A sweater in 33 days!

First off this blob is my finished sweater blocking. :) I finished it last Thursday. I have to say that picking up the stitches all the way around and casting them off took a LONG time! But it was worth it. It really looks finished and after all the CRAZINESS it fits! I tried it on at work pre block and the photo below is my in my LOVELY work shirt in the basement. But its warm and it fits and it makes me happy. I will do a post after its blocked with how much yarn I used and all the changes I made to the pattern. (And they are many!)

I have been busily knitting a skirty with soaker which I finished on Thursday. (I also finished a pair of socks that I had been working on for MONTHS! Thursday was a great day for my knitting life!)

I used a whole skein of Cascade 220 (dyed by Jen) and about 1/2 a skein of the orange Cascade 220 for the skirty/soaker.

I had never done a skirty before and I found that I really didn't like it. Although since I am going to be running a business making these things I need to get over that! It isn't that they are hard it is mostly that they are boring. I bought the license for the EviePants All in One . Which means I can make skirties, shorties, capris, soakers and longies using her pattern and sell them. (Money is GOOD!) It is a great pattern I really like how she had the short rows set up (to make room for the diaper) and it really doesn't take long to make a pair.

These blue ones are not for sale. My friend Bernadette's sister is having a baby and I was invited to the shower. So I am making these pants (which need blocked) a sweater and some bibs and burp cloths. I'm hoping thats enough because I'm poor and can't buy a car sear and I don't have the time to knit anything else. I added a cable down the leg on this one. I love cables by the way. I think everything should have cables. I think they are really easy and add a lovely Irish look! (Have I mention my love for all things Irish before?!)

I used VERY little of the gray 220 for the trip and just over 1/2 of a skein of 220 Hand Paints from Cascade for the pants themselves.

I made this bid on Saturday for my friend Brenda. She is having a little girl in January and I need gifts for her to! (Have I mentioned my slight fear of crying babies. They make me nervous!) Anyway the bib has a cable up the side and around the bib. I used Sugar and Cream and it is a purple yellow and cream color! (Which are the colors of String Thing Shop the store Brenda owns!)

I've been so busy knitting I haven't posted!

Hello fellow bloggers! As I said in the title I have been a busy little knitter! And guess what it is totally paying off! My sweater WORKED. I have pretty much rewritten the pattern using the actual pattern as more of a template! I finished both of the sleeves in about a week. I had to use the smallest size the pattern called for. Even though I did the smallest size they are still a little large! Which with my gigantic arms is a miracle. I have never in my life owned something that was to big in the arms. But I've tried it on for all my knitting friends and they say the arms look fine. So I have a feeling that I'm just not used to having room in the sleeves. :)

I took a break for about 5 days on the sweater while the second sleeve blocked and made a super cute pair of longies. My friend Brenda, myself and a few others are going to be selling longies, soakers, shorties and skirties to the clothing diapering community via Hyena Cart. So I wanted to make a second pair of the longies and get some practice. The yarn I used was hand dyed my the wonderful Jen or The Purl of Knitting .

I learned how to seam a sleeve into a sweater for the first time! There was some youtube.com watching involved! So thank you to all the knitters out there in cyber land who put videos up! You are the best! :) It took forever to sew the sleeves in and than sew them closed. I think learning the mattress stitch on my navy blue sweater MIGHT not have been my best idea. The hole for the sleeve was bigger then the sleeve by about 1/2 an inch. So I stitched the hole closed. Better a little big then a little small!

The great thing about adding a few inches to the top of the sweater (which was less stitches and a little more interesting) was that I didn't have to knit as far on the bottom! The sweater falls about mid pocket on my jeans. I thought if I went any longer it would be to long. I used a size 10 needle to cast off because my cast off is generally very tight!

All I have left to do is finish the cable edging up to the neck. Then I have to pick up a million and a half stitches for the edge. The pattern only calls for 5 rows of ribbing on the edge. I however am fairly certain that I will be using at least 2 inches. I want to make sure that this sweater CLOSES! :)

My knitting/blogger friend Julie has offered to help my resize a pattern for "my" size. The problem is the sweaters that are calling to me call for a semi bulky yarn to a bulky. And the GOLDEN rule of knitting for the fat girl is NEVER EVER use bulky yarn. :( But I have visions of myself in a bulky cabled sweater on a snowy day. :( Stupid knitting rules. Here is the sweater I love!

Also welcome fall! I finally get to pull my knitted socks out again! :) These are my Cookie A. monkeys. I don't think I've worn them at all yet! I heart the fall!

"But why is the rum gone?!"

I've been working on this sweater for 8 days now and I am FINALLY beginning to have some faith that it is going to work! I finished the back and the two front sections.

The sweater isn't looking so great in this photo (although how great is the shade I used as a white background?!) So I decided to block the sweater before I continued. I want to try it on again and I think if it's been blocked it'll be easier to sew the sleeves on.

I had some camera issues tonight. For some reason the shots were grainy and shaky! I think that lighting issues and my own ineptness were serious factors!
The cable is hard to see unless you are on top of the sweater. But I like it. And really thats all that matters -- right!?

Next up -- two sleeves. I'm like 6 inches into the first one! It's all stockinette so it is BORING! However I like boring -- it makes watching movies easier!

I do have one concern! Which is that the arm holes are WAY WAY to big for the sleeves. But I have a plan. I'm just hoping I don't need it -- mostly because I don't know if I could explain it in here!

These men helped me get through the back of the sweater yesterday! I leave you with them! :)

Ripped.

Suzie has been frogged! The dark color of the Berroco, the cables, and the Alpaca simply didn't mix. It look my 30 minutes to cast on 287 stitches and I did the first 20ish rows and just didn't think it was coming out nicely. So I did a swatch of just the cable (thinking maybe I was doing something wrong.) However there was no salvaging my poor Suzie! So she went to the frog pond. The photo below is a picture of her when she came off the needles and before she was ripped out.

So the next question was ..... WHAT AM I GOING TO DO NOW! I was away from a computer, my needles and only had the book "More Big Girl Knits"! So I went through the book frantically and found "Cable Love". Which is a pattern I've lusted after for awhile. The cables are MUCH less complicated and I figured since the band is what you do first it didn't really matter if it didn't look great because who cares about ripping out 22 stitches. I mean I just ripped out 20 rows of 287. 22 doesn't impress me anymore! :)

After doing the first 120 rows (of the 578 for the band) I really like it so far. The color is still dark but I think once its blocked it'll look great. And I've learned dark color = boringish sweater. But I'm happier. I don't know if it will be done in time for my Birthday. But I would be very excited if it was!

So here is a new sweater that I hope not to rip out. And that I hope to complete sooner rather than later!

So I have a Cookie A. addiction that is no reason to judge!

I finished the socks that i started the second week of June Cookie A.'s "Cubist" socks. I absolutely LOVE the pattern. It was easy and quick. I used Koigu Merino sock for them. I bought the yarn a Knitty City in NYC when I was there for my birthday trip. If you ever have the chance to go to her store you will be amazed at the sheer volume she can fit in that store. It is also kinda overwhelming and fun to dig through all the bins and not know what your going to get. I also have to say that the yarn stores in NYC are A LOT busier than any I've even been to! I love the yarn. Something about the colors makes me think of a fairytale. I love it!! I went up a half a size as I always do with Cookies socks. I like it when they go around my abnormally large legs! Luckily I had enough yarn, it was a concern when I was finishing the first sock I literally had like 10 feet left in each of the skeins so I just barely made it. Stupid big feet.
While knitting these socks I signed up to test knit for Cookie A.'s new book. NEVER EVER thinking that I would be one of the chosen few, however I WAS! :) I was chosen to knit "Lissajous." And I'm making them for my friend Bernadette. Since we have to knit to the pattern and only have a week to do it in. So I'm using a 1.5 needle (which is what is called for) and I'm making them for a size 7.5 foot (much smaller than my size 11 boat feet!) I'm using a really pretty Louet Gems that I also bought as Knitty City. (OK so I went crazy, it was a birthday trip don't judge me!)

I'm not going to lie. Test knitting is harder than I thought it would be. I mean I literally couldn't figure out how many stitches to cast on! lol But I've got some great support from the other knitters and Cookie herself (is it wrong that I want to bow to her greatness and beg her to come to String Thing Shop?!?!?) have been a great help! I'm worried about not finishing in time because let me tell you this is a CRAZY cabled sock! and it was a holiday weekend! But I've got 20 rows left till the leg is done and I can start the heel. So fingers crossed I don't let anyone down!

Even though I generally don't like to knit cabled socks (Lazy!) these are coming out great. The yarn isn't something I'm likely to buy again, it is a little hairy for me. (Does that make sense?!) But wow the affect on the sock! I can't wait to give them to Bern for Christmas. I just wish I didn't have to wait so long!

Update on the shawl I'm working on. Beading is a very SLOW process. Mostly because I can only work on it when I'm at home in front of my computer. But its moving. Actually i'm lying it is sitting in its bag waiting for me to finish the cookie sock. I can't work on anything till thats done! (I will be a good girl! No matter how hard it is on me!)