Archives for January 2015

I’m not actually taking a break from cables. I finished the front and am knitting along on the back of my Chloe sweater. See?

But I was working on something else at the same time: Valentine dresses for Dottie and Inga!

They were so excited when they saw them that they insisted on putting them on immediately, even though I pointed out that it was not yet February.

They look pretty pleased with themselves, don’t they?

The dresses were knit from Julie Williams’ Seasonal Dresses pattern and I used “Solid Series” fingering weight yarn from The Loopy Ewe. I worked on these exclusively during my lunch break at work.

I used the same two colors for each dress but reversed them. Because Inga has a very fair complexion, she thinks that the pink dress flatters her best. And Dottie, with her olive complexion, looks lovely in the ivory dress.

I’m not sure I can keep up the pace of knitting them new dresses every month, but this was sure fun!

Loki always knows how to pace himself.

I had mentally set myself the deadline of finishing the front of Chloe by the end of the weekend. Here is where I am with most of Sunday still to go:

So I ought to be able to finish the left side front, cast on for the back, and make some good progress on the back ribbing.

And Loki is here to help me!

I, of course, have a new project on the needles:

This is Chloe, designed by Amy Miller.The pattern is written for aran weight and I just happened to have a lot of Rowan Amy Butler Belle Organic Aran in stash. That’s a 50/50 wool/cotton blend aran weight yarn that has been discontinued. I have a vague memory of purchasing a boatload of it for half price at the time it was discontinued. Yay! Stash yarn!

The colorway is Peacock and it is not as dark as that photo would have you believe, but the lighting in the evening at this time of year is not the best. Here’s a far more accurate photo of the color:

The Chloe sweater is a hugely oversized pullover with a lovely deep cowl neck that is heavily cabled. For reasons that escape me, it is designed to be knit in the round to the armholes, then split and the front and back knit separately from that point on. I think knitting a heavily cabled oversized aran weight pullover in the round might lead to insanity*, so I am knitting mine in pieces, and that’s the beginning of the front (which I decided to knit first) shown above. I’m using a size 8 needle and am happily cabling away!

*Why would knitting this in the round lead to insanity? First off, dragging such a huge piece of knitting around would be very bulky and cumbersome. Second, it would be very hard on the circular needle and could very likely damage or break the cord (ask me how I know). Third, a sweater of this weight will benefit from the structure that side seams will give it.

I’ll close with a photo that shows you why I don’t/can’t put anything on the end tables in my living room.

Before I get into my completed items, check this out:

This is a Christmas stocking that Linda created using my Sanquhar Cowl pattern charts. Isn’t that a great idea?

I had a productive weekend! I finished my Birka hat:

This is knit from Woolfolk FÅR on a U.S. size 6 and 7 needle. A great marriage of yarn and pattern, I think.

And I finished this:

My Stay Awhile wrap, knit from Östergötlands Ullspinneri Visjö Karamell yarn that was a gift from my friend Johanne in Sweden. I used a U.S. size 5 needle.

I love, love, love how this turned out!

It’s a gloomy rainy day today, so I plan to stay in and knit while doing laundry, etc. Loki is on sentry duty!

I am past the two-thirds mark on my shawl, as I am well into the third and last skein of yarn. I am loving how this looks!

I decided to start a hat for commuter knitting, so I cast on Birka.

You start by knitting a hat band, then join and pick up stitches around the top for the crown of the hat.

I recently got my greedy little paws on some Woolfolk FÅR yarn, so that’s what I’m using. I’ve used Woolfolk Tynd for a couple of projects, the most recent being my Sanquhar Cowl. That’s fingering weight. FÅR is worsted weight and has an intriguing chained construction.

It feels just as fabulous as Tynd does and is lovely to knit.

Loki sez:

“I love you this much!”