May The Force Be With You

every year, i give my kids a chance to pick a sweater for me to knit them.  this year my son requested a sweater that looks like yoda's jacket.





pattern: my own
yarn: imperial yarn tracie - 2ply sport weight, 2 skeins + a little more
needles: size #4 circular


this sweater was knit with the same construction as the sunset cardi and e's little pink sweater.  was so simple i don't really have much to say about it.  the only changes from those two sweaters are 1) it is very long.  yoda's jacket goes down to his feet but i didn't really think that was very practical... 



2) this sweater is not asymmetrical - the opening in straight in the center 



3) there is a huge hood.  what would a yoda sweater be without a huge hood that covers your eyes!!!



he loves it and has been wearing it everyday!

The Summer Of No Knitting

this has definitely been the summer of no knitting. my family and i spend most of the summer at the beach and even though i packed a ton of yarn, it was just too darn hot!

i only managed to complete one project and it was probably because it was a lace weight silk!

copper raglan

pattern: elizabeth zimmerman's seamless raglan

yarn: habu textiles a-1, 2/17 tsumugi and habu textiles copper

needles: size 5, circular

i am giving credit to elizabeth zimmerman for the pattern but the truth is i just knit to my own measurements. i also added in some waist shaping since the copper would take away some of the stretch. love, love, love the copper!!! i wish the one sweater and blog post for a while could be more exciting but alas it is not.

i am working on two more exciting projects right now so until next time...

Sunset Cardi

i was super upset that i ran out of yarn on the habu tank i just made and couldn't do the pockets. i really love pockets!!! so the next project definitely needed some. add those pockets into a much needed lightweight summer sweater and you get the:

sunset cardi

pattern: made up as i went along

yarn: lana grossa linea pura biosoja, 9 skeins

needles: size 5 circular

i knit to my measurements - but should be easy enough to size up or down so please leave a comment or message me if you want the full details.

inspired by simple japanese clothing, the sunset cardi is an asymmetrical cardigan fastened at the top and allowed to swing open. i started at the bottom and knit up around 9 inches where i created space for the pockets on each side. at the same time i did some slight waist shaping.

when long enough to the armholes i separated for the front and back. using the provisional cast on method, i added enough stitches to form the arms (i like long sleeves) and knit up the fronts. leaving the fronts on waste yarn, i picked up the stitches from the provisional cast on and knit up the back and then grafted the front and back stitches together, leaving a larger than average neck. the collar is just the neck stitches knit back and forth until it was a size i was comfortable with. not wanting to take away from the simplicity of the sweater, i used snaps as closures.

this was a super simple and fast knit and i am happy to write the pattern up for anyone interested. it definitely calls for a heavy, drapey yarn!

Stash Busting

i have had three cones of some habu tsumugi in my stash for a couple of years. i kept looking at it and looking at it with no clue what to make - sort of figured at some point i would make something lace out of it. but i also had been stashing the liesl pattern from cocoknits and then it clicked! i could double the tsumugi and make the tank!

habu tank

pattern: liesl by julie weisenberger

yarn: habu tsumugi in color #16, cocoa

needles: #7 circular, 24 inch

this is one of the rare occasions where i planned on making no modifications but had to. i started with no mods and knit up past the pockets but then i noticed how much yarn i had left... unfortunately not enough to finish. so i frogged back and decided to forget the pockets. i also got nervous about the yarn again when it came to the length, so that became a little shorter as well. i still really like it and i think that is due to the yarn. what amazing stuff this is - it creates such an amazing fabric and i think i have found a new favorite. now if only brooklyn general would start carrying it... definitely planning a trip up to habu in the next few weeks.

since i didn't get to add the pockets, my next project will definitely have some. not sure exactly what it will be but i picked up some lana grossa biosoja - a combination of soy, cotton and bamboo in this awesome orange.

i know what you will probably say, "a cotton, yuck!" but my friend, heather, had some knit up and it was actually nice. plus, i have a drapey cardigan in mind and this will definitely drape.

i am still making progress - slow progress - on my quilt and hope to have some photos soon.