More Silky Wool

last summer my fabulous knitter friend, kusi, introduced me to norah gaughan's patterns. of course i immediately started lining up projects in my head. i've made a few and had some hits and some misses but the "anhinga" from the berroco vol 5 book was the one that always stood out. the problem was i wanted to make it for myself but i had too many holiday gifts on my queue! i even bought the yarn for it in august at brooklyn general's august sale. i finished it this morning and couldn't wait to show it off:

after two seamless hybrids and the ez green sweater it was really a pleasure to knit separate pieces and sew them together! it was so great to just finish the back quickly! all the details are on ravelry.

as i write this, i am trying to figure out what to knit next. here is a list of what i want to get to this year:

leg warmers for e (she is a little obsessed with leg warmers)

frost flowers shawl

two color bog jacket

rorschach sweater

fair isle sweater for myself

fair isle yoke for h

hybrid for b

the olive sweater from amimono

something fair isle and steeked

actually, the list can go on and on...

i am thinking i will go with the frost flowers shawl. i haven't knit any lace recently. it would be nice to put down the size 6 needles and maybe step away from the silky wool for a little. plus, i am sure i can make some leg warmers for e on the go since lace isn't really a good traveling project. oh and anne, if you are reading this, i know i should have the chicken mittens on that list but i am just sooooo not into them :(

most importantly, i will be teaching a baby surprise jacket class in february at brooklyn general on wednesday mornings at 10am. you can call the store at 718.237.7753 to sign up!

Help

Not Blocked

but here's a shot of the green sweater on!

as you can see, i still can't decide on any closures. for now i am going with broaches as closures until i come up with something else... the fabulous art direction of the photo is all mary!

i've got a norah gaughn sweater on the needles that i've been wanting to knit forever and i'm having a blast. after all these sweaters in the round there is something to be said for finishing pieces and knitting with decadent rosewood straight needles. but the lovely norah has to wait a little because my friday morning knitting group "the chickens" is doing a mitten kal. so here are the start of the egyptian mittens. don't hate me, anne, if i finish them soon - i have a long car trip this weekend ;)

Finished!

well, almost. it needs some blocking and buttons - but i couldn't wait to share!

ta da - the green sweater!!!!

it took a little bit of time because i had to rip out the sleeve twice! and redid how i sewed down the steeked edges. but i love how it came out - it has a real retro fit. i will get some pictures of it on after i block and get the buttons on. i am thinking of just doing some hook and eye closures - any opinions?

2009 Wrap Up

happy new year! i have a ton of projects in my head for 2010 but thought i would take some time for a 2009 knitting wrap up.

wow, i got a lot done! :) here's to a great year of all good things and happy knitting!

Last Minute Holidays

i was sitting pretty, thinking i had finished all my holiday knitting and was really enjoying working on the elizabeth zimmerman green sweater for myself when my husband turned to me and asked what i had made for his mother! 5 days before christmas!!! i could have killed him - i specifically said i wasn't going to make anything for her this time - i had already made the hourglass sweater for her for mother's day. i really thought this time it would be a store bought gift. but the laziness of not wanting to deal with the stores and a huge snowstorm won out and searched my stash of magazines and yarn to find something fast. vogue holiday had a cute lace beret pattern for fingering weight yarn - and i have more of that than anything else. perfect! and it only took 2 days! here it is:

and on ravelry.

i have made a little bit of progress on "the green sweater" - one sleeve almost done. i have to be honest, i am losing a little bit of interest. and i have a little bit of a problem with the sleeve - it decreased very fast and is pretty narrow. i really, really don't want to rip back though. trying to decide what to do...

Steeking

as i mentioned in my last post, my current project is the elizabeth zimmerman green sweater that i am making out of elsebeth lavold silky wool. this week i got up to the steeking part. i spent much of my time researching how to secure the stitches and eventually decided to go with the crochet method. (mostly because i am not secure enough in my sewing skills to attempt sewing such a stretchy piece of fabric). many thanks to eunny jang's online tutorial!

so here we go! before cutting:

a before cutting close up:

cutting - eeks!!! i definitely needed a drink after!:

but after cutting look at how neat it is:

i sewed down the crochet edge inside, knit up the stitches and started on the sleeve:

The true color of the yarn is closer to the blue pictures.

all in all it worked really well. i don't like how i sewed down the edges so i will be redoing those. also, it took a really, really long time. much longer than if i had just knit separate pieces and sewn them together. i don't know if i would use a steek for a solid color sweater again. besides not having to purl, count rows or piece together, i don't know if there is an upside? if you know of any other reason - please share!!!

normally, i would be knitting on this sweater like crazy and have it done by the end of this week but my husband sprung on me the fact that he never bought his mother a christmas gift. so now i am rushing to get a pretty lace beret done by friday with some stash sock yarn! - thank god for stash yarn and my habit of never throwing out a vogue knitting or interweave!!