My Unseasonably Warm Serpentine Sweater

It was 85° inside our apartment today, so of course I thought it was a perfect opportunity to take pictures of myself wearing my new sweater. Don't worry - I didn't sweat on it too horribly : )





Serpentine Sweater (A shorter version of the Serpentine Coat by Norah Gaughan from the book Knitting Nature)
Reynolds Odyssey, Merino wool (104 yards / 50 g per ball)
6.72 balls of "Brown Mix"
2 balls of "Granite Mix" (not quite enough, as it turned out*)
1.42 balls of "Sea Mix"
US 4 (3.5 mm) circular needles for yoke, body, and upper sleeves
US 3 (3.25 mm) bamboo dpns for lower sleeves
US 2.5 (3.0 mm) dpns and circular needles for sleeve cuffs, collar, and button and buttonhole bands
US 8 (5.0 mm) circular needles for lower body bind-off

As I mentioned previously, I decided to convert the pattern for knitting from the top down, imagining that I could make the sweater fit me better if I could try it on as I knit (a good idea in principle... unfortunately, as you will see, my execution was, shall we say, lacking).

First, I should mention that I really enjoyed the Odyssey yarn, which consists of 4 plies, each of which changes color independently. I'm so glad I was able to find it on sale last year! I love the colors :)



After working the yoke, I realized (or rather, finally admitted) that my floats were way too loose (ahem, gauge problem alert), so I spent some time trying to tighten up the worst offenders. I laboriously shuffled the excess yarn to the edges, where I later cut it and wove the ends into the button and buttonhole band seams. There's still some extra looseness in places (and some bumpiness), but it's much more tolerable. I definitely need to work on figuring out the right amount of tension for stranded knitting....



I knit the sleeves to fit me excellently (ripping out the forearm a few times on the first one to get it just right). Nothing ever goes as planned, however, as after blocking the yoke grew significantly (duh... all those loose stitches) leading the turtleneck-style collar to migrate down over my collarbones and the armpits to hang about 3 inches below where I was expecting them to be (I have some pretty impressive flying squirrel "wings" when I spread my arms). This situation, of course, caused the sleeves too be a corresponding 3 inches too long (and wider than expected - moving the part of the sleeve that was meant to fit around the meaty part of my forearm down to my wrist area, etc.) and shifted my waist and hip shaping (as well as the bottom edge of the sweater) downward.





Clearly, my brilliant plan for perfecting the fit backfired a bit...

The upshot of all this is that what I meant to be a closely-fitted cardigan is now a relaxed, rather roomy one with cuffed sleeves. Luckily, I like it anyway :)



My buttonholes ended up smaller than expected (I think they were the only things that did), so I chose 0.5 inch buttons that I thought went well with the color scheme. After the fact, I realize that more frequent button placement would have been a good idea to prevent gaping (I placed three rather close together on the collar/upper yoke, but spaced the rest about 4.5 inches apart, as the pattern suggested).





I'm too lazy to reknit the buttonhole band (*which had the added problem of me having run out of the "Granite Mix" and having to switch to "Brown Mix" too soon), so instead I decided to try a technique I've been meaning to use on several other sweaters: lining the button and buttonhole bands with grosgrain ribbon for added stability.



I think this went pretty well. I used the overcast stitch as described in TECHknitting with all-purpose sewing thread to attach the ribbon (the cut ends of which I folded toward the center (to make a point) then under twice). For the buttonhole band, I stitched the ribbon to the edge of the band first, cut a hole in the ribbon behind each buttonhole, and used the buttonhole stitch to stabilize these holes before overcast stitching the rest of the grosgrain ribbon down.




I didn't line the collar (I did initially, but it seemed to make the collar flop open (exposing a little more of the ribbon than I liked) when not buttoned).



All in all, this sweater didn't work out (at all) as intended, but I like it!

I think the inside is pretty, too:



Too bad I can't really wear it until the temperature drops considerably.... ah, well... it looks nice folded up :)

Knitting, Spinning, Meme-ing

Heh, heh... even if I'm not up-to-date in my blog reading, I'm making an effort to be up-to-date in my blog posting : )

Knitting Update

I'm still working along on my sweater-length, top-down version of the Serpentine Coat from Knitting Nature. I've finished the yoke and one sleeve (the bottom half of which I re-knit several times to get the right fit).




There's one hitch: I've read over and over again that when doing stranded knitting you need to be sure to keep the floats loose. I think I took that way too seriously (doh!) - hence, my floats are too loose (making the stitches around them wonkily loose, too), and I think I'm going to have to try to redistribute the extra yarn in some fashion - probably by shifting the slack row by row to the edges, cutting the yarn, and weaving the ends in. I honestly think this will be much faster than starting over (I'm not a speedy two-color knitter, and it took me a while to finish knit the yoke, which I guess is arguably not finished yet...)


Dublin Lake Redux

So, what did I do with the other half of the lovely "Dublin Lake" Bluefaced Leicester roving I got from The Painted Sheep?



I split the remaining roving lengthwise into halves, then split one half into 8 lengthwise pieces and the other into only 4 (this is something I've seen suggested by Kristin of All Spun Up - another wonderful fiber artist - on the Ravelry boards). This resulted in longer color-runs on one bobbin, which you can see here:




Here's a close-up of the singles (I just love the colors):



I plied the singles from the two bobbins together, aiming for a bit of extra plying twist. Since my bobbins weren't very equal, I ended up having to transfer about half of the remaining singles to the empty bobbin, spit-splicing the ends to my two plies before finishing plying. As you can see, I still ended up with a little bit of singles left over:




...and here it is after finishing:



...and closer (click to see better):



The yarn seems nicely balanced. (I washed it in hot water and whacked it on the tub a few times before hanging it to dry unweighted.) I ended up with approximately 345 yards (2.15 oz.) of 22 wpi yarn - which is more or less a lace weight (I think I spun my singles finer on average than I did for the Navajo plied yarn... oops!). Here's my 2-ply hanging out with the Navajo plied yarn for comparison:




I like them both!


A Quirky Meme

Brandy of The Purl Parables tagged me (a while ago!) for a quirky meme. The rules are as follows:

* Link to the person who tagged you
* Mention the rules in your blog
* Tell about six unspectacular quirks of your's
* Tag six following bloggers by linking them
* Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged

1. I will look at my (non-digital) watch to see what time it is, only to promptly forget what it said. This is generally only an issue when someone else, having just seen me check my watch, asks me what time it is : )

2. I prefer very dry, chewy raisins to plump, juicy ones (so I'm not a big fan of raisins in baked goods).

3. I like yarn a little too much... yes, some people would consider that a quirk - why do you ask?

4. I often look down to check that I'm in gear ("Drive") while driving in an automatic transmission vehicle.

5. I like to have a salt shaker handy when I'm eating dinner in case I need a little extra flavor.

6. I would rather not have a cat pacing back and forth between me and my keyboard while I type, wooshing it's tail in my face and snuffling my fingers with each pass. (Pretty quirky, I know!)

If you would like to participate, consider yourself tagged. Have a great week!

Clearing the backlog...

Eeesh! I keep intending to write various and sundry things up in a blog post (or two)... so get ready for a major mish-mash : )

1. Pay It Forward

Last month (I'm a little behind here) I sent out little gifts to the first 3 knitters who expressed interest when I posted about Pay It Forward way back when. In addition to some snickerdoodle cookies, I sent Leslie (and her kitty Perry!) two felted catnip mice:



...and Jenn and Sarah each a snowflake washcloth:



I think they all enjoyed their gifts : ) Here are the details:

Felted Catnip Mice Kitty Knits: Projects for Cats and their People by Donna Druchunas (very generously given to me by Laiane)
Berroco Jasper, color "Copper Silk," 100% Fine Merino Wool (98 yards / 50 g per skein), 0.22 skeins (for gray/brown mouse)
Morehouse Merino Gator Yarn, color "Chartreuse," 100% Merino Wool (220 yards / 57 g per skein), 0.19 skeins (for green mouse)
US 10 (6.0 mm) double pointed needles

Originally, I knit up a gold mouse and a green mouse. Here they are pre-felting. Aren't they cute together?



Moana wonders who steamrolled the mice.


Bug cannot believe he's modeling mice destined for some other cat. Humph....

Upon hand-felting them in the sink, I discovered that I hadn't... ahem... read the label of the yarn I used for the gold mouse very thoroughly. Evidently I am extremely stubborn, because it took me a good 20 minutes to accept that the floppy yellow critter I was alternately beating senseless in a bath of soapy hot water and shocking under cold running water was indeed made with (gasp!) superwash yarn. Doh. I'm a genius - what can I say?

Henceforth, this little guy continues to look pretty much like this (except a little "rattier" due to all the agitation):



Because the mice are a quick knit (and I wanted Perry to have a pair to play with!) I decided to use the leftovers from my husband's hat to make another. Here it is pre-felting



Both the mice felted wonderfully. Because I think they're so cute, here are a few more photos:






And now for the washcloths:

unblocked
blocking
blocked
backlit
both together!

Snowflake by Norah Gaughan
Pakucho Organic Cotton, color "cream," 100% organic cotton (88 yards / 37 g per skein), 0.75 skeins (for "Cream" colored cloth)
Bernat Organic Cotton, color "Hemp," 100% organic cotton (84 yards / 50 g per ball), 0.6 balls (for "Hemp" colored cloth)
US 6 (4.0 mm) Knitpicks Options circular needles (for "Cream" colored cloth)
US 5 (3.75 mm) Knitpicks Options circular needles and dpns (for "Hemp" colored cloth)

I knit the first one ("Cream" colored version) back and forth as directed, but for the second one ("Hemp" colored version) I went down a needle size (to achieve a denser fabric) and converted the pattern for knitting in the round to avoid having a seam. I thought both yarns were nice, but I especially enjoyed working with the Pakucho.


2. The Knitter Project

Months ago I signed up to participate in the Knitter Project, Elizabeth's ambitious senior project. Here's a short description of it:

"The Knitter Project is a collaborative effort by nearly fifty knitters from all over the world. Each knitter has been asked to knit tags into their work, and write a short journal entry on each tag. The finished pieces will be a rich self-portrait of who knitters really are."

Here is my contribution:



Marsan Watchcap by Staceyjoy Elkin
My own handspun yarn, color "Denim," made from Ashland Bay Merino (~100 yards / 90 g per skein), ~1 skein + some unplied singles held double
Berroco Jasper, color "Copper Silk," 100% Fine Merino Wool (98 yards / 50 g per skein), small amount for stripe
US 6 (4.0 mm) Denise Interchangeable circular needles and double pointed needles

I made the smaller size. My cooky thick and thin yarn made a very dense hat. It should be nice and warm... though I haven't gotten to try it out yet because it was mailed off to Elizabeth in Philadelphia : ) While knitting, I started to get concerned that I wouldn't have enough yarn, so I added a stripe of Berroco Jasper (the last of the leftovers from my husband's hat). It turns out my fears were justified, as I ran out of yarn with a few rounds to go in the crown - however, I had a bit of unplied singles of my handspun left over, so I held that double and was able to eek out the rest of the hat : )

the fiber
the yarn
isn't perspective fun?





As you can probably tell, I had to work to keep Bug from biting the tags.


3. A Little Gift For My Spinning Mentor : )

I thought the very generous woman who helped me get started with spinning deserved a little gift. Originally, I intended to spin some fun yarn and then knit something out of it for her. It wasn't happening... so I decided to make her something with millspun yarn from my stash that looked like handspun yarn I would like to make.

On Ravelry I had noticed a (free!) pattern for simple yet beautiful fingerless mitts in a broken rib stitch - so that is what I made.






Bainbridge Mitts by Amy Goodstine
SWTC Karaoke, color 285 "Intensity," 100% Fine Merino Wool (109 yards / 50 g per ball), 0.75 balls
US 3 (3.25 mm) double pointed needles

I made these pretty much as directed, however my gauge was way off initially, and I made one huge mitt before I fully comprehended this (luckily it fits someone I know, so I'll be making it a mate soon). I love the yarn... and you can bet I'll be trying to spin up something like it soon.

Speaking of which... this sounds like a good segue into:


4. Spinning Update

I spun up the 8 ounces of gray Icelandic wool that came with my spinning wheel.




Although I plied the singles last night, I haven't gotten a photo of my 2-ply yarn yet.

I went to the bimonthly meeting of the Nutmeg Spinners Guild on Saturday. I took my wheel with me and got a bit of spinning done. They had an interesting program and a number of great local/regional vendors (as well as a hoard of wonderful spinners - it was so nice to meet you guys). I bought spinning fiber from two of them.

Some soft and springy hand-dyed Cormo from Foxhill Farm (Lee, MA - no website):



The individual fibers are so fine and crimpy it's hard to actually see them. (I'm having great fun trying out various types of wool - it's amazing how different they are!) I've already started spinning some of this up:


Bug looks on...

I also bought these lovelies from The Painted Sheep:



The white and the blue/green/amber/burgundy mix are both Bluefaced Leicester while the fiber in shades of green is a lovely mix of alpaca, merino, and silk. I look forward to spinning them all!


5. Knitting Update

The Andrea Dogwood Blossom Wrap for Schaefer is coming along. Here it is about 20% done:



I made nearly all of the first Endpaper Mitt, but decided it was turning out huge (except for my cast on edge, which was too tight).



I didn't have a set of 5 dpns of the right size, so I ended up ordering this set from KnitPicks. Even though I've got to rip it out, the mitt gave me some good practice with two-handed stranded colorwork (which is slightly easier for me now). I'll get back to this project soon.

The Endpaper Mitts were meant to be a warm up for more colorwork, so while I was waiting for the dpns to arrive, I went ahead and started Norah Gaughan's Serpentine Coat from Knitting Nature. Here's a photo from the book



I am making a shorter "sweater-length" version using the same yarns called for in the pattern. I decided to convert the pattern for top-down knitting in order to make the body fit well (I'll be able to try it on as I go), so I started with the ribbed collar and have progressed into the yoke:




I wasn't daring enough to knit this in the round with steeks (I also thought it would be hard to try on, which defeats the purpose of knitting top-down), so I'm learning how to do two-handed stranded colorwork on the "wrong" side, too.


...........Ok, that's (more than) enough for now. I have a few more things on my mind, but they'll have to wait until my next post (which will hopefully be sooner than this one was)

Have a great week!