A Big Blue Sweater Tale

Our life revolves around the university academic year. It is now the time for final exams with graduation on Saturday. Recently we attended a year-end honors banquet for my husband's department. At the end of this banquet the senior engineering students have the opportunity to roast the professors. All in good fun, eh? Actually, they tend to be quite tasteful with their jesting. This year my knitting came into play.

In their Power Point Roast they put a photo of my husband on the screen. The student said, "Dr. F is known for having quite a collection of sweaters. One of them is very large and very blue." (I knew exactly which sweater they meant.) He went on to explain that Dr. F was explaining a concept to the class and used his own love of cookies as an analogy in explaining the concept. (I'm not an engineer so the details didn't make much sense to me.) Then they showed a picture of Sesame Street's Cookie Monster on the screen next to my husband's photo. Everyone had a good laugh about the Cookie Monster Blue Sweater and I probably laughed harder than anyone. Later the students asked me if I was ok with it and I said, "Of course. It was perfect." What was really sweet is that they had actually emailed my husband to wear his sweater to school so they could get a photo of it. He became suspicious and told them that I knit all his sweaters and I would be there. He was afraid they might hurt my feelings. Hey, they are right, the sweater is big and blue. Now I get a chuckle every time he wears The Cookie Monster Sweater. The next morning he was shaking his head as he told me that this is the first time in 30 years of teaching that he realized that the students notice what he is wearing.

I made him pause for a photo this morning as he left for work. Poor man! No one likes to have their photo taken at that time of the morning, but he was a good sport, as always.

Fair Isle Part 1

Once I got to the armholes the knitting did go a lot faster as the circumference became smaller with every round and the knitting fell into more of a rhythm. I chose machine stitching on the steeks since there were 3 steeks (2 arms and 1 v-neck). That seemed like too much crochet. I prefer red wool to mark the path. Tradition rules!

Although I cut my first steeks in Denmark in 1974, it still feels like magic when the shears do their magic. I cut steeks on my very first knitting project, an Faeroese drop shoulder sweater in cream with green color pattern throughout. Youth is fearless.

The amount of ends to darn in was a bit daunting. Yes, I know they can be woven in as you go but there was enough going on at the time. One more thing might have pushed me over the edge.

The inside of a Fair Isle sweater is beautiful also; that is, once the ends are woven in.

Something is Very Red

While it may seem as if I have been knitting up another garment every few days, that is not entirely the case. As I have mentioned previously on this blog, I am usually a monogamous knitter. My MO is having one project that is somewhat challenging or large, and one that is easy and portable. I uncharacteristically got too many (for me) projects going and suddenly felt the need to finish them all up. It was time. Some just needed a few finishing touches. The red cardigan, which gave me a few fits, just needed the button band and a button. I knitted that button band 3 times and I'm still not entirely happy with it. The button, which was strategically placed to "lock and load the girls" doesn't do the job. I know how to sew on a button properly and to make a non-shank button have a bit of a shank, but it doesn't hold up to activity. It may need to be moved down about 2 inches. So this part may go back to the frog pond (just the band, mind you), which will be tricky because I have already woven in the ends. Sigh.

The pattern is Wendy Bernard's Something Red, which I purchased on Ravelry. The pattern seems very similar to Mr. Green Jeans, a free pattern on Knitty. I debated between the two and now I wonder if I would have liked Green Jeans better (and not just because it is free). My other main concern about Something Red are the sleeves. Quite a few folks on Ravelry said they did not make the sleeves so deep. I wish I had heeded that advice. Although the sweater isn't uncomfortable, there is a lot of extra ease around the underarms and it looks a bit messy. The extra depth also made the lower part of the sleeves very wide so I had to knit them twice.

Need I mention that YO's on a top down raglan scream "handmade" from the rooftops? Note to self: next time Make 1's.

I also have a bit of an issue when a pattern says "pick up x number of stitches for the button band." It is unlikely that every knitter is going to have the same number of rows on the sweater since torso length varies on humans. I use the ratio of 3 pick ups for every 4 stitches, which is what I learned from Elizabeth Zimmermann who mostly did garter stitch borders. Looking at the photos I realize that something DEFINITELY has to be done with that button band. It really looks sloppy at the bottom. I tried unsuccessfully to hide it with a basket but I suppose it is impractical to try to carry an object in front of me all the time. That would be too weird. Upon further reflection I think the problem is not the ratio of stitches that were picked up along the edge but the fact that the ribbing on the band naturally pulls in. I'm not sure I can fix that and keep the ribbed band. A garter stitch band would behave better but there is no other garter stitch on this sweater. Garter stitch, although my favorite for a band, doesn't seem like the best solution.

I would love to hear your suggestions.

The Glory of The Diminishing Rib Cardigan

I had such a great time knitting the Diminishing Rib Cardigan by Andrea Pomerantz as seen on the cover of Interweave Knits Spring 2009. The designer implemented fantastic detail on this cardigan. It is extremely unusual for me to knit without modifications but I couldn't think of a way to improve this one. I especially like the tubular cast on. Eunny Jang's video was most helpful in getting this technique under my belt. I'm fairly certain I learned it before but did not use it and it subsequently flew out of the ol' noggin.

Mountain Mom's tubular bind off tutorial was a lifesaver. The written instructions in Interweave Knits were simply not enough for me. I still had take the bottom edge out at least twice before getting it right. (Tip: bind off the arms first as practice...easier to remove if you don't get it right the first time.) The best way I can describe the tubular bind off is that you set up the last two rows on parallel needles as if you are going to weave Kitchener Stitch. (In the photo I am moving stitches from the left needle to two dpn's in my right hand for the set up. Then you work Kitchener Stitch with a blunt sewing needle to achieve the neat and tidy bottom edge for the ribbing. It is a bit labor intensive but well worth the effort. That is a pithy explanation for sure so be sure you watch the video.

Details are on my Ravelry Projects page. I know I will wear this cotton sweater a lot and plan to make another one in wool for winter.

This is as close as I can get to a pensive pose in my new sweater. ;) And by the way, hummingbirds just love that salvia plant!

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It's a Blue Liesl

I finally finished off my second Liesl (designed by Ysolda) this time in a color called "Lake". It looks teal to me in real life, but the photos certainly look more blue. I made it one size larger. After taking these photos I decided that the sweater falling off my shoulders was a bit of a nuisance so I added a few rows of garter stitch at the neckline to pull it up. It fits a lot better now. At the beginning of each garter stitch row I knit two together (the second and third stitches to keep the edge tidy) so the corner would taper off. Instead of putting buttonholes in as the pattern called for, I added them later with a 2 stitch I-cord border on both left and right fronts. I searched my button box for old buttons...could they be a closer match in color?

While knitting my first Liesl I had a little trouble picking up the cast on stitches under the arm. This time I ran a contrasting thread through these stitches right after casting them on. What a difference that made! It made the task easy peasy.

So this is what the sleeve looked liked before picking up to knit downward. I think the sleeves are a little long.

There are notes on yarn and yardage on my Ravelry projects page.

Usually I knit a pattern and am done with it. There are very few that I want to make again. This is an exception. I can't wait to knit another Liesl! I want a red one!

Whisper Cardigan Unveiled

Since we had a little photo shoot on Sunday I am going to be posting about some of the sweaters I've recently made for myself. I've been on hiatus in that department for about 10 years (but still knitting sweaters for my menfolk) and I had forgotten how relatively quickly they knit up for me. Well, I'm considerably smaller than all of them. Since joining Ravelry I've found designers who relate to knitters like me; that is, knitters who don't like to sew seams and have a few curves on the body.




Hannah Fettig's Whisper Cardigan is a great design and so much fun to knit. Although it uses a lace weight yarn (size 3 needles for me), the project went fairly quickly until I got to the last section which was a lot of stockinette. I was all but done with it but couldn't decide how long to make the section that hangs down from the midsection ribbing. If you plan to knit this sweater, the schematic on Hannah Fettig's website Knitbot is helpful. The design is not at all difficult to knit once you understand the construction. The only modifications I made were (1) bound off neck part of ribbing in I-cord. I tried 3 times to do it loosely enough with a larger needle and it didn't work for me. (2) lengthened sleeves to 3/4 and eliminated the bell of the sleeve. The sleeves still look rather bell-like. (3) lengthened the body section so it would hang down further on my torso.



I'm still getting used to the way it fits me. Let' s just say it tends to enhance the bust area. I would like for it to be just an inch or two larger but it still works. It only took two skeins of Knit Picks Gloss (alpaca/silk) and at $4 a skein (you do the math), that is a pretty inexpensive sweater and a whole lot of entertainment.

Note: I am not wearing white nylons. And yes, my ankles really are that pale.

A Weekend of Piping Competition and Knitting

On Saturday our band, Celtic Cross Pipes and Drums, competed in our largest competition of the season, the St. Andrews Highland Games in Oakbrook (Chicago). The area, like most of the Midwest, was wet and muddy from the storms that have passed through recently. With temperatures in the 90's, we all cleansed our pores in a big way. Wearing wool kilts, thick wool hose, wool caps, and shirt with tie in hot humid weather could be called insanity, but we call it piping. [Digression: At least there were no cicadas as there were two years ago. After their 17 year hibernation underground they were out and about in swarms. The sound of our drones must have been like their mating call as they were very attracted to the pipes, landing on us, crawling up our limbs, etc. That competition was like one of the levels of Dante's Inferno.] This year the GOOD NEWS is that our band took second place in our level. We were 1st in piping and drumming but placed 4th in ensemble. That brought us to second place. Although it is more fun to be first, second is very respectable and we were pleased overall. Our next competition is in September in Waukesha WI. Next Sunday we have a parade in Marseilles IL. I'm hoping the 90 degree heat abates by then.

After an exhausting and dehydrating Saturday (left at 7:15 AM and arrived home at 10 PM) I didn't make it up in time for 8:30 AM church. We went to the 11 AM service, the more contemporary one, which was interesting since we haven't done that in a while. We saw people there we have never seen before. In fact, we could almost be in a different congregation altogether. Afterwards we went out for breakfast/brunch at The Denhart Baking Company , a delightful establishment that is located right on the Square in Washington. Both the food and service were great, and as for the atmosphere, what could be more fun than an old bank building, lovingly restored with creaky wood floors, a vault, and teller window (to pay your bill)? The prices are very reasonable also. On Friday night we went with friends, Carol and Dave, to dinner in the C-Note Pub, also part of the Denhart establishment. Bob and I love the sweet potato fries. We both had reuben sandwiches with the sweet potato fries. Yum. Kudos to Tom and Judy Gross for restoring this area of our town square.

In the afternoon I listened to my iPod while doing some alterations on Liesl, the cardigan I made from Ysolda Teague's pattern. I shortened it by about two inches. That was easy. Then I decided to add buttonholes. The original pattern has buttonholes knitted in as you work from the top down. I wasn't sure I wanted buttonholes or where I wanted them so I left them out.

My method was as follows:

I used a two-stitch I-cord border. Along the two front borders and using a needle two sizes smaller I picked up stitches at a rate of 3 to 4; that is, pick up 3, skip one. I then attached the I-cord border: Cast on two stitches. *Knit one, slip one, knit next stitch from border, PSSO. Slip two stitches back to left needle. Repeat from* I worked the left side first as this would be the side where the buttons would be. I tried it on at this point and like the way the border looked and the way it keeps the front corner from sagging down so far. That looks cute on Ysolda but not so cute on me.

On the Right Front border I marked where my two buttonholes would be. I picked up the border stitches and adjusted the second buttonhole to align with a place where I was skipping a stitch in the pick. When I came to the two marked spots I knit two rows of I-cord without attaching to the border. This made a nice snug buttonhole for my large buttons.

The buttons are not matching and I like that. I just dive into my jars of old buttons and find two similar buttons, same size but not matchy-matchy. Usually I put buttons in odd numbers but two looked best on this garment. When sewing the button on the lacy fabric it really helps to put a smaller button on the back side of the fabric to hold it securely.

Although I used cotton and short sleeves for my lacy sweater, it is amazingly warm. I know I will enjoy it this summer and beyond, especially in air conditioning. Liesl was a very quick knit. From the photos on Ravelry it looks good on a wide range of sizes. The sizing is very forgiving, too. My size small/med works on my size 8 figure and also on my sister's friend Melody. (see last two photos) who is about a 10/12. The longer length was perfect on her. I could easily make one in a few days now that I know the length I prefer and some tricks for the borders.


This Father's Day ended with calls from two of our three sons and long conversations with both. Son #2 already talked to us for an hour earlier this week. After the phone battery died we started watching The Dark Knight (yea Netflix!). We're not big Batman fans but we wanted to see Heath Ledger's final role. He's good, but as a Crazy Man, Jack Nicholson still beats all.

Our Holiday in Stitches

Over the next several days I'm going to share holiday photos related to knitting. Pete's gray sweater is an Elizabeth Zimmermann Saddle Shoulder. I incorporated a Fisherman pattern from Gladys Thompson--one of the Scottish Fleet and some others. I don't remember which at the moment. I actually lengthened the yoke of the sweater quite a bit after this photo was taken. It is a fairly close-fitting sweater and the yoke did seem quite short. At first Pete thought it was fine but after wearing it for a day or two he asked that I fixed it. Fortunately I found the yarn (Cascade Greenland) in the same dyelot from Purlescense in CA. Two or three days after the yarn arrived in the mail I had it redone since I just had to knit from the armholes up.

I wrote about Torben's Guernsey a few months ago. It's been marinating here for a while, just waiting for snow and cold, which we definitely had at Christmas.

I got a kick out of the way our 27 year old wrapped his gifts.

I'm including this photo for no particular reason except that I enjoy watching the three of them together. Since they live in different parts of the country we don't get to be together that often. Due to travel complications we only spent about 10 hours all together in the same place over the holidays, but it was GOOD!

The Guernsey

My husband is modeling the guernsey I knitted for our son, Torben. I used wool called "Botanica" from Halcyon in Bath, Maine. This wool has an extremely tight twist. I couldn't break a strand with my hands without doing bodily harm to myself (I know because I tried.) The stitch definition is just fantastic. This sweater doesn't even need blocking!









I used Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' Knitting in the Old Way and Elizabeth Zimmerman's "Gaffer's Gansey" as my guides. I totally forgot that Meg Swansen had an updated version, which I will use on the next guernsey because I do like the neckline. This one seems to hit right at the Adam's apple and beards and men's necks being what they are, it wears the edge down. My son is an inch or two shorter than my husband so I think the sizing is perfect. This was such a joy to knit. I used the crochet steek method for the sleeves which I prefer to getting a sewing machine out and struggling with tension, etc. It worked nicely.







It is rather embarrassing to be so crazy about knitting dishcloths lately when it wasn't that long ago that I was too snobby to knit them. Right now they are so relaxing and I complete one in about an hour with very little effort. I guess Mason-Dixon Knitting was the turning point in my dish cloth career although I haven't knit a ballband dishcloth in a while. Finding so many interesting color combinations in the cotton yarn is also a great deal of fun and I like the pattern stitch swatches.

























You can find my notes on sweaters and all my projects on Ravelry where I am "PrairiePiper".

This is the waffle stitch that I used on revamping my husband's gray saddle shoulder sweater that I wrote about in yesterday's post.



The dishcloth "group photo" was actually taken after several were given away.

Christmas Vignettes

This morning we awoke to a light dusting of snow. The woods are clothed in their fairy dress.

Son #2 has been trying to bake whole grain bread. We had a tutorial a few days before Christmas. Our whole wheat loaves were as tasty as they look!

Son #3 is a talented mandolin player. He played a little concert for his grandmother.

My son was so surprised that I was able to finish the sweater I made for him. The day before Christmas I was knitting on another project and he said, "Now you could be working on that sweater for me."

Tee hee. It is a perfect fit! He loves it!

Finished!

Today (Friday) I finished the sweater for my 26 year old son. I began it the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It is drying out from blocking right now. I was fortunate that I didn't have any problems with it. Will post photos soon! The cable pattern is one of my favorites. It looks a lot more complicated than it is (to non-knitters). You pretty much glide along most of the time.

We have heavy fog today which might affect travel plans for our youngest son who is flying home from Phoenix. He leaves tomorrow morning so hopefully the fog will lift before his flight arrives.

I have a lot of cooking to do between now and Tuesday. My plan is to make most of the dishes ahead of time. The menu is:

Beef Brisket (make day ahead and just heat up)
Sweet Potato Casserole
Spinach Casserole
Cranberry Sauce with Ginger
Potatoes Romanoff (Mashed Potatoes with Cheese and Green onion)
Biscuits and Rolls
Apple Pie
Chocolate Pie
Chocolate Chip Cake

For dinner we will eat left over beef sandwiches with chips, etc.

I am also making some breakfast and lunch meals to pull out of the fridge. Better get busy now that the sweater is done!

More Sunday Snow

We've had a very snowy December. Each weekend, and sometimes in between, we've had snowfall. Our house looked so pretty this morning with a new blanket of snow. Since we don't have any garden or landscaping yet, it has looked quite barren.

The birds are hungry. I captured this photo of a downy woodpecker at the suet feeder. We also have goldfinches, purple finches, juncos, chickadees, nuthatches, red-bellied woodpeckers, and hairy woodpeckers. The feeders are nearly always crowded with our feathered friends. Looking at the bleak landscape I really don't know where they would get food if we didn't supply it.

I did some knitting today on the sweater for son #2. I am nearly done with sleeve #2 and am up to the armpits on the body. I will soon join body and sleeves and from that point on we will sail away. It will be difficult to get it done by Dec 25th because I also have a lot of preparation to do for the holidays but I'm trying my best! I also baked shortbread for a friend who is having an open house today and made pie crust for Christmas. I wrote quite a few Christmas letters and I'm proud of myself for that! Sometimes I don't do that until after Christmas and it has been as late as Easter. Now that is pure procrastination! One of my resolutions, and yes, I do make them, is to teach myself to NOT procrastinate. My motto is "Proactive not Procrastive!" Do you have a New Year's resolution?