later today), I still haven't started that particular shawl. I did, however, start Jared Flood's Girasole, as part of a KAL (knit along) with a group of ladies (mostly) and gents (a few) in one of my Ravelry groups. I've also started another, large shawl pattern test knit. The new large shawl test knit is a circular shawl, knit in fingering or laceweight yarn. I'm using fingering yarn because I didn't have enough (1400-1600 yards) of any laceweight yarn.

One of the reasons I haven't cast on the shawl of my own design is that I have been working, off and on, on the Coat of Many Colors---the Adult Surprise Jacket knit in various Noro Silk Garden colorways. The Coat of Many Colors now has buttonholes! (TCOMC has been waiting for its buttonholes since mid-January. In April, for part of a day, it had ugly one-row buttonholes. Now, however, it has nice, neat, three-row buttonholes.) I need to knit a couple more rows on the placket, then it will be time to bind-0ff. Long-time readers of my blog will recall that the placket row has more than 700 stitches, so knitting a row takes a while. Early in the week, TCOMC was my it's-too-late-at-night-to-knit-lace project; now the Girasole seems to have taken over that role. But I will finish TCOMC this month! Once the knitting is completed, I'll have to weave in the skillions of yarn ends on its back side. (The photo shows the state of the Coat of Many Colors in late January.)

I want to cast on the shawl I designed in the next day or two. I plan to knit it during the "Kick-off Celebration"---the Powers That Be's term for the mandatory three days of speechifying, meetings, etc. that faculty and staff are required to attend on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

I have not yet cast on my August pair of socks. Socks would be another good project for the Kick-off Celebration, so I hope to get this month's pair started before Wednesday morning. Or perhaps I'll start them Wednesday morning, during the first speech of the day. This month's pattern is a more manly one than most of Ms. Johnson's patterns, so I was contemplating knitting these socks for the Boy Child. But given that this month is half over, I may not have time to knit for Bigfoot. I'll have to think about that some more between now and when I cast on.

Also on the needles---but about three weeks behind the rest of the group---is an Aran KAL. This sweater (called Ingvold Aran) is being knit from the top down. I'll be knitting a cardigan, but at the moment, I'm still working on my swatch cap. A lapful of worsted wool is a bit much in 90-plus degree weather (which is why I'm three weeks behind everyone else, since they live in cooler climes).

What are you knitting this month?

Susannah

Finished Objects!

I have finished several projects this month---three shawls and my July pair of socks.

The first object finished was a scarf/shawlette. The pattern is called Baktus. It's a simple, easy knit---all garter stitch---and it is knit from one side to the other. Mine was knit with two skeins of Crystal Palace Mini Mochi yarn in the Tropical Ginger colorway. I started this scarf on 29 June and finished on 11 July. This scarf will be a Christmas present for my youngest sister or one of my nieces. Once I have all my Christmas knitting done, I will decide who gets what item. (As always click on any photo to enlarge.)

The second object finished was a lace scarf for which I test knit the pattern. The pattern is called Easy Bamboo Lace Scarf, and it is by Michelle Miller (a.k.a. Fickleknitter). My scarf is made out of Monkeypal Superwash Sock yarn, in the Purple People Eater colorway. It was a fast, fun, and easy knit. I started on 08 July and finished on 15 July, despite several restarts attempting to get gauge. The photo at left, taken while the scarf was still on the block board, shows the pattern better; the photo on the right shows the color variation and the "big picture."

My third finished object was a shawl. (Are you noticing a trend here?) The pattern is Reflection Shawl by Ruth Greenwald. It is knit with Fleece Artist BFL Sock yarn in a colorway dyed for a sock yarn club I belong to. (BFL is Blue-Faced Leicester.) This was the first time I'd used a yarn with a BFL base, and I liked it. This shawl was also a fast knit. I started on 17 July, restarted (because I thought my cast-on was too tight) late (nearly midnight) on 18 July, and finished on 24 July. This shawl was knit from the neck down---but started with only 11 stitches (the center panel and two stitches on either side of it). As I neared the end of the pattern, I had plenty of yarn left, so after determining how many yards it took to knit a row, and how many yards of yarn I had left, I added ten rows of eyelet alternating with garter stitch ridges before the final rows of eyelet and garter stitch. This shawl is my younger sister's Christmas present. When I opened the package and saw the yarn, my first thought was "Linda yarn." Her favorite color is yellow.

My fourth---and final---finished object this month was my July pair of socks. These are Wendy Johnson's Serpentine Socks from Socks From the Toe Up. My socks are knit with Colinette Jitterbug, a wonderful sportweight sock yarn that I had never used before, in the Blue Parrot colorway. Although at first glance the pattern appears to be cables, there is nary a cable to be found. The movement of the stitches is accomplished by strategically placed yarn overs and knit two togethers or yarn overs and slip-slip-knits. The bottom photo shows the pattern and the color variation in the yarn. These socks were another fast, fun knit. I started my socks on 01 July, knit regularly on them until the heels were turned on 06 July, then got distracted by shawls, etc., and barely touched them again until the end of last week. I finished my socks on 27 July.

As you can see, I knit until I was almost out of yarn, resulting in knee socks. The socks hadn't been blocked yet when this picture was taken, which is why I'm modelling them instead of my sock blockers doing the modelling.

Although I hoped to finish a few projects that have been languishing on the needles for a while, I wasn't able to do that. But I have been working on the sleeves of my great-niece's sweater-tunic.

I've been wanting to start a sweater. I've knit the gauge swatch, and since the sweater is an Aran with a lot of different cables, I'm knitting a swatch cap, so I'll know the gauge for each of the cables. Before I can start the sweater, though, I have to finish the one of the Adult Surprise Jackets, since my two US8 size long circular needles are being used on the ASJs.

The wedding stole I'm test knitting is coming along. I'm about halfway through the third pattern repetition.

What are you knitting this summer?

Susannah

Knitting Olympics, Part II

My knitting olympics was not as successful as I had hoped. I had three WIPs (works in progress) that I hoped to finish---a sweater-tunic for my oldest grandniece and two Adult Surprise Jackets for myself, one in Noro Silk Garden Worsted, the other in Dream in Color Classy in the Dusky Aurora Colorway---as well as pair of socks I hoped to knit for my younger sister.

By the closing ceremony, the socks (Wendy Johnson's Nanner Socks) were two-thirds to three-quarters finished. The legs were only about three inches long, which means I knit 10 inches worth of two socks. (Or twenty inches of "tubing," 7 inches in circumference.  That's 44+ square inches of sock. To put that into terms non-sock-knitters can readily understand, if I'd been knitting a strip one inch wide, it would have been 44 1/2 inches long by the closing ceremonies.) I have worked on these socks, off and on, since. When I asked my sister over the weekend how long she wanted the leg of the socks, she said she preferred knee socks. So, I still have a few inches to go.

As for the WIPs, I never touched my grandniece's sweater-tunic, which still needs sleeves and a neckband. I also never worked on the Noro Adult Surprise Jacket (a.k.a. the Coat of Many Colors). I need to pick up the buttons I ordered before I can knit the next row---the row with the buttonholes---and I never got to my LYS (local yarn store) to pick them up.

In hindsight (so much clear than foresight!), I ought to have started with the project closest to being finished instead of the one with the most still to knit. But I didn't.  I did, however, add five inches to the other Adult Surprise Jacket. (Back to the hypothetical one-inch strip. If I'd been knitting it instead, I would have increased its length by more than 200 inches.) I left the much lighter colored skein of yarn in the jacket, and knit about five more inches---almost two more skeins of yarn. The two skeins after the light one are darker, but not quite as dark as the first three skeins. I'll post a photo of the jacket when it is finished.

I will pick up the buttons on Friday. This week is spring break, so there are few demands on my time, other than the ever-present grading. Grading is the main reason why I didn't make more knitting progress during the Olympics. I only knit during the figure skating and speed skating, and I graded during all the other events.

While I didn't get as much knitting done during the Olympics as I hoped, I did get most of a pair of socks knit and made significant progress on one of my jackets. And I didn't fall behind on the grading. All in all, I'm pleased.

Susannah