FO: Mom's Sweater

Her birthday was in January, but last night at my brother's birthday dinner, I gifted my mother her long overdue sweater!

Pattern: Wide Neck Lace Sweater from Luxury Knits by Amanda Griffiths
Yarn: Elann Peruvian Baby Silk, 11 1/2 balls, Cornflower
Time to complete: February 1 - August 1, 2007. I set this one aside for a while sometimes, and I did knit a lot of other things in between!

Modifications: I changed the wide, boat neck to a simple v-neck. I also lengthened the sleeve caps so they wouldn't be too tight under the arms. My mom wanted 3/4 length sleeves, but these ended up being closer to full length. The first sleeve was way too long, so I ended up snipping it at one end and unraveling the stitches. I picked up the live stitches (think provisional cast-on-ish) and re-knit the ribbing edge. I first used this method this last year on my Arisaig. Fortunately, my mom tried on the sweater after I got the first sleeve set in, so I knew to knit the second sleeve shorter.

Verdict: Absolutely wonderful. It fits her perfectly, and she loves it. I got a big hug last night. She had given me one of her store-bought v-necks that she likes and I blocked it to match that in size. The lace really bloomed, and the color is great. I also really, really enjoyed working with the Baby Silk . . . amazingly soft. I am almost tempted to make something like this for myself - something lacey and airy and fluffy and soft. I have 6.5 balls of this color left, but Elann is out of it, so I'll keep it stashed for now.

Of all of my knitting projects, I'd have to say I am really proud of this one. Because it was for someone else, I think I was overly picky about details and making sure the fit was right. I am also really happy with the pattern itself. The lace was simple and easy to memorize but has really flattering results. And, I love that Baby Silk!

I have looked forward to this FO blog post for a while. Now I can move on with some knits for myself without feeling guilty about it (during the past 6 months, I always felt like I should be knitting my mom's sweater when I was working on something for me). Next up is the Fitted Knits shrug and a revisit of the Grannie Smith Cardigan. The Cable Down Raglan is going to get some love and attention first. Aaaah, feels good!

Nothing exciting

I feel like I've been showing you all so many FO's lately that I'm not sure how to start a "normal" post anymore. The past week, I've been making progress.

Rusted Root. Nothing exciting to tell you about here. This pattern is pretty straight-forward. I'm using Berocco Touche in Iris. I made some modifications to the sleeves, but I'll tell you about them in the FO post.

My mom's sweater. This one is almost finished - whoo hoo! The saga with this began back in January when she asked for a sweater 2 weeks before her birthday. She picked a pattern out of Luxury Knits that calls for 2 strands of Kidsilk Haze held together. Elann Baby Silk has been a fabulous substitute. I just have one sleeve to go.

Some seaming done, with one sleeve left.

Ribbing around the neckline.

I think the seaming looks pretty good!

Grow, second sleeve, grow!

Blogiversary and WIP update

Here is a look at the knitting pile occupying me lately:

Something "Blushy", aka knit and tonic's Something Red. This is attempt #2 at making a pink cardigan with cables to give it a fitted look. It needs to be blocked, but I think it gets at what I was going for. Unfortunately, I ran out of yarn here - with about 1/3 of the sleeve to go. Order for 1 more ball has been made. This should be done next week.

Trellis, from Knitty. I'm not sure yet who this is for. I have 2 pregnant friends and depending on who has what (sex-wise), this may get done speedy or slowly.

My poor mother's lingering sweater. I know she won't wear this 'til fall, but I really need to get my act together and finish it! I've got the back and one sleeve done and just started the front.

Ms. Marigold. Ah, Ms. Marigold. Those who read last week's post might notice that she looks a little shorter. Hmm. Well, I was just about finished the bottom last night and decided to try it on. It was way too big! I ripped back to the armhole and am inserting decreases instead. I tried it on again and am glad to report it fits. Maybe this one will get done next week too.

Last, and yes, least, is the Cable Down Raglan. Why did I cast this on? I don't know. I've wanted to get it going for a while and think it will get good wear on cool nights and early fall. Isn't there enough in my WIP pile as it is, though? What was I thinking? Seriously.

And, this week is my approximate 1 year blogiversary. Thanks to those who read and/or comment. I think the feedback, advice and help we share in this community is just amazing. So, thanks!

Luxury Knits

I've been knitting away at my mom's birthday sweater. Her birthday was in January and after a few tries with patterns and yarn, I am working on this:

It's knit in Elann's Baby Silk in Cornflower, which is just delightful. It's super soft and fuzzy but not too warm. I love it.

The pattern is from a book called Luxury Knits. I had bought this book for a v-neck raglan pattern in it that I thought my mom would like, but she ended up picking this lacey one. I'm done the back, hurray!

Here are some other patterns from this book that I kinda like:

Oops, nipple!

Reminds me a little of Green Gable, but lace on the sleeves.

I plan to use this stitch pattern on some Rowan Kidsilk Haze...

Most of these patterns are a bit oversized and not very fitted, but that can always be changed. The stitch patterns and basic shapes are really lovely, and I usually end up tweaking patterns anyway. I would recommend this book for some nice lacey patterns in a variety of styles - cardigans, pullovers, short/long and sleeveless versions. But you might need to change up the sizing a bit and add some shaping.

Fickle Pants

Some of you may remember a cable v-neck sweater I had started for my mother in the hopes of finishing for her birthday, which was this past Wednesday. Well, shortly after I posted my pictures of the finished Forecast, I continued knitting feverishly on her sweater. I went over to see my mom one night and happened to have the sweater in my bag (since I was knitting it any chance I could get). She saw it, and the conversation went something like this:

Mom: "Oh, that's a thicker sweater than I thought it would be."
Me: "Well, it's an aran weight, so it's not going to be real light, like a lace-weight."
Mom: "Oh, ok."

Three hours later, after I went home:
Phone rings.
Mom: "I was thinking, I really think that sweater's going to be too heavy for me. I think I'm going to get hot in it. Can you make some lighter, like one with holes or something?"

So here's what's left of my mom's sweater:

I returned the unused balls. I figured I could use these for a baby knit or a hat or something.

This led me to thinking. I change my mind a lot, too. Could it be genetic? Or is it some socially learned behavior? Either way, I often think I should rename this blog to Fickle Pants Knits. I did a little re-organizing of my WIP and to-knit list and realized that I don't really love a lot of the patterns I thought I loved a few months ago. I was changing my mind, like my mother.

Every time I picked up my Grannie Smith Cardigan, it would take me like an hour to do 2 rows with the Kidsilk Haze. I think the diamond lace pattern just stumps me. This is the progress I had made on it over 6 months:

The pattern shown is from Luxury Knits by Amanda Griffiths and is what I hope to turn my Kidsilk Haze into. The sweater looks WAY over-sized, but I plan to shrink it down a lot. The lace pattern looks easier and is memorizable, and it calls for two strands of KSH, which should be easier to work with.

And here's what left of the Grannie Smith:

More fickleness: I got some lovely Cascade 220 to make the Bell Sleeve Jacket from the VK Holiday Issue. But now I am being fickle and thinking I want to make the Cabled Cardigan from the Fall Issue instead:

But, just to prove I must have some of my dad's steadfastness in me, I am making great progress on Sahara. Here's a peek:

The Disco Lights are fab! More details later.

PS. My mom picked a lace pattern from Luxury Knits too, to be done in elann's Baby Silk. We'll see.