I Am The Master Of My Own Knitting

Posted on October 9, 2013 by atangledyarn84

For this WIP Wednesday I give you, Stashbustin’ #33 aka Brick is finally making serious progress!!

After some major frogging and frustration, I think I have conquered the body of my sweater. And being of top down construction, I have tried it on and it fits exactly how I want. It’s loose without being baggy. I’m shooting for a cozy sweater to cuddle up with on weekends this fall/winter.

I have picked up the stitches for one of the arms. And based on the size of the opening and numbers of stitches, I’m definitely going to knit the sleeves with a taper. Otherwise I think they would just be WAY to big and loose. Good news is that I’m going to have enough yarn. Maybe even enough leftover for a small hat?

Happy Knitting

All Increases Are Not The Same

Posted on October 5, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I have been working my Brick sweater. And things were clicking away, until this….

I had originally opted for a straight waist with no shaping. But I have what I like to call Scandinavian hips, so I opted to throw in a few increases at the bottom of the sweater before I started the 1×1 ribbing. The pattern called for K1fb or knit one front and back. This left ugly holes in the fabric. Not sure if I was doing them incorrectly but I hated them none the less. So I frogged and inch and a half of work….

And this go round I used “lifted” right and left leaning increases. I had to google how to do those because I only vaguely remembered them from another project. These increases make a much prettier fabric and leave no holes. I am much happier with this stitch.

So being happy, I managed to move on and complete the stockinette portion and all 30 rows of 1×1 (painful) ribbing. I popped the sweater on and discovered two things:

1. I didn’t take into account that the beginning of the round was NOT at the side of the sweater. And therefore my increases were in front and back of the sweater instead of along the sides

2. The increases weren’t even necessary, the sweater will fit without them!!!!

So after a glass (or three) of wine, I frogged six inches of sweater. And I am going to re-knit. I want a sweater to be proud of and doesn’t have mistakes I can stare at. It’s just going to take some deep breathing….

An Interesting Special Request

Posted on October 3, 2013 by atangledyarn84

An old high school friend posted a link on my Facebook page last week with a special knitting request. She is due in December with a baby boy. And being a proud momma she wants to swaddled her bundle of joy in hand knits. Her request was for a breast hat. I admit I have seen these on the interwebs, but never had the inclination to make one. So to Ravelry I went!

I settled on The Breast Beanie by Irene Birk

(Photo from Irene Birk Ravelry page)

So I went stash diving and came up with three colors of cream/pink in Caron Simply Soft. This soft acrylic is my go to for easy care baby knits. The pattern seems straight forward, so I think I’m going to make a couple of color combos and let momma decide.

And away I go!

Never Enough Blankets

Posted on October 1, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I had four skeins of Premier Serenity Chunky Heathers in Aqua Glass just hanging out in my stash. I fell in love with color and just had to have it.

I have been in a sweater fixation lately. But I find that I need a mindless project to have on the side for when I need a break or timeout. So I introduce to you, Stashbustin’ #34 or One Row Blanket De La Harlot!

I have made this pattern three times before and it’s awesome-sauce for easy knitting. It’s a four stitch repeat across the row. And then the same row over and over again. Not to mention its a bulky weight blanket so it goes crazy fast!!

Based on the yarn I have this will undoubtedly come out to a lap blanket or receiving blanket size. I don’t have a recipient in mind yet. Just knitting for the fun of it!

Sweater Season!!

Posted on September 30, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Fall is officially here and I feel the need to move up from baby sweaters to a nice cozy adult sweater for me!!

At my LYS this summer I found a sale on Berroco yarn! I picked up five skeins of Vintage (worsted weight) in yellow.

After perusing my Rav queue and much debate, I settled on Brick by Clare Lee from Raglanify.

(Photo courtesy of the Brick Ravelry page)

This pattern is awesome and is written to give you lots of options to customize. I am knitting the medium size with no waist shaping. I want a nice comfy FO. I haven’t decided if I will knit the sleeves with or without shaping….decisions decisions

In the span of the weekend I have knit the entire yoke and divided for the sleeves. I’m in the body section of miles and miles of stockinette. But I will persevere! I cannot wait to get this done and to wear it!!!

Happy Monday!

Setting The Color

Posted on September 26, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I was worried about bleeding on my Little Coffee Bean Sweater. I didn’t knit a test swatch (bad knitter) and I haven’t washed two colors of Knit Picks Dishie together.

A couple of other bloggers recommended a vinegar bath to set the color. So while I was trying to decide my buttons, into a vinegar and water bath it went!!

I used a white bowl so I could see if the water turned color. And after a nice soak…..no bleeding!! So I gave this a good rinse with plain water after its soak.

I’m still going to give this sweater a final bath and blocking after buttons to finalize the shape. But I feel much more secure knowing my blue wont turn my yellow to green!

Have you ever had a project bleed?

Coffee Bean #2

Posted on September 25, 2013 by atangledyarn84

While I am deciding on the buttons for my first Little Coffee Bean Sweater, I couldn’t keep my needles silent. Now that I was comfortable with the construction of this garment, I wanted to try the color stripes the pattern is written for. And I had enough Dishie cotton to make another sweater.

So here is Stashbustin’ #31! I have already divided for the sleeves and I am working down the body.

In interest of reducing the number of ends to weave in ends, I am not breaking the yarn at each color change. Since I only work two rows for each color, I decided to “float” the non working strand down the side. So far it’s working pretty well. And since I will go back and knit the button bands, my floats will be hidden on the wrong side of the fabric….I hope…

Looks pretty good to me so far 🙂

I am running lowon yellow, here’s hoping I can finish! My sleeves may have to be solid blue. Just going to roll with the punches with this one.

Coffee Update

Posted on September 24, 2013 by atangledyarn84

My Little Coffee Bean Sweater is almost done!!

This is my Stashbustin’ #30 for those keeping track. I followed the pattern as written except for the color changes. I knit the body in solid blue and the ribbed edges in yellow.

I used 85.5 yards or 45 grams of Knit Picks Dishie Solids in Creme Brulee (yellow) and 180.5 yards or 95 grams of Knit Picks Dishie Solids in Jay (blue). It was a pretty quick knit as well. I’m just needing to do the buttons. But I can decide!!

So here is where I am asking the wisdom of the knitting community. Do you like the white stars, yellow stars, or blue stars?

Variations on Sophiatication

Posted on September 23, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I recently have made a couple of Baby Sophisticate sweaters (here and here). The first was a gift for an old friend and new mom to be. While at the shower, another mother picked up my knitted creation. While not a knitter she gave me some “motherly” insights. She suggested a slightly longer body and bigger sleeves. Her reasoning was that babies grow longer faster than they grow wider (most of the time, lol). And that the baby will most likely have a shirt on underneath this jacket and the sleeves could use extra room to accommodate the fabric layers.

So, I tucked these bits into my knitter brain and went home. I pulled some Lion Brand Natures’s Choice Organic Cotton in Khaki from stash and grabbed my needles this past week. I cast on the smaller 0-3 month size.

I knit the body according to the directions for the smaller size, with the change of working towards a total length of 7 inches instead of the prescribed 6. When I got to the sleeves I picked up the required 25 stitches and added three increases evenly across the first row for good measure. And I worked the sleeves for an extra 1/2 to 3/4 inches in length to match the body.

This is my Stashbustin’ #32 project and it’s all done except for the buttons! I used 189.5 yards of yarn (just under two skeins of cotton) or 156 grams of yarn. This sweater is now headed for a bath and blocking.

I love when I get real world feedback on my knits. I just hope that most of the time it’s positive!!

Happy Knitting!!!

WIP Wednesday: Little Coffee Bean Cardigan

Posted on September 18, 2013 by atangledyarn84

How adorable is this already!? This sweater is turning out to be everything I hoped so far!

I have knit all the raglan increases and divided for the body. I am making the 6 month size and its going very quickly. I may or may not have babies on the brain 🙂

I am using Knit Picks Dishie cotton yarn. A fellow knitter remarked how odd my choice was for the project. But having three nephews I know how hard kids are on clothes, so what better than hard working dish cloth cotton for a hard wearing sweater? Plus I have a boatload of it in my stash and need to find ways to use it, lol.

This free pattern is quickly coming up my rank of quick and easy baby knits to crank out for last minute gifts.

What’s your favorite go-to baby project?

My Tangled Yarn Knitting Adventures

Ramblings from an obsessed knitter

Category Archives: WIPs