web-goddess

Tag: cardigans

  • Momentous Weekend

    Man, does April Fools’ Day suck or what? It used to be amusing, but now it’s just 85 of my Facebook friends all linking to the same Google prank. It was funnier when you actually had to work to figure out which news stories were true and which were fake.

    But of course, Friday had another significance in our house. On that day, eleven years ago, the Snook and I first kissed in London. We’ve been practically (and literally) married ever since. (Him: “I don’t think other people celebrate Hook-up Anniversaries.” Me: “SHUSH. We do.”) In honour of the day, we went out for dinner at Porteño in Surry Hills. I’ve wanted to go there ever since the official SMH review called the lamb “f–king amazing.” It did not disappoint. We had the lamb, the blood sausage, and the brussels sprouts. SO GOOD. The place also has a serious retro vibe going on, so it was fortunate that I got frocked up for the occasion. (The hostess actually asked me if it was a Yoshi Jones dress. I told her it was from Heartbreaker.) The only downside to the meal is that we were both totally suffering from over-indulgence all day Saturday. I was in a lamb fat coma for like 24 hours straight…

    The second momentous occurrence from the weekend was that I finally finished my entry for the Easter Show knitting competition. I made a Hipster Cardigan for the Snook. I don’t have any photos of the completed garment yet though. The shoulders came out weirdly pointy from my blocking, and it looked kind of odd when he modelled it. (I think it’ll be fine for the show since they’ll just hang it on fishing line anyway.) But I think I’ll need to give it a proper wash once it’s home before we do a photo shoot. I was also meant to have a toy and some mittens to go with it… but yeah, that didn’t happen. Totally overambitious this year. Note to self: You can’t train for a marathon AND knit three Show entries.

    Marathon training provided the third momentous achievement of the weekend: I ran TWENTY MILES today! That’s 32K. (Well, actually I did 33K.) It took me nearly five hours, but I did it. The amazing thing is that I felt totally great the whole run and actually enjoyed myself! I think I’ve finally hit the magic combination of run/walk intervals (1:1), nutrition (Hammer Gels in apple/cinnamon are SO GOOD), and hydration (Hammer Endurolytes meant no cramps at all!). I wrote a long run report over at dailymile that I’ll reproduce here below. Like I said, MOMENTOUS WEEKEND!

    Run Report:

    I am just in awe of how great this run went. I had been apprehensive beforehand, since my stomach had been bothering me all Saturday. I was well-prepared though. I was trying out the Endurolytes that Eoin O. recommended, so I took two of them before the run. I had a mix of Endura and Hammer gels. I had my water belt filled and ready to go. I taped my right foot and ran on my orthotics in my new Mizunos. I had my new Mophie Juice Pack to double my iPhone battery life. And once I got out there, it just all came together perfectly!

    It was sunny today, but I was out there early enough (6:30am) that it didn’t get too hot. I did 1:1 run/walk the whole way. First I did the 5K from Chippo to the start of the Bay Run. Nice and easy. My right hip/hamstring started to make itself known, but I’d slathered it with Voltaren so I knew it wouldn’t get too bad. I addressed it with my mind: “Hamstring! I acknowledge you. I know you’re not happy. But if we get through this together, you’ll have another three weeks to rest up.” It seemed to help.

    I had my first new Hammer “apple cinnamon” gel at the 45 minute mark. YUM! Ohmygosh, these taste just like the inside of a McDonald’s apple pie! Best gel ever. There were a lot of people out doing the Bay Run today. Lovely breeze over the water too. I was feeling good. I refilled my bottles and headed back towards the city over ANZAC Bridge.

    I was having a gel every 45 minutes, and 2 Endurolyte capsules every hour. That seemed to be a perfect ratio. My stomach felt absolutely fine. On my last run I was mixing gels, gummy bears, and sports drink, and it was just TOO MUCH. With just the gels, I was able to manage exactly how much sugar was going into my stomach.

    I reached the halfway point back at the house, feeling great with a big smile on my face. I changed my shirt, used the toilet, and slathered some more Voltaren on my hip. The Snook refilled all my water and food supplies. Then I was off again towards Centennial Park.

    I had planned to meet up with my friend Kristin at the start of the park loop, but I didn’t spot her. I stopped for 5 minutes to send her an SMS and refill my water, but she wasn’t there. So I headed off on my own. I was 3/4 of the way around the big 5K loop when she rang me. She’d been within 100m of me the whole time, but somehow didn’t get my SMS! I caught up to her and we did the second small loop together. Running with a friend is the BEST part of these long runs. I just don’t feel tired or sore at all when I’m running/chatting with another person.

    By that point, I was well and truly beyond my previous barrier of 27km. And I felt GREAT. I just couldn’t believe it. Yeah, my hamstring was sore, and my feet were pretty tired. But I had zero cramping, my back was fine, and my stomach felt good. I said goodbye to Kristin and headed back up Cleveland Street for home.

    I soon met the Snook, who gave me a massive double-high-five when he reached me. We ran the last 3K home together. It was so great. I was smiling and feeling good. I feel like I could’ve done another 10K to finish out the marathon! Isn’t there supposed to be a wall somewhere? I didn’t feel any walls! This just felt too easy. The Snook was like, “Are you sure you didn’t miss a bit???” That’s what it was like. I felt like I’d done 10K, not 32K.

    So hooray! Another milestone reached and another goal exceeded. Super huge thanks to Eoin for his advice on the Endurolytes. I think those were a massive help to me today. And of course thanks to Kristin and to the Snook for running a bit with me. Three weeks to rest up before the next long one!

  • Photo Post

    Hipster Cardigan, 95% finished. That collar nearly killed me.

    Hipster Cardigan, 95% finished. That collar nearly killed me.

  • Olivia’s Rainbow Blanket and BSJ

    Rainbow Baby BlanketOlivia’s Rainbow Blanket and BSJ
    Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that the first two projects shown on my knitting round-up below haven’t actually been blogged yet! That’s because I only just finished them yesterday. First up is an actual, honest-to-god CROCHETED item: Olivia’s Rainbow Baby Blanket. This is a project that I basically made up myself. My Mom had sent me 5 balls of “Sugar and Cream” cotton last year and I’d idly started crocheting squares based on this pattern. When my niece was born a couple weeks ago, it inspired me to join them all up into a blanket for her. I did 12 multi-colour squares (rotating the stripes each time so the squares are all different) along with 4 solid squares. I joined them all together with Cream, then crocheted a Cream border all around. Then I did a scalloped border in a different colour on each side. I’m really happy with how it turned out! I was debating on whether to back it with some fleece or flannel, but I think I like it the way it is.

    Rainbow Blanket   Rainbow Blanket   Rainbow Blanket

    Next is yet another Baby Surprise Jacket. I used some Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed that was leftover from my St. Brigid. It came out quite big, but I figure she’ll grow into it. The buttons are made out of coconut. 🙂

    Baby Surprise Jacket   Baby Surprise Jacket

  • Maile Sweater and Swirl Hat

    Maile Sweater and Swirl Hat
    Hey, I knitted something! It’s been months and months, actually. But last week my friend Kevin’s first child was born, and such a thing demands commemoration. I picked the pattern and the yarn before the birth, assuming that the combination would work for either gender. It helps that the father is Irish. 🙂

    Maile Sweater

    The cardigan is the Maile Sweater. It’s knitted from the bottom up in one piece. I actually knitted it twice: the first time on 3.5mm needle as per the pattern, and the second time on 3.75mm needles. (I thought it looked a little small so I frogged it and started over.) On the first attempt, I followed the pattern exactly including knitting the sleeves flat and joining them with no cast-off stitches. I wasn’t thrilled with it though, and the underarms had a few stitches that looked very stretched. So when I frogged and reknitted, I took the opportunity to experiment. The sleeves were knitted this time in the round via Magic Loop. When I joined them, I set aside 4 live stitches on the body and 4 live stitches on the underarm of the sleeve on waste wool. I later grafted these together (a la Elizabeth Zimmerman). It makes for a very nice finish, and it definitely made those first few rows after joining easier.

    The wool is “Merino Chubby Sock” in Barleygrass by the Knittery. One skein was plenty to knit the jumper, and I had so much left over that I actually made a matching hat. The pattern is the “Swirl Hat” from Sheepy Time Knits. And I still have wool left over! This stuff goes a long way.

    As usual, there are more photos and details over on Ravelry: Maile Sweater / Swirl Hat. Now I just have to wait to get a photo of the baby actually wearing them!

  • Baby Cardigan and Tasman Summer Tunic

    Baby CardiganBaby Cardigan and Tasman Summer Tunic
    I finally finished off a couple lingering kids’ projects that I was working on. The first is a cardigan for my friend Venks’s new baby. The boy is named Vivaan and he was born about two weeks ago. The wool is Wired for Fibre’s “Elizabeth” sock wool in colour Serenity. The pattern is free and is knitted sideways (cuff-to-cuff). I got some adorable teddy bear buttons from the button shop in the Rocks last Saturday to finish it. I can’t wait to see it on Vivaan!

    Tasman Summer TunicNext is the Tasman Summer Tunic for my niece Indie. The pattern is by Just Jussi and is available as a free Ravelry download. I knitted the smallest size and used three balls of Morris Paddington (80% bamboo, 20% merino) in colour #611 “Dover”. I left off the beads at the hem, but other than that I didn’t change anything. The ribbon at the front is very cute, and I found a pretty star button to use as the closure at the back. I hope it fits her!

  • February Lady Sweater

    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.)

  • Marianne’s Cardigan

    Oh, wow! Two years ago, I knitted a hooded cardigan for my friends’ daughter Marianne. I knew it was going to be a bit big for her at the time, but I figured she’d grow into it. And guess what? She finally has! It looks great on her, and I’m glad she likes it so much. Thanks to Staci for the update… 🙂

  • Nieces and Nephews

    Last weekend I managed to finish off two small knitting projects that had been languishing. The first is a matinee jacket for my yet-to-born niece (assuming that she does, in fact, turn out to be a girl). The pattern is from Debbie Bliss’s Baby Cashmerino book, and I substituted Sirdar Snuggly DK for the yarn (going up to a 4mm needle). I just need to get a bit of ribbon to go around the waist.

    Matinee Coat

    Pirate Vest

    The second item is a vest for my three-week-old nephew Isaiah. I spoke to my brother on the phone the day of the birth, and I said I wanted to make something for the baby. “Do you think you guys will want to dress him traditionally?” I asked. “Or would it be okay if I did something more modern, like something with a skull on it?” “I think that would be pretty bad ass!” my brother said. Sweet. This vest is based on the “Pirate Jumper” in Zoe Mellor’s Adorable Knits for Tiny Tots. I just used random 8ply wool from my stash. I think it’s pretty appropriate, given that the baby’s dad works at a Harley Davidson shop!

    As always, more details are over at Ravelry.

  • Baby Surprise Jacket

    I’ve been slacking off on the first week of the Southern Summer of Socks, mostly because of all the babies y’all keep having! As previously mentioned, my cousin Tony and his wife Molly just welcomed their daughter, Bailey, into the world. As this is the first GIRL I’ve had the opportunity to knit for, I jumped at the chance to pull out my pink yarn. I was gifted some glorious hot pink Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria by my Secret Pal last June, and I decided it was just begging to become a Baby Surprise Jacket. I had just enough to squeak it out. I also found the most perfect big pink button in my button box:

    Baby Surprise Jacket Baby Surprise Jacket Baby Surprise Jacket

    It’s all ready to send off, along with some pink Tim Tams!

  • Baby Yoda Costume

    It’s finished! I’ve got everything ready to send off to Alexander this week. After felting the hat last week, I then soaked the ears in watered-down PVA glue and propped them up on newspaper to dry. They took a lot longer than I expected (nearly four days), but they look great. I sorta pinched and pulled them to make them a little more curly and Yoda-looking. The pattern is here. I knitted it out of Naturally Alpine 14ply on big needles, and I had plenty left over from a single hank. I’m just making a bit of i-cord now to tie under his chin if necessary.

    Felted Baby Yoda Hat

    Baby Yoda Sweater

    Baby Yoda Socks

    The second piece of the costume is the Baby Yoda Sweater, which I knitted on 4mm needles out of some completely random yarn from my stash. (The two sleeves are actually different yarns, but they’re so close you can’t tell. I figure Yoda probably wove his himself, so any variation is probably a good thing.) There’s an i-cord tie on the inside as well as the outside.

    And the socks are just the pièce de résistance, aren’t they? I started knitting just plain socks out of the leftover wool, thinking Alexander would need something to keep his feet warm, when the Snook pondered aloud, “You know what you should do? Put three toes on the end!” BRILLIANT. So there’s no pattern here; I just made them up as I went.

    I can’t wait til Kristen posts a picture of him wearing it!