I’m ecstatic for two reasons. For one, the Autumnal Equinox has turned, and two, both sweaters I set out to design & knit by the equinox are done & dusted! I did have to reknit an awful lot too. This is all you get to see of them for now, but we have the date set with my nieces to give them these and they will model them and we will have a boatload of fun with a photo shoot in Calistoga, and then you’ll get to see photos galore of them. Then sometime in October I will buckle down get the pattern done & dusted too. But for now, just a happy chirpy sort of pleased-with-myself post on the first day of Autumn.
Category: Sweaters
Introducing Really Red !
At last “Really Red” is finished.
And she is my own design !
A detail of her yoke’s beautiful colors of Autumn , from the back . . .
A detail of my moss stitch rib with vikkel braid, and vintage wooden buttons . . .
Red’s yoke sparkles with the very same red, gold, and brown tones of leaves turning in Autumn on the grape vines near by, where we walk . . .
And in the greyish dark woods, she really pops out !
And in the very very near future . . .
leftover yarn means a matching tam !!!
(I’ve already cast on !)
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In closing, a spectacular view of mist-covered mountains,
from yesterday’s Knit~Walk, overlooking Autumn colors of what I like to the “North Bay Highlands” of California.
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All posts about Really Red Cardigan ~~ here
Details on Ravelry ~~ here
Finishing . . .
I’ve been knitting again on this cardigan started last year, which went into hibernation due to other projects that came up, and quite frankly, was forgotten. Now near completion, I am in a total state of agitation, as I have had to knit the left, then the right button bands over, then bind off again & again. Soon it will be finished, and I can show you, after I get it all blocked a second time and buttons sewn on of course, some vintage buttons I bought from Knitterly in Petaluma last February, especially for this sweater …
They are wood, not sure what kind, but one thing is for sure, they are lacquered well. They were in the vintage odd bits bin, wired together and rather spendy. Twelve bux for twelve (and I will use nine), but you know, they were the only buttons of the seemingly thousands at Knitterly, which seemed to enhance the colors in the yoke. I’m so predictable to choose the natural materials when making things. What do you think? Shall I sew ’em on???
I’m performing cosmetic ‘surgury’ with a steam iron, on this badly fitting sweater. I’m doing things with moist rags I probably ought’nt, but I’m hopeful I can gently coax and block the fit into the right proportions for my shape. The couture of knitting, I’m finding is more and more important , as each project seems to have it’s own couturesque challenges. This one, as we know, has a whole nest of them !
Michigan Winter
The His & Hers Michigan Winter Pullovers are finished !
Interesting improvisations I’ve done, with ‘His’ v-neck. I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out how to do it, never having done it before. But now I think it looks very unique ~ steeked on the body, then after shirt-yoke was finished up to the steek in front, I transfered the live stitches on to waste yarn while I continued the yoke across back to be grafted together. Finally I cut the steek, and then picked up the steek stitches , back edge, and live stitches all around for a K2/P2 rib.
‘Hers’ crew style neck was a cake walk ! I really love the tweedy look for these, sparkling with flecks of buff, browns, black, ivory, and occasional bright-colored Donegal nebs. I wonder do they do look a little long in the arms? Yeah, I guess, partly because they are sagging a bit off of the hangers (I know, not the ideal way to display a handknit garment such as these) however, I assure you these sweaters were custom measured, and I stayed true to the wearers’ measurements, but I believe I added an inch (or two) to the sleeves to ensure they weren’t too short, and the end result is, well, much longer sleeves. But we’ll see when they are slipped on Him & Her.
Here is the back !
Just look at that spectacular design of Elizabeth Zimmermann’s,
the seamless shirt-yoke . . .
A close-up detail of how the decreases go into the yoke. . .
Lastly, my mark, I like to sew on the label just above the rib, in the back . . .
Now these his & hers pullovers get shipped to Michigan, to keep warm two very dear young homesteaders in their first year of settling & farming, undoubtedly shivering in the soon-to-be snowy winter landscape.
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Yarn : Knit Picks Wool Of the Andes Tweed ( 80% Peruvian Highand wool, 20% Donegal Tweed) . Worsted weight.
Needles: size US#8 circular.
Pattern : Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Seamless Shirt Yoke sweater, in “Knitting Without Tears” ~ somewhat modified throughout.
Details on Ravelry here
All posts about this project here
Tweedy & Autumny
Finally the rain clouds have come and rained and everything is moist and the forest smells wonderfully spicey with Autumny smells. We’ve had rain this week enough to soak the forest and give the moss a good drink and I just love rain ~~ just look at those clouds !
I went for a knitting walk with this blue lump of a sweater, with about a half ball of yarn at the start, thinking I’d have plenty for a long walk. I managed to get all the way back to the house, and ran out of yarn *just* as I walked in through the door, just enough to splice on to another ball ~ I call this a grand knitting coincidence !
I’m almost at the section of the Michigan Winter Sweaters (thats two) where I must fuss about with a tedious new technique ~ the seamless ‘shirt yoke’ that I have never tried ~ which will involve knitting back and forth on a lopsided saddle shoulder which is wider on the back than the front, and knits itself into the body as it goes. This horizontally eating up the end of the vertical stitches, is making me nervous, because I’ve never done a seamless saddle-shoulder, but sounds exciting all the same ! Bless Elizabeth Zimmerman for writing the instructions out so dearly, but still I am not at all confident, because I really just am not a very good reader-of-knitting-instructions… don’t be surprised if I come back here and calling for help in another post soon.