Ebba Sweater by Quince & Co.

Hey! I finished a sweater.  When I saw the Ebba Sweater while perusing Raverly for a new project it was true love. So much so that I immediately bought the pattern and the same yarn in the same colors. The pattern and they yarn are both from Quince & Co, which was a new to me yarn brand that I was very happy with. 100% made in America yarn, at a reasonable price, yes please. 

The yarn is called Chickadee which is a sport weight wool yarn, very classic and old school. I really liked how it knit up, and looked even better when it was blocked. I was surprised when the yarn was delivered that the lightest color was a light blue not a whiteish color like it looks like in the pattern picture.

This sweater was my first time steeking! I was a little hesitant at first but then found it to be super easy. Steeking is basically knitting a tube and then cutting it open later to insert the sleeves. That first little snip really got my heart pumping! 

               

The biggest problem I had with this sweater was the amount of yarn it called for. I bought exactly what the pattern called for (knowing it was way too much) knitted with the correct gauge and ended up with FIVE extra skeins of yarn. My size told me to buy 10 skeins of the light blue, 2 of the dark blue and 1 red. I had 4 of the light blue left and 1 dark blue. GRRR. I contacted Quince and co and they fixed the yarn amount and let me exchange the yarn. I just hope that since it was a pattern released by the pattern company they weren't inflating the numbers to sell more yarn. 

But now I have more issues with the exchange. Double GRRR. I picked out a fingering weight for my next colorwork project. Poppy and Bird's Egg are the colors, which looked cute together online. But when they came the colors were darker than picture and did not look good together. So I returned them for a store credit last week, but haven't heard anything back yet. A lot of trips to the post office for yarn!

                              

                            

Anyway, this is a super cute pattern and a great intro to steeking with instructions and an online tutorial too! It's warm without being hot, and so far has washed really well. I took these pictures when the snowfall was pretty in the morning before melting away in the afternoon. This winter has been weird. 

Happy Knitting!

Pin It Now!

Stitch in Time, Dinah's Lacy Sweater

This sweater is two years in the making! I started it in AUGUST 2013. I knit the entire back, and started the front and then just left it for two years. I picked it up again in October and finished it quickly, I don't know why I was putting it off! 

The pattern is from Stitch in Time vol. 2, a lovely book with a lot of cute vintage knitting patterns in it. Most of them are knit with the tiniest needles. This is the Dinah's Lacey Sweater a pattern from the 1930s. It was actually very simple to make but the tiny needles needed, size 3, made me put it down for two years, The stitch is a twisted lacy rib. 

The yarn is an angora wool blend from St Magnus D.K. I made a hat out of this a few years ago and dreamt of a sweater from it ever since. It's so soft and fluffy! It's not itchy at all, I love wearing it. I had to order it from Dragon Yarns in Gloucestershire, UK. I can't find it anywhere in the US, and I had to patiently wait for it to come. And then the post office held it hostage because they wanted a signature! AHH! I wish somewhere closer sold it. but I would totally buy it again, it's so lovely.

I made some minor changes to the pattern. I didn't make the short sleeves as long as the picture. Maybe that was a mistake, as I kinda look big in the sweater but whatever. I also didn't put a button and loop and then neck. I'm not about being choked by my sweaters. 

The only downside is that it kinda stretches out as you wear it. The sleeves did not look this huge after if finished it. But blocking a sweater always makes it look different. I'm just gonna roll with it and not let it bother me. 

I'm so happy this is finally finished! What's your longest knitting WIP?

Pin It Now!

Chuck Sweater

I've been knitting again! I started this sweater during new years and finally finished it this past week. It's a top down seamless pullover from Untangling Knots. The directions are clear and well thought out, lots of short row shaping to fit the body. I made the size L, and it fits pretty well. It was nice to work in a worsted weight yarn, usually I pick out a pattern for something with size two needles and it takes an eternity to get anywhere. 

I'm wearing the sweater over one of my favorite makes, my quilt dress. The green is a gorgeous spring color, I have to make some more things to go with it! The yarn is Holiday Yarns Wooly Ewe Worsted, from a local yarn store Knit A Bit. I love Andi's patterns, I've already made the Miette, and I just casted on the Marion, also in a worsted yarn. It's a pink yarn to match my new glasses, Kate Spade Lyssa in a pink sparkle! I'm in love. 

Pin It Now!

Peggy Sue Sweater

I FINISHED A KNITTING PROJECT. This is epic people. Ever since I've become obsessed with sewing, knitting seems to have taken a backseat. And then I got a smart phone. So instead of watching a movie and knitting, I have the phone in my hand  instead of needles. And I feel bad about it. But look a pretty red sweater!

The pattern is Peggy Sue, a basic cropped cardigan, which is free, woohoo. I started it this Spring because I thought it would be a quick (ha) knit, and I desperately needed a red cardigan. Then summer happened, and I quickly lost interest. But I picked it back up in September and now I have my red cardigan.

This is a top down raglan, with cables at the neckline and hems. The cables were very simple and went even faster than the stockinette stitch. Sometimes when knitting raglans, and before you break for the armholes, it seems like every row takes FOREVER. I used to be so fast knitting things! Oh well.

The yarn is Debbie Bliss Mia, a wool, cotton blend. I thought it would be perfect for all year long. It was very smooth and easy to knit with. The buttonhole are a little too big for my buttons, so I need to go back and make them a little tighter. I finished this sweater about a month ago, and have found so many different ways to wear it. The knitted cardigans I have made over the years have gotten SO much use, I really need to buckle down and make more.


Pin It Now!

Reknitting

I've recently lost some weight, yay, but now my hand knit sweaters don't fit the same, boo. I have a lot of sweaters that I've made but I just haven't been wearing them because the fit is off. 

I've ripped the front out of my beatnik babe sweater, removed the bust shaping and reknit it. I hate reknitting. I'd rather be working on my neglected fairisle sweater, (which I still need to make the sleeves for), but instead I'm ripping out things from 2- 3 years ago and trying to remember what I originally did. Thank God for ravelry, because I have the worst memory and would never be able to keep track! Here is the new and improved beatnik:

And now I need help altering one of my favorite sweater, Meredith by Kim Hargreaves.The neckline is gaping, the sides are too bit, its just unflattering. I worked so hard on it, I just can't wrap my head around how to fix it. Do I just take up the shoulders, take in the whole thing, I'm just too emotionally invested in the sweater to evaluate it. Ever feel that way?

HELP ME!!!!

Pin It Now!

Valentine Cardigan

I've been knitting this little cardigan since March and I finally made myself finish it. This is the Valentine Cardi from Spud and Chloe and designed by Laura Chau. The stitch is a lacy rib, that was very easy to knit, I just didn't work on it very much, so it took so long to finish. This is a botton up cardigan knit in one piece until the armholes. I used two skeins of Madelinetosh tosh merino light in tangerine. I just love this color, but it was very hard to find buttons that were the right shade.  I originally bought some orange mirrored buttons from M&J trimming, but they were just not right, I found the perfect shade of orange at the local fabric store.

I made some minor changes to this pattern. I made sort little cap sleeves, instead of the elbow length in the picture. I also made it a little bit shorter. This sweater is not blocked. The stitch will stretch out a lot when wet, so leaving it unblocked gives it a cropped look. I learned a new technique from this pattern, the stich in 1 row button hole, which sounds hard but is actually easy and gives the buttonhole a very finished, professional look. This video here, helped me a lot. 

I'm so glad I finally finished this sweater, even though it can probably only be worn a few times before it gets too cold out.  I can see myself wearing this over and over again in the spring and summer.

Pin It Now!

Colette Patterns Featured Seamstress

I am Colette Pattern's Featured Seamstress! You can see the post here. I'm wearing my yellow beignet skirt and the meitte sweater, both were made for Colette's spring palette challenge!

So nice to be featured, Thanks Colette Patterns!

Pin It Now!

Mohair Bow Cardigan Finished

After carrying around this project for more than a year, I finally finished it! The mohair bow cardigan from rowan studio 12. Six skeins of rowan kidsilk haze in the color candy girl. I made a few minor adjustments to the pattern. I made the button band a bit longer, it now gathers just below the bust. I followed the directions for the ties but then I decreased and made a smaller edging around the neckline, which made knitting it a lot faster and It looks more like the picture.

Pin It Now!

Rick- Rack Sweater

Hooray! My Rick- Rack sweater is finally done, I am knitourious. I've been lugging this thing around for months just staring at it, not knitting it, staring at it, beginning to hate it. But nothing feels better than finishing something! The pattern is from a classic elite booklet, Sunday Brunch. I used Debbie Stoller's new Stitch Nation Yarn Bamboo Ewe, in a Eucalyptus color. This is an excellent economic yarn, I think I used seven balls at $3.50 each (Joann's always has a sale).

I added an elastic under the bust for a better fit. II was determined to make it with a hood as it is pictured, but I realized that I don't ever wear hoodies, so why am I going to knit one. I went with a flattering cowl neck and was done way faster. The sleeves also turned out too long, so I tucked them under and slip stitched.The only problem I had was with the sleeves the caps were too big and I had to gather it and make a puff sleeve. It turned out to be a nice cozy sweater.

                                



Many thanks to the wonderful Verbena for taking the beautiful pictures!



Pin It Now!