Decreasing

I'm at the decreasing for raglan sleeves stage of the grey tweed cardigan. I tried it on, and I think it fits, although the top part might be a little baggy. I figure I can adjust the band either thin or wide to accommodate.

Almost Done

My denim riverbeds are almost done. Only thing left is to cast off. And the photo shoot. Why does that always take so long to accomplish? My grey tweed cardigan is coming along. I have a few inches to go and then I can join the sleeves. And see if I've finally reached gauge. Summer excitement.

Lying, Stinking Swatch!

I knit a gauge swatch, really I did. After knitting both of the sleeves for the grey cardigan, I find they're smaller than I expected. I measured, and yep 7 st/in instead of 6. I blocked it thinking the yarn might "bloom". Nope. Still seven stitches per inch. I already did the ribbing for the body. So I increased to 230 stitches and changed the needle from a size 2 to size 3. I'll do a few inches and see if it's closer to six.

Because I think I may have to frog the body, I didn't invest the time in making the little cables. I'm doing a seven by one rib with seed stitch ribbing. I'm thinking i'll do an attached i-cord down the fronts (perhaps for a zipper?) and a seed stitch polo collar.

Cast On

Why does it take so long to cast on? It took an afternoon to cast on for my cardigan body. sheesh. I just want to knit.

Yarn: Rowan felted tweed
Gauge: 6st. per inch, 7.5 rows per inch on size 2 needles

I've finished both sleeves (well mostly, I’ll adjust the length later). Now I’m casting on for the body. I think I’ll work it back and forth with an edge stitch, like the mr. greenjeans cardigan.

Slogging Through April

I'm almost done with the sleeves for my cardigan. It's taken forever. Now I realize I have to plan the body. I know the stitch pattern will be the seed stitch rib with seven knit stitches in between with a cable pattern rib once in awhile. I have to decide how often I want the cable. The other big decision is, to do it in the round or back and forth. I'm leaning toward back and forth, but I want to think about how the raglan increases will work. Sometimes it seems easier to follow a pattern blindly. The urge to knit another Mr Greenjeans is strong....

Dropping Stitches

I'm mostly finished with one sleeve of the cardigan. Started the second right away, and promptly forgot what I was supposed to do and made purl ribs. They're supposed to be seed stitch ribs. I'm going to practice dropping the stitches and laddering back up. It should be tedious, but only about eight rows worth.

Meanwhile, I'm ready to cast off the Lake Effect Leyburns.

Finishing is hard to do.

Slow Going

It's slow going on the first sleeve. I'm done with the increasing rows and now I have a few inches of plain rows to do before it's finished.

I had an excellent birthday! I bought myself an iPod Touch and am enjoying playing with it. One of the apps I downloaded is called Knit Gauge. It is very clever. and measures swatches much more accurately than I can. Although depending on how I set the pins, I get 5.7 st./in or 6.11 st./in, not 6.00 st./in. So we'll see...

Karin gave me a gift certificate to the yarn store. I think I'll be shopping soon.

New Cardigan

I’m doing a bottom-up cardigan based on Elizabeth Zimmermann’s percentage system. The stitch pattern is columns of stockinette with seed stitch dividing ribs and some cables on the body. (Sleeves don’t have cables) I plan on knitting back and forth on the body. Right now I’m doing the first sleeve to double check gauge.

Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed #165
Gauge: 6st. per inch, 7.5 rows per inch
Needles: KP Options size 0 and 2 US

Happy New Year!

It's about endings and beginnings. I finished the Mr. Greenjeans cardigan and wore it to our party last night. I knit the small size, 36.5 inch bust and 21.5 inches long. It's a bit small, but flattering. I'll finish the striped scarf today while watching football. I don't have anything good on deck. I have two skeins of lake effect sock yarn, but I don't feel like making another lace scarf. I might try two color socks. I need to take a trip to the yarn store tomorrow!

Mr Greenjeans

I started my new cardigan, Mr Greenjeans. The pattern is from Knitty, and it has a deep v-neck and cables that shape the waist. I'm enjoying the top down start. I found several examples on Ravelry and it looks good on a lot of body shapes. Although several people put the button in different places.

Pattern: Mr Greenjeans from Knitty
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heather in navy
Needles: Options size 6
Gauge: 4.5 st. per inch in stockinette