{Free Knitting Pattern}: More Afghan Blocks

from Creativebug.com, designed by Edie Eckman

A couple of days ago, I shared Norah Gaughan's Vintage Afghan, which has recently been released as a free knitting pattern (yea!).  Now I stumbled across another free pattern for blanket blocks, offered in a free course on Creativebug.com and taught by Edie Eckman.

The Edie Eckman afghan pattern seems to be offered as a free trial of Creativebug.com.  According to the comments at the bottom of the Creativebug page, you can download the whole afghan pattern by signing in and clicking on the "materials" link under Week 12. 

Some of the blocks in this pattern are similar to the Norah Gaughan pattern, but others would serve as a nice compliment to Norah's design if you wanted to add additional blocks or substitute some designs.

I'm thinking of making my blanket as a spread for the queen-sized bed in our guest room, and probably increasing it in size by adding blocks.  These blocks from Creativebug.com seem to be roughly the same gauge and might be exactly what I need to enlarge this afghan pattern.

BTW, I just love this afghan in this soft butter/wheat color, don't you?

Norah Gaughan's Vintage Blanket or Throw ~ Now a Free Pattern!

from Berroco.com

In case you didn't get the message, Berroco just sent out an email announcing that Norah Gaughan's Vintage Afghan pattern is now available for free on their website!  I love Norah's patterns, and I've been hunting around for my next knitting project.  This pattern might just be perfect!  The block designs in this blanket are so beautiful, and many feature Norah's trademark cables that I love so much.

Great timing because I've hit a bit of a knitting dry spell.  I've been working on a few new patterns (stay tuned), but also was looking for a project where I could just follow someone else's pattern and not have to think so much :)  And I've been looking for a blanket pattern to use as a bedspread in our guest room that would use some of my leftover yarn.  Just look at this blanket:

from Berroco.com

A couple of thoughts about this pattern:

1.  The pattern is easily resizeable by knitting fewer blocks and picking which block designs you choose to knit.  I like the pattern size as written to use on our guest bed, but I might opt out of some of the designs and just repeat others.

2.  The block designs can also be used to make matching pillow covers to go with this blanket.  I think the XOXO pattern that you can see in green in the upper right hand corner of the photo above would make a beautiful pillow cover all on its own.

3.  I will probably substitute a less expensive yarn (like Caron Simply Soft) to knit this.  The Caron has a bit more yardage per skein than the suggested Berroco Comfort and I can usually buy simply Soft on sale.

What a great way to start the new year - with a great new knitting project!

Vale Cardigan Sweater Update 4: Final Reveal & Last Thoughts

I finished my Vale Cardigan for the Very Shannon Summer Sweater Knit-a-long (#sskal15) with a few weeks to spare (hurrah!)  Though it's taken me a bit of time to get used to how this sweater looks on me, I do like it very much.

 

The cabling on this sweater is what I first fell in love with, and it is truly beautiful.  I particularly love how the cable design falls on the sleeves.  And the moss stitch creates a sturdy fabric that should be quite warm this winter.

I've posted my notes on my mods, knitting the back and front pieces, and the sleeves already, so I only have a few more comments:

1.  It took me a while to get used to the draping front pieces on this cardigan.  I think it might be a bit too much on me and makes my hips and chest wider.  I wonder if deleting 10 to 15 stitches from each of the front pieces would make the front not hang as much.  I know this would also make the lapels narrower.  It's an interesting idea for modification, but I have no plans to re-knit this sweater.

2.  I do love my choice to knit this cardigan in Berroco Vintage.  I've knit with Vintage before and it seemed a slight bit scratchy.  However, this batch/color is rather snuggly and doesn't seem to have that itch quotient.  And I really love this Dungaree color.  It's the perfect medium blue to go with so many things in my closet.

And it's a good thing I like the color - I have about 550 yards left after knitting my Vale Cardigan.  I'm thinking about knitting the Standing Stones Cowl by Andee Fagan with the remainder.

I been thinking about knitting a poncho and I love how this design can be worn as a cowl or poncho.

Looking forward to cooler temperatures and wearing my new Vale Cardigan :)

Sweater Update 3: Vale Cardigan Sleeves - Count Your Stitches & Check Your Math

So I've finished both sleeves for my Vale Cardigan.  Usually I don't have much to say about knitting sleeves - they are what they are.  But this time, I have a few notes to share:

 1.  After going back and forth on making the sleeves longer or not, I decided to knit them as written in the pattern.  I just decided to trust Norah Gaughan's brilliance and style, and go with what she had designed.  This worked out great.  On me, the sleeves uncuffed are almost full length.  And when I fold up the cuff, the sleeves are the perfect 3/4 length.  I think this will work beautifully.  The sleeves, are however, a bit snug.  I blocked them to the proper size and I hope with wear, they might loosen up some.

One of the reasons why I decided to knit the sleeves as written is I really loved the way the cables laid out on the model shot, with the full loop hitting in the middle of the upper arm.  I definitely wanted my sleeves to look the same and decided not to mess with the pattern.  I think the cable design is something to think about before you change the length of the sleeves.

2.  Just an FYI - I found some mistakes with the sleeve directions.  I made the second smallest size and found the errors there.  I didn't check to see if the errors affected other sizes too.

For my size, you cast on 42 stitches.  The directions say that after doing the ribbing and the increases to create the cable panel, you should 6 stitches left.  This isn't true - you have 12 stitches left, which centers the cable pattern on the sleeves as it should be.

Second issue:  The next direction starts the set up row.  You're told to purl 13 sts before starting the cable pattern, but you only have 12 sts to work with.  This is obviously a mistake, but you need an odd number of sts for the moss design.  I remedied this by doing a quick increase on this row before hitting the cable panel.  I did a knit front and back while working a knit stitch in the moss pattern.  My increased stitch then became the purl stitch I needed, and I just continued working in pattern.  I did this on both sides of the cable panel to make the 52 sts I needed.

3.  I thought about knitting my sleeves in the round.  I didn't do it, but I think you can.  I would suggest casting on two more stitches than the pattern calls for, to keep your k2, p2 ribbing in pattern, then do 1 less increase along the length of your sleeve.

So, I've completed the knitting on this sweater and have seamed the pieces.  Finished shots of the full sweater to be posted soon, along with my final thoughts and comments!

Sweater Project Update 2: Vale Cardigan Back Section & Fronts

from http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwbis11/PATTvale.php

I've finished the back and front sides of my Vale sweater for the Very Shannon Summer Sweater Knit-Along.  I think I'm right on track to finish this cardigan by the end of the KAL on Sept 8.  I'm excited to have this sweater complete in time for Fall.  I think I'm really going to love it and get a lot of wear out of it.

And because I'm a nice person (sort of), I thought I'd put all my notes for knitting the back and front pieces in one post in case they help someone else :)  So here we go:

the back of my Vale sweater

 THE BACK

1.  As I said in my previous post, this sweater can look a little different depending on the size you make.  The smaller sizes have only three columns of cables across the back, instead of the four shown in the model shot.  I really like the sample sweater, so this was a little disappointing, but I understand that this would change depending on the size of the garment.

2.  Be sure to knit your swatch in moss stitch, not Stst.  I had knit my back piece up pass the underarms when I measured and realized it was going to be a bit small.  When I looked back at the directions, I had realized my swatch was off, which threw off my sizing.

To give myself a little more room in the hips, I cast on again with a #9 needle, and changed to #8 on row 4 of the cable chart.  I knit most of the chart with the size #8, then to tighten up the chest and shoulders, I changed to a #7 about an inch before starting my underarm decreases.

3.   I've lengthened this cardigan a bit too, which I hope I like in the end.  I've added about 1 1/2 inches to the length by starting my underarm shaping at 13 inches instead of at 11 1/2 inches.   

4.  I think the beginning of the charts for both the back and the fronts is a little confusing.  When starting the cable charts (for both the back and front pieces), you need to use Row 1 of the charts TWICE as your set up row (once as the right side, then once as the wrong side).  This will make sense when you knit the pattern.  By using Row 1 twice, it sets you up to do the rest of the charts with the even rows being the right side of your work.

5.  This is a picky thing that might only bother me - but try to pay attention to the cable chart when it comes time to bind off for the shoulder shaping.  I didn't want to end the cable chart and bind off in a weird place where I was halfway through a pointy arrow or something in the design.  I thought this might would look even weirder when I seamed my front and back pieces together.  So when I was a few inches from binding off, I looked at the pattern and chose a point just after doing a cable cross on one of the arrow designs to begin my binding off.  This way, at the shoulders, I'll have two points coming together.

my Vale progress - overlapping the pieces as if they were seamed

THE FRONTS

I followed my notes from above for the front pieces too, so the cable pattern and my decreases would match up.  I only have a few additional notes:

1.   I think there's a mistake on the directions for the decreases on the side seams of the two front pieces.  The directions say you should start the decreases on Row 20 for the back portion.  But the directions for each front piece say you should start the decrease FOR THE SIDE SEAMS on Row 2.  I chose to ignore this and did my side decreases on the same rows as my back decreases so they match up.

2.  Because I lengthen my cardigan by an 1 1/2 inches, I had to adjust where I started shaping the front lapels too.  I honestly don't remember how I figured this out, but I shifted them up about an 1 and 1/2 inches.

3.  This is another weird thing that happens depending on the size you make:  after doing your shoulder shaping for the front pieces, the directions say to "work straight"  to create the neck band.  I think in the larger sizes, this will have you knitting moss stitch for 13 sts and then garter stitch to maintain the neck edging, which is fine and looks good.  However, in my smaller size, this would have me continuing only half of my cable, moss stitch for a few sts, then continuing my garter edge (see the tippy top of my photo above at the shoulder bind off).  This would look very strange as it wraps around the back of my neck.

So for the smaller sizes, this leaves you with two choices:  after finishing your shoulder shaping, you can purl the next 9 sts (which would continue the background of the cable column) then do your few moss sts and then maintain the garter edge.  Or you can switch to moss st for all 13 sts and then do garter st for your edge.  I think either choice is fine.  You just need to decide and stick with it for both front pieces.

I went with switching to moss st for all 13 sts.  After looking at the pattern photos, where they continued the moss st from the front, and other finished projects on Ravelry, this seemed like a good choice.  I thought purl, then moss, then garter might be a bit busy for the neck band when seen from the back.  But honestly, most people would never notice this detail.

And an update on my buttons decision:  After going back and forth on adding buttons to the upper part of the front pieces, I decided against it.  For my size, it just won't work.  To make my decision, I laid out my sweater pieces as if they were seamed (I did this just before I started my underarm decreases on my right piece) to see where I might place my buttons.  As you can see in the photo, I'd have to place my buttons in the middle of my column of cables to have it match up with the right hand edge.  So that's out.  I'm secretly happy.  I didn't really want to figure out how to add buttons in just the right place so that they looked like they belonged there.

So now I begin my sleeves - 3/4 length or long sleeves?  I can't decide.  But I'll let you know :)

Sweater Project Update 1: Knitting the Vale Cardigan by Norah Gaughan

So the progress on my Vale Cardigan has been extremely s-l-o-o-o-w.  But that's okay.  I've completed the back and one front side so far.  While knitting this cardigan, I remembered why I try to avoid patterns that have a lot of moss stitch - it's a easy stitch pattern, but requires moving the yarn back and forth with every stitch, which means the project moves rather slowly for me.  But I'm not a fast knitter anyway. 

But I really love the look of this sweater and trust that this slow moving pattern will be worth it in the end :)  So here's what I've learned/realized so far:

from knitty.com

 1.  Just a head's up if you plan to knit this sweater - If you make one of the smaller sizes, the pattern includes only 3 columns of the cabling design, as opposed to the 4 columns shown in the pattern photo on Knitty.com.  This is completely understandable in order to change the size of the sweater, but I am a little disappointed to have less design on the back on my size small sweater (see my photos above).

2.  The gauge listed in the pattern is for MOSS Stitch, not stockinette stitch.  You'll want to avoid making the stupid mistake I did.

from knitty.com

3.  Each front side of this cardigan is almost as wide as the back section of this cardigan.  This is what creates the swing shape of this sweater, but is also going to create two very wide, loose front pieces.  I had thought about adding a few buttons to be able to close this cardigan if I wanted, but now I'm not sure. If I add buttons, I think it's going to look really weird when buttoned, but I'm still thinking about it.

4.  There's a few minor mistakes I've found in the pattern so far:

When starting the cable charts for both the back and front pieces, you need to use Row 1 of the charts TWICE as your set up row (once as the right side, then once as the wrong side).  This will make sense when you knit the pattern.  By using Row 1 twice, it sets you up to do the rest of the charts with the even rows being the right side of your work.

Then I think there's a mistake on the directions for the decreases on the side seams of the two front pieces.  The directions say you should start the decreases on Row 20 for the back portion.  But the directions for each front piece say you should start the decrease FOR THE SIDE SEAMS on Row 2.  I chose to ignore this and did my side decreases on the same rows as my back decreases so they match up.

5.  I've also lengthened this cardigan a bit.  I've added about 1 1/2 inches to the length by starting my underarm shaping at 13 inches instead of at 11 1/2 inches.  I hope this turns out to be a good decision and that I don't run out of yarn because of it.

I'll post more updates as I start the sleeves.

Knitty.com ~ That Endless Free Wealth of Knitting Goodness

knitty.com

I try to check out Knitty.com every time a new quarterly issue is posted.  I think the folks there do an excellent job of putting out a great knitting resource full of wonderful free articles, information, and patterns.  But I must admit that most of the time I just give it a quick glance. 

Lately however, searching by way of Ravelry, I've happened upon some marvelous Knitty patterns and have had the chance to revisit some old favorites.  Now my current and upcoming knitting queue is loaded with patterns from Knitty.  Here are some that I've knitted recently or have waiting in my queue:

My version of the Blossoms by the Brook shawl by Ilga Leja.  I've already posted about this project.  I really love it and I am looking forward to wearing it A LOT when the weather is cooler again.

Vale by Norah Gaughan

One of my current knitting projects, Vale by Norah Gaughan.  I love the look of this pattern, and can't believe it's available for FREE on Knitty.com.  I've completed the back section and I am almost done with one side of this cardigan.  Will post an update when I have the side complete.

Fracetured Light Mitts by Kirsten Kapur

Fractured Light Mitts by Kirsten Kapur (also includes a pattern for a matching hat):  I have this pattern in my queue.  I was going to knit these mitts with some stash yarn, but I like the pattern so much that I think I will buy something special to knit them with, then find the perfect buttons to go on them!  You know how much I love vintage buttons :)

Hidden Gusset Mitts by Mone Dräger

The Hidden Gusset Mitts by Mone Dräger:  My friends have made these mitts, and the pattern is just beautiful.  I rarely knit with light fingering weight yarn, but I might just to make these sweet mitts.

Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery

And, of course, the Lace Ribbon Scarf by Veronik Avery.  I've posted about this beauty quite recently.  I still love this pattern. 

Knitting: Falling out of love, and back in again (Vale Cardigan by Norah Gaughan)

Well, as these things sometimes happen, I've fallen out of love a bit with my striped sweater project.  I'm just not feeling it right now.  I'll probably go back to it, or frog it and make something even better :)

But for now, I've moved on to something I really love:  The Vale Cardigan by Norah Gaughan from Knitty.com.  (Be sure to check Ravelry for some changes to the yarn amounts for this pattern.)

Vale Cardigan by Norah Gaughan from Knitty.com

Quite possibly the most beautiful sweater design there ever was - just gorgeous.  And the best part?  Because this sweater is a shorter length, I don't have to start out with one size for my hips and decrease down to a smaller size for my shoulders!  This rarely happens - Hurray!

I'm so excited about this project, and I'm still knitting it as part of Very Shannon's KAL.  I'm using Berroco Vintage in dungaree for my sweater.  I think it will be a nice neutral color that I'll e able to wear a lot and with everything.

Berroco Vintage in Dungaree

Now I know I said I wouldn't need to do any modifications to the pattern, but I am thinking about making two changes:

1.  I'm thinking of making the sleeves full length by adding an additional cable repeat.  I think long sleeves will be more practical on this worsted weight cardigan.

2.  I'm also considering adding a row of two or three buttons with buttonholes to the upper edge of the lapels of this sweater.  I think it would be a nice design element, and you know I like buttons :)  I also think I'd like the ability to button the top of this sweater in some situations.

I won't get this sweater done in time for the end of the KAL (which ends in a couple of days).  I'm going to take my time with this project and make the right modifications to create a sweater I'll really love.  Stay tuned for updates along the way!

Knitting Year in Review 2013

This is the time of year in the blogosphere where all bloggers do a post that looks back over the last year and makes some type of claim about the upcoming year.  And since I don't want to feel left out (or have you feel left out), here's my look back on my three favorite knitting projects from 2013:

1.  The Theresa Shawl by Nikki Wagner from the Fall 2013 Knitscene magazine:  I really love this shawl/scarf.  I've always been a little frightened of shawls, but there's an ease to this design that makes it so comfortable to just wrap around my neck and go.  I used stash yarn for this - I bought the green/yellow variegated yarn at Stitches South a few years ago.  I added the darker blue because I was afraid that I wouldn't have enough of the green color to finish this pattern.  The blue yarn is some Malabrigo Arroyo that I had leftover from my own shawl design, the Crossroads Textured Shawl.

2.  Norah Gaughan cardigan from my Summer Sweater Knit-a-Long:  I've talked at great length about how much I love this sweater.  The design is gorgeous, the color is wonderful, and I'm so happy with the modifications I made to the pattern.  It has become a staple of my wardrobe.  The yarn is Ella Rae Classic Wool.  Although this fiber is not particularly soft, it's only a little bit itchy at the neck and does wear well.  And I wear this sweater A LOT!

3.  Color Field Baby Blanket/Afghan by ME:  sorry, I just had to throw in one of my own designs :)  I do really love how this blanket came together.  I designed it for some friends who were expecting their first child.  I think the colors and design are both cheerful, yet modern.  And the new parents seem to love it!

So, there it is - my look back on 2013 in knitting.  And for 2014?  I have a few things up my sleeve:

1.  I have a couple of new designs that I will be posting on my Hubpages in the coming months.

2.  I want to make a fall jacket for myself.  I'm considering a pattern from Filati Handknitting, Issue 53 (lefthand side of page 12 - love it!).

3.  And I hope to have a few more surprises coming up!

Stay tuned!  Best wishes to all for a happy and bright 2014!!!

Summer Sweater Knit-A-Long: The Barney Effect

My Peterborough cardigan for the luvinthemommyhood Summer Sweater Knit-A-Long is complete!!  I worked overtime during the Labor Day weekend to get it seamed and finished :)

 I'm really happy with the final result of all the modifications I did to the pattern.  There's only two things I might change if I were to do it again:

1.  The finished sweater is a bit big in the hip area.  I lost some weight this spring, but used my old measurements when selecting the size of this sweater.  I still think it fits fine.  Right now I can cross the front pieces and wear it belted.  In the winter, I will be able to layer heavier items under it (and I will probably have gained some weight back by then).

2.  The sleeves are still a bit long.  I made them a 1/2 inch shorter than the pattern called for, but I think I could have taken off a full inch.  But, again, this leaves some room for layering.

I'm a bit surprised at how much I love this sweater.  Yes, Norah Gaughan's pattern is beautiful (they always are), but I was a bit worried about the color.  A few years ago I went into a local yarn store to buy yarn for my first sweater.  I wanted to make it in purple, but the store owner warned me against it.  She said, "Purple can go really Barney on you, really quick" in reference to the big purple dinosaur character.  Ever since then, I've shied away from knitting a full sweater in purple, thinking the garment and color might overpower me.

But in reality, I think the color can be easily managed and balanced.  I think I can wear this sweater with many things and a lot of other colors (maybe avoiding wearing head to toe purple).  I think it's a beautiful sweater design in a great color that I will wear a lot during the cooler months.  I'm happy :)

I've really enjoyed doing this knit-a-long.  It has been wonderful to meet and chat with the other knitters doing this KAL.  I've learned a lot and I am constantly amazed and inspired by their knitting projects :)

Summer Sweater Knit-A-Long, Update 3

Yea!  Hurrah!  I'm almost done with the two fronts of my Peterborough!! (Celebration ensues).

But, of course, with progress comes more modifications.  As I was knitting the first front piece, I realized the original pattern called for another rib band across the waist in the front.  I had not read through the entire pattern before starting (again) and did not realize this was part of the design (I partial blame the photo with the pattern that hides the ribbing with a belt - but then again, I should have checked what I was getting into before starting).

I didn't really like the ribbing in the front and hadn't planned on it.  However, if I omitted it, I would have to do more decreases on the front pieces than I had done on my back.  Luckily, I realized I could work in the additional decreases that I needed along the Stst edge by the cabled collar.  This actually solved two problems - I could add in the additional decreases and still match my back piece AND I could create a slight v-neck on the collar that would pull this itchy wool yarn a little bit away from my neck. 

I ended up doing 5 decreases at the lace edge.  I'm hoping with a good blocking, they will be unnoticeable in my stitches.


Next up - the sleeves.  There's nothing really interesting to say about sleeves.  I'm planning to knit them in the round, instead of flat, by casting on only 60 sts.  Hopefully, I will have them both done by September 1!!

Summer Sweater Knit-A-Long, Update 2

This post could be subtitled "Ah, Bugger!!!"

Well, I've finished the back section of my Peterborough for the Summer Sweater KAL.  While working on the back of my sweater, I was granted the opportunity to re-familiarize myself with one of the most important tenets of knitting:  ALWAYS READ THROUGH THE PATTERN BEFORE BEGINNING!!!

Alas, I had not.  I thought I could cast on for a larger size in the hips and just do more decreases to make the chest and shoulders a smaller size.  But I didn't realize (and didn't read) was that for the back rib band, the pattern calls for more increases as you start the band, and then decrease stitches as you finish the band.  This screwed up all my math and calculations.  And I had already knitted half of the back of my sweater :(

I was able to remedy this by doing *no* increases before starting to knit the back band, and doing more decreases as I was finishing the band.  And the math worked out. Yea!!

So, I'm moving on to the front sections of my cardigan, along with the lace and cable collar.  As with all things, this collar is proving more difficult than expected.  But more on that in my next post.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out my latest free knitting pattern - the Crossroads Textured Shawl.  This is my first shawl pattern and I'm pretty pleased with it :)

Til next time...

Summer Sweater Knit-A-Long

I've joined my first knit-a-long, sponsored by Shannon from luvinthemommyhood.  A knit-a-long (or KAL) for those who are unfamiliar, is when a group of people get together to knit the same item (or type of item) at the same time.  This is an online knit-a-long through Shannon's website and Ravelry, and (obviously) a sweater knit-a-long.

This KAL came along at just the right time for me.  I was planning to start my next sweater project anyway :)  I had bought a bag of Ella Rae Classic Wool in purple at SAFF.  I bought this yarn for another project, but have gone back and forth with it and finally decided to knit a cardigan.

I finally settled on Peterborough by Norah Gaughan (from her Berroco Vol. 8 booklet).  This cardigan might just be perfect for me.  I love the cabled collar with just a little bit of lace detail.  I think it will be very wearable with a lot of different outfits.

I'm going to try to keep my modifications to a minimum:

1.  I'm shortening the overall length from 28" to 25".

2.  Because of this, I'm raising the back ribbing belt to 11" from the bottom cast on edge.  I want it to sit at my natural waist.  

3.  I'm also casting on for a bigger size in the hips, then doing more decreases to make the chest and shoulders smaller.

I'm going to post regular updates on my progress here as part of the KAL.  Wish me luck :)

Oh, and I'll be posting a new knitting pattern for my first shawl in the next few days.  Be sure to stop by and see!