And Then There Was Ribbing

and it was good...

My husband's sweater is done- seaming done, neckband done, ends woven in, all that remains is the blocking- with all that ribbing it definitely needs blocking. Stretching it out a bit for a photo helped...

Notice anything ever-so-slightly-off? No, that color variation was not flash inflicted. Who knew there would be such variation even within a single dye lot? If I'da noticed it was that far off earlier, I woulda worked with 2 skeins at a time and striped it to blend things- it probably wouldn't even have been noticeable... well, he's a man, a fairly typical man, he may not even notice...

See it now? Oh well, makes it unique, right? Gives it character, right? It's still a wonderful finished object- the first of the new year! And it's the first thing I've actually knit for my husband...

My 2nd finished object for the year featured even more ribbing, and a tighter gauge to boot. Miles and miles of 1x1 rib, broken up by a section of 2x2 rib...

Here's a bigger sneak peak at an upcoming pattern in Blue Sky's spring line... I didn't design it- I just tested it. It's a lot of ribbing, but the end result is pretty nice. It would definitely hug a girl's curves... It has some short row shaping in the bust that gives enough extra fabric so as not to cause any extra pulling open of the ribbing (one of my pet peeves about ribbed knits and bustlines)- a nice added touch.

One thing I would mention about this knit- the miles of ribbing and measuring can be a little fussy. In general, ribbing should be stretched to the finished width before measuring length as it can be quite a diference... and I would never throw out that practice, but, with a knit like this and a yarn like this, I would go ahead and err on the short side... not by much, mind you, but when measuring and you think to yourself "almost there, just one or two more rows"- you're probably close enough... this piece grew by at least an inch after wetting it to block. I tried so hard to not pull on it at all and even tried to 'scrunch' it up a bit to keep it from growing, and it still ended up an inch longer.

I didn't knit this for myself- I'm not the sleeveless or strappy tank type (though I was thinking this would be pretty cute worn over a smart baby tee...) This piece will be a trunk show sample to be seen in the near future in yarn shop near you!

Well, my sister and my mom will be in California for the next few days at the TNNA Tradeshow... without me... sigh... I'll be here with my housefull of little kiddos who are currently passing around a stomach bug... guess where I'd rather be this weekend? I love my brood, but some weeks I could do with more sun and less puke.

I'll quit my whining now... time to sanitize my hands, maybe start a soup stewing, fold some laundry, work on a scarf...

Keep the contest entries coming in- I can't wait to see all of the finished objects by the end of the month!

Happy knitting-

ali

Husband's Sweater- The Home Stretch

Well, between holidays and all the other days, my pace on my husband's Men's Ribbed Sweater slowed considerably after those first few days of furiously fast knitting. It is almost done- all the pieces are complete, the sleeves are seamed and waiting to be set in, then all that will remain is the neckband and the blocking. If I don't get to that sometime today, well knitting shame on me...

This past week much of my knitting time has been eaten up with another pattern testing knit this quick before we head off to convention for Blue Sky Alpacas. Here's a sneak peak at an upcoming design- looks pretty basic so far- it's the upper bodice where a little designers' flair comes in- you'll have to wait for the rest.

The piece looked great on the model, but then, my old shower curtain would've looked great on her... It's worked in Blue Sky's Alpaca Silk, which though lovely in the hand as well as on the needle, knits much slower than the worsted I've been flying through. The contrast is so great that I should probably knit on something sport weight in between just to ease the transition a bit. You know how slow 55 mph feels after you've been going 70 mph on the interstate for a while... well, knitting on much smaller needles with this silk, and all that ribbing to boot, is like pulling right onto a 45 mph road right from the interstate... and well, with 220 sts in the round, and 9 rows to the inch, I wouldn't recommend knitting this piece with only 2 weeks to work with... something this pretty and luxurious (I mean silk is just so silky...) should be savored and enjoyed, like a beautiful lace shawl. Some things were not meant to be knit in a rush- it kinda sucks the joy out of it, but the bright side in my pitiful tale is that it puts a little cash in the coffers. The things a mom will do for some spending money...

Check back for another contest (or two!) to be announced on Monday!

Until then,

hapy knitting-

ali

Husband's Sweater- Day 4/Skein 3

Well, that immune system pumping up came none too soon. Husband called yesterday- he was on his way home and he was violently ill... As horrible as it is, I really hope it was food poisoning, and not a stomach bug, as the latter would be so very unpleasant with 6 children to pass through. The knitting was set down, the disinfectants came out and the laundry got underway... and well, I was too distracted so much of the night to pick the knitting back up- so I didn't get through skein 3 on day 3. I did, however, enjoy much blog reading and blog hopping, discovering several blogs new to me... a girl could loose a whole lot of time that way...

Despite working my husband's sweater in the round to avoid that time gap I mentioned a couple posts back, I did manage to find a way to exercise a little ADD and stop by the sewing machine to finish a little person skirt that I started way too long ago (notice the springlike fabric...) I even went so far as to add a few stripes of rick rack to this one. Quite the pleasing extra touch. I think it would be good to note that when working with rick rack, one should pin it firmly in place, as it tends to get pushed around a bit by the presser foot; at least this tiny stuff did. I was trying to get by with as little effort as possible, which, I should learn, usually ends up causing more frustration than I would've experienced if I would have done it right in the first place... what is it 'they' say? If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it again?

So skein #3 (of 11) did end up finished a day later... I never actually stood a chance of maintaining that skein a day rate... and the sweater is a bit over half-way to the armholes. My husband held it up and pointed out the fact that there was still quite a long way to go. I sweetly informed him that it was not every knitting wife that would knit that much in 4 days... Such single-ness of knitting mind is not usually my way. Yes, there was the sewing distraction, but I often sit with 2 or 3 current works-in-progress within reach, switching between them randomly. I don't think he realizes the devotion it displays for me to knit on this one thing for 4 days... yet. I'm sure he'll realize soon... I'll make sure he realizes soon... (Love you, dearest!)

We had our first big bad snow today! Church has been cancelled for tomorrow morning, hence the late night, and the sleeping in to follow... Not sure how much knitting will be done tomorrow, nor am I sure that all of the knitting that does get done will be on that sweater...

Good night, and happy knitting-

ali

Husband's Sweater- Day 2/Skein 2

Despite having an off day, (neck problems and the headache that usually accompanies...) I somehow managed to finish off the 2nd of my 11 skeins today. It didn't take too loong for me to realize the one drawback to my 'in the round modification'- that would be how heavy this sweater is quickly getting to be. Think of the warmth, think of the warmth, think of the happy husband...

I haven't pulled out a tape measure yet, but it seems I must be about halfway to the armholes, where I will divide and work the front and back seperately. Pretty good progress for a couple of days' worth of 'spare time', if I may say so myself. I've got a lot of other work to get to, real quick-like, tomorrow, so I don't know if I can pull off another entire skein, but then comes Saturday. Saturdays can be real hit-or-miss for me. Sometimes things are so mellow and I can sit and knit all day while supervising kids from the couch, and sometimes there are errands to run, groceries to get, meals to prep, lessons to plan, way too many clothes to wash... and, well, on those days little to no knitting gets done...

In other knitting news, I've been swatching with some bulky for a baby/toddler coat design and I got to playing with funky fringe stitches, and decided my daughter needed a little hat, something like this, and maybe a yet-to-be-knit scarf to go with it...

The tiniest one wasn't too thrilled to have that sitting on her head, but she's gonna have to get used to having something on her head as we are definitely into 'the cold time' here in Minnesota. That, or we could just not leave the house until next April...

Not leaving the house would save us a bit of exposure to some of the nasty bugs that have begun creeping around town. We have been battling colds for 2 solid months here with my littles and I am thinking it's time to get them all drinking some yummy green goodness... I'm hoping that, and some daily smoothies with the results from our adventures with kefir, will boost all of the immune systems around here!

I know this won't help boost any immune systems (quite the opposite...) but, being the cola addict that I am at times (been doing much better at that lately) I had to pick up one of these at a recent run to a local coffee shop. I love to find new pops (sodas, for you non-Minnesotans, and/or anyone who doesn't call a pop a pop) and this one, with it's green tea, peaked my interest.

I still had my morning latte (w/amaretto,) and grabbed one of these to savor later. They call it "Happiness in a bottle", and, well, it was pretty tasty. Cane sugar (vs. high fructose corn syrup) makes a much better pop, seriously, there's a great taste difference. With the 'pick-me-up' from a nice cold bottle of pop, a girl can sit up and knit quite a few more rows!

Well, time to plan for my tomorrow...

Happy knitting-

ali

Competing Centerpieces

I have a new challenge- I'm planning on turning this-

into this-

And my husband would like it done in short order. You see, it's already cold up here... and he's been waiting for this sweater to be knit ever since he first tried on the sample made for the photo shoot. Yep, the very one the model is wearing... and it fit him like a dream. Oooh, the feel of this sweater in the hand... Blue Sky's Worsted is just such a comfy yarn for a nice warm sweater. I believe he said something like, "You're gonna knit me one of these, right?" Right after asking something to the effect of, "Do we really have to give this one back?"

Now, if I was really thinking, this project would've made the list of my summer knitting goals... but with the way my summer ended up shaking out it may have ended up being one more goal unmet, leaving me exactly where I am right now- the end of November in Minnesota with a cold sweaterless husband who said something about burning the midnight oil for a few nights so I could get this done ASAP.

I don't know if husband-sweater-completion really merits any all night knitting sessions (I don't know if I have it in me this season) but crazier things have happened... At least this project uses a worsted weight! I did manage to cast on and get through the first of the 11 skeins this job will take. If I did a skein a day, I could finish in 10 more days, but that seems rather ambitious, consideringthe 6 little people I tend to each day and the time that seems to eat up(homeschooling them, supervising piano and violin practice, not to mention feeding & clothing them...) Maybe I'll shoot for 2 weeks...

I've made the slight modification of doing the body in the round, saving me 2 side seams as well as that inevitable time gap between sweater back completion and sweater front casting on. I have been known to do crazy things in that time gap- things like starting hats, scarves, mittens, baby sweaters, good books, get the urge to sew... anything to distract myself from that next step, that step that feels like starting over, right back at the beginning, especially when the pattern says "work as for back until piece measures..." (See what I mean? It's exactly like starting over...) I'll take any excuse for a mental block... can we say double-A, double-D? (He, he, that's the way my sister always says it...) Adult Attention Deficit Disorder... I'm an adult with a deficient attention span, and I guess that means I have a disorder. Probably nothing a cup of coffee couldn't help with...

Anyhoo, here's a pic of Day 1 progress-

Watch for more Men's Ribbed Sweater progress and other knitterly happenings soon, like, maybe tomorrow, and the next day, and the next... maybe...

Happy knitting,

ali