Tag Archives: cardigan

Apr17

Itching to sew…

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With my crocheted Elevation Cardigan off the hook (photo above, it took 4 months to get finished) my knitted Sporto hooded sweater still on the needles (but at the point where I should decide what to do on the colourwork section) I just wanna sew!

Two evenings ago, I got home from work and after dinner ended up falling asleep on the couch before 9pm. Not really wanting to do the same thing last night, I went down to my sewing room and continued to work on a zipper pouch idea based on one I saw in a YouTube video. It has pockets inside, across both sides, to hold crochet hooks and interchangeable needle tips. I’m making mine with a zipper pocket on the outside too which can hold cables etc.

It’s nearly done and I’ll show it off next time.

This is a small drawstring bag that I made from more scrappy fabric. It’s nice to use scraps that would otherwise have gone in the trash. (You can probably see a bit of Olaf the snowman from Frozen in there).

And this is a “thing” that I made which is similar to a commercial case for an interchangeable needle set. The pockets were a bit loose so I added the nonslip vinyl but I don’t know if it was a good idea.

I really feel like booking a week off work and creating a sewing retreat…at home!

Mar9

Neutral and neon cardi

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The machine-knitted long cardigan is officially finished, right down to the wash and dry to soften it up and even things out.

Evening photos, so not particularly good lighting.

What would I do differently if I were to make it again? Modified drop sleeves to minimize the lumpiness at the seam, a bit less neon on the sleeves, and add stripes to the front for a more cohesive look.

However it was a good result in that it’s warm and wearable, and it fits.

Sep17

Good morning!

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This is the second morning in a row that I have had coffee instead of tea. This could be a slippery slope! Proper coffee that I ground up, maple syrup and frothy oat milk.

I’ve had a couple of restless nights and I’m hoping the coffee will kickstart my brain. It tastes good too and feels very comforting now that the mornings are colder.

So, about yesterday’s photos. If you’re interested. I posted those just before I dashed out to work yesterday but I have more time now.

1. Knit Picks Dishie dishcloths or washcloths. A pick-it-up-when-I-feel-like-it project.

2. Gnomes! I made these no-sew, lots-of-hot-glue gnomes before work yesterday and took them to the store to put on display, just for fun. Obviously I bought the felt, faux fur and cotton fabric there. The insides are dollar store socks filled with wheat berries and polyfill. If you look carefully at the photo, you’ll see my Spring garden gnomes in the background.

3. The Festival Cardigan, complete with buttons. I’m keeping it on my couch because the temps have dropped to mid-teens outside. I love to snuggle in warm layers on a cool dark fall evening. I think this season has to be my favourite.

4. And finally, the Relaxation socks. This is a pattern I found on Ravelry. It’s written for bulky yarn but I’m using Bernat Pop in the Full Spectrum colourway and it’s working fine. This is my Strictly Sockalong 2021 project, which is a MAL run by Ali of Little Drops of Wonderful podcast. I haven’t made socks in a long time, and I don’t watch Strictly Come Dancing or even Dance with the Stars, but I do like a good makealong!

There you go, all caught up. I hope you have a wonderful day. Now I’m going to have a quick look at Ravelry and then I need to get ready for work.

Sep7

FO: Festival Cardigan

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She is done, except for buttons. Unfortunately I don’t have three buttons large enough in my stash so I’ll have to check at work tomorrow.

This took 1300 grams of DK yarn, knitting with five strands at a time. It’s VERY warm. I put it on and it was like wearing a blanket. Great timing as we head into fall.

This made a huge dent in the stash but there’s still yarn left for another project.

Sep4

WIP: Festival Cardigan

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That huge pile of yarn in my last post has shrunk considerably. The cardigan has a back and two fronts, joined at the shoulders, and even neck and front ribbing.

The finished back
Front view pre-ribbing
With ribbing

I thought I’d only need to make the sleeves three squares wide by two tall but when I held the partial sleeve on my arm I saw I’d have to add another square. This’ll make the sleeves a bit too long, I think, but better that than too short.

First sleeve

As I progress, my colour choices get more limited. Some of the squares don’t seem to fit with the rest quite right but I think once it’s done it’ll be so colourful overall that it’ll look OK.

Mr Fixit and I took a little road trip today. By “little” I mean it was just for the day but it was still about 300km, according to him!

We headed south and stopped at a couple of towns to check out their farmers markets. We took the back roads for some of the way. We stopped at our usual fruit stand and bought peaches, plums, tomatoes, beans, apples, peppers and eggplants.

I had, probably for the first time ever, left home without packing any snacks. So as soon as we bought the fruit we ate a few pieces in the parking lot. Then we started back north and finally found somewhere for a late lunch. It was a vegan place, new to us, and we had smoothies.

I haven’t quite decided how I’m going to manage the large amount of fruit, because I don’t like canning, but usually I freeze the tomatoes in quarters to toss into spaghetti sauce.

Obviously my cardigan is not a portable project, with 15 balls of yarn currently attached, so I stuffed a bag with Knit Picks Dishie and some hooks for my road trip project.

1.5 dishcloths made

I have a bonus 4-day stretch of days off so I hope to be finishing the cardigan very soon. I’ll see you then!

Aug21

Still summer

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Still summer

I’m not quite as desperate to see the summer end as I was a short time ago. We’ve had a week of mid-20s Celsius and it’s been a sweet relief from the heat of the last couple of months.

The local wildfire is still burning but not growing, as far as I know; there is plenty of helicopter activity around here and every time I hear a fire truck siren I worry that there’s a new fire.

We are only allowed limited watering but the cooler nighttime temperatures have helped the garden green up a bit, though Mr Fixit went out this morning to “mow the weeds” rather than grass!

I have this weekend off so took the opportunity to sew myself a lunch tote. I used a tutorial from a YouTube channel, MamaProject, which is new to me. I haven’t done a recessed zipper before but this one was easy.

Because I planned to use this for my work lunches I used Thermolam fusible fleece on the back of the canvas outer, and Insul-fleece on the lining. The base is vinyl backed with Peltex and the lining also has the Insul-fleece on it.

When it came to the final topstitching I didn’t even try to sew through all the layers at the side seams!

The lining is a basic undyed canvas and I added pockets on both sides and made channels for cutlery.

I would make this bag again but without so much padding. I do like the way the recessed zipper is done.

I also have a new knitting PIP (project in progress).

I pulled out my DK yarn stash and weeded out the colours I didn’t want in a cardigan, like yellow, orange and black. As you can see, my half of the coffee table has no room for anything else.

I’m making the Festival Cardigan (link to my Ravelry project page here) using 12.75mm needles and five strands of DK for each square.

With four squares across the back, that means 20 yarns per row which I have corralled into bags, one for each group of five.

I have to do a little untangling at the end of each row but so far I like it! This will be a good stashbuster.

Aug17

Summertime, and the living is eeeeeeeasy!

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Did you sing that title? I did!

Well, it’s been a couple of weeks and I haven’t had much to say. I did get an up to date photo of the Habitat Cardigan just now, but indoors because it’s too damned hot outside. It’s around 30 degrees Celsius in here and I have ceiling fans on, the furnace fan to circulate the air between upstairs and downstairs, and a big floor-standing fan blasting directly at me. It’s about ten degrees hotter than that outside, so the curtains are still closed.

Dinner was a simple affair – potatoes and lettuce from the garden, and some tofu “steaks” which are the simplest thing ever. Slice up extra firm tofu, marinate it in Braggs, dip it in seasoned flour, and shallow fry.

However, I digress. The cardigan…

I am at the part where I’ve finished the basic rectangle and folded it and seamed to form armholes. I’ve also started adding to the bottom edge to make it longer, and next I have to add a collar and cuffs.

This yarn is Loops & Threads Meandering Serpentine for the main colour and Minis for the stripes. I haven’t touched it in three days though. I was working all weekend and haven’t had the urge to add more, but now that the second half of the pattern is printed out I’ll get on with it.

Today was a day off, and I planned it well. Did some laundry and kitchen tidying this morning, went to the gym for an hour (air conditioned but then of course I’m working out so super sweaty), then shower and lunch. And this afternoon I retreated to the basement for some sewing. The other day I made up a paper pattern from an existing tank top and used some cool tie dyed knit fabric to make a new one. However I didn’t add enough ease, it’s too close-fitting, and I was disappointed with it.

So I redrew the pattern, adding a bit extra at the bust, flaring it out way more and adding length. Sewed it up this afternoon and I’m much happier with it.

The reverse is cool too. This is the same fabric (but in a different colourway) that I made a sweatshirt with in the spring. I didn’t hem this version because I was concerned it would go wavy like the previous one.

I think that’s all I have to update you with for now. It’s my birthday next weekend so I have the day off. I am trying to think of something special to do within the parameters of the-virus-that-shall-not-be-named! Maybe a mini road trip with Mr Fixit!

Sep9

FOs, a WIP and prizes!

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The two crochet projects I showed you last time are done. The pompom hat counts as an OUT from the stash:

IMG_20190831_124901Yarn was Caron Cupcakes and in fact I only used about half a cake. I was surprised. Not sure what I will do with the rest of it.

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The unicorn lovey is now on display at the fabric store where I work (I forgot to take a photo at home, so this is it on it’s little pole – we try to pin things down so they don’t go walkabout with customers). This yarn is our own brand, Spindle Yarns Cuddle Buddy Crochet Kit. The pattern is on the ball band.

It comes in these other variations:

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Did I tell you about my new Counter Ring from CritSuccess? I saw some people talking about these on Ravelry and I just loved the rainbow one. My co-worker wanted one too so I ordered two to save shipping. The funny thing is that I ordered a size 11 and she ordered a 10, but I felt like mine was too big and she found hers a bit small so we swapped and everyone was happy! It fits well on my left index finger and I can track things while crocheting or knitting. Rows, increases, decreases, whatever. It’s meant to be for gamers, dice players, D&D types, but it works perfectly for anything you want to keep a count of.

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We are having a bit of a CAL/KAL in the Vegan Knitters and Crocheters group on Ravelry. The vegan groups tend to be a bit quiet, but one of the other members has been livening things up lately and suggested a #vegancraftalong for September. It took me a while to figure out what to make. Finally I decided on Christa’s design, the Party Cardi: her YouTube channel is The Secret Yarnery.

It’s a cardigan which is started by making two granny hexagons, and when the folded hexagons are large enough for your arms you start to add length on certain sections, back and forth, for the back and chest. There are a few designs out there that are constructed similarly. The Campfire Cardigan is a larger version. But I wanted a fairly fitted cardigan that wasn’t too kitschy, I wanted to use stash yarn, and I couldn’t be bothered to knit it. I have three cakes of Lion Brand Mandala Baby in the Echo Caves colourway, which has lovely shades of blues and greens in it, and I’m using my 5.5mm Addi Swing crochet hook. I’m hoping those three cakes will be sufficient, but if not I am willing to buy an extra cake or two online. Christa’s cardigan is made with wildly coloured yarn and an eyelash edging – mine will be considerably more sedate!

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And finally, I won a prize in a Makealong (MAL) ages ago, and I missed hearing the announcement of my name. Ali of the Little Drops of Wonderful podcast had a cosy makealong, where people were making cosies for all sorts of weird and wonderful stuff. One of my entries into the Ravelry thread was drawn but I didn’t see that podcast and missed it, and Ali kindly got hold of me to let me know. I gave her my address and she mailed it and it arrived today, all the way from England.

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The Merry Christmas bag is gorgeous and squishy and will fit a medium sized project-in-progress, and she also sent a postcard (which I can colour), a Reese’s peanut butter cup (gave that to my non-vegan son), a mini skein of yarn and a teabag (which I have just brewed up to drink now).

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I think Ali was the person who coined the phrase “dodgy bags” because she was sewing bags and they weren’t perfect. Well, this little skein of yarn has the cutest little tag on it that says, “Dodgy Yarn, All pooling, bleeding and splodges included free of charge, Dyed Inexpertly in Kent, UK.” Fun!

As my friend Jeanette would say, I think we’re all caught up now. I think that tonight I shall have to watch another episode or two of the series I started watching on Netflix last night. Sex Education! It’s hilarious.

 

Jan29

FO: Crochet Cuddler Cocoon (and new yarn)

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Before I show you my February sweater, here is a photo of me in my January sweater.  I wore it the other day (wow, it’s warm) and it fits perfectly. If I could change one thing about it, though, I’d add an inch to the sleeves. When I was driving and out and about, I felt I could have done with just a bit of extra length in the sleeves.

So, once I finished that sweater off last Monday night, I was free to get on with the next project. The February project took all of four days from start to finish, it was so quick and easy. I did make a few adjustments to the pattern so I will link to my Ravelry project page here.

I had to crop out my head in that shot because the cardigan is so dark that my face was overexposed. The base rectangle for the back of the sweater seemed really small in the pattern so I added four rows. The sleeves also would have been tiny so I doubled the length of those. And there were only three border rounds in the pattern and I did 12, basically until my yarn almost ran out.

The yarn is Willow Wash Bulky, which is so lovely and soft to work with and to wear, but the six strands are very loosely spun so you have to be careful not to split them. As I am just hanging around the house today, I decided to wear it (it would probably not be warm enough outside in the cold at the moment) though I had to abandon it while vacuuming because I was getting too hot.

I am pleased with it, thanks to my adaptations. I think if you were to use a much bulkier yarn, you could follow the designer’s numbers, but it would have been far too small for me using the Willow Wash, following it as is.

There has been a little bit of yarn acquisition this week. OK, a lot. Walmart still has the Bernat Pop! yarn, and I decided that I should get extra of the rainbow coloured one to pair with plain black for a future sweater. Also I found a nice one with grey and pink that I can pair with the leftover Red Heart Supersaver in grey heather. And a couple of cakes of grey/turquoise, just because.

Also today I received my Wool Warehouse order, a mere WEEK after they shipped it. I love their efficiency. I ordered on the weekend, they shipped it the first working day afterwards, and the post office have done their bit too. Normally stuff takes two weeks to get here. I am glad it’s here as part of the order is for my Ravelry Ravellenic Games project, the doll I mentioned in my last post. The rest are colours that I picked to pad out gaps in my DK collection, like the  yellows, browns and neutrals.

My Christmas/birthday fund is being rapidly depleted!

I’ve said this before, but I love the organza bags that WW send the yarn in.

Well, today I need to start swatching for a new sweater: the March sweater, in theory, though I am well ahead of my deadline. Believe it or not, despite the thousands of patterns in the Ravelry database, I couldn’t find the perfect one for my black/rainbow combination, so I have sketched out a possible design and need to figure out my gauge. I am having a few niggling doubts about a rainbow tunic, even if it is calmed down with black, so I  may end up going with the grey instead. For now, though, I have to finish cleaning the kitchen (totally distracted by the parcel of yarn in the mail and wanting to tell you all about it, but it’s nose to the grindstone time for me now)!

I hope next time to show you what my decision was for the March sweater, plus some progress.

 

 

Oct1

Bombay Love

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Bombay Love – a free pattern via Ravelry download.

Link here

This little baby cardigan is made from one of my free balls of yarn for display at work. The yarn is Red Heart Designer Sport in Heart Red, I used the free pattern linked above, and a 5mm hook. Unfortunately I didn’t have quite the right button for it but used one from my stash that does at least match the yarn.

Don’t you just love the buttonhole idea! It’s two-stitch I-cord…the first knitting I’ve done in a long time.

The green is Marks and Kattens Carolina from my stash.

I’ve been whizzing along on the stripe strip for my blanket and will get a photo of that soon. Aaaaand, it’s late once again, and methinks it’s time to abandon the yarn and Netflix and hit the sack!