Tivoli Tee

Almost forgot, and now I remeber why. I love this pattern! (Note: Also available (with picot edging!) in the newest edition of Magknits here.) What I do not love is the (not so) subtle striping going on with the yarn. But that is my fault. You see, I bought this yarn off eBay over a year ago, seven skeins. I like it, but I couldn't figure out what to use it for, so I knit some of it up a couple of times, then ripped it out and rewound it. Apparently, the couple of washings faded the color a bit, because now the different colors have created wide stripes. The shades are just different enough to be noticeable, not different enough to look like I meant them to be stripes.


Yarn: Novita Brilla (same as yarn of same name by Filatura di Crosa), about 6 balls
Pattern: Tivoli Tee by Grumperina sized for 31" bust
Needles: US size 6 circ, E4 crochet hook for trim
Comments: Yay for negative ease. I'm a 34" bust, but the 31" top fits perfectly with the little bit of stretch. Pattern was very easy to follow. I did a single crochet trim around all edges to prevent curling and make it look more finished.

Closeup of waist shaping (my first correct M1s):


Shoulder shaping and single crochet:

Baby Silk cardigan

I'm so pleased that Elann has restocked its supply of Baby Silk, because after crocheting this baby cardigan with it, I can tell you, it's really nice stuff. (They have some great new colors!) My seven balls in cornflower were intended to be Bridget's birthday sweater until I realized it was too fine a guage to knit on size 3s. It is too delicate for a knit that gets substantial wear, but would be good for scarves, crochet or...baby stuff:


Yarn: Elann Baby Silk in Cornflower, about 5 balls
Pattern: Made it up. Stitch pattern is Diamond Lace Stitch from The Harmony Guide's 300 Crochet Stitches
Crochet hook: E4 for the body, D3 for corded edging
Comments: I used some measurements for a 6-12 month old from Debbie Bliss's Baby Style. The corded (or crab stitch) edging took forever and gave me serious wrist pain, but I really like the way it looks. The sleeves are not bell shaped, I just sewing them in a little tightly.

Here are some closeups (pardon my crappy camera skills):



Kate helps me photograph:

Spoiled

After knitting with that Merino Stretch, it's hard to go back to regular worsted weight yarns. I picked up my remaining Jaeger Matchmaker Merino Aran, and sketched a little design, but working with this heavy yarn is killing me! I can't bring myself to do anything more than stockinette, because it feels so heavy in any other stitch pattern. Don't get me wrong, I love MMM, and I'm sad it's being discontinued, but... lately I find myself thinking obsessively about how to get my hands on more Merino Stretch.

Glamour shots

Not a big fan of posing for pictures, especially in public. I have a long way to go before I make it to America's Next Top Model (hardy har har). But Matthew is pretty patient with me.

This is going to be long, but here we go...

I got checked out like you wouldn't believe last Friday at the grocery store in this top:

Yarn: recycled from a sweater that was way too big for me
Pattern: #1 (Top with Lace Pattern) from Rebecca #22 (gotta love those Germans!) to fit 32"/34" bust
Needles: US size 11
Comments: Knit in the round. I did a crochet edging around the neck, armscye, and bottom to make it look more finished.

Attention, ladies: I have just enough yarn for another one of these tops, probably with one less pattern repeat along the bottom. Anyone want?

Next up:

Yarn: Schoeller Stahl Merino Stretch, just under 8 full balls
Pattern: Cabled Jacket from Debbie Bliss's The Cashmere Collection
Needles: US size 8 and 9
Comments: Adjustments to pattern only for change in gauge. Really great stitch pattern.

Here's a close up of the raglan shoulder shaping:


Finally, we have:

Yarn: Berroco Softwist, 4 skeins
Pattern: Annie Modesitt's Silk Corset, sized for 35" bust
Needles: US size 8
Comments: Major adjustments to this pattern. I did not care for the lace pattern increases on the bottom of the original. I like for my lace to resemble something - flowers, leaves, a geometric pattern of some sort - and this did not. I reversed the bust decreases, then knit a panel identical to the diamonds on the top and grafted the live stitches to the live stitches at the bottom of the corset. Grafting sucks.

You can tell from the closeup that the bottom is a half stitch off center:


I forgot all about the Tivoli Tee, as it was hiding at the bottom of my hamper. Now it's wrinkled, so I'll have pictures of it next time. At present, I'm at work designing some sweaters.

Coming soon

I will have pictures of finished garments soon, but for now, these are the socks I made for Elias and his upcoming sibling. Only one baby is expected, but I made two pairs of baby socks for the heck of it. My first foray into sock knitting was quite pleasant.



Details
Yarn: Lana Grossa Meilenweit Trend, less than 100 gr for all 3 pairs
Pattern: Cabled rib socks are from Interweave Knits Summer 2005, the others I just made up
Needles: US size 1, double pointed
Comments: See how I got the striping on the big pair to match exactly? I'm real pround of that. :-)

Some sleeves

Ta da:



I have a little of that anxiety the Yarn Harlot mentioned about not having enough projects on the needles. After this one, I'm empty again.

Dilemma

I don't know what to do with this yarn:



It's Classic Elite's Gatsby, a bulky wool "tweed" with rayon slubs. (Note: I didn't get it from Elann, but they have some stock of other colors.) I believe this is 4 or possibly 5 skeins of the "Aqua Ice" color, discontinued long ago, shortly after I bought it. About 94 yards each. It was back in the beginning of my return to knitting, and I didn't know about caluculating the amount of yarn needed to make a sweater or about buying enough to finish the project before the shade was discontinued. Well, actually I did know about buying enough to finish, but at $12.50 a skein, this was as much as I could afford at one time. I finished the front, back, part of a sleeve and a roll neck before running out, going to the yarn store and finding out there was no more to be had.

Obviously, I don't have enough to make a full sized sweater. I might have enough to make this sweater/shrug, maybe shortening the sleeve a little. But that's a maybe. It's too much for just a scarf. What else could I do with it? I welcome any and all suggestions. I'm also open to a swap if any of you would like to have it. It's great yarn. Just not enough of it.

All right, let's get to knittin'

Since the needles went barren last Saturday, I rummaged through the stash and came out with 9 balls of Schoeller Stahl Merino Stretch in burgundy I bought several months ago, and Debbie Bliss's The Cashmere Collection. I've admired the Cabled Jacket for a while, but I have neither the $225 to shell out for the 15 balls of Cashmerino Superchunky, nor the desire to swim in my clothing. I'm petite, I need tailored garments (so say Stacey and Clinton). So I figured I would knit the pattern (for a 48" finished bust) with the Merino Stretch on smaller needles and it would turn out the right size.

In my usual zeal, I pretty much cast on with out swatching. It wouldn't have helped much anyway, because Debbie only gives the gauge of stockinette which isn't even used on the majority of the sweater. I like Debbie, but she sure does make it hard to substitute yarns. No schematics either. So it was just a guess, but it has turned out well so far. It's a fast knit since I'm using #9 needles. Here's the progress all ready (since this past Saturday):





I'm almost done with the first sleeve, as well.

About the yarn:
It's so light! Only 100 grams for the back of the sweater. There's like 175 yards per 50 gr ball, so I may even have some leftover in the end. As the name says, it's really stretchy. This means measuring gauge is kind of difficult. And since I'm a tight knitter, increasing needle size to loosen up doesn't do much. It definitely takes some practice to get used to the stretchiness, but the stitch definition on the cables and blackberry panels is pretty good for such a "fluffy" yarn. Oh, and it bleeds like crazy! It was like I had made Kool-aid in the sink when I washed the pieces.

About the pattern:
Number of stitches remains the same, but number of rows obviously had to be increased. Raglan decreases on the body were every 3 rows (meaning some are on wrong side rows) instead of everyother row. On the sleeves, I've had to add increases to get the right diameter, and I think the raglan decreases will be every right side row, like the pattern. I'm shooting for a bust of 37" to 38", length below armpit of 13.5" and sleeve length of 18". We'll see.

About Me

My name is Sarah. I currently live and knit in Portland, Oregon. I learned to knit first when I was about 4; my mom used to knit a lot and was patient enough to teach me. However, I was not patient enough to keep at it for more than a few days. During the summer before I started college, I stumbled upon one of my mom's Martha Stewart Living magazines with a "Learn to Knit" article in it, and taught myself again. Although I taught my roommate to knit while in college, I really didn't do it that often until a friend of a friend told me about Knitty (and buying yarn on eBay and Elann.com) in 2004. I haven't put down the needles since then.

Like a lot of knitters, knitting is somewhat of a nervous habit for me. While fairly calm on the outside, I'm always picking at, chewing on, pulling out, fidgeting with, or being just generally anxious about something - hence the squirrelly in Squirrelly Knits - so knitting is a way to keep my hands and mind busy. I have knitting to thank for not being totally bald.

I also happen to like squirrels (and chipmunks and small rodents of all kinds) a lot. Actually, who am I kidding, I like all animals. But squirrels are number one. Closely followed by otters. The quote below the blog title is from Beatrix Potter's Squirrel Nutkin, the best kids' book of all time.

My Ravelry username is SneakySquirrel.

10 Knitting-related Things About Me
(I don’t have the patience to come up with 100)

1. I have owned US size 1 bamboo straight needles for over 4 years, but I have never used them. I am afraid they will break like toothpicks.
2. I own bamboo straight needles in every size from 1 to 11. I rarely use them since I got Denise Interchangable cirlculars.
3. I’m a “product knitter.” I need to be able to wear or use (and love) what I knit.
4. I have never knit a skirt, and I probably never will (see number 3 above). Same for bikinis and lingerie.
5. My stash is almost entirely leftovers from other projects or odd ball. I have a hard time rationalizing yarn purchases if I don't have a plan for the yarn.
6. The first sweater I ever started was made out of a chunky tweed yarn. It wasn’t knit very well because I didn’t know much about knitting and I wasn’t following a pattern; I was just making it up as I went. And then I ran out of yarn about the time I hit the sleeves. It was a lucky break, really.
7. The first sweater I ever finished was the striped sweater at the end of Stitch n’ Bitch. I made the rookie mistake not swatching. And I made the other rookie mistake of using cotton (Paton’s Grace), which was called for by the pattern, but which sagged and drooped and pilled in very unsightly ways after only a few washes. That sweater did not stay around long. Lesson learned.
8. I crochet too, but I have yet to crochet an adult-sized garment. Crochet still looks kinda granny to me.
9. My first knitting book was (and I still have it) a Harmony Guide to Knitting. The patterns are outdated and heinous, but it is a wonderful resource and I still refer to it when I need help with a technique.
10. I’m a continental knitter and I purl somewhat strangely – by pinching the yarn between left thumb and forefinger (with the yarn wrapped around my first two fingers, as for knitting). It came about because of the trickiness of purling and I’ve never been able to get rid of it. In fact, I’ve stopped trying, because I think the tightness it creates in the purl stitches it’s the reason that my gauge is so even when working flat.