FO photos at long last!

I finally managed to get some photos of my red sweater.

Original design, in vintage Bear Brand Town and Country (bought on eBay), 100% wool, 2 ply, DK weight, used approximately 12 oz.

This was my first attempt at sweater design from scratch. I'm happy with how it turned out overall, but as I suspected early on, it turned out too big for me. Rather than start over, I decided to push on with it, because I know that it will fit a special someone in my family perfectly, so I will probably tuck it away until Christmas.

I learned some valuable lessons about trusting my measurements and calculating ease. And I discovered a great new independent fabric and store downtown with thousands of buttons
sold individually (sure beats the options at WalMart!) I will post a few more photos over on my blog. I love these buttons!

Thanks Anne and Laura, for organizing this KAL - it's been fun. I may be back if I get around to starting my second red sweater soon. The yarn has been sitting in stash for far too long!

So, this evening, while watching Dancing with the Stars, my favorite guilty pleasure, I finished knitting my second Gingerbread Baby Sweater. This one is for my friend Elise's new baby, which isn't due until April something-or-other. I can't wait to surprise her with it this Friday!

Also, I actually figured out how to post a two-page pattern to blogger! It's a long, involved process which I will not bore you with. Changing a document from .doc to .jpg is mentally painful. Suffice it to say, figuring this out took me the better part of two hours and lots of tech advice from my brother, Josh (thanks, bro!).

Does anyone know how to upload .pdf files to the internet? That would make posting patterns much easier!

So, without further ado, I present to you the Gingerbread Baby Sweater pattern. I'm going to keep working on it, so that I can change the schematics to fit larger sizes, but for now, I'm very happy with the result.

I realize that the picture is small. It's only posted here for affect; if you actually want to print it out, click on the link in my sidebar under "My Patterns".

Check out my blog at : http://alohaknitter.blogspot.com

End of Summer

I had a vision of myself wearing Norah Gaughan's pentagon pullover on the beach this summer, but it wasn't to be. Autumn in Melbourne is very mild and lovely, so it might still get an outing - if I can just get through the finishing.

Almost there...

Almost FO

My little red cardigan is just about done. I have a few more ends to weave in, and I need to go button shopping this evening. It has been languishing in my UFO pile for a long time, but I'm on a roll this week. Three finished sweaters, all started months ago. It feels good to finish up a bunch of stuff and to be able to start fresh and guilt-free on new things! Action shots to come soon.

My first red sweater for 2007

baby sweater for Dulaan
pattern: winging it
yarn: Idena Twins (color #320)

Red is my favorite color, which makes it all the more curious that most of my projects for 2007 to date have been either green, blue or black. This sweater is my first attempt to restore balance to my knitting world.

Jean Frost Jacket

Someone commented that they would like to see pics of the jacket in progress. Sorry that I posted last week without being at home where my camera could record my progress. So today I can do that. Here is the back and both fronts finished. Working now on the sleeves. Hope to finish them this week and will post a completed jacket soon.
The strings on the left front mark button placement. I love the way the buttonholes are worked into this pattern.

Sorry that the picture is dark, the color is Barn Red, using Knit Picks Elegance a blend of Alpaca and Silk, that is truely delicious. It is great on the needles!
Hopefully a finished jacket next week. Any suggestions about buttons? Not sure I want metallic gold. Any thoughts about making the buttons out of yarn?

Pictures of the Slow-Coming Shrug

Here 'tis (along with a happy fuzzy red purse):

You can see that there's not much done, but there is some done! After all that frogging, at least there is a heart rising on the left corner.

And here is something else red that I am about to rip out:


I made up the pattern for these heart socks back before Valentine's Day, and now I can't find where I wrote it down! Is there ANYONE as scatterbrained as me? Anywhere? (We did have a massive house cleaning, though, and I have a feeling that, to anyone but me, my little test scribblings looked like trash.) Anyhow, I don't like the way that the yarn looks knit up... it's too bumpy? or something.

Hope everyone is having a good time knitting their red sweaters!

It doesn't want to be a UFO

I have this lovely red vest, called Chines Red from Folk Vests that I started a while ago. A medium size while ago (2004) when I look at the ages of various UFOs that are hidden around in boxes and bags.

Admittedly, it doesn't look like much in the picture, but it should not take me all that long to get it finished. That is if I can crank up the courage to do it.

While I was deployed, some small flying creatures took up residence in my studio, un-noted by the rest of the family. I came home to find suspicious "munch marks" in yarns, roving and batts.

Would you believe I was not a happy camper?

Industriously, I cleaned up everything. This vest was started in 2004, when I decided to do a number of vests out of this lovely book. And I really like red, so this was one that I didn't change much. Just knitting in one piece to the armholes, I am actually about 10 cm past there. Then my job got in the way for 6 weeks of fun and frolic in Korea. On my return- the m*ths were back and had eaten one ball of yarn for this vest.

I just put it away. And now, without a ball band from the original yarn, I have to figure out which yarn I used and where I put it.

Other option of course is to frog the whole thing, but that seems like a shame. Encouragement is obviously appreciated.

-Holly
Heidelberg DE

Frogged, But Beginning Again

I started the red shrug for my pregnant friend Abby several weeks ago, after a vision of her cute preggo belly sticking out beneath it spurred me on.

I got halfway through the back, started the pattern for the "random heart" and then realized I had only increased on ONE side instead of BOTH sides. :-( I didn't handle it very well. I'll admit it-- I cussed, I screamed. I threw the sweater down. It took me three days to get the nerve up to frog those rows out (rippit, rippit) and then four days to start knitting on it again.

But I am trying! I am throwing myself back in with zeal. (OK, maybe not zeal, and maybe not actually THROWING, but I am knitting on it between socks...) Send your knitting spirits my way, please, so I can at least get through the back of the darned thing.

Part of the problem here is that Abby isn't due until September, so there's time. But not really. These babies show up FAST. And I want to get started on some blankets and toys and layettes and... well, lots of knitting left to do, right?

This is my first post, since I frustrated myself with the darn thing before I even posted what I am making. I am creating a "Random Heart Shrug" from a pattern that the local yarn store created with red Diakeito Diavoyage (#705). The heart is movable, and, per request, I am putting it on the lower left back.

Thanks for letting me gripe in public... ;-)

Still knitting

My red sweater is coming along slowly. I've finished the fronts and back. Am working on the sleeves at present. I did some short row bust darts for the front, using Maggie Righetti's book on sweater design to work out the way to do the darts. The pattern for this jacket was slightly off after finishing the darts, but I think they will work. I'll post a picture at a later date. Here is the pattern for those that remember I'm out there knitting a red sweater!

Red sweater FINALLY started

Well, I finally decided on a pattern and cast on for my (first) red sweater. It's the Shawl Collared Cardigan from the December 2006/January 2007 Knitnet. The pattern calls for Wool-Ease Chunky, but I'm using Lamb's Pride Bulky that I got a great deal on from the Sheep Shed Studio. I've modified the instructions to do the sweater in one piece up to the underarms, since I hate seaming, and I changed the gauge from 3 to 3 1/2 sts per inch, because I preferred the fabric I was getting at that gauge. It's all mindless garter stitch right now, perfect for TV watching or taking to "Stitch Therapy" at a LYS. Stay tuned...

I'm Back.

I have picked up my Debbie Bliss Circular Cardigan and actually have made some good progress on it. I have 528 stitches on the needle, and the Alpaca Silk is slippery on the Addis, so I need to be careful when I put this baby down. I intend to do some serious knitting on the sweater this week, so pictures will be forth coming.

Anne, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Still In There And Struggling

It really has taken far longer than anticipated (isn't that always the case when we excitedly match yarn with pattern and cast on with high hopes?) I've frogged and sworn and worked and calculated. I got the back of the Celtic Vest done finally, and thought the fronts would be a piece of cake, but NOT SO.

I admit it was probably a mistake to work on the complicated motif sections during the historic Ireland/England rugby match yesterday. But the use of peanuts to count rows (wanted to use chocolate beans but thought peanuts safer) did help a bit. Here it is so far.

On the left is the final front, about a quarter done. It's driving me mad, mad I tell you! And so many other projects I want to do (it doesn't help of course that all of your pictures make me immediately want to try those...)

Red "White Gansey"

Made good progress this week. About 2" into the second pattern. I am really liking this sweater!

Probably will start underarm gussets this week. Pretty cool!

Done!

After dragging my feet for a while, I finally have a finished sweater. It only took three months for me to actually decide what it was I was going to knit and another two to even get started.

I hope you enjoy. For more details about the sweater, you can check out my blog Michelle Can Knit.

Happy Red Knitting!

Making progess on Celtic Icon

I am making the raglan decreases on the back of Celtic Icon. It seems to be knitting up quickly and the cabling is easy to remember. I am enjoying this sweater more than the original one I started. Here is a picture of the sweater it is from Knitpicks. The color I am doing it in is pretty close to the dark one in this picture.

I am also celebrating the births of 2 baby goats this past week. Dot a mini Nubian last Saturday and Zane a mini Toggenburg today.

Red Letter Socks!

Hi, I haven't posted here since I finished my Travelling Cables Cardigan but I thought I would post a picture of the socks I made out of the Socka yarn I won way back in December on Laura's birthday. They are the Child's French Sock from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. Very comfy and pretty. (More info on my blog). I thought about gifting a friend with these socks but I think I am going to be selfish and keep them for myself. I love seeing all the sweaters getting worked on. Makes me want to start another red one :-)

Back is done!

The Jean Frost jacket is coming along. I have finished the back and started the left front. Here's the progress although the color isn't particularly good. I think the knitted fabric will be just what I wanted.


I'm planning to short row bust darts into the fronts of the jacket, since I am larger busted than I wish I was. I'm using Maggie Righetti's book, Sweater Design in Plain English, to help design the darts. Let's just hope I can pull it off.

I'm enjoying being a part of this knitalong and viewing everyone's projects. Red is a favorite color (my kitchen is painted red) so I'm all for the world having more red sweaters!

Moving along

Almost done with the first pattern section of the Red Gansey. Using Lisa Souza's garnet sport weight and am really enjoying this yarn. It does bleed a bit and the red fingers were slightly shocking before I figured out what was going on!

It's a little hard to show the texture in the photo, but it's turning out very lovely!

I need to get on the stick and get this finished before the weather gets too warm to wear it!

I Know I'm a Loser, But Hey ... I'm a Winner!

Those of you who have been with this KAL from the start may recall my lofty plans for a sweater, which then dwindled down to a simple felted vest when I found myself not loving the yarn I selected. Well, I got about 85% through the vest and simply hated it. It's been draped over the back of a chair for ages now. I keep thinking that one day I'll be inspired to finish it, but that's looking less and less likely each day.

I have to admit that I even stopped visiting this KAL site very often of late, because every time I stopped by and saw all of your fabulous red sweaters ... well, I just felt like a big loser, not only because I have succeeded only in knitting something that promises to be truly hideous but also because I abandoned it and then snuck quietly away hoping nobody would notice!

So yes, I'm a loser.

But then yesterday I learned that I'm actually a winner! I am soooooo thrilled to have been chosen to receive Anne's handspun yarn prize. Wow! If the prize had been any other, I think I would have meekly and apologetically declined, but with this prize -- Hell No! No way, no how will I turn down one of Anne's gems!

Now I just need to think of an act of attrition to assuage my guilt for accepting this prize. I'll get back to you all soon on what that will be.

THANK YOU so much to Anne for the prize, to Anne and Laura for the KAL, and to all of you for not hunting me down and attempting to seize the undeserved prize from my vice-like grip!

Gingerbread Baby Sweater

This is my first posting to the Red Sweater KAL, and I'm so glad to have been invited to join. This is a great KAL!

Last night, in a flurry of knitting, I finished the Gingerbread Baby Sweater. I originally got the idea for this sweater from Jan Brett's wonderfully illustrated book, The Gingerbread Baby. I emailed her through her website, and I got a nice email back giving me permission to title my sweater after her book. She even asked for a copy of the pattern!

If you have little children, I'd highly recommend this book. It's a wonderful story and the illustrations are simply beautiful. I just love the accurate details of Jan Brett's drawings . . . . but enough of that.

Here is a close-up picture of Matti (a character in the book). Isn't he wearing an adorable sweater?

So, without further ado . . . . (trumpets and drum roll, please) . . . .

I introduce to you, The Gingerbread Baby Sweater! It is an original design, and I hope to have the pattern up on my sidebar soon. I am so pleased how well this turned out! (That's saying a lot, since I usually have something to complain about with all of my knitting.) My only regret is that I cannot seem to get a good picture.

You might notice that the sweater looks a bit snug on my daughter. The sweater size is 6-12 mos. I actually knitted the sweater for my newest nephew, Jacob, who is still an infant, but I had to get someone to model the thing, so my tiny Breanna had to do. She's 14 mos. old, but this 6 mo. sweater almost fits her!

The pattern was a bit tricky for me to figure out, because the one of the cabled braids is on the side of the sweater and travels up the underarm. Since I've never knitted a sweater in the round before, this was a new learning experience. I'm still not entirely sure I did it "according to the book", but I think it turned out alright in the end.

Basically, this sweater is knit on circular needles to the arms, and has set-in sleeves.

Now I can't wait to knit another one that will actually fit my little Breanna!

If you'd like to stop by my blog, it's http://alohaknitter.blogspot.com

I'd love to hear from you!

It's a RED LETTER day!

wow, it's been ages since we had one of these, but hey, it's valentine's day—what better occasion?
today the prize is a hank of crimsom handspun yarn, a knitspot pattern, and a little something sweet.


and today's winner is . . . deb of fearless fibers!
congratulations deb! your gift will go out in today's mail and you should have it shortly.

I'm Still Here And Still In The Running!

Gosh, it's so long since I posted that I must nearly have been posted missing, so to speak. Blame Christmas, blame holidays, blame my over-tendency to fall in love with new projects every couple of days. Oh and blame all those other webloggers who keep bringing exciting ideas to my attention.

OK, blame apportionment over. Oh no it isn't! I wanted to post here a couple of nights ago and what did I find but that in my absence you'd all hightailed it over to New Blogger and hadn't left me a front door key! I'd been trying to avoid the changeover but now it's been forced on me. So here I am.

And here's the Celtic Vest (Cul de Sac to give it its proper if uninspiring name). Or rather just the back of the vest. Almost finished, all the Lavold motifs done, just getting to the neck and shoulder shaping.

Now that I look at the picture, I realise you can't actually see the motifs very well, due to the glare of the flash. I'll have to get DH to take pictures with a bounced flash for the next posting, which should show them up better. In the meantime, here's a reminder of the pattern:

Oh. That's the front, isn't it? Well I can't find the image for the back, so you can just feast your eyes on these motifs. Aren't they fun? I think Lavold has a great brain.

Now I have determined to get this vest done before I start ANYTHING else new. I might waver sideways to attack one of the many and various other WIPs, but I will try to give the Celtic Vest priority. I mean I'm even going to wear it, for heaven's sake. What more encouragement do I need?

I want to say how pleased I am to find so many others still working happily away on red sweaters. It just shows how much we all love the idea. Well done Anne and Laura for thinking it up and getting us all involved.

Back to the Celtic Vest...

New Start

Well I started to make the Eris Cardigan but it wasn't doing anything for me so I put the knitting down. I then saw the zip up cable hoodie in Kintpicks catalog and decided to do that one. That meant I had to order the Inspired Cable Knits book. It came this week and I just love the book. I guess I am in love with cables. I started on the hoodie and it is going much better than the first one.

Just joining

Hi, I'm just joining the RSKAL as of today! Actually consider myself a member for the last week, since I chose the yarn and pattern. I wanted it to be more like a jacket so I chose a pattern from my Jean Frost Jackets book. Here is a scanned photo from the book.



I chose to work with Elegance from Knit Picks in the color Barn Red. This yarn is 70%Baby Alpaca and 30% Silk, soft with a bit of shine. I think it is turning out well. I cast on this afernoon and knit straight through the Super Bowl, so I've made some progress with the back.




I have a couple of other projects on the needles and one that needs to be finished - weaving in the ends and buttons, so I don't know how fast I will finish this one. Neverthelss, hope others join the KAL. Everyone's projects are so interesting, diverse and beautiful!

Finally Finished

My red sweater was last seen partially complete and blocking while I fretted about it not living up to my expectations. When it finshed blocking it was a little wonky but totally fixable. I went ahead and made one strap. Then I got severly distracted with knitting holiday gifts. After the holidays I was badly distracted by yarn I recieved as a holiday gift. Finally I got around to making the other strap. But due to my evidentally short attention span, I kept "forgetting" to attach it. Well, I finally did. Here's the finished product:




Overall, I am pleased with it. It didn't come out exactly like I had envisioned, but it is a garment I will wear. I feel encouraged to continue designing. But I am humbled by how much I have yet to learn. Especially about shaping. I knit this in the round. I did the waist shaping as paired increases and decreases at the sides. I think it might have been better to put more stitches between the increases and decreases thereby making the shaping more like darts. I also have lots to learn about drape and how to predict its impact on fit. Note to self: remember knitting is inherently stretchy!

The yarn I used, Lana Gatto Feeling, is wonderful! I definitely recommend it. My only quibble is that I can see the difference between the frogged yarn and the knit-only-once yarn. It's very mild, though. I'm probably the only one who can see because I know where to look.

This KAL has been lots of fun. I'm already developing plans for my next red sweater. I'm thinking simple V-neck in a brick red. Ya know, I think I've got just the yarn. Must go check the stash...

Until next time, happy knitting everyone!

Sweater Front...

Here is the front of the sweater. Not sure if you can see the detail in the pattern...but the photo should be clickable...I still have to figure out how to block it...but, I'll worry about all that when I get the sleeves done.

Beginning...

Hello everyone :-)
I've finally got around to carding some of the wool for my red ski sweater. So far I have done 400g of Oatmeal Bluefaced Leicester 75% with Tussah silk 25%, there is some more to follow, but this is enough to get me started.
Here it is.



Over the next few weeks I will spin this into yarn and dye it deep garnet (burgundy), after that I will card the wool for the scarlet yarn. It is going slowly as I have tendonitis at the moment, but I hope you will find it interesting. :-)

Judy
http://thespindlingscot.blogspot.com/

Yay! A pic at last!

Of course, it's not the most exciting pic on the planet - 4" of ribbing & stockinette! LOL But I did learn the Channel Island Cast on, which is kinda cool & I am pleased, it's coming right along. The pattern calls for 4 1/2" of plain knitting before starting the stitch bands, so I still have another couple inches of mindless knitting. I am using it to practice continental!

The yarn is very nice to work with. I think that slight color variegation is going to be gorgeous as I start adding the pattern stitches. Yummmm!

death of a sweater

well, what was supposed to be a fixing session ended up at 5 am being a frogging session - its a long story but it involved ripping the side seams of Chic Knits Ariann which were too tight across my hips as I had done the decreases (for waist shaping) but made the sweater longer and thus the highlighting of the worst part of the bod.

so all the yarn is rewound including one ball with two row lengths.

i think i am going to let this rest for a few days before deciding whether to tackle this pattern again with more knowledge of how to do it... or go for another sweater pattern - i really like the Nantucket in the Winter IK... and had flagged it to do - I love cables and really need more of a jacket than a sweater... will swatch later and see . But first I need to finish charting a fair isle FIREMAN sweater i am designing for Mr. W my just turned three... its got red in it - so maybe I will blog on it as well.


Nantucket Jacket, Interweave Knits, Winter 2006

Finally started!!!

Finally wrapped up all the late Christmas presents and got to get started on something for me!

Abandoned the original idea (Bristow in Karoke) and decided to do the "White Gansey" (pic here -http://www.joslynsfiberfarm.com/whitegansey.htm) by Beth Brown-Reinsel.

I am doing it sport weight from Lisa Souza - color is garnet. http://www.lisaknit.com/yarn/animalfibers/superwash-sport.htm

Learned the channel island cast on, which produces a subtle picot edge and have about an inch of ribbing on the needles. Pics on the weekend when I have a bit more time.

Wonderful Wallaby Finished!

Thank you for the inspiration, Red Sweater KAL. My youngest son asked for an Ohio State hoodie, and here's his new Wonderful Wallaby (you can get this tried-and-true pattern at paradisefibers.net). He's been wearing his Wallaby nonstop since it came off the needles -- best compliment ever! The yarn is ranch red, washable Lion Brand Wool-Ease (OK, all you died-in-the-wool fiber people can faint now. But he is 8 years old and I can WASH it!! Plus total yarn cost was under $18.) This yarn is right on gauge with size 8 needles. I used one more skein than called for because I added an inch to body and sleeves, and did some short-row shaping at the shoulders. I then embellished it with an official Ohio State patch using Aleene's "OK to Wash It" fabric glue, and he was good to go. I loved knitting with the red, and even used green needles because it was close to the holidays. What's next? Something else red, I think...

Memberships

I just heard from one of our members... After she upgraded her account to the New Blogger, she was no longer a member of the Red Sweater KAL (it no longer showed up on her dashboard). If this has happened to you, please let either Anne or I know, and we can send you a new invitation so you can sign up again.

The girl has changed her mind!

I met Debbie Bliss this week, tried on several of her sweaters and this girl has a new red sweater up on needles. (Dear swing coat, I will come back to you I promise!) I am knitting the Circular Cardigan in red Alpaca Silk DK, color 26005 from the Out of Town Book. This yarn is lucious, and this is a quick knit so I hope to have pictures very soon. It's basically a circular shawl with sleeves.

new invites

if you emailed me to ask about joing this KAL, but have not received an invite, please accept my apologies! several requests went to my dead letter box becasue they were addressed incorrectly, and then blogger was down for a while and i lost them.
please resend your request, and check to make sure you have the email address entered correctly. we are always happy to receive new members!

The back is done!!!

YES! I finally finished the back of the sweater and am about half way done with the front! I can hardly wait to see how it will look!

Red Sweater Inspiration

For those still looking for a little inspiration, I thought I'd post a shot of this sweater I received as a Christmas gift. It's store bought, but don't you love the yoke? It's giving me the urge to do some colourwork.

Moved the blog

We are now on the new Blogger format. You will need to update your account, or so I'm told, before you're able to post here.

Hope the move goes well for everyone. I just moved 3 blogs, and it seems to have worked out just fine. It moved over my custom templates, and everything. I think. LOL

Travelling Cables Action Shot

I know its not much of an action shot but here she is being modelled. The specifics of this project are: Travelling Cables Cardigan from Karabella that I used some nature spun from my stash to knit. There has been some interest in where I got my pattern from so here is the link. There are more pictures of her on my blog if you are interested. And there is a travelling cables KAL if you care to join that. Now I am going to take a hiatus from knitting sweaters and knit the red sock yarn that I won from Laura on her Red Letter Day. Once again thank you Laura. It was fun knitting my red sweater and who knows I might be back in a couple of weeks.

Red Sweater to be united

This is my red sweater in it's current state. 2 Sleeves and a body, check. Now I need to put them on one circ and finally decide on raglan versus yoke, polo collar versus crewneck. I tend to raglan with polo, but am still not quite sure how to proceed.

One Small Red Sweater is done

I made an American Girl sized red sweater, which is the first of two red sweaters I plan on, the second will be made from red Cherry Tree Hill Potluck in a heavy worsted, or some cotton and acrylic blend I have in my stash. One of those two will be started as soon as I find a pattern I like.



The Doll sweater being admired by Ducky.

Spin Dye Knit?

Hi everyone :-)
I just joined this KAL and I am so looking forward to it!

Do you mind if I spin and dye my own yarn for this? I am thinking of a merino, angora bunny and cahmere mix Aran yarn, dyed in a rich garnet red.

Judy
http://thespindlingscot.blogspot.com/

Thanks for having me!

I finally get to actually participate on my first official KAL! I couldn't really participate because of the blogger vs. blogger beta restriction, but it is all over :) Nice to "meet" you all and I can't wait to start my Red Sweater!

Jenn
calgalatrpi.blogspot.com

Look!- Progress

After a long sojourn in the bottom of the knitting basket ( mainly the result of Christmas knitting and a rather lovely mint green project that was a Christmas present) my red Aimee has returned and voila so have I.




I have now completed the back as you see:

and I love the way the fabric is knitting up. I've done so many socks recently that it feels strange to be knitting a piece of fabric this large but it is great to snuggle up under the bit I have done while finishing off the top!

Hopefully more progress to report soon as I have already cast on the front!

My own red sweater, and a student's

Worn here by my neighbor, Eve, is a new deep rose sweater, my own design in Cascade's Cloud 9, a 50/50 merino/angora in a worsted weight. I chose a deep rose red to match the Russian shawl. Because this is a flattering sweater, I'm trying to work the pattern out in multiple sizes.

The second sweater, from an Annabel Fox design published long ago in VK, is by my student, Marsheila, who substituted Cascade 220 for a long-discontinued yarn, chosing a great red with black collar and cuffs It's ideal for a first sweater, in garter stitch, and she did a superb job on it.

All Done

My Travelling Cables Cardigan is all done. She's steamed and seamed! She fits well but I had no one around to take a picture. Maybe over the week-end I will be able to get an action photo outside so her true color shows. She is a Christmas red, what I think of as "real" red. I will put up a button detail on my blog. I was happy to find buttons with celtic looking cables on them. Now I can start on my red socks without feeling guilty!

Progress finally made! Zephyrstyle Glee in Knitpicks Embers!

It took me a while to finish all my other projects, but I did! I'm at row 57 of the pattern and have quite a bit to go. The first picture is from 2 days ago. I'm now on my 3rd ball of yarn, 8-9 more to go! Thank you again Lynn for the wonderful. * isn't it funny how different lighting can make colors look completely different. The first one is from a few days ago, in the morning ( truest colors) and the second is from 3:30 in the afternoon today. Both taken in the same chair.

Old Blogger to new Blogger

I don't know if you've heard yet, but Blogger is in the process of updating their service. A lot of people have moved their blogs to the new service already.

I've been hesitant to make the move.

Moving the blog means that everyone will have to have Google IDs before they can post here. You can find out about that and update your account when you log into your current Blogger account.

People who have already upgraded to the new Blogger can still post here, but will have to log in with their old password. I think.

Yes, it's all terribly confusing for multi-user blogs like this.

So, what I'm going to do is this. I'm posting this post to warn you. On January 8th I'll upgrade this blog to the new version. I hope that will give everyone enough notice... Let me know your thoughts on the subject by commenting to this post or sending me email. My email address is in the sidebar.

Thank you, ladies, for your patience with this upgrade.

---

P.S. Until January 8, all new posts will wind up under this one. ;-)

Finally back in the game!

Well, after weeks of neglect, Samus is back in the works! Yesterday I finally had a couple of free hours to get some work done on it. I finished the cable band, picked up stitches and have done about four inches of stocking stitch. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it is a significant jump from sitting in the knitting basket untouched! As mentioned on my blog, I have set a little goal for myself. I am going to try and have the body done by January 25th! Unfortunately it's back to work this morning, so I am limited to on the bus and lunchtime/coffee break knitting. Darn how work gets in the way of knitting! :)

Buttons!

All my Christmas knitting was wrapped up and under the tree. I didn't want to start anything new, as that sort of behavior tends to throw current projects to the back burner, and I didn't want to do that. So what did I do instead? I sewed buttons. On all of my button-less sweaters, and re-sewed buttons on two more. Pictures in my gallery.

This is a close-up of the Viking ship buttons I put on my pretty red Freya sweater. :-)

I have got to get my Christmas knitting done, as I desperately want to start a sweater out of the red cashmere/merino I've been hoarding.

I sneaked in!

I have a blogger blog in beta or the new version. The thing would not let me accept the invitation. Finally, fed up, I created a new account. So here I am.
My first Red Sweater is the Nantucket Jacket by Norah Gaughan. Interweave Knits Winter 2006. The picture is not good. I ended up taking off the button on the top. Now the collar looks better.
The second Red Sweater will be the Celtic Vest Knits Magazine Fall 2003. But the yarn is in roving form so it needs to be spun........soon I hope. Glad to be here at last.