Fuzzy Wuzzy was a Sweater

Here's my second FO of 2010 - a very fuzzy sweater!



Pattern: Viola from 'French Girl Knits'
Yarn: Knit Picks Suri Dream in Blackberry
Needles: US 7 and US 10.5
Started: Nov 21, 2009
Finished: Jan 6, 2010

Modifications: I made several modifications to this.
1. I substituted the Suri Dream for the mohair blend yarn called for in the pattern. I am allegic to mohair, but I really liked the fuzzy look of this sweater. So far, the alpaca is not making me itch - which is good!
2. If you've seen the original pattern, then you know that this is supposed to be a puffy short sleeved sweater with ruffles on the neckline and the sleeve cuff. Well, I knit the first sleeve per the pattern and then decided that the puffy short sleeves (which hit me at the elbow!) were not very flattering for me. I ripped the sleeve out (quite a chore with the fuzzy alpaca yarn!) and re-styled the sleeves to be long sleeves, and not poufy. I simply eliminated the increases at the start of the sleeve, and did gradual decreases throughout the length to taper the sleeve.
3. I also worked a picot fold-over hem at the bottom hem instead of the plain stockinette - I wanted to eliminate the roll that you get with plain stockinette, and the picot hem looks very nice with the pattern's picot buttonhole band.
4. I eliminated the ruffles. I was going to add them, but once it was done I decided that I really liked how it looked without them.

Overall, I am very pleased with this! It's a bit on the dressy side - so I don't suppose I'll wear it very often, but it is nice and soft and warm. Which, right now with all the cold weather we're having, is quite welcome!

First FO of 2010

Here's my first finished object of 2010 - finished on New Year's Day, no less.
Meet Crabby, the Hermit Crab:


Pattern: Hermit Crab by Hansi Singh (In Amigurumi Knits book)
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Worsted - various colors
Needles: US 5
Started: Dec 28, 2009
Finished: Jan 1, 2010

Modifications: none. Well, except for knitting the last row of the legs and chelipeds (it says to purl, but that seemed wrong to me).


He was a quick knit, although very fiddly. I am pleased with the result - it's an ingenious pattern. One of the boys may get him once I've made another toy from the book. Sometimes they have trouble sharing. Sometimes I have trouble sharing, so neither one may get him when all is said and done! :-) Right now he's guarding the bobbins on my lazy susan.


Happy Knitting everyone! I hope your 2010 is going well so far!!

2009: My Knitting Year in Review

So, another year is almost over. Wow, how the time flies by! In looking at what I've accomplished in 2009, knitting-wise, I find that I've actually accomplished quite a bit!




What I am most proud of, though, is finishing Level I of the Master Knitter program. I have already started on the Level II journey, and I'll do my best to blog as I go through that. I am also quite pleased that I am now a knitting instructor! I have a way to support (or at the very least, supplement!) my hobby, and that feels wonderful.

My goals for 2010 are these:
1. Finish Master Knitter Level II and start on Level III. (tough, but do-able)
2. Knit from the stash only (except for any yarn needed for the MK program, of course!). This will be a serious challenge, I think. :-)


May you all have a wonderful 2010!

Happy Knitting!

Sweaters!

Well, I've finished a couple sweaters over the last month, and I've delayed posting them because I haven't taken great photos of them yet. Well, I decided to post them anyway, since if I wait till I have decent photos then they may never get posted! So... here goes:

Pattern: Wicked
Yarn: Miss Babs Yummy in Obsidian
Needles: US7


Started October 7th.
Finished October 29th.

This is a lovely pattern. A top down raglan sweater design. I'm happy with how this turned out. I ended up frogging my first attempt (which was past the sleeves no less!) because I was unhappy with where the neckline was hitting me. I really can't stand a sweater that hits my neck above my collar-bone. I was quite upset about the frogging, but I'd rather have a sweater that I will wear than one that stays in a dresser drawer. I essentially went up a size (or two, I can't remember) to get the neckline a bit wider.


Modifications: I made a couple pretty major modifications. I used short rows to bring the front neckline down farther than the back neck. Maybe you can tell from the photo that it scoops down in front a little bit. The other major modification I made was to add bust darts. They go a long way to making the sweater have a more shapely fit. Overall, I'm very happy with it! I need a few more long sleeved boat neck t-shirts to wear under it, though!


Pattern: Inspired by Tomato
Yarn: Knit Picks City Tweed DK (in Tahitian Pearl, Enchanted, Splash and Poseidon)
Needles: US7



Started: October 30th
Finished: November 14th.

I say this in inspired by the Tomato sweater, because I really just worked off the basic shape and design of the sweater. I used DK weight yarn instead of worsted, so the stitch counts in the pattern were no good for me. I figured out my gauge and my desired neckline dimensions and worked from there. I didn't take many detailed notes of this, since I was kind of figuring it out as I went. I used a stripe sequence of 8 rows of the blue-green color and 2 rows of the Pearl. I also transitioned from the lighter blue-green to the darker blue-green. I added bust darts for shaping (since they turned out so well in my Wicked!) and I'm pleased with the result. I decreased for the waist as well, and added in a few increases for the hips. I used the Jogless Jog at the side of the sweater, but didn't bother with it under the sleeves.

(Jogless Jog)

(Bust Dart)

I also used a 2x2 tubular bind off on the cuffs.

(2x2 tubular bind off)

Overall, I'm very happy with it as well! The yarn is so soft and snuggly, too, so it makes a wonderful winter sweater, but with a bit less bulk than a worsted weight sweater would have.

Two sweaters in about a month and a week. That's not too shabby!

Happy Knitting everyone! And Happy Thanksgiving next week!