Paper Dolls
I should properly document this one, huh? The pattern is Kate Davies’s Paper Dolls, which is a short-sleeved pullover with a fairisle yoke. Since I can’t do anything simply, I decided to convert it to a cardigan. I bought the main wool (green Rowan Felted Tweed) nearly three years ago at the Wool Inn in Penrith. The brown and cream contrast colours are Grignasco Tango from Miss Fee. I went up a size or two to get some ease through the body. I still knitted it in the round, adding a 6-stitch steek up the middle (and making that the start of all rounds). For the sleeves, I simply made up the increases making sure I finished on the right number of stitches for the yoke pattern repeat. When it was done, I did a crochet steek with hand-stitching for extra reinforcement. Then I cut it open. I had originally intended to put a button band on it, but once I tried it on I realised it wanted to be a jacket with a zip. So that’s what I did! I did an i-cord edging along the fronts and then hand-sewed in a zipper. I love it! (More photos over on Ravelry.)

Adventures in Dyeing
After I got home from cheese-making, it was time for more fun with giant pots. It was finally time to dye my February Lady Sweater. I always meant to dye it, but I was just too lazy. The cream did nothing for me though, and I never wore it. So I picked up some Jacquard Acid Dye in Burnt Orange and got to work (with some much-needed email guidance from knitabulous). The cardigan – which had been previously washed and soaked overnight – went into the pot along with some citric acid, dye, and lots of water. It was very vivid and murky. I kept it on a gentle simmer for about 40 minutes, checking on it often. I was pleased to see the water clearing just like Ailsa said it would! I turned off the heat and left it overnight. In the morning I dumped out the water and gave the cardigan a rinse and another soak (with hair conditioner). That night I finally squeezed out the water and had a look at the final product. To be honest, I was a little surprised at how blotchy it was. The dye didn’t take up evenly, and the effect is almost like tye-dye. (I’ve since read on Twitter that this is a common problem, and that dying whole garments rarely works perfectly.) Anyway, I let it dry thinking I’d make a final assessment later. Today, I actually wore it to work. And you know what? I think I like it!

I’ve had some compliments on it at work, and everybody seems to think the dye effect is intentional. It’s definitely more wearable than the cream version was! I may still have a go at touching it up; I’ve got more dye that I can “paint on” the lighter areas. But for now, I’m pretty happy with my first go at dyeing. Thanks to Ailsa and everybody who gave advice on Twitter!

Snook’s Hipster Cardy
As my knitting buddies know, this has actually been finished for more than a month but I’ve only just now gotten around to documenting it. This was my entry to the 2011 Sydney Royal Easter Show, where it didn’t win anything. The pattern is “#17 Man’s Cable Cardigan” by Josh Bennett for the Winter 2009/2010 issue of Vogue Knitting. (Many thanks to Reecie for lending me the pattern.)

The Snook was not initially receptive to the idea of a cardigan, because they seemed either a) too daggy and “grandpa” or b) too hip and trendy. That’s when I started calling it the Hipster Cardy. I told him that as a bicycle-riding, bearded I.T. nerd from the Inner West it was his sacred destiny to wear an ironic grandpa cardigan. So I knitted it anyway, knowing he’d like it once he had it on. He’s worn it several times now. We’ve had some fun staging photos where I tell him to “Look supercilious! Like you think my favourite band is crap!” and stuff. “More condescending! Sneer at my carbon footprint!”

It’s actually a very nice cardy and he does sincerely like it. I was worried about the ribbing along the buttons, because I had seen others that came out very wavy and ripply. The instructions say to cast off as loosely as possible, which seems INSANE. That would just make it more ripply! I did a sewn cast-off, and I’m mostly happy with it. He tends to only do up a couple buttons anyway, which means you can’t really tell.

The wool is Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in “Pumpernickel” (a nice dark flecky brown). I actually knitted on the recommended needles (4mm and 4.5mm). The buttons are vintage men’s buttons I got at All Buttons Great and Small. (Ravelry details)

And as always, the Easter Show judges can suck it. 🙂

Eyelet Yoke Cardigan
One of my co-workers just had his first baby – a little girl – so I decided to knit something for him. I had some Morris Empire 4ply in #436 Bloom that I thought would be perfect. I went to Ravelry to look for suitable baby cardigans with patterns that wouldn’t compete too much with the variegated wool. (And no Baby Surprise! I am going to come out of the closet and admit that I think they’re pretty ugly. I’m going to stop torturing myself by knitting them.) Anyway, I found this Eyelet Yoke Cardigan that seemed like it would work. It was really quick to knit up, and I used less than 2 balls of the Empire (on 3.5mm needles). The eyelet details on the yoke (pic), sleeves, and waist kept it fun and interesting. For the buttons, I was pleased to find 5 similar-ish buttons (pic) in my stash all in colours that matched the wool. Hooray for mismatched buttons! (More details on Ravelry here.)

I gave the cardy to Fei this morning and he was thrilled! I can’t wait to see pics of it on his little girl.

February Lady Sweater
This sweater took Ravelry by storm a few months ago. There are now more than 1400 finished projects, and another 5000 people still have it queued up. Why did it get so popular? If I had to analyze it, I’d say there were three important factors: it’s based on a famous baby sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman, who most knitters revere; the pattern was released for free; and the author looks SUPER CUTE in the photo. (That shouldn’t matter so much, but it really, really does.) Anyway, I somehow caught the bug and started it ’round about WWKIP Day. The pattern calls for a worsted weight yarn, but I decided to use an 8ply instead. I’ve had two packets of discontinued Cleckheaton Alpaca/Wool in my stash for some time, and it seemed like a perfect match. The knitting went really quickly, even though I was making the biggest size (to compensate for the thinner yarn). The top-down construction means you can try it on as you go, so I did plenty of fittings. Since I’m so tall, I had to do quite a bit of straight garter stitch after the raglan increases finished to get the sleeves to meet under the arms. That’s why I ended up doing a 4th buttonhole. The original plan was to dye it, but I realized today that I’d rather get some wear out of it now, this winter, rather than waiting to mess around with dyes. So I’m calling it finished! I’m loving it. It’s lovely and comfy and warm. The buttons came from the Button Shop in Newtown. I may still dye it in the future, but the cream is growing on me… (Ravelry details are here.)

And that photo? Was taken off the deck at Amy and Rob‘s new house! I knew it was in the bush, but man. Actual trees and nature! Very weird for these city dwellers… 🙂