Forgotten Reveal: Emma Jacket II

Somehow I forgot to show off another Christmas reveal, perhaps because I never had a brilliant photo shoot before hastily wrapping and gifting it. And (WAH-Wah-wah) because it did not fit quite right due to a recent pregnancy that my sister-in-law was recovering from. I still hope that she will be able to use next season when everything is back to normal.

The Details:
Pattern: Emma Jacket (classiccableknits.com)
Size: 36
Needles: size 7 & 5
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy, 4 balls
Colorway: Petal Shower



I really enjoyed making this pattern the first time, but was not as excited about the yarn the second time, which diminished the experience. It wasn't as squishy and flexible. I also decided to knit from two balls to prevent pooling in the hand-painted yarn. That was tricky and so I forgot to add one of my most favorite design element, the two rows of purls near the top of the pattern. I was already dividing for the sleeves when I noticed and did not want rip back. On the whole I loved how the colors turned out. The hanks of yarn looked like they had SOOO MUCH white in them, but it blended into a nice pink product.



And this sweater as a work in progress also made a guest appearance on Gina's blog here: http://ginakanouse.blogspot.com/2009/12/classic-cable-knits-kal-wrap-up-and_10.html

Happy Knitting!

Many Odds and an End

Oddly, my husband treated me to white roses two weekends ago! Happy Day!!! They make a great backdrop to the beginnings of a lovely knit shrug that I would like to wear over a sleeveless dress to my sister-in-law's wedding Memorial Day weekend.



Odd that I should become a sports fan of my new home's team: the Colts. As Indianapolis is hosting the Super Bowl in 2012, local knitters are supplying all volunteers with a hand-knit "thank you" scarf. If you would like to contribute, please check out this link: http://www.our2012sb.com/super-scarves/



Gorgeous sock wool, thanks to a new "Socks that Rock Club" that I am a part of. The odds are not good that I will even begin these lovelies until Fall...




And THE END: One of the cutest little girls I know in the Clara Dress for her Grandfather's party last Saturday. Now this is a great final product!





(She was loving some water, which got down the front a little bit!!)



Happy Knitting to all on a deadline or two!!

Clara

I fell in love with this little dress as it popped up on several blogs I like to look in on. I like it even more now that it is finished and about to be gifted to my newest niece (age 7.5 months) this weekend. She will most likely wear it to a party for her Grandfather, who just attained an impressively numbered birthday! Coincidentally, I will be performing Märchenbilder by Robert Schumann on the viola during that party. Schumann was of course married to a famous woman named Clara. Kind of fun connection.



Details:
Pattern: Clara Dress
Yarn: Isager Strik Alpaca 2, most of 2 skeins
Needles: Size 4
Colorway: Dusty Plum
Size: The larger one, though the dress is not going to fit a 2 year old!
Started: December 25, 2009 as I was traveling with my husband to Washington, DC in a non-stop driving rain storm on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. An auspicious start, but a little rugged knitting never hurt anyone!
Finished: March 27, 2010, first day of spring break!


View of the back and adorable buttons.

I went up one needle size on the dress, because I had forgotten the proper size of needle at home. It did not knit up too loosely and added even more to the beautiful drape of the fabric. A very fun project, though the delicate yarn and small needles did make it a bit tedious at various stages.

Happy Spring and Happy Knitting!

How Is Your Knitting Year?

(Click on picture to make the print larger)

I found this funny greeting card and thought that it summed up my knitting year so far. No finished objects except for a late Christmas present scarf... and lots of yarn and patterns coming into my life that are not getting attention. Maybe it is time to embrace the idea of "stash" with less anxiety. I just don't want it to take over...

Elisabeth = 1
String = 5

Till next time - Happy Knitting! Perhaps I'll get some knitting in over Spring Break!

Snow Day!

Today was the perfect Saturday: nothing on the agenda and completely snowed in! Here are a selection of photos from around the house.





I should re-knit the cuffs on my Norwegian sweater and go snowshoeing in grand knit style tomorrow...



Till then, Happy Knitting!

Late Loot

Somehow I got really behind on the holiday knitting. So I had to catch up a bit after the New Year started. This scarf is for my friend P, who is a great pal and admirer of my craft. Another friend of ours had made her a scarf (turns out it was also green), but P had misplaced it in a recent move. I'm glad that her new scarf could fill the void!



Details:
Pattern: Ariel by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Cascade 220, one skein
Colorway: Hunter Green - neither photo does the color justice, oh well!
Needles: size 8, metal
Start: January 1, 2010
Finish: January 9, 2010



Happy Knitting!

Little Professors and some Sugar and Spice!

My husband and I have 5 siblings between us, three of whom are having children. All three reproducing siblings (or their wives, as the case may be) had a third child this year, which meant that Auntie E needed to spring back into action with the yarn and the needles.

One little sweater was already finished in March. After several years of languishing through the finishing process, it needed to languish a few more months for the little niece's arrival. Here is Niece #3 showing off her new sweater. Full post and details about the sweater can be found in the February / March 2009 archives.


So Sweet! She just needs to roll up the sleeves a little!

On the other side of the family, all the nephews (and nieces) love and strive to be a awesome as Uncle A., who is a professor. How perfect to find the "Little Professor Vest" pattern, another great pattern by local designer Christina Wall. (classiccableknits.com)



These were super easy and quick knits.

The Details:
Pattern: Little Professor Vest by Christina Wall
Yarn: Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Superwash, one ball per vest. There was plenty left over.
Size: Newborn for Nephew #6, 9 months for Nephew #5
Finished both: Just in time for gifting - December 24, 2009
Notes: There is no 9 month size, but I just added 4 stitches to the 6 month size cast-on number, knit an inch longer, and then followed the directions for decreasing after dividing the front and back parts of the vest until I had the same final stitch numbers as the other sizes. I'm glad I added a little more room, because this child is sprouting! I was also worried about the newborn fitting into his vest, but he was perfect for it. He was only 12 days old at the time of the photo shoot!

Nephew #6 - "This vest is making me so sleepy....zzzz"


Nephew #5 - "I'm so happy that I look like Unc already!!!"


Cousins! - "Hey, what's new down there?"


Happy New Knitting Year!