Sweaters

For the past couple of years my friend Cindy and I have spent New Year’s Eve together bing watching Gray’s Anatomy and casting on sweaters for ourselves for the new year.

This year we both purchased Julie Asselin Nurtured from River City Yarns in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. This yarn is an amazing blend of Rambouillet, Targhee, and Merino in stunning heathered tones. I chose Tisane, a reddish purply-pink; Cindy chose a dark gray.

After a lot of searching on Ravelry, we both decided to knit Kiki, a textured top-down cardigan by Julie Weisenberger, that uses Julie’s signature Cocoknits construction. (Be aware that you’ll need a copy of Julie’s Book Cocoknits Sweater Workshop in order to follow the instructions in the Kiki pattern.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the end of the cast-on day, I had made good progress on the back neck, shoulders, and fronts, and I was feeling pretty proud of myself. Unfortunately, I failed to notice a mis-placed column of knit stitches next to each of the back cables. I probably could have dropped down stitches and corrected them, but it would have meant dropping back ALL of the back stitches. I decided it was better to rip it all out and feast on a large slice of humble pie.

I happily knitted most of the upper body before I noticed that I had twisted two (2!) cables in the wrong direction, one of which was 60 rows back. Because only 12 stitches were affected, I chose to drop down those 60 rows and pick up the 12 stitches row by row, correcting the errant cable crosses along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I admit that I was feeling a little discouraged at this point. However, I ate more humble pie and soldiered on. I’m afraid that I ran into a couple other mishaps along the way that I didn’t bother photographing, but I’ve now finished the body and am delighted with the results.

It *should* be smooth sailing from here on, but I’m determined to stop and examine my stitches every couple of inches.

My your New Year’s projects give you fewer fits!

 

When I was in Canada last fall, I had the good fortune to spend a few hours at Knit City, western Canada’s biggest textile, yarn, and fiber event. The marketplace was packed with Canadian vendors selling the most beautiful yarns.

Although it wasn’t my intention, I was seduced by Sweet Fiber hand-dyed Merino Twist Worsted and bought a sweater’s quantity in the awesome colorway called Woodsmoke. I don’t normally purchase this much yarn without clear intentions of what to do with it. I told myself that I would design something fabulous with it.

However, when I saw that a couple of friends in my Sunday knitting group were knitting Joji Locatelli’s Big Old Coat, I decided it was better than anything I could design on my own.

Because I don’t want an oversized sweater, I’m following the directions for the smallest size. I never would have thought it possible without trying on my friends’ coats in progress!

I have to admit that it’s pure delight to follow instructions without having to do any math or planning on my own! This design begins with the back collar, then the upper body (including the shawl collar) is worked from the top down to the base of the armholes. The back and front are joined at the armholes and worked in a single piece to the hem. Stitches for the sleeves are picked up around the armholes, then worked in rounds to the cuffs. Other than weaving in ends and blocking, there’s no additional finishing!

 

I knitted a generous gauge swatch in the interesting texture pattern and managed to get the correct gauge on the first try. So far, I’ve completed the two sections of the k2, p2 ribbed back collar and have picked up stitches for the back.

You can’t see it in this photo, but the yarn forms a satisfying squishy fabric that’s going to feel like a comfy hug around my neck and shoulders!