Cinnamon Annabel Cardigan and Felted Poms

A little cinnamon wool and big needles, endless garter stitch and a super easy pattern. Annabel Cardigan, from Quince and Co. I got two skeins of Eco Wool, but barely used the 2nd skein for this one. I did use dpns for the sleeves and you can see where I had the needle changes so I tried to smooth that out when blocking. This sweater is worked from the top down, sleeves put on holders and worked at the end.

Feeling a little crafty, I got some Roving  and watched a tutorial on felting it in warm soapy water. It would've worked better if I used the roving that comes in fluffy sheets instead of the yarn.

 I got my hot water ready with the soap in it and made a ball, and started working it side to side in my hands.

It looked like this:

 Then I added on a color to it. Again, this would work much better if you  had the roving separated into thin strips instead of it being in a twisted yarn.

 My end result was this little funny display of yarn balls, stuck on some floral stems and put in a vase. It added some green and whimsy the table. However the yarn is visible where I wound it. I also tried putting the balls in the washer inside a fabric bag. If I were to try this again, I would either take the time to really separate out the layers or buy the roving in big "batting" type form. But it was fun to try out.

Back For More Coffee

 

Ta Da! My Coffee Bean is finished and fits me! Amazingly enough. Considering all I put it through. It's a very lovely sweater indeed. This yarn is a dream to knit with. (Elsebeth Lavold,Silky Wool)

Better pics to follow, I hope!

 My Coffee Bean Vitamin D shown here blocking on a beach towel. Blocking does wonders, let me just say. 

Fall is here, the sunny days are waning, but the leaves are beautiful. A few days left for walking outside...Time for the cozy days of knitting and for coffee bean Vitamin D sweater progress. Shown here, the front side with all stitches on the needle and done with the short rows and wraps.Wraps, wraps, wraps and more wraps, short rows and wraps....this sweater has more short rows and wraps than any on the planet. Well I'm sure I am only exaggerating. It is a lovely pattern of course. One must be careful when doing this sweater of keeping good track of your increases and then making sure to pick up wraps when you pass them as well as counting when to make the wraps carefully. I sure hope I picked up neatly all the short row wraps on the reverse side. I have a bit of trouble with the purly ones. Well it is coming along and actually seems to fit, which is great seeing as how I changed yarns and needle sizes from the original pattern and guessed on the size, M1. I was able to try it on briefly and it is coming along. Made it through the second set of short rows and wraps, with only one slight detour and me having to fudge a few rows. Next are the last sets of the front radials and then it's off to the "finishing" stage, then blocking. I love, love this yarn. I hope I love, love this sweater! I do love the feel of the yarn, the color, and the radials in the back. My mom is making progress on hers also and I hope to be able to show them both when we are finished.

I have now finished, and realized I used size 4 needles for the entire lower portion, by accident, as they were the needles that I used as "holders" at one point...and this sweater is so very forgiving. It might just still look dandy even with my dandy errors worked lovingly right into it. As a matter of fact, I think that it might be a blessing in disguise that I used smaller needles due to the overall room I have in the sweater. I may have been ok to do the size small even, given the amount this yarn "gives", however overall I am very pleased with the outcome of it. And have worn it out and about already. My daughter is making me just the necklace that will go perfectly with the browns and coppery tones in it.
And below....my mother and I in our matching sweaters! Hers is not blocked yet, but it came out more beautifully knit than my own!

Beach Time Knitting-Iced Cardigan

I will add that this sweater was completed in the 3rd week of July, which would normally be a hot time of year, except since I live in Seattle, it's been the coldest and wettest spring and summer I can ever remember. Perfect for knitting weather. So I am modeling it here in July. Wore it already in July. While the rest of the nation is on heat advisory, we're here wearing wool. Gotta love it! Shown after blocking, the Iced Cardigan has grown a bit in the arms and body.

Shown here, prior to blocking.

And here's the end result of "Iced" cardigan, of course not blocked yet. I can never wait to block. I made my version a cropped and chunky sweater. Mine has just one button for a closure,using a crocheted loop. I added garter stitch on the end of the sleeve cuffs and hem to prevent rolling. With my gauge and needle size, in order to make a size 38 or medium, I made the pattern's size 1X, believe it or not. I added one more increase set at waist, and stopped at a more cropped length for my height. And it fits me perfectly. Used two skeins of the Cascade Ecological wool. This is a nice neutral color and cozy warm for those chilly beach or Seattle nights! 

Time for some beach knitting. This is the hugest skein of yarn I've ever seen. 478 yards all wrapped up in a big chunk. Cascade Ecological wool. For the making of Knitty's "Iced" cardigan, a free Knitty pattern.

Having to make it on size 10 needles and  the size 1X in order for it to fit me due to the gauge. Good easy beach knitting. Great for the car trip home too...

Now for some views of the lovely Oregon coast for you to enjoy....Can you hear the sound of the waves? 

Autumn Leaves Revisited

We have had the wettest spring here and rain all the way through the end of June. It is as if we are having autumn revisited in Seattle. It is seasons like this that make you glad to be a knitter. Summer may finally appear this week.  I did the Autumn Leaves baby sweater some time ago; here, and shipped it off to Missouri. It seemed rather mini and short, but cute nonetheless.  I decided to try it out once again, but make it longer as well as add a repeat of the lace border to it. I am pretty pleased with the resulting length and overall appearance of this one. The true color is that shown below, not the bright blue as it seems above.

This one was worked with a bamboo/wool blend on size 7 needles. Topdown and in one piece.Shown blocking...I added some length to the overall design, calculting the rows so that I would end up with seven buttonholes. For the lace repeat on the border I began with row 6 on the yoke chart and ended on row 23, finishing off with a seed stitch hem.

Shown here as it appears on the needles with the sleeve stitches on holders. Doesn't look like much here, does it?

Sweet Autumn Leaves

It's not autumn here, but the breeze is blowing. And a tornado hit Missouri recently in a tragic way. Friends of ours have relatives there and I was made aware of a little newborn whose momma lost everything she had in the tornado. I cannot fathom this. My first thought was that I wanted to send her a little baby sweater. This is the result:

Autumn Leaves...

 Smitten by the pattern, I must say. I eeked it out with one skein of Cascade Sierra. Just barely. Using size 7 needles. Could've made a tad longer, but wanted to make sure I finished off the sleeve cuffs.

Autumn Leaves, by Nikki Van De Car, a free pattern off Ravelry. Sending it soon with hugs, and prayers. I hope one day to see a picture of the sweet baby wearing it.... XXOO...(edited 1/5/2012  to add: My wish just came true... Here she is at 4 mos. old with lots of room to grow into it )

Ladybug Baby Sweater

Ladybug is a topdown raglan baby sweater. This one was my design, a simple one, but sweet. I am working out the design details on paper. I was able to do it all with one skein of Unisono, a 100% extra fine merino superwash wool. I had the wool for a long time and wanted to do something special with it. The colors are intriguing. I don't have a baby around to model for me...I need to get one of those! So instead, Matilda the bear comes in handy again. She is about the right size. This sweater is approximately 12 mos. size. I have it posted up on Ravelry as well. Ladybug, ladybug...fly away home!