Achievement unlocked: blue ribbon for my vest!
Tag: vests
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Easter Show Entries 2013
It’s time again for the Sydney Royal Easter Show Competition, and this is my SEVENTH year entering. (Good grief – really?!) I’ve entered a lot of items over the years, and some of them have been awarded with ribbons. A recap:
- 2007: Cabled Jacket of Doom and Argyle Kitty Kat Cardigan
- 2008: Road to Golden (Highly Commended)
- 2009: Na Craga (Highly Commended)
- 2010: St. Brigid and the Magic Pudding
- 2011: Snook’s Hipster Cardy
- 2012: Rhiannon Socks, Sam Sawnoff, and Bokaclava (Second Place for the socks)
Needless to say, Win the Easter Show has been on Hermione’s To Do list for a very long time. This year I again sent in three entries.
Catriona Vest
This is a pattern I’ve had in my Ravelry queue for a long time. I bought the wool (Pear Tree Merino) from Kylie in a destash last year and it seemed like the perfect choice for it. I made a few significant modifications: I adapted it to be knitted in the round up to the armholes, and I mirrored the cables to be symmetrical. I also dug around on Ravelry to find someone who had charted the cables, which was really helpful. (Why Debbie Bliss is incapable of including a chart, I have no idea.) I really, really like the finished vest. The wool was a great choice, and it makes the cables stand out. I entered this in the Sleeveless Garment category (no more Aran for me; I’m not that masochistic) and I think it’s probably my best shot at a ribbon. I’m also really looking forward to wearing it this winter! More photos and details on Ravelry.
Juno Regina
In the end, my first real lace project took me nearly THREE YEARS to finish. I started this in 2010 and I’ve been working on it in fits and starts ever since. That middle bit was a total slog! I’m happy with how it turned out though, and it’s destined as a (very late) wedding gift for my friend Kriti Sahni. The pattern is of course from Knitty, and the wool is Morris Empire 2ply. Special thanks to Fiona for lending me her blocking wires! (Although I had a nightmarish time blocking it. I somehow managed to catch a thread on the sink plug and pulled out a long loop! I spent like an hour hunched over it laboriously adjusting stitch tension to repair it.) Frankly, I’ll be thrilled for this just to be exhibited. The lace category is notoriously competitive, and – my fake rivalry with Reecie notwithstanding – I don’t really stand a chance. Again, more details on Ravelry.
Self-Replicating Mittens with QR Code
You may have seen these as there have already been some photos on the blog. Basically, the idea was prompted by my Girl Geek talk last year on Knitting Geekery. I got excited about the idea of making a “meta” knitted object, where the item’s pattern was encoded into the item itself. After some brainstorming and research, I settled on a QR code. I knew that other people were using them on knitted items with some success. I wanted my code to be as simple as possible, so I needed to use a URL shortener to mask my intended address. I settled on using Google‘s, reasoning that it was likely to be around the longest. (Though who knows these days, right?) Google also conveniently generate the QR code for you! Then it was just a matter of knitting it. I did several test patches, but none of them worked. I tried fairisle; I tried Swiss darning; I tried cross-stitching over the knitting. I just couldn’t get any of them to successfully read on my iPhone. I was thisclose to scrapping the whole idea. With less than a week to go, I made one last attempt using very thin baby wool and the thinnest needles I had (2mm). Still no go. At the eleventh hour, I decided to try blocking the hell out of it. I cut a piece of paper to square and aggressively pinned the wet fabric to it. Suddenly – IT WORKED! I couldn’t believe it. I shared a photo to Twitter and other people got it to work too. Hallelujah! Then it was just a matter of knitting another patch and sewing them to the mittens (which I’d already finished). I set up the target page once I dropped them off at the Show. (I included a note explaining the concept and warning the judges that the website would give away my identity.) Anyway, I’m very happy with them. I entered them in Creative Knitting, but truth be told the knitting skill required was minimal. They’re more of an Art piece than anything, and I just hope people will get the concept. If nothing else, the folks on Twitter seemed to like them! Again, details on Ravelry.Edited on 16/03/2025: Google are killing the URL shortener in 2025, which means at some point the QR code will stop working. Bastards.
The Arts Preview Night is Tuesday, so I’ll know then whether I can finally cross that pesky To Do item off my list!
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Kunaal’s Cricket Vest
As many of you know, my good friend Kunaal got married recently in India. I wasn’t able to go to the wedding so I knew I had to come up with something amazing as a gift. I had the idea six months ago to knit him a proper, traditional cricket vest. (Kunaal is a cricket tragic.) I enlisted the help of his fiancée Kriti to surreptitiously measure some of his other jumpers for proper sizing. I also looked up the colours of the Indian cricket team to use as the stripe accents.The pattern is Sirdar 5815, which I believe is out of print. (I got the very last copy at Morris & Sons, which they actually had to cut out of the pattern book.) The white wool is Morris Empire 8ply, and the blue accents are Morris Estate 8ply. I adapted the pattern to knit the body up to the armholes in the round, then split for the front and back. I’m very happy with how it turned out! I gave it to Kunaal before he left on his wedding trip and was pleased to see that it fit. He confessed that he had actually been thinking of buying one, so it was definitely appreciated! Thanks to Kriti for helping out with the planning…
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Brycie’s Outfit and Noro Ribbed Socks
Brycie’s Outfit and Noro Ribbed Socks
A couple finished objects to report! First up is an outfit for Andrew and Kathleen‘s new son, Bryson Burton. The whole set is knitted from two balls of the new Morris Empire 4ply in “Plumage”. Details for the vest, hat, and socks are all up on Ravelry. The vest was the trickiest, in that I was adapting a Sirdar pattern for 8ply. I ended up just knitting a bigger size and hoping for the best. It worked pretty well! I delivered the set (still a bit damp from the final blocking) to the happy parents on Sunday, and hopefully they’ll be able to post a piccie of him in it soon.
I also finished the Noro socks I started when I taught the Morris and Sons sock workshop last month. The pattern is Wise Hilda’s Basic Ribbed Sock, which I knitted out of Noro Kureyon Sock on two 2.75mm circular needles. (Rav details) I’m really pleased that I got the colour gradients to match up so nicely. (I wasn’t actually really trying.) I finished these off yesterday morning before work and put them straight on my feet. Man, there is nothing better than wool socks in winter. I feel my sock mojo starting to come back… -
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.
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.
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Flurry of Finishing
I had meant to make this weekend a Flurry of Finishing (with regards to my knitting) and I guess I was moderately successful.
Okay, first up is Argosy, which is a scarf I started a couple weeks ago as a way to use up the leftover Noro Silk Garden from the Cabled Jacket of Doom. It’s a fun little pattern to knit and it grows pretty quickly. I was nearing the end of it at the TC SnB Thursday night when Kate asked if anyone had any scrap wool to use as a stitch holder. I gave her about a foot-long piece. Would you believe that twenty-four hours later I ran short by EXACTLY THAT AMOUNT? D’oh! Rather than frogging back and making it shorter, I laboriously trimmed down all the tails from my joins and then spit-felted them all together. Yes, I spit in my own hand and rubbed the yarn in it til it joined. This scarf is riddled with my very own DNA. Hence, I’m not giving it as a gift to anyone. It’s pretty though, right?
Next is my entry in the perpetual Best Sister Ever Sweepstakes. My little brother Joey loves the Indianapolis Colts (who just won the Superbowl). So as a surprise, I made him this hooded vest. The pattern is from this great new book and I drew the intarsia graph for the logo and name myself. (It’s here if anyone wants it.) Very cute, huh? I knitted it out of Heirloom Easycare 8ply. Mom predicts he’s absolutely going to love it.
And lastly… I’m thinking of renaming it the Zombie Cabled Jacket That Just WILL NOT DIE. I had planned to finish the damn thing once and for all, but nothing with this project is easy. I did manage to get it steeked though. What’s more, I actually had one whole side of the zipper sewn in and the other one halfway done before ripping it off completely. The little cut ends were poking out, you see. It bothered me. I can’t get them to lie down nicely so I can trap them beneath the zipper. I’m thinking now of possibly ironing on some sort of interfacing just to keep them smooth. Any thoughts?
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Craft Weekend
What do baby pirates wear? Arrrrrgyle!
This was a very crafty weekend. I just can’t stop knitting baby clothes! They’re like knitting crack. As soon as you finish one, you’re on to the next. My sister made an offhand comment in an e-mail recently about dressing her kid (who is now two weeks overdue) in an argyle sweater, and I immediately thought of this design. It’s Debbie Bliss’s Argyll Slip Over from Baby Cashmerino 2. I casted this sucker on Thursday night and I finished it up this morning. Isn’t it cute? It’s got two buttons at the back of the neck too so it’ll fit over the bub’s noggin. And while some might laugh at the idea of knitting a sweater vest for a newborn, I say with a name like “Penn” we might as well get the kid started now! (I’ve also got enough left over to make some matching socks, I think.)You’d think that’d be enough craftiness for one weekend, right? WELL, YOU’RE WRONG. On to the baked goods! The Snook made the sort that you can actually eat… while I made the sort that a baby can wear. Miss Fee came over for a visit today, and the Snook stunned us both with this tea of homemade scones with whipped cream and jam. They were delicious. (For those wondering, a scone is not real far off from an American-style biscuit. Maybe just a little sweeter.) And then, the most frivolous baby knit of all time – the Baby Tart Hat. I couldn’t resist. Of course, I now also have arthritis. I knit that sucker TODAY, folks! The “crust” is Lana Gatto Jaipur while the “filling” is Debbie Bliss Cathay. So it’s basically all cotton, and the majority of it is purling bobbles. I’M SERIOUS; MY HANDS HURT. I think it’s worth it though. We’ve blown up a balloon to the appropriate baby head size and the dampened hat is now blocking. (Sis, I don’t care if you think this is the stupidest thing ever. I just want one picture of a chubby-cheeked baby wearing this thing.)
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Cheesylove is Finished!
At long last, Cheesylove is finished! This is the Knitty pattern I started well over a year ago. At one point, I completely frogged it back to the beginning and started over (which meant re-casting on A THOUSAND stitches for the ruffle. Do you know how long it takes to do ANYTHING a thousand times? I do.). I was toying with the idea of putting short sleeves on it but in the end I decided I liked it better as a vest
For the body of the vest, I used Heirloom EasyCare 8-ply. I can’t even remember why; it was that long ago. But it gave me the right gauge and it’s not too scratchy. The hearts are done in Heirloom Aristocrat 12-ply mohair/wool, which makes them stand out nicely. As usual, the Knitty pattern had several problems wrong with it. The biggest was that it told you to mark the side seams and then do your shaping on either side of it, without any indication which increases/decreases to use nor where to place them to ensure the ribbing didn’t get buggered. (This is part of the reason I frogged it back. My initial seamlines looked crap and it bothered me.) In the end, instead of merely marking the seam, I actually used two markers to isolate the actual side rib. Then I made paired increases/decreases in the ribs on either side of it so that they grew or shrank organically while the center rib remained whole. (Yeah, yeah, I know. It was a lot of thinking and planning for what basically amounts to the armpit of a garment. But I’m really happy with how I did it, and quite frankly I get a little thrill out of knowing that I did it the best way possible.) For the armbands, I simply picked up around the holes with the smaller sized needle and knitted 5 rows of K1P1 rib before casting off. (That way it matches the neckband.) It’s not the most stylish garment in the world, but I think I executed the design better than any other pattern I’ve tried before.
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Works in Progress
As you can see, I’ve currently got three projects on the needles. The first is a sample pair of socks for the shop using some new self-patterning wool we got. It’s “Jigsaw” and it’s from Heirloom (though it’s not made in Bendigo; it’s an Italian import). We’ve got eight colors and this is the one that caught my attention first. I’m following the supplied pattern and I’m really happy with how it’s turning out. There’s no way that calf would fit on my chubby leg, but it still looks cool, right? I’m using 2.25mm double-pointed needles. Normally I’d do them on two circulars but Albert wanted me to try out the new rosewood DPNs. I’m ambivalent about them so far. I’ve already snapped one and I think they might be too fragile (at least in the very small diameters) for my admittedly tight tension.
The second is the Cheesylove sweater from Knitty that I started almost exactly a year ago. (I recently frogged it back and started over.) I was really unhappy with the pattern (which is why I put it aside in the first place). The big problem was the decreases and increases along the side seams. The pattern just says to do them on either side of the marker, which seriously messes up the nice K2P1 ribbing. So I frogged the whole damn thing back and started from scratch. I even did the ruffle all in one go this time, which meant I had to cast on 1,008 stitches. Yes, FOUR DIGITS WORTH. It was insane. Then the Snook had a brainstorming session with me to work out the best way to do the shaping. I decided instead of a single marker on each side, I’d mark the actual rib that was the side seam. Then I’d mirror my increases/decreases in the ribs on either side so they’d grow or diminish organically. I know, I know; nobody will ever notice (especially since it’s in black 8-ply, and under my arm to boot), but dammit, I will know! So I’m doing it right. I’m actually through with the shaping now and I’m up to the actual fairisle hearts design around the chest. The body of the sweater is done in Heirloom EasyCare 8-ply, while the hearts are worked in Heirloom Aristocrat 12-ply mohair. (The mohair’s a little thicker, but I kinda like the effect. Makes it stand out more.) I haven’t decided yet what to do about the sleeves. I’d almost like to make it short-sleeved but that isn’t one of the pattern options. I’d have to wing it myself.
And the third is a cabled throw of my own invention. I lifted the cables themselves from a sweater pattern and laid them out in a new arrangement for this blanket. I’m knitting it out of some lovely (discontinued) Cleckheaton Alpaca/Wool 50/50 blend 8-ply. It’s going to look terrific on the back of our shagadelic brown couch, don’t you think?
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Cheesylove has been started…
I’ve made an unofficial start on the Cheesylove sweater my sister and I are doing as a knitalong. (She’s not doing the ruffle and I am, so I’m starting a little early.) Good grief. Do you know how long it takes to cast on 504 stitches? Frickin’ ages! And technically you have to do that twice, because the real ruffle’s supposed to be 1008 stitches. Now I understand why they have you do it in two parts, otherwise you’d need a circular needle about three feet long.
