see mi knit

What next, leggings?

Now that I've got those socks finally finished, I've turned my sights back onto sweaters.  It has been annoying hot lately so I've had to be a bit more careful in my project selection.  After some rummaging in the stash and queue, I've ended up with this:

And this:

The pattern is a free one from Vogue called Off the Shoulder Pullover and the yarn is Rowan Wool Cotton in a color called Billberry fool.  I figure a cotton blend for a roomy shoulder baring sweater will be appropriate enough for an England summer.  The combination of the color and pattern intrigues me and I'm hoping I can pull off the Flashdance flashback that I'm anticipating will result.

Slight alteration to the pattern already: I'm doing the 1x1 ribbing as a twisted rib.  I've already done 3" of it but I need to do 8".  I'll let you know if end up regretting my modification and stab my eyes out.

Anais is here.

Pattern:  Anais by Norah Gaughan
Yarn: 2.5 skeins Jaeger Matchmaker Merino DK, color SH790 (teal)
Needles: Addi Turbo US 10 and 5

Hawk eyes will note that I modified the pattern despite my early proclamations that This Time I will follow directions.  What can I say, I'm a rebel.  Basically, I flipped the sleeve attachments around so rather than a cap sleeve, we have some fluttery ones.  Let me illustrate:

Schematically, that's the shape of the sleeve.  The pattern based on the model picture implies that you should seam the black edge to the top of the arm holes.  While I was seaming, I decided to flip it around so that the seam would be along the blue edges.  It was a risky move but I'm pleased with the result.

Overall I really like this sweater.  Love the yarn, both in terms of color and texture. I'm bummed about hearing Jaeger being discontinued but I've been able to acquire enough for at least a few more projects.  My only complaint would be that I wish the pattern had more guidance on the seaming of both the front motif and the sleeves.  This was the first time I really wished I had a dress form and I'm still not 100% satisfied with the results.   Despite that, I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this cute sweater this season.

The Not So Cropped Becca Sweater finally got some finishing loving and is ready for its debut!

I am completely chuffed that my modifications turned out all right with minimal tinkering.  For those who missed the beginning saga, you can see the difference from the original pattern here.  Although I went back and forth a bit about how I was going to lengthen it, in the end, I think simply continuing the pattern all the way down was the correct way to go don't you think? :)

Pattern:  Cropped cable sweater from Rebbecca 29
Yarn:  Rowan Cashsoft Aran SH003
Needles:  Addi Turbo Circulars, US 7

Modifications:  I extended the fronts and backs to cover the length of my torso. I also decreased the length of the ribbing to be about 5cm instead of the original 10cm.  I also made the collar shorter because I ran out of yarn, but I think it's long enough, thank goodness!  A minor modification to the back was to continue the cabling pattern across, when the original directions asked to do "same as front".  Doing so would have created a vertical ribbing down the center of the back (ie the placket on the front) and I was just not having that.  The minor con to this modification was that the seams at the shoulders to not match up.  I've made my peace with this and I think it's worth not having a stupid vertical ribbing down the center of my back.   If I were to make this again, I would take some extra time so that the pattern on the back would allow for the seams to match at the shoulders.

I really like this sweater and I really like the yarn. It has a comforting weight to it which will be welcome as it gets colder, but the open front and short sleeves make it suitable for warmer weathers as well.  Basically, it's a good Fall and Spring sweater.  Besides tank tops like I wore above, I think it could also be cute with a long sleeve button down layered underneath.

Woohoo! What next??

This has got to be some kind of record, me saying that I'll be posting FO pictures soon and then actually doing it.

Here is the unveiling of the Mogul Sweater!

The official specs -
Pattern: Schoeller Stahl Woman's Cardigan
Yarn: Schoeller Stahl Merino Stretch, 9 skeins
Needles: US 8s and 10s, Addi Turbos

Modifications:
A lot of modifications as you can see from the original pattern pic.  Basically, the sleeves are shorter, the collar's longer, and I made button bands instead of inserting a zipper.  Love the buttons!

Thoughts: I generally like this sweater a lot.  The yarn is very snuggly and not itchy at all. That said, I don't want to knit with stretchy yarn anytime soon.  I adore all the patterns out there with say, Calmer, but I just had a really hard time with tension with this project and in the end, I think one of my biggest problems with the odd measurements is because of the extreme sproinginess of the yarn.  Also, I just barely had enough yarn for everything (a wisp of a handful left) and that's also probably because I knit too loose.  But overall, I'm happy with the modifications I made and happy with the end product.

Next up, Michelldon!

Pattern: Sheldon on Knitty
Yarn: Leftover randoms of Peruvian Highland Wool and Berocco Ultra Alpaca
Needles: US 6 Clover dpns, US 5 crochet hook

Modifications:
Googly eyes instead of black ones. Also instead of an icord attachment (talk about fiddly!!!) for the shell top to the shell bottom, I simply attached the two pieces using the crochet hook. I don't even know what the name of the stitch I used was, just a single hook between a loop in the shell and a loop on the botton part.

Thoughts:
Cute! Fast! Economical!
That said, I dunno about toys and all their bits. I was about to go nuts after the third leg.

Hellooooo world!

Yo, this stuff is hot, HAWT, off the needles. How fresh and toasty off the needles? SO fresh and toasty that I couldn't wait to get a proper camera and instead had a co-worker take one for me using my camera phone:

Yes, I work in a cube farm.  But pulling this sweater off the needles and wearing it right then and there sure brightens this place up!

Details
Pattern: Custom made for me by Art Fibers.  Basically a fitted boatneck sweater with ribbed edgings.
Yarn: 2.25 skeins of Art Fibers Whisper in color #3
Needles: Denise interchangeables both 10.5 and 9s for edgings

Modifications
I made the sleeves shorter and made the bottom ribbing longer.  Somehow the first round of knitting made the torso much too short so I had to knit down a couple more inches.  Picking up stitches was a beeeeeee-yatch, but the result is well worth it.

I'll have to take a proper picture in proper sunlight for the album.  I hope it doesn't change TOO much after a washing and blocking.  The color variations in this sweater are just fantasmic.  Actually that swatch from the link to Whisper is pretty darned accurate.  I am in lurve.

I can't wait for my other co-workers to come back from lunch and be all like, "Hey weren't you wearing some other sweater this morning?"

And I'll be all like, "Sure was!"

And they'll be all like, "Did you change?"

And then I'll be all like, "I MADE it and then PUT IT ON.... FRESH OFF THE NEEDLES... where'd you go for lunch?"

Huzzah!  Ribby Cardi is finally finished!!  I'm so happy and proud of myself!

Here it is on its own:

And here I am trying it on:

It is quite collegiate and quite atumnal. So much so, I'm thinking about changing its name to "Harvard boyfriend sweater" and no I don't have a boyfriend at Harvard, but it looks like something this hypothetical boy would let me borrow.

I'm still a bit iffy about how I did my zipper, but the thread doesn't show very well so I'm not going to worry about it.  The arms are a bit tighter than I'd like so I have to wear a sleeveless under it.  Not a problem since the cardi seems to be pretty warm even with a sleeveless and luckily in San Diego, "pretty warm" is good enough.

And of course I have another sweater planned already. Hudson from Noro in color #19.