Knitting Frenzy

I knit these two shawls for a silent auction for Choralis, the auditioned chorus I sing with. They both sold, though of course not for what I thought they were worth! I bought this yarn (Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter, in Fossil) on one of my June expeditions looking for judges for the fair. I used the gift certificates my office mates gave me on my retirement. The pattern (Currant Cardigan) was from the cover of Interweave's Spring 2013 issue. My current project is a sweater dress from the Vogue Holiday 2012 issue, of Madelientosh Pashmina in a purple called Flashdance. We'll see about that!

Three button cardigan

Finished one of my four open projects - a three button cardigan from yarn I bought at Frivolous Fibers during a weekend at St. Michaael's, Maryland, where John ran a 1/2 marathon in May. I had bought yarn there when we visited ten years ago or so. I altered the Drops pattern by adding a garter ridge at bottom, shortening the sleeves, and removing the flare at the cuffs. I like the way it subtly fitted with decreases and increases, but if I had it to do over I might pick the next size up, even though it knit true to guage it is very close fitted. The color is more deep teal than it appears in the pictures. See on Ravelry at http://www.ravelry.com/projects/mmchurchman/97-18-tailored-cardigan (still trying to figure out how to insert the Ravelry link - sorry)

2012 finally on Ravelry

After much procrastinating, I finally posted four 2012 projects on Ravelry this morning http://www.ravelry.com/projects/mmchurchman - Original Design, Cozy Green Cables, Necktie Christmas, and Pashmina Sweater. Some of those might really have been 2011. Not that being mother-of-the-bride took any of my time or emotional energy in recent months. It was great to see you all at the wedding. I also posted one of my four projects in progress - Three Button Cardigan. I really thought I would spend more time knitting after I retired, but it didn't work out that way. For the first six months I hardly knit at all. But now I'm going gangbusters. It doesn't help that I agreed to be superintendant of the Art Needlework and Wearing Apparel department of the competitive exhibits at the Arlington County Fair, which has required me to visit yarn and fabric and needlepoint stores in search of leads for qualified judges. The only judge last year was in advanced stages of Alzheimers - except for brief flashes of lucidity when she could spot the microscopic flaws in only my entries. I love handpainted yarn. Have you all discovered Freia? I haven't tried the ombre colorways yet, but they look like fun for self striping.

half of me is sky

 I think I basically got the size right on this little sweater, for once.  It was a remarkably fast knit, which I should remember.  It's the Child's Placket Neck Pullover from Last Minute Gifts, knit in Spud and Chloe Sweater, billiard and beluga colors.  Because the yarn is a heavier gauge than the pattern, and because I was aiming for the newborn size, I did a little math to adjust the pattern.  (Details on Ravelry.)

 I like how the stripes turned out but will probably stick to single colors in the future for this sweater.  Because the sleeves are shorter than the body, it's hard to get the stripe pattern to match exactly.  (To address this, I just knit the sleeves to the body length and rolled the cuff up.)  I kept the placket entirely green which also required a little intarsia.

And this sweater has encouraged me to try a little harder to knit children things that fit properly, since it is fun to watch them grow into them but it is probably more fun to see a knit in use right away.  Here's hoping that your start of 2013 is full of well-fitting and warm knits!