FO's: A pair of Mittens and an Xmas Sweater

 Ahhh December 13th.

So many fond memories.... This day 8 years ago was my last drink of alcohol. This day 8 years ago I said my marriage vows. This day 5 years ago my Father-in-law shot himself in the head in the backyard and took his life.

I, too, struggle with depression and can understand why he did it. Sometimes I think if I could go back in time and change my life ... where would I go back to? Before I got married? Before I had my first son? Before I got suspended from school? And I settle on, nahhh I would go back to when I was 12 years old and FIRST considered suicide and fucking go ahead and do it and save the world all the misery I have brought upon it. 

So.

That's what's on my mind.

Nonetheless she knits.

Mittens for my daughter, to keep her 7 year old hands warm in the snow. Made with Knit Picks Wool of The Andes, and stranded so they should insulate well. It's a free pattern, and one that I've made before. I made the same pattern for my son when he was 4 years old. Heaven only knows where those went off to. These will probably be lost soon, as well.

And then for my niece, a sweater for Xmas.

Is that me wearing a 10-year-old's sweater? Well yes. Hopefully I can get a pic of her wearing it that is more flattering. This one was made with a Joann yarn called "Big Twist Reverb" and I actually quite liked it. It's got 311 yds per ball and took only 3 to make this sweater. It's soft, it's washable, and there were no knots or major inconsistencies with the yarn as I worked it. I may have to purchase some more of this... (Like I don't already have enough yarn- let alone sweaters! How many sweaters do I think I can wear?)

The pattern is Magnolia Bloom JR and, though you can't tell due to the yarn I chose, it has a gorgeous yoke pattern with bobbles and yarn overs. Hopefully it will show better on her smaller frame. But either way. It's there. I did a thing. I made it.

As for my house & craft room.... well... 

Things may turn out pretty poor soon. Nobody in my personal life reads this blog so I guess I can say: I'm fairly sure my husband has been using Meth and a divorce may be in my near future. That would lead to a big upheaval of my whole family/life. And knitting, of course, falls by the wayside.

Still.

She knits on.

Hoping you also have courage to keep making things.

Sadie's Sweater!

Last year I finally crocheted the "Habitat Cardigan," out of some Cloudborn Fibers Wool Bulky Naturals that I bought on sale from Webs. Although I like the look and feel of the yarn in the skein, when worked up it just wasn't super cozy on me, and I had 3 balls remaining when the sweater was done. Into the stash they went.

Then later this year as it started to approach October I started thinking: WOULDN'T IT BE CUTE TO BUY A SWEATER SET TO MATCH MY DOG??????? I mean, she's a black German Shepard (we got  her in April so Sadie is new to The Blog, say hi) and I do wear black nearly every day but wouldn't it be cute if we like, Dressed Up Together???

I scoured Etsy and found some LOVELY ideas. A seller named "FitFrenchie" had some especially cute items, and I ooh-lah-lah'd at this one for quite some time:

Do you see this amazing set???? I am IN LOVE!!

But I was not in love with the cost, as at the moment I'm trying to conserve on my spending. The sweater set is $80.00 which is completely reasonable and if I wasn't being careful with money currently I would absolutely snag it. But... Alas.... Sadly I closed the computer screen and pouted about our lack of matching outfits until I remembered the three forgotten skeins of Cloudborn!

I knew it would be enough to fit Sadie! There was even a partial ball left over too.

So I wound the skeins and found several cute crochet patterns that would match the look of the habitat cardigan. I started the project and got about 5 inches in before realizing I really didn't WANT to crochet a dog sweater. So I unwound it and went looking for knitting patterns. I settled on this adorable candy corn costume (Which I absolutely want to re-make in the appropriate colors, yes with one to match for myself also- but in the future lol) which had a great looking shape for her and matched my gauge.

Then it was time to start working it up!

Look at her little face as she watches me knit the collar instead of throw the ball for her. So cute!

This pattern had a convenient way to do the legs. You just knit in some waste yarn and then later cut it, pull it out, and pick up and work the sleeves downwards. Very easy and convenient for me.

I think it took me around 3 days to complete, so it was also a quick project which is enjoyable. Then we took a picture of us in our matching sweaters!

I think she likes it.

I didn't change the pattern, other than the colors. Well actually I did misread the short row shaping portion but not with a noticeable enough change for me to unravel and re-do it and I definitely couldn't repeat the mistake so it's really not worth mentioning.

When it starts to get snowy later in the year (earlier in the year?) I will have her wear it when we go on walkies. But for now she just wore it the one day for some pictures outside.

I think the only thing I would redo (besides actually following the proper short row shaping haha) is make the collar section longer so it goes up her neck more. Otherwise it turned out pretty nice. And she definitely didn't complain about the yarn lol.

I can't wait to make more outfits to match my dog! I can already envision several. And then Knitty came out with this pattern with yet another way to match your dog. I can imagine so many fun patterns to either knit into the sweater or duplicate stitch or embroider on afterwards. I just wish I had more time to knit :)

Happy Knitting!

CEFALU Jumper - Work in Progress

Not too long ago I was browsing eBay, like you do.

And I ran across a lot of Cascade Venezia. It was 6 skeins in a dark green colorway called, "Shamrock." It was only about $5 per ball, which I considered to be a good deal and so into the cart it went. I had no plans for this yarn. And it wasn't until I was doing some math later on that I realized that actually 6 skeins might not be enough for a sweater for myself. I ended up casting on for my 12 year old niece instead.

The pattern is the Cefalu Jumper by Evgeniya Dupliy. I chose it because of its relaxed fit and seam-free design. The way this one works out is you start at knitting in the round from the bottom, work up to the armholes and then split the garment. Work back and forth to create the front and back pieces and neck shaping. Then pick up and knit the sleeves down toward the cuff.

So at this point in the sweater I have 1 full skein left, plus a mini-skein's worth left over from the prior ball. And one complete sleeve left to knit. I believe that the first sleeve took me an entire skein plus about the same size mini-skein. I may or may not have used that same skein to knit the collar. Hopefully I did because that would give me some wiggle room. I have shortened the sleeves by about 2" due to lack of yarn.

There are two reasons I'm low on yarn. 1) The sweater measures larger around than I thought (it was on a circular needle and it looked like it would definitely not fit me, but it absolutely does.) and 2) I lengthened the body by an inch or two because I don't like cropped tops.

I actually very much do not want to give this sweater to my niece. I like it very very much.

I told that to my daughter and she said, "well, you can just knit yourself one in a different color."

I mean. 

It's true.

One year in our new home~!!

Wow - I have had a busy year! Changing jobs, switching insurance & trying to find a good medication for my chronic illnesses has been challenging. But throughout it all, one stitch at a time, I did complete a few projects.

The first one I want to share is Gowanus. This fun, bulky collared pullover by Sandi Prosser was quick to work up in Big Twist Natural Blend Solids yarn in "Peony Pink" colorway.

I did modify the sleeves, because the garter stitch edges didn't sit right with me. I ended up pulling out the cast-on and re-knitting in a K1P1 rib.

I made this sweater as a gift for a friend, and I do hope she likes it! She likes pink. The Collar is kind of a reach- not sure how that will go over, but I'm sending it with a note that basically says: "hey I am NOT hurt if you never ever wear this and end up donating it or selling it as a 'handmade item'."

Personally, I would keep a sweater if someone made it for me. But for me, the important part was making it, thinking of her, and making the gesture of giving it to her.

I have more to share, but again I'm so busy!!! 

Hope you are making time to craft something beautiful ❤

February??

 It is February!

I told myself I would start a knitting podcast, filmed two "episodes" and then realized it takes far more skill than I have. Better off blogging I guess. I just wish I could talk to people in real life who care about my knitting hahahahah

So.

A sweater!

Ugh yes it is for a baby and it is so delightful I can't stand it. The pattern is here and the yarn is Madelinetosh and the baby is not here yet but she will be so snug as a bug in a rug.

Another FO is this little sweater I knitted up

I was actually planning on making a top down raglan for my friend Heather. And I started it and it was good. It was nice. It was growing bigger and bigger and...

Too big.

So then it sat on the needles, because I took offense to it. I considered finishing it up and giving it to my Dad instead. But instead I did not knit. I just did. not. knit.

Finally I frogged the darn thing, and Penelope happened to be right next to me when I did so. She said, "make ME a sweater!" and .... Christmas was already over...I had ended up buying way more of this yarn because of the too big issue... So I did. I made Penelope a sweater.

But oh it needs buttons do I have buttons??

Perfect.

Now I am happily awaiting Stitches West, and today I am casting on a brand new project.

Happy Knitting!

Some FO's

 Well, I had Thursday through Sunday off from work and I was able to get a LOT of knitting done.

First, I finished my Fairy Maiden socks, free pattern from This Handmade Life.

That one came out so nicely!

The little texture pattern was fiddly for me, because I usually knit vanilla socks and had to actually pay attention to my work for once. But, well worth the effort I think now that they are complete. I've already worn them and I love the way they fit. The yarn was Urth Harvest Fingering in "Grape Leaf." 

The second project was another pair of socks, this one which had been on the needles since July 2018!!

In 2018, I had knit up to about the last brown stripe of the first sock when I suddenly put the project away. I believe the reason for putting it away was that I wasn't sure exactly how long to make the foot so that they would fit my brother. And I didn't want him to try them on because I wanted them to be a surprise so they simply sat. For years.

I knit the second sock in a day or two and they fit him perfectly. I even weaved in the ends.

I unfortunately don't have a record of what  yarn I used.

The final FO for this weekend is my second Habitat Caridagn. The free pattern is available here.

This sweater came out a little shorter than my first habitat cardigan, which is probably due to the difference in yarn. I didn't swatch for this project, as I figured it's such a loose fit that it would probably fit no matter what.

I really like the color of this one. It's Lion Brand Heartland in color "Badlands."

I'm looking forward to uploading my third episode of my podcast on 12/12/2021 and these projects will be featured along with... a couple other things I finished. Like, did I mention my mom's sweater?

I cast this one on and knit it in 2 days - charmed by the bulky yarn in color "Sage."

Wow- my hands have been busy.

Hope yours have been too and you're completing lots of projects :)
Happy Knitting!

When she falls, she falls hard

Ok you guys I fell off the Cold Sheep and I fell off hard.

 

It all started with this mauve Madelinetosh Twist Light.... I'll start at the beginning. I planned on making my coworker's baby a cardigan, right? So I found this amazing little yarn shop in Murphy's CA, called MaisieBlue. But instead of buying the baby a nice little neutral wool, I found the mauve Twist Light and it was calling my name! Loudly, too!

So I bought four hanks of it, and a pattern magazine and called it a day. CAST ON! I figured I would make a short sleeve top as four hanks only adds up to 1,680 yards. But.... the more I thought about it the more I knew I wanted an oversized full sleeve pullover. So I tried to do the right thing, I really did. I found another suitable color in my temporary stash (main stash is boxed up, remember?) and started a little colorwork down at the bottom of the pullover.

The contrast isn't great, I know. But why I tried hard to love it, and to tell myself it was all going to work out and I wasn't going to run out of the darker color. I talked to my husband, even, and I was like "Well, I can't just go back to the yarn shop for just one ball of yarn! I have to make this work." And he was like, "Just go get the other ball, Cecilia, you know you want to." And I was like OK OK OK....

But I didn't lie to my husband, and I can't just go for one more ball!!
And besides, I never picked up the skein for my coworker's baby sweater, right?

So another skein hopped into the basket.

 It's more Twist Light, in a One of a Kind colorway, a beautifully speckle natural just perfect for my friend Alex's soon-to-be-born baby. And what's further is that when I have left overs from my mauve cardigan, as I'm bound to, I can use it to add a little colorwork in the yoke of whatever design I choose. I plan to devote some serious time to pattern searching for the baby tonight.

But while I was standing there at the Madelinetosh, another yarn started calling my name. Oh dear.

Oh Cracker Jacks; I've really fallen now. Notice that again there were only 4 of the same colorway, but this time I thought ahead and picked some contrasting colors right away so I won't have any more of this heading back to the yarn shop "for one more ball" business. Progress!

And then maybe a couple skeins of sock yarn hopped in, too...

The offenders are: Katia Socks Jaipur, Lang Jawol, and Online SuperSocke Silk Color

 

On the brighter side I did immediately make loads of progress on my newest pullover.

 

Isn't she lovely???? And now my "temporary stash" is pretty sizeable and so I definitely don't have the fear of running out of yarn any time soon. But I'll have to stay back on the sheep at least until March, when Stitches West is finally here or else I won't have any extra cash to spend at the event!

In other news, Podcast 2 is up already because I had finished a project that was going to be gifted by December. Next podcast is due around Dec 5 and I do hope it will be less shoddy, but no promises.

Happy Knitting!