Pullover #2

Joan Forgione & Rose Callahan

Maybe it's a little late to blog about this now..

But after finishing Shibuya and spending a few days wondering which sweater to knit next, I decided to use the leftover yarn for Joan Forgione's #20 Eyelet Pullover.

Well, I actually started it on April 5th already. I added an inch of ribbing to the bottom and changed the sleeve ribbing a little bit as well.. 

It's insane how fast it knit up! Here's my progress from Ravelry:

April 7 - Over 8" of back done!
April 8 - Working on armholes
April 10 - Back is DONE!
April 12 - Front started
April 14 - 5 inc left for front waist 
April 15 - Started neck-shaping
April 20 - Sleeve No. 1 done!
April 19 - Finished front & 4" of first sleeve!
April 20 - First sleeve done!

As you can see, I only have the last sleeve left!!

Can't wait to see it finished!

 

Favorite Pattern Friday - Jared Flood

©Jared Flood Photography

This FPF will be dedicated to one of my favorite designers, Jared Flood. 

Jared Flood is a Pacific Northwest native, founder of Brooklyn Tweed, knitwear designer and photographer. His outstanding designs are clean and strong and focus on quality, texture and detail.

Another thing I like about his patterns is that they are mostly worked in the round. As a fan of Elizabeth Zimmermann, who was big on easier, more adjustable 'recipes' rather than line by line patterns, Flood tends to use her construction styles and creates most of his designs to be as seamless as possible.

There was a great two-part article, titled "Going Seamless," by Jared Flood in Vogue Knitting about converting flat-knitted and pieced sweaters to a seamless version, specifically with bottom-up construction. You can read parts of his tutorial online in Vogue Knitting's article archive.

Martina Hecht, a German knitwear designer and writer, had really inspiring interview with him last year; it's available on her website MaschenGold.

Enough said. Time to share some of my favorites!

Tinder

Published in BT FALL 11

© Brooklyn Tweed/Jared Flood

Autumn Leaves Stole

Published in Brooklyn Tweed

© Brooklyn Tweed/Jared Flood

Umaro

Published in Brooklyn Tweed

© Brooklyn Tweed/Jared Flood

Brownstone

Published in Brooklyn Tweed

© Brooklyn Tweed/Jared Flood

Pavement

Published in Brooklyn Tweed

© Brooklyn Tweed/Jared Flood

Irving

Published in BT FALL 11

© Brooklyn Tweed/Jared Flood

Rock Island

Published in Brooklyn Tweed

© Brooklyn Tweed/Jared Flood

More of his designs ..

First Pullover Finished!

It has been crazy during the last few days.. Papers, projects, exams and on top of all that we are getting ready to move to a different apartment soon!

Somehow, I still found time between all of this to finally finish seaming Shibuya! It looks and fits great; I'm extremely proud of my first sweater! Unfortunately, I didn't have time to take nice pictures of it so far, but I promise to post some soon. Until then, here some cellphone cam shots:

After continuing to work on the Scent of Lavender socks for a while, I realized I still have enough leftovers of Jamie's merino yarn to make another sweater for myself! One sock is almost done.. but I think it will have to be put on hold again soon..

The next sweater will be either #20 Eyelet Pullover by Joan Forgione, Mary Jane by Sarah Moore or Slinky Ribs by Wendy Bernard. They would be knit in the same dark gray as Shibuya, which would make them look a lot different than their sample pictures. I don't really know how to decide yet..

#20 Eyelet Pullover by Joan Forgione

Mary Jane by Sarah Moore

Slinky Ribs by Wendy Bernard

Which one do you like best?

Easy Last Minute Presents

All my relatives and friends are excited about getting handmade presents, but we all know it takes a lot of time and effort to make them. Most of the time I also don't have the money to buy multiple skeins of yarn or order patterns I would only use once. As a solution for all of us busy present crafters, I created a little list of great last minute presents.

All of these patterns are free and use less than 400 yards of yarn! Depending on your knitting skills and available free time, they should all be relatively quick and easy to make.

Each picture is linked to the patterns' page on Ravelry and details about its name and designer are below. 

 

From left to right:

Row 1
Ilene Bag by Hannah Ingalls
Fish Hat by Thelma Egberts 
Mug and French Press Jacket by MK Carroll 

Row 2

iPhoodie by Emily Vanek

75 Yard Malabrigo Fingerless Mitts by Jeanne Stevenson

Bandana Cowl by Purl Soho

Row 3
Garter Yoke Baby Cardi by Jennifer Hoel
Habitat by Jared Flood
Cabled Kindle Sleeve by Emily Nimz 

Row 4

Lyon Hat by Veronica O'Neil

Thermis by Kris Knits

Java Socks by Cailyn Meyer

Tell me what you think! 

Are there any patterns you like to use as last minute presents?

Shi-Booyah!!

Pattern: Shibuya by Cirilia Rose

Forget what I posted on Thursday! 

I finished the front over the weekend and have all the parts ready for blocking and sewing! 

March really is a good month for crafting!

I still don't really understand how I knit it that quickly; I only worked on it during the evenings of the last three days! I love this pullover already!

Now it only needs to fit! Wish me luck for sewing the pieces together and adding the neckband!

February Knits

Ten month ago, I found an amazing sweater pattern on Ravelry and thought I had just the right yarn for it. It was left over from another project and seemed perfect. I would finally be able to knit myself a pullover and wouldn't even have to spend money on new yarn!

But of course it was too good to be true.. After knitting a few swatches it was clear that the cotton yarn I had was just not working with the pattern. It was way to smooth and didn't create the depth I wanted. It was so disappointing..

The pattern I'm talking about is Shibuya by Cirilia Rose. You have to admit, it's everything a short-sleeved knit pullover should be..

 © Berroco Inc.

Now, almost a year later, I realized that I still have Jamie's sweater project, which I started years ago and never finished. I had about 6-7 inches done when Jamie finally told me he doesn't like the pattern.. I planned on knitting it anyway and forcing him to wear it, but never found the motivation to continue.

So.. Jamie's pullover is now officially frogged and the yarn currently in process of being 'recycled'! It's sick, it fits the pattern exactly to the point - gauge, weight, everything! Why did I wait so long?!

I started to knit the back last week, I finished the waist and am on my way to the armholes already! The pattern is really easy to remember and surprisingly quick to knit. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this project will progress.

Over 12 inches done!

© Interweave

A few weeks before this, I actually started The Scent of Lavender by Stephanie van der Linden; it's from her book Around the World in Knitted Socks.

Even though, I really like the gray of their example I chose to use the blue Lang Yarns sock yarn I already had here.

For some reason I seem to be in a little 'lace-knit' mood right now.. ?

Unfortunately these socks will have to be put on hold until Shibuya is finished.. I'm planning on making them a present for my sister's birthday, which is in May, so I should have enough time still.



Well, this is it for this month. I hope I can find some free hours to continue knitting soon..
Five weeks until Spring Break!! haha