My head fits!

For day 11 of #blogjune – in which we are nearing the finish line on the mustard jumper saga

I was a bit stumped for ideas for a blog post for #blogjune but Kay and Janice on Twitter last night suggested a jumper update.

I am very happy to report that my head now fits through the neck of the mustard jumper! I realise that it would be an unusual v-neck jumper in which one’s head would not fit through, but I still consider this an achievement.

I now just need to finish the seams and weave in some ends so it’s almost finished.

If you’re a listener of the Stash & Burn knitting podcast this might remind you of those seemingly endless knitting projects that drag on for years, like Nicole’s Dad’s sweater or Jenny’s Bourne sweater. Anyway, it will be nice to finally wear it. The weather is getting cold here now so it will be great for early morning dog walks and working in the garden.

Mustard jumper progress

For day 7 of #blogjune – an update on the mustard jumper situation 

For those of you following along at home, the saga of my mustard jumper continues. Looking for the silver lining, this should at least provide a few days’ worth of blogging for #blogjune.

My attempt to add a couple of extra stitches to the neckline didn’t really work out so Plan B, C, D, E, F, whatever… is to change it into a v-neck. That way my head is sure to fit!

I’ve undone the neckline completely and ripped out the raglan shoulder seams. The top parts of the back and sleeves had gotten a bit ragged so I ripped back a couple of rows and reknit those, and then I’ve ripped out the front down to the armhole decreases. It’s chunky weight yarn so it shouldn’t take too long to reknit the top part of the front.

 

When your knitting fights back

Day 4 of #blogjune – in which my head is too big for my jumper

I originally knit this jumper over a year ago using a vintage sixties pattern. The yarn is lovely, Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Chunky in a rich mustard yellow called, as you’d expect, “Mustard”. It isn’t just yellow though, there are flecks of paler yellow, buff and apple green. It’s beautiful, and sadly has been discontinued, which is why I’m still persevering.

My first attempt was ok, but I was never really happy with it. The neckband was a bit too tight, the body was fine, but the sleeves were sort of puffy. The puffy sleeves were odd because men’s knitwear from the sixties usually has a slimmer fit. I wore it a few times and then in a moment of bravery (or madness) I ripped the whole thing out. I’d had an extra skein left over after the first attempt so I was pretty sure I could start over and make something new.

The next attempt was using a modern pattern for a plain set-in sleeve sweater from Patons book 1232 Inca Men. I got the back and most of the front done, but it was enormous even though I was knitting the small size. I ripped that out too.

By this time the yarn was starting to look a bit second-hand so I thought I’d try to revive it by winding it into hanks which I then soaked and laid out to dry. The yarn was looking almost back to new so I set to work again, this time using a seventies pattern for a raglan sweater from an old Spinnerin book, Spinnovations – groovy!

Nearing the finish line, I had sewed up the raglan sleeves and picked up and knit the ribbing for the neckline and luckily I thought to try it on before sewing up the rest of the seams.

My head would not fit through at all! Did people in the seventies have thinner heads? Drat and double drat. So I’ve ripped out the neckband… just the neckband this time.

I’ve put it to one side for now to have a go at fixing things next weekend. My current plan is to undo one of the shoulder seams so I can knit the neckband flat, working a few extra stitches into the neckband so it isn’t so tight and then sew it up. Wish me luck… if it can’t be salvaged this time I might just turn it into a giant scarf.

Today’s sweater

For Day 5 of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week the challenge is to try something a bit different.

Deep breath… inspired by Brenda Dayne’s “Today’s sweater” feature on her brilliant Cast-on podcast I have made an audioboo of the sweater project I’ve been working on today.

So, here is my little version of “Today’s sweater” — you may also be able to hear my dog Willy woofing in the background. Willy says hello too.

I think the WordPress player requires Flash so I hope it works for you — if not you can pop over to Audioboo and listen there.

• Pattern: “Cable Tweed Sweater” by Erika Knight, from her book Men’s knits.
• Yarn: Debbie Bliss Luxury Donegal Tweed Chunky, colour “Denim”. 

one sleeve done

…also the front and back so I reckon I am 3/4 of the way to done with my jumper so it should be ready for the start of winter.

Things were really going quite well until I got a bit confused by the instructions for the very top of the sleeve which, of course, I didn’t realise until I had actually finished.

The pattern is by Erika Knight who gives brilliant instructions for fully fashioned increases and decreases in her sweater patterns. I don’t think I’ve seen any other knitting patterns that specify the paired increases and decreases to use for both knit and purl rows. It’s just that she didn’t quite explain what to do when you start running out of stitches and you aren’t sure which of the patterns to keep going.

Of course it turned out I made the wrong choice, which was obvious when I came to the last line of the pattern and it suddenly all made sense. There’s a lesson there about reading ahead, and it was also helpful to pay close attention to the pictures which in this case are informative as well as decorative. After pausing for a cup of tea, it didn’t take too long to rip back a dozen rows and make good.

For the first time ever I am using the specified yarn for a pattern and I bought the exact amount of yarn called for but it looks like I’m going to have almost two 100 gram skeins left over at the end. What to do? I think Heidi Klum would frown upon the idea of a matching hat.

Pattern: “Cable tweed sweater” by Erika Knight, from her book Men’s knits: a new direction.  Yarn: Debbie Bliss Luxury Donegal Tweed Chunky, colour “Denim”. 

at the same time

You know those knitting instructions that have you do two different things at the same time? I really should write down notes so I don’t get myself in such a tangle.

I can just about cope with decreasing at the neckline and armholes at the same time, but I was so busy concentrating on the bit about “reversing shaping” that I completely forgot about “while keeping in pattern”. It was only after casting off that I noticed I’d forgotten the cables. Bother.

Daylight saving ended last night so it is finally feeling more like autumn and the evenings are starting to draw in. We even had a sudden rainstorm today. Perfect for knitting with a cup of tea. Having finished the back and front, I  reckon I should have this chunky jumper done by the time the winter weather arrives.

Pattern: “Cable Tweed Sweater” by Erika Knight.
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Chunky, colour “Denim”.

A Christmas ball for Easter

The fifth Christmas ball finished for KnittingSarah’s Merry Knitalong.

This is the Greek Cross, number 40 from Arne and Carlos’s 55 Christmas balls to knit, and the first I’ve knit with the design in white against a red background. I really like how this one turned out. The story of how Arne and Carlos came up with the design is quite magical too…

One late night in Athens, when we were looking for something to eat in what appeared to be a doubtful spot, we passed a small church with the door slightly open. We got a little glimpse of a world filled with light, colors, and song, a closed world with the door ajar.

My other knitting time has mostly involved a big project lately, the “Cable Tweed Sweater” from Erika Knight’s Men’s knits, a new direction and I have just this minute finished the back. This is my third project from this book which I guess says something about how much I like the designs. If you’re a man who knits or you’re knitting for a man (or both!) it’s definitely worth checking out.

I’m using Debbie Bliss Luxury Donegal Chunky, actually the recommended yarn although mine is in “Denim”, a tweedy blue with flecks of white, darker blue and black. It’s really lovely, and sadly discontinued, although that’s the reason I was able to pick up a jumper’s worth at almost half price so I shouldn’t complain. It will certainly be toasty warm so I’m hoping I get it finished before winter arrives.

Sweater curse

For day 3 of #blog12daysxmas

For Christmas this year Wayne asked for an orange knitted jumper. I spent ages looking for just the right orange yarn and eventually found it but the shop didn’t have quite enough for a jumper so, having discovered some beautiful chunky Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed yarn, I asked if perhaps a mustard yellow might be an acceptable substitute. Yes!

I bought nine skeins of this lovely yarn, enough for Erika Knight’s Tweed Cable Sweater but, for reasons discussed back here, that plan didn’t work out and we decided instead on a vintage 60s pattern for a plain round neck jumper.

The vintage jumper would have used just seven skeins if I hadn’t messed up and had to re-knit the neckline, although I still have enough left over for another small project. Anyway, here is the jumper finished with the re-knit neckline. I went up one needle size when casting off the back of the neck and two sizes for the front which turned out much better so I’ll keep that in mind for future projects.

It’s the first jumper I’ve knit for Wayne but, after 23 years together, I think we should be safe from the (cue music of doom) Sweater Curse.

Knitters will know what I’m talking about and, astonishingly, there is even a Wikipedia entry for it, complete with footnotes.

Knitters use the term “sweater curse” or “curse of the love sweater” to describe a situation in which a knitter gives a hand-knit sweater to a significant other, who quickly breaks up with the knitter. In an alternative formulation, the relationship will end before the sweater is even completed. The belief is widely discussed in knitting publications and some knitters claim to have experienced it; a recent poll indicated that 15% of active knitters say they have experienced the sweater curse firsthand, and 41% consider it a possibility that should be taken seriously.

Despite its name, the “sweater curse” is treated in knitting literature not as a superstition governed by paranormal forces, but rather as a real-world pitfall of knitting that has real-world explanations and solutions. Several plausible mechanisms for the sweater curse have been proposed, but it has not been studied systematically.

Adrienne Martini touches on the sweater curse in her book Sweater Quest also noting that little is known of how the curse operates in same-sex relationships. So, there you go.

Since I bought it, the Debbie Bliss Donegal Chunky Tweed has been discontinued and there are closeout bargains to be had. Although I paid full price for the Mustard, I scored another nine skeins in tweedy blue Denim, a bargain at half price, which I’m planning to use for the Erika Knight Tweed Cable Sweater for myself, a project for next year.

Details of the yarn and pattern on my Ravelry page.

Off the needles… Striped scarf and green tweed jumper

Finished! The simple striped scarf in Rowan Baby Alpaca is from Erika Knight’s book Men’s knits.

Debbie Stoller says you should bind off loosely, as if you were a bit drunk after a couple of drinks (which sounds just a little bit dangerous as I get squiffy after one light beer) so I thought I’d try Erika Knight’s tip of going up a needle size.

The scarf is knit long ways on a 4.0 mm circular needle so I used a 4.5 mm needle for the bind off. This worked out quite a bit better than my usual bind off, but it still pulled in a little so next time I might even try going up two needle sizes.

It isn’t mentioned in the pattern but if you want all the purl bumps in the colour changes to show on the “wrong” side you should make sure you have an even number of rows in each colour sequence. I actually quite like the “wrong” side too.

I’ve also been wearing my green tweed jumper this  past week. It really is perfect for autumn days when you don’t want anything too bulky, but when the temperature can suddenly take a cold turn. The 25% alpaca in the Rowan Felted Tweed adds just enough toasty warmth even though it’s quite a light fabric.

Sweater surgery

I’d hoped to have my Tony Bonner jumper all finished over Easter but I didn’t quite make it. I do have the shoulders and armhole seams finally done but, gosh, set-in sleeves take a long time to get right! I should remember this the next time I’m trying to decide between a pattern with set-in sleeves and a raglan design.

Seeing the finish line probably caused me to rush the collar too. After joining one shoulder seam, the pattern has you knit a 2-inch neck band back and forth, then you seam the other shoulder before folding the neckband and stitching it down so you end up with soft folded collar ribbing. In what turned out to be an unwise whim, I decided to just bind off after an inch for a single ribbed collar.

It was only after I’d seamed the other shoulder and joined the sleeves that I realised it looked a bit rubbish. The bound off ribbing made the neckline just a little bit too snug too. My head could fit through, but only just.

It would have been a huge job to unpick all the seams and I was worried the neck might get stretched in the process, so in one of those *gasp* moments I snipped the stitches at the top of the collar ribbing and ripped back a couple of rows, snipping the ribbing seam row-by-row as I went.

(At this point, wondering whether I may have made a horrible mistake, but realising that there was no turning back, I paused for a cup of tea before ploughing on… )

I was feeling a lot better after I’d picked up all the neckline stitches on a small gauge circular needle. Phew… then I just had to transfer the stitches to a 3.25 mm circular needle and continue the ribbing for 2 inches before folding over and stitching down as in the pattern. I wish I’d done this in the first place, it looks a lot better and the opening is now stretchier too so I won’t need to worry about getting my head stuck when trying to put it on!

After that, as it’s the last day of my Easter break, we decided to head over to Sydney Road to stock up on Italian groceries at Mediterranean Wholesalers and also popped over to Spotlight where I scored an amigurumi kit for a little bear with a natty red scarf. I’ve been wanting learn crochet for a while now, so I now have a reason to start!