From the toe up

One of my New Years resolutions was to learn how to knit a sock from the toe up (with a bonus of learning how to knit a sock using two circular needles). I'm proud to report that I have tackled this project and also learned Judy's magic cast-on.

This book has been a huge help, and I am following the ribbed ribbon lace pattern for this first pair. The yarn is "The Upside Down" by Leading Men Fiber Arts - I love that I am learning how to knit this pair of socks "upside down!"

I have been playing around with different circular needle lengths too - I found 9-inch to be too short, 16-inch to be comfortable, but a bit unwieldy, and 12-inch to be about perfect. I am enjoying these 12-inch driftwood needles by Lykke for the time being.

FO: Immie Tee, #1 & #2

I can't remember where I first saw this pattern, but I fell in love with it.  And I had just the yarn in my stash to make one - this amazing hand dyed sage green that would look fantastic on my youngest.  So I took measurements, did a swatch, and cast on.  I made it all the way through the sweater, thinking that it would fit - certainly wouldn't be too small - and that I had made the right choice on the yarn/color combination. 

But I made a mistake at the outset.  I didn't trust myself.  Instead of making the size that most closely matched my daughter's measurements, I made the size that most closely matched her age.  Surely at 10 mos., she should be wearing 12 mos. clothing, right?  [Since all my kids mostly wear gently used/thrifted clothes I have not found sizing labels to be very reliable.  There are times when my 4 yo is wearing size 6 pants, and my baby is wearing 2T onesies.]  And since I didn't go with the rational choice, which would have been to knit the sweater that would actually fit her, I wound up with a gorgeous sweater tee, perfectly matching the pattern measurements for 12 mos., but way too big for her little body.  She is a petite one, this last daughter of mine, and at 10 months she has an 18" chest, and more closely matches the 3-6 mos. size of the pattern.

So what did that mean for me after casting off and blocking this most lovely of sweaters?  Only that I had to make a second one of course!

I pulled some more yarn from the stash - a lovely reddish-pink left over from the Norwegian cap I knit late last year.  And the 3-6 mos. size tee fits her perfectly, with the green one waiting in the wings. 

FO: Shalom Cardigan

One reason I was not very productive during Socktoberfest was because I got distracted. Awhile back, thanks to friends and white wine, I got the courage to completely frog the first sweater I ever knit. I planned to let the yarn sit, but once it was nicely balled up and stored away I felt lonely for it. Strange I know. The sweater had been in my closet for about 5 years, definately since before the twins were born, just sitting there. It was never worn. But once it was gone I started missing it. So I began the slow process of reincarnation.

The yarn re-knit beautifully, and I'm happy to say that my skills have mightily improved since I first knit that sweater. The new piece is the Shalom Cardigan. It's a great staple to add to my fall/winter wardrobe. It nicely layers over a long-sleeve t-shirt, perfect for those days when it's too chilly to wear one on it's own. It is 100% wool so it is also quite warm. Good thing it's short-sleeved and a cardigan. It adds just the right layer of warmth and color.

This was my first attempt at doing anything larger than kids clothes or accessories (socks, hats, mittens, shawls, etc.). It required a lot of work, and a lot of faith. I took measurements, knit a gauge swatch, used a calculator, and probably most importantly knit from my gut. The final garment mostly turned out as I had hoped.

The only hitch - the same one as from the original sweater - was that this yarn is heavy and thus wears long and drapey. When I soaked the sweater for blocking it spread all over the table and I gathered it up best I could, but there was no denying that the finished cardigan was about 8 inches longer than before I soaked it, and about 7 inches longer then I planned for. It's also bigger overall than it needs to be (that second button isn't pulling - I made a wonky buttonhole on accident). It's ok with me. Had this been my first time knitting with this yarn I may have gone back and taken off a few inches to shorten it up. But I'm happy with it and so it stays. It may not place me on any knitter's 'best dressed' list, but it surely identifies me as a knitter. I'll gladly wear it. I'll wear it proud.

Quilt-a-long: Week 2 (re-do)

There, that's much better!