frock.

One of those projects that you never feel you’ve made any progress on despite hours and hours of knitting time.

c’est fin.

I can’t believe that it is finished. While watching a movie last night, I wove in all the ends of Aidez and it is done. It fits like a charm. I modified the construction of this sweater but not the sweater itself. My gauge was different at 14 stitches to 4 inches. My row gauge was amazingly accurate so I followed the yoke decreases and while the yoke is deeper than I would normally like (8.75 inches), the extra 1.5 inches works well for a bulky sweater like this (I want to wear long-sleeved shirts underneath).

I cast on 152 stitches and divided 72 for the back and 40 for each front. I knit the body in one piece as many have done. I added 2 inches to the body for a total of 18 inches. It blocked out to closer to 20 inches, which I had hoped for. I had fewer St st for the side and fronts but I didn’t decrease as much as is called for in the pattern so it didn’t matter. I decreased a total of 4 times up the side.

One “mistake” that I made was instead of double moss stitch for the middle of the cables on the back, I changed at some point to knitting single seed stitch. I quite liked this so when I went back to fix it, I kept it all in seed stitch. I really like seed stitch, so this was a nice “mistake” although fixing took forever but I’ve already told you about that and I am so happy with the result.

The cable charts are very well thought out because your big cable up the back is worked over 24 rows. The smallest is worked over 4 rows and the medium Wishbone chart is over 8 rows. You cable on the large chart every right side row so that’s easy – you don’t need the chart once you get the hang of how the “arms” move. The 4-row chart, you double wrap on the WS on row 2. Easy. And the 8-row chart, you cable only on the 1st row so 3 times during the working of the 24 row chart. It’s so easy to memorize and I ended up having a scrap piece of paper next to me and just marking off the row I had just finished. It meant it was a very portable project.

I know this sounds silly but this is the first handknit I have made that I put on and thought, “Nope, I wouldn’t change anything.” What a great feeling. I love how the collar came out even though I was petrified of the seaming. I did use a 3 needle bind-off for the back collar, which turned out nicely. The seaming wasn’t too bad – I took the advice and expertise of some information on Knitting Daily which boosted my confidence greatly.

You are going to laugh at me but … I am actually planning to make this again this summer. I bought some Cascade Eco+ in straw, which is my absolutely most favourite colour. I am planning to skip the cables and have a plain St st cardigan since I don’t really want two exactly-the-same cardigans! I was actually thinking quite seriously about putting a lace panel up the back of the straw cardigan … something like the lotus pattern from Barbara Walker’s First Treasury. I am still toying with that idea though.

In yarn (& finished projects),

-r.

settling.

I have had some questions about whether Charlotte is fitting into our little family and how it’s going. She is doing really well. We have had her for about a month now but we both feel that she has always been here.

It’s great having a friend to run with, as well – I find that since she keeps going, I do too!

I am hoping to have some things to show you on the weekend so please wish me luck that this *&%! paper gets finished and I have some time to spend with the needles :) I hope you are casting on or casting off something special!

In yarn (& friends),

-r.

softwood.

The yarn that I chose for my Larch Cardigan reminds me of softwood – soft colour, texture and loft. Larch is also a softwood so I am happy that I chose this yarn for it! I haven’t knit one of Amy Christoffers’ patterns before but I have already downloaded and swatched for White Pine. The Larch pattern was written extremely well – easy to follow, thorough and technical enough that the results appear professional. This is becoming more and more important to me as the finished object is something I want to be able to wear out and feel good in. Is this the same for you?

Back to the yarn. Remember at the beginning of the year I said that I was going to limit the number of sweaters I cast on this year? I suspect that is out the window as I now have about 5 that I am dying to knit. It is important to me that I keep the gauge (3mm to 5.5mm needles) in mind since that seems to be the root of a lot of my wrist issues. I found the yarn at Dressew back in November (for $1.99 since it is now discontinued) and was keeping it stored away until I found the perfect cardigan. I stumbled on Larch and knew it was game over: I swatched and cast on. The problem is the same it always is: The sleeves. I always leave them till last and by then I am usually a little burned out on the sweater.

I finished the yoke at work, which was a huge blessing since I wouldn’t have finished it otherwise. Unfortunately I have to go back and re-cast off. I don’t like how it looks and I think a sewn cast off will suit it better.

I added an inch to the body. The length of this sweater is perfect for me since I want to be able to wear it as an A-line sweater with a long shirt underneath. I modified the length of the yoke slightly since I know this yarn will stretch once washed (I love swatching – it means you know things like this!).

I have the buttons: wooden ones from my button stash which I am hoping gives me the motivation I need to finish the sleeves and move on to finishing Aidez. Cirilia’s cardigan is another knit I am loving and can’t wait to show you photos. I am not a blue person (I was actually thinking about that on my run this morning – I would actually chose red/orange over blue most of the time) but I was totally inspired by another one of my knitting inspirations: Kate’s Shale. Absolutely gorgeous.

In yarn,

-r.

super serious.

I was completely inspired to knit these when I saw ElsaLemon’s Delicious Knee Socks out of Noro Kureyon Sock in colour 217. Unfortunately, Kureyon Sock is being discontinued by Noro so it is becoming more and more difficult to find. A friend at work found two skeins online from Little Knits in Seattle, WA, which was great. I ordered the yarn and cast on right away. I have to put in a small plug for this store before I continue. Their online store/shipping was great – I ordered the yarn and up through the border it came without a hitch. It was shipped when they said it would be, and their emails were kind and professional. I will order from them again in the future. Anyway, these were worked on through out February as I slogged through school, shifts, unpacking and dreary weather. By the way, February is my least favourite month in the year.

I couldn’t be more happy with the results since the colours were a pleasure to knit with. The Kureyon stripes quickly enough to keep you interested in the changing colours, which is motivating and therefore knits up quickly. I have had trouble in the past with socks that wear threw at the heel so I have started knitting my socks on 2.25mm. This has been working really well although it does mean extra stitches and more knitting. This is fine by me as long as the finished object(s) last. I will keep you posted on how these wear.

The plan for these? They were always intended for camping. I get really cold in the evenings, especially when it’s been hot all day so even with the campfire going strong I always crave warm woolly socks. I think these might be perfect.

One comment about Noro. I didn’t have much trouble with the 2 balls that these socks took (I had minimal knots). My complaints would be that the joins within the ball are so poorly done. I was able to get the yarn 50% off since they were clearing it out so I wasn’t concerned that I needed to cut the ball up even more to get past some of the not-so-nice parts but as a knitter, I spend a lot of time on my crafting and I spend my hard-earned money on my yarns to have beautiful projects to work on and lovely finished objects. It’s frustrating that even when spending a certain amount on Noro, it never quite feels worthwhile. The colours are gorgeous and I am always drawn to Noro for that quality but more and more I am choosing other yarns when I know I will be fighting with the Noro ball and cutting out sections. What are your thoughts? Does knowing this problem exists still pull you over to the Noro corner or does it turn you off? I would love to hear your thoughts.

In yarn,

-r.

apple crumble.

One of my favourite things to do is cook but I haven’t really shared that hobby with you since I started this blog. It was something that I intended to do but then I lost the cable to my camera and I don’t like having my “nice” camera in the kitchen. Then we moved and guess what turned up in the unpacking? You guessed it: My cable! And so an aspect of this blog that I have been missing can begin!

This is one of my favourites to make for my husband who’s most favourite thing in the world is apple pie but to cut calories (aka, minus the pastry crust), I make him apple crumble instead. I’m not sure where I learned to make this: I just do!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Ingredients:

5-6 medium Gala apples or whatever you have on hand (I really like to add a Granny Smith for the tartness) – I don’t peel mine but you can

1 C water

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. (heaping) brown sugar

1 tsp. nutmeg

Combine these ingredients in a saucepan on the stove and bring water to a boil. Continue to cook (about 15-20 minutes) until the apples are soft.

In the meantime, combine in a large bowl (I use the one I threw the apples into) the topping:

2/3rds of a block of margarine (softened from sitting on the counter for approximately 30 minutes)

1/2 C white flour

1/2 C quick oats

1 tbsp brown suger (again, heaping)

Mix together with a pastry blender until flakey and no flour is “loose” – this takes a bit of working.

Once the apples have cooked, place into the bottom of a lightly greased glass baking bowl (I use a Pyrex 1.6L bowl with lid for storing in the fridge later). Pour crumble topping evenly overtop.

I like to add a sprinkle of cinnamon and roughly chopped almonds to the top prior to cooking.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until top is golden brown and sides are bubbling.

Serve with plain yogurt or ice cream! Enjoy :)

-r.