Sculpting life out of fiber, one stitch at a time.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
PS
In the blog I just wrote I tried in vain to link to Mothed by Mags Kandis which is a lovely free pattern from Knitty Deep Fall 2010. Since I am a noob to all things url go to Knitty.com and search Mothed to see the pattern I have been trying to link to!
Spring is arriving...
Want to know how I know? Last Thursday driving home from work, out of the corner of my eye as I went down the ramp where I-5 merges with I-405,I swear that I could see a faint blush of pink in the trees that grow along the ramp. These are trees that will have a definite pink bloom soon. I dont know what kind of trees they are (I think some type of plum) but I really thought I was imagining things. Not the actual blossoms yet, just the sort of coloring the branches acquire from the buds that are just peeping out from under their little covers. Then last night in my neighborhood I spotted a huge clump of daffodils in full bloom on the corner. They were beautiful in the fading light. Now I know that those distinctive chirps I heard outside this weekend were real: robins do herald spring.
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee was writing about spring, isn't everyone writing about spring? She was enjoying new yarn for her March socks. A beautiful bud-like spring green. I have some new yarn coming this week...any day now in fact for a nice spring cardigan to wear with skirts. I have a cardigan's worth of my first order of Wool of the Andes by Knitpicks enroute. A beautiful aquamarine that I imagine to be perfect with all the print skirts I plan on making...and that brings me to:
patterns- specifically cardigan patterns.
I still haven't decided which cardigan pattern to knit from this yarn I have coming, and I need to get on the ball. I have spent probably 90 hours over the last 2 weeks browsing Ravelry for cardigan patterns. I have downloaded probably 50 or more freebs. I have about 15 books on hold at the library that should start trickling in any day. And I still have no clue what cardigan I am knitting from my yarn!
First off, it has to be a cardigan, it can't be a pullover. Why? Because in the chaos of a hotflash, I want to be able to merely flip it open, cooling my neck and chest so that I don't expire from excess heat buildup in my upper torso. Pullovers are a pain, you have to take them off over your head and mess up your hair and usually when I am experiencing one of my "power surges" I forget to take my glasses off first, and invariably end up with those askew or one hoop earring dangerously tangled in said pullover.
Second the pattern has to be the perfect card. I don't want it too short (I look hideous in cropped anything), I don't want it too long-this is for spring remember (so not a car-coat). I don't want it too plain-you know something a little challenging, but not too hard. I don't like the look of too lacy (as in too hard or too busy) or too cabley-read as bulky appearing, nor do I want it too heavy in actual weight, nor too light, nor a pattern requiring silky drapey yarn (the yarn I am using is wool) and of course I dont' want the pattern to be too difficult. I prefer seamless, but I can do seaming I just don't like it.
Third to consider is shape. I want it fitted but not tight across the midriff-bulge area. So I'm not keen on ribbing right there. But for a cardigan I don't want the hem curling. So that means a band that won't roll. Which means something other than stockinette all the way to the bottom edge. I don't want to actually have to sew a hem either. And I don't want it so complicated that it takes a year to finish.
So where does that leave us? With diddly. I still can't decide. I have confidence I can select and execute a reasonably attractive, beautifully finished hand-knit cardigan. So long as it meets all the criteria above.
Originally it was going to be a pullover. There is a pattern I fell in love with and want to make, and I had successfully nearly completed, called Mothed, from Knitty by Mags Kandis. I absolutely love that pattern. I was executing it from grey and black Simply Soft just to get the hang of it. It was turning out very well and I was 3/4 done when I ran out of yarn on the sleeves and set the whole thing aside, in order to complete Christmas knitting, fully intending to get more Simply Soft after Christmas to complete it.
Which I did. And then: I accidentally brushed my wrist brace against the front of the sweater--the velcro part of the wrist brace came in contact with all that stockinette. Right smack-dab in the middle of the front. The sweater is ruined. Not only did the velcro pull the stiches as in creating a huge 2" across pucker/run, the velcro tugged actual fibers out of the yarn itself creating a clump of acrylic fuzz. It is ugly and huge and very noticeable and impossible to fix with blocking or anything else. I nearly cried, but then reminded myself that I had only lost about $5 worth of yarn, most of which can be reused after frogging and that I had learned how to execute a simple top-down raglan. And it will look good on me when I knit it again in different yarn.
But returning to the subject at hand? This new spring project is going to be a cardigan.
There are many many good candidates out there. But which one?
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee was writing about spring, isn't everyone writing about spring? She was enjoying new yarn for her March socks. A beautiful bud-like spring green. I have some new yarn coming this week...any day now in fact for a nice spring cardigan to wear with skirts. I have a cardigan's worth of my first order of Wool of the Andes by Knitpicks enroute. A beautiful aquamarine that I imagine to be perfect with all the print skirts I plan on making...and that brings me to:
patterns- specifically cardigan patterns.
I still haven't decided which cardigan pattern to knit from this yarn I have coming, and I need to get on the ball. I have spent probably 90 hours over the last 2 weeks browsing Ravelry for cardigan patterns. I have downloaded probably 50 or more freebs. I have about 15 books on hold at the library that should start trickling in any day. And I still have no clue what cardigan I am knitting from my yarn!
First off, it has to be a cardigan, it can't be a pullover. Why? Because in the chaos of a hotflash, I want to be able to merely flip it open, cooling my neck and chest so that I don't expire from excess heat buildup in my upper torso. Pullovers are a pain, you have to take them off over your head and mess up your hair and usually when I am experiencing one of my "power surges" I forget to take my glasses off first, and invariably end up with those askew or one hoop earring dangerously tangled in said pullover.
Second the pattern has to be the perfect card. I don't want it too short (I look hideous in cropped anything), I don't want it too long-this is for spring remember (so not a car-coat). I don't want it too plain-you know something a little challenging, but not too hard. I don't like the look of too lacy (as in too hard or too busy) or too cabley-read as bulky appearing, nor do I want it too heavy in actual weight, nor too light, nor a pattern requiring silky drapey yarn (the yarn I am using is wool) and of course I dont' want the pattern to be too difficult. I prefer seamless, but I can do seaming I just don't like it.
Third to consider is shape. I want it fitted but not tight across the midriff-bulge area. So I'm not keen on ribbing right there. But for a cardigan I don't want the hem curling. So that means a band that won't roll. Which means something other than stockinette all the way to the bottom edge. I don't want to actually have to sew a hem either. And I don't want it so complicated that it takes a year to finish.
So where does that leave us? With diddly. I still can't decide. I have confidence I can select and execute a reasonably attractive, beautifully finished hand-knit cardigan. So long as it meets all the criteria above.
Originally it was going to be a pullover. There is a pattern I fell in love with and want to make, and I had successfully nearly completed, called Mothed, from Knitty by Mags Kandis. I absolutely love that pattern. I was executing it from grey and black Simply Soft just to get the hang of it. It was turning out very well and I was 3/4 done when I ran out of yarn on the sleeves and set the whole thing aside, in order to complete Christmas knitting, fully intending to get more Simply Soft after Christmas to complete it.
Which I did. And then: I accidentally brushed my wrist brace against the front of the sweater--the velcro part of the wrist brace came in contact with all that stockinette. Right smack-dab in the middle of the front. The sweater is ruined. Not only did the velcro pull the stiches as in creating a huge 2" across pucker/run, the velcro tugged actual fibers out of the yarn itself creating a clump of acrylic fuzz. It is ugly and huge and very noticeable and impossible to fix with blocking or anything else. I nearly cried, but then reminded myself that I had only lost about $5 worth of yarn, most of which can be reused after frogging and that I had learned how to execute a simple top-down raglan. And it will look good on me when I knit it again in different yarn.
But returning to the subject at hand? This new spring project is going to be a cardigan.
There are many many good candidates out there. But which one?
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