tiny tuna.

This is a very fast post to let you all know that James William was born on July 24 @ 1758hr, weighing 8lbs 8oz and measuring 55cm. The labour and delivery were excellent – I laboured with him for 9.5 hours and only had 28 minutes of active pushing. Thankfully, the damage was very minimal :)

I knit this little toque for him back in February but wanted to wait to show it off till he arrived.

Pattern: Cable Baby by Pamela W Allen

Yarn: Shibui Staccato Sock in ‘60’s Kitchen’

Needles: 3mm DPNs

We are all doing really well at Day 5. He’s slept for about 3.5-4 hours each night thus far and breastfeeding has been going well – typical hiccups but the midwives are so on top of everything, it’s hard to blink before it’s ‘fixed’. Happy July!

subtle.

Before I post about this newest FO, I wanted to say thank you all so much for your feedback and ideas from my last post! You were all very helpful & I have decided to go with Atelier. After reading through your comments, I asked my mom (who’s not a knitter but is an artist) what she thought. She agreed. The competition between the variegation and the lace in a sweater is a little too much. Again, thank you :)

This subtle little cardigan has been brewing for a while. I made one for my sister-in-law in January 2010 for her birthday. She still wears it all the time and I have to admit, I had a tough time giving it away. Thank goodness it went to a good home!

Pattern: Abalone by Beata Jezek

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette ‘Oregon Coast Heather’ held together with Frog Tree Brushed Suri 005

Needles: 6.00mm

There isn’t much to say about this cardigan – it came together incredibly quickly. It’s a little baggier than I wanted but I’m not going to redo anything. It will be very cozy in the winter!

I knit the ST st portion of the cardigan to 17”, then added 4” in garter border per the pattern. It actually washed and blocked a little longer but I’m happy with the length – with skinny jeans and boots this winter, it’ll look great.

Everything about this cardigan is subtle – from the gentle i-cord edging to the colour of the yarns held together to the unassuming garter stitch. Yup, I’m very happy with it!

In baby news, there’s nothing! We had to rush off to the vet today because as Charlie & Charlotte were playing, his eye came down on the corner of the coffee table very hard, leaving a small laceration and of course unknown other injuries. He’s fine but it meant we had quite an exciting day! And now … of course … we are all exhausted :)

I hope you are enjoying a relaxing summer – and enjoying beautiful weather that’s not too hot for knitting :)

advice seeking.

Thank you so much for your compliments on Acer – I absolutely love it. Due to the weather, I haven’t been able to wear it yet but they are forecasting a slight change this week to rain & showers, so hopefully I’ll have a chance to wear it out!

I am posting to ask for some advice. I started Pomme de pin a while ago but haven’t really hit my stride with it. I bought some Madelinetosh Pashmina in Parchment back in February when we were in Nanaimo – which I fell in love with because it reminds me of the morning and evening skies in Tofino.

The cardigan itself is gorgeous – a really beautiful Amy Christoffers design - have I mentioned she’s my favourite designer?

BUT.

Ironically, several people have chosen Pashmina for this project but none of the yarn colourways they have chosen are quite as variegated as Parchment is knitting up to be.

Here is my progress thus far:

I’m having a bit of crisis of faith on this one – should I keep going and hope it turns out not too ‘crazy’? I’m worried that the lace pattern is being lost in the colour changes. The colours of Parchment are actually quite soft – I’m just not sure the lace pattern is doing anything for the colour changes. Here is a link to look at some projects that have been knit in this colourway – I think I like Parchment best when it’s ST st.

OR, look for another pattern – I’m thinking Atelier. Some people, including the designer herself (Heidi Kirrmaier), have used quite variegated yarns for their projects – and they look great due to the plain ST st but the small details make this cardigan another beautiful project. Again, lots of people have used Pashmina in their projects so it’s easy to see what some of the colourways look like knit up in this pattern.

Honestly, I’m really torn. AND, when I look up alternative patterns on Ravelry or search what others have done with this yarn, Pomme de pin comes up again and again … which may be a sign? Although, if I’m being really honest with myself, if I’m already leaning away from this (I’m not super keen to work on it because I’m not super keen on what I’m seeing) and I’m looking very seriously at Atelier … I feel like that’s a sign too! haha

What do you think? Do you have any thoughts about the initial few inches? I would love to hear your ideas!

ps. Both projects are the same gauge, which is nice!

favourite-est.

So baby can come any time after today – I finished the cardigan I was working on that I was determined to finish prior to baby’s arrival! I know life/pregnancy doesn’t work that way but hey … I’m ready whenever baby’s ready :) I’m 39 weeks today actually.

I just want to gush gush gush about this cardigan. I absolutely love it. It is my favourite-est knit EVER. Remember how I was feeling a bit mojo-less and wanting something inspiring to work on? I decided in a moment of weakness to go down to my LYS on Friday and see if there was something that would inspire me. I’ve wanted to make Acer since … Amy published the pattern, probably. I finished the last seam last night and let it dry overnight (thank goodness for warm summer weather!). My one-week cardigan!

Pattern: Acer Cardigan by Amy Christoffers

Yarn: Malabrigo Arroyo in colourway 054 Escorias

Needles: 4.5mm for body & sleeves, 3.5mm for collar and seamed button bands

The Arroyo is closer to a sport weight than a DK. The recommended needle size is 3.5-4mm but I swatched in 4.5mm, got gauge and liked the slightly loose fabric the swatch produced. I was a little nervous about how the lace and cables would look in the finished sweater but they turned out beautifully.

The slightly more open lace leaves the cardigan feeling light and airy, not heavy and very pleasing to wear.

I tried a new technique that I now wish I had tried sooner. The seamed button band from Norah Gaughan is a great addition to this. I think it finishes the cardigan in a slightly cleaner way – and certainly looks very professional. And I love that you can’t see the buttonholes! Especially since I have no intention of ever buttoning this up :)

The ‘formula’ I used for the button band was simple:

For the RIGHT front band, on 3.5mm needles (I used DPNs since there were so few stitches), I cast on 8 stitches.

Row 1 (WS): P2, (K1, P1) 3 times

Row 2 (RS): Sl1 Purlwise, work across in pattern as stitches appear.

Continue until desired length.

For the LEFT front band (buttonholes), repeat above cast on.

Row 1 (WS): Sl1 Purlwise, K1, P1, K1, P1, K1, P2

Row 2 (RS): Work across as stitches appear.

I wanted between 9-11 buttons. I placed the 1st on row 5 as follows:

Buttonhole Row (RS): K2, P1, SSK, YO, K1, P1, K1

When you reach the YO on the WS as you work back, just knit into it as you would if there wasn’t a buttonhole there as this keeps the 1x1 rib pattern going and disguises the buttonhole perfectly. Any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

The only thing I will say about the sewn-on button bands is that they are a little finicky when you get to the top – you want the top edges to match up perfectly to create a beautiful edge and this took some re-knitting, ripping and re-seaming. Completely worthwhile though.

The buttons were from my stash and look perfect with this yarn. They are just cheap Countess Basic 99cent buttons :)

I hope that what you’re working on is going well & that you are loving the finished project too! I’d love to hear about it :)

working.

This is my office currently:

The kitchen table and an experiment with a new button band attachment. I’ve never done a seamed button band – I’ve always picked them up or knit them along with the sweater. I am excited to see how this turns out and whether I’ll like it.

The tutorial is here, courtesy of Norah Gaughan.

a not-so cardigan.

Those of you who know me, or see what I post about and knit regularly, know that I never knit pullovers. I actually don’t know why – I just love cardigans. They are the reason I knit – some people are into shawls or socks … I like cardigans :)

But then I fell in love when Veera published this:

Pattern: Gathering Stripes by Veera Välimäki

Yarn: Phildar Preface in colours 36 (grey) and 35 (navy)

Needles: 4.00mm circs and DPNs

A very quick knit, I kept putting it down so it took me a while to complete. I started it in April and finished now … in late June. I made the 38” bust knowing it would be too big but I wanted 3” of positive ease at least. This also means I can wear it for the rest of my pregnancy (which isn’t long but that’s ok):

Modifications:

• Lengthened the body to 19” since my torso is so long.

• Instead of 10 stripes, I did 14.

• Rather than seaming the hems, I left them. I quite like the casual effect this has on the overall look of the sweater.

I have to say, I’m really happy with this sweater. I think it’ll see a lot of wear. While I was knitting, I was torn about choosing the blue versus some gorgeous rust that I had in my stash but I’m glad I went with the blue. And it’s soooooo lightweight! Perfect for cool summer evenings, which we see a lot of in Vancouver :)

ETA: I backed the wooden buttons with small, clear buttons from my stash to give the collar a little more structure as it was very floppy. I’m really glad I did this & would recommend doing that if you’re having the same problem :)

comforts.

Ooooh madelinetosh. Your yarn, your patterns, your overall look … why do you tempt me so?

Although I really like the results of this cardigan and I wished I had pushed through, finishing it sooner; I just wasn’t into this knit. As I mentioned last time, I am lacking my knitting mojo but I really wanted to finish at least one sweater this month … especially the one I started because I was pregnant and would be able to wear throughout the whole pregnancy without worrying about it being too small, short, flattering, etc. But did I get it finished? No. Not until the last 2 weeks of pregnancy and just when summer is starting and I am already boiling (have been for a while!). Herumph. I hope this will see lots of wear in the Fall :)

Pattern: Creature Comforts Cardi by Amy Hendrix

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers in colour 2443 – neutral

Needles: 5.00mm

Modifications:

• Cast on for the 38-42” (med/lrg) size. Halfway through, I decreased every 6 rows until I had the stitch count for the 34-38” (sm/med) size (12 decreases total).
• Knit the chart and St st portion first, seamed the sides, then knit the ribbing in the round.
• 3” of ribbing around instead of only 1.5”.
• Made the armhole a bit smaller, as it kept falling down my arm when I tried it on!

p.s. Thank you so much to the comments from last post! You all completely inspired me – and although I am really looking forward to baby coming, I have decided to take advantage of the quiet time and cast on for something I have wanted to make for a long time but didn’t know what yarn to use. Instead of stash busting, I went to my LYS and spent a little more than I usually would (no workhorse yarn for this project!) and am swatching this evening for the Acer Cardigan – something I have been wanting to make for a loooong time :) xo