Sweaters in the Wild

Sweaters in the wild ..... Above is my niece, Lucy, wearing an old store sample, Tulips. My brother just sent me this pic, probably because:

1. he just got a new iPhone.
2. the kid is wearing one of my sweaters.
3. she seems to be dressing herself - not bad for 20 months. 

I'm glad she likes sweaters and mismatched brightly coloured socks. We are kindred spirits. I will make her more striped sweaters in the future. 

BTW, the yarn I made this with has been discontinued. It takes 8 colours and you can use an Aran or Worsted weight yarn, like:

• Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran
• Cascade 220 Superwash
• Dream in Color Classy
• Berroco Vintage

As always, you can find us at Knitomatic.com!

A Quick Summer Cardie!

I can't believe I totally forgot to Blog this little number!  We whipped up a quick little Cotton Summer Cardie with our Instant Gratification Cardie Jacket pattern.  We used 6.5mm needles and Berroco Weekend Chunky, but I think you can also use 7mm for a slightly more relaxed weave. 

We tried making a larger size since the yarn was slightly smaller, but that didn't actually work out, our sweater was way bigger than expected (the first experiment is not always the successful one).  If I did it again (and I probably will) I'll make the normal size, use 7mm needles, and keep an eye on my row gauge - just in case I need to throw in an extra row in the yoke. The pattern is written top-down, so it's easy enough to try it on as you go. 

The yarn is lovely (I love this colour!) and we only used 4 skeins - pretty economical, it's only $6.97 per skein. 

As always, you can find us at Knitomatic.com!

Berroco's Kiama Cardie - Done!

Our Kiama cardie is Done! And it looks AMAZING!  And I really like how it feels when I'm wearing it!  It's kinda cool to the touch, perfect for summer. YAAAAAYYYY!  :-)  The drape is faboulous, the colour is fabulous, and the texture is interesting. We used 9 skeins of Berroco Origami in 4362 Whale Watch, and the pattern is from Berroco Booklet 294 (available in store).

Here is the sweater upside-down. It's one of those flexi things, you can wear it either way. Cool, huh? Fitted in one direction, deconstructed in the other. Reminds me of that scene in Six Degrees of Separation, where they're talking about the two sided Kandinsky painting: one side is chaos, the other control. Just flip it to express how you're feeling. 

Sorry about the sad pic, you would not believe how hard it is to take a decent picture of yourself on a timer. But it's hard to see what a garment will look like when it's on a hard, petite mannequin. Now, keep in mind I'm 5'9" and do not have big shoulders. If I did it again, I'd make the arms longer, just a couple inches on each side. The size is a small/medium. 

As always, you can find us at Knitomatic.com!

Karate Sweater

An early peak at the most recent store project, the Karate Sweater by Wenlan Chia from her first book, Twinke's Big City Knits. We are using Cascade Magnum in colour 9418, a very intense royal purple. So far, so good - looks great!

Here's the picture from the book.

Open Cardigan

I finished my Open Cardigan last weekend, pockets and all!  It was really a runaway project, I started it as a little spring/summer thing but it had a will of it's own so I went with it (I guess it wanted to be something else).  The Araucania Patagonia (cotton) was great to work with, but I already knew that. It has a lot of drape so I was able too make a smaller size.

You may be surprised to know that this was the first time I have ever made pockets. Yup, I popped my pocket cherry. I wasn't avoiding them, it just never came up. They were easy, especially working top-down.  Although, I would categorize them in the realm of 'finishing' - I took my time with them to make sure they looked good. You can make it without pockets, I just thought it would be a nice thing in a big, comfy cardigan.

I am writing up the pattern, it'll be available soon. I want to double check the math, and I have to put in the pocket instructions.

Summer Open Cardigan

Next in line is an Open Summer Cardigan (knitting pure & simple pattern 294) in Araucania Patagonia (colour 201).
My tension is quite a bit looser than the pattern's (12 sts/4", vs 14sts) and the yarn stretches so I am making the smallest size.
There are some very cute examples, like this one by 'two of six',

and this one by 'lrske' (I like the seed stitch)

regia cardie & furniture

first things first, i am almost finished my baby cardie in Regia 6ply Design Line (the Kaffe Fasset sock yarn, but the DK thickness). i think it looks great, despite the over exposed photo (sorry, i will take a better pic when finished). i just washed it and it is drying now. buttons and labels go on, the it is finito!  i had to wait a while to get the heathered grey trim colour in, but in general it took very little time.  i love the way superwash wools loosen up after a bath in Eucalan!  beffore they go in they are so uptight, and when they come out they're all "hey man, wanna get high?".

but lets move on to important things like my new sofa!  i am furniture proud, i spent thursday cleaning my new/old sofa, gratis kristen.  the fabric says it can only be cleaned professionnally, but it is scotch guarded and i have my methods.  actually, my method comes from doityourself.com.  i don't guarantee any results, i only attest to my own. test it first in a small spot in back to make sure you won't be wrecking your sofa.  also, i found this to be a gentle and slow process, i had to go over the dirty parts several times. that said, the sofa is a fairly light colour and dirt befirends light coloured fabrics.  i have not found that the Eucalan discoloured the fabric at all, but parts that were stained i scrubbed harder are noticeably lighter, although when i went back over the surrounding area it all came togther. my sofa only had surface wear, but if you have to dispatch some smells i suggest you maybe try the Eucalyptus or Lavender scent.  i also tried the grapefruit sent near the end but found the smell extremely gentle and i don't think it really  astayed in the fabric afterwards.

this is how i did it:

1. vaccum sofa, clean off solid debris.

2. in a big mixing bowl (the bigger the better) pour 1/4 cup Eucalan and 1 cup water (i used unscented, but none have dyes anyway).

3. with hand mixer or mixer whip the soap into a stiff foam. it is acutally a very satisfying feeling.

4. with a clean sponge scoop up a generous amount of foam (no water) and gently scrub the foam on in circles.

5.  you do not need to remove the suds as instructed in the link above, they dissipate quickly.

6. let fabric dry. repeat util your sofa is as clean as you want it to be.

While i was picking up the sofa a few other pieces of furniture came into my possession.  this is my new cash register nook.

the shopping basket district.

and a new addition to the front window vignette! so basically, now Knit-O-Matic looks like Kristen's sun-room. the sofa is soooo comfortable! love it! someone intoned a desire to bring their dog on it and my reaction was reasoned, but inside i was thinking "You want to do WHAT? You want to put your drooling, ass sniffing, unbathed pet on MY beautiful new sofa, which I've spent ll day cleaning? I don't think so.  I don't even know why you presumed to think so."  but ya know, in retrospect, I think maybe they were playing with me. From the outset I was planning to get a cover, but i don't think it is the shape of sofa that will fit a cover properly, or at least elegantly.  i've seen stretchy lycra covers that are designed for the less conservative sofa, but they look like a unitard and feel even worse.

anyway, hat's about the size of where you set your eyes. xox

addenda 9:06 pm
it was not a joke, she really wants to bring dog on sofa. will purchase sofa-tard.

Finito!

I finished the Rocketry Baby Cardigan and the kit for it today! With my revisions the sweater looks great! I could have made the increases look prettier but I did not want to make the kit overly complicated and of course the sample has to match the product for sale. I also managed to get the kits finished too! It is the most comprehensive kit I've created. I've tried to provide as much information as possible on the label so clients can grab it and go up to the cottage/on a plane, etc. I also included both of the patterns, the original from Dream in Color, and my revised version. Now I must turn my attentions to the Tulips Baby Cardigan, again revised because I know that most people are uneasy with colours like peach and bile yellow, but also because of the taboo against dressing a boy in pink or purple. I think I have devised the colour scheme and I'm going to set out and test it tonight.

recent projects

So here is how my Crochet Market Bag in Super 10 Cotton worked out! it looks pretty good, but I have not yet tested it on vegetables. In the picture it is comfortably holding 13 skeins of Brown Sheep Co. Lamb's Pride Bulky, so i think it qualifies as big. I'm working on a redux in grey with a smaller hook and different stitch.

I've been working on my next sock doll but I've taken a break before I dress her and giver her a face. Creativity runs in cycles. It's knitted in Regia 4ply design line Kaffe Fassett Landscape Celebration 4355

Liane and I have been working on a top down cropped sweater in Mission Falls 1824 Cotton. We've been holding 2 strands together, so it's going along pretty quickly. I have taken out the bottom seam to lengthen it, because while it looks right on the mannequin it's actually short on me. We made a small but it is proving to be very stretchy and fits me. I think i can block it even bigger if it warrants it.