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Yesterday I knit the front bands of my Portrait Cardigan and I went shopping for buttons at Windsor Button.
I like how the antique tin goes with the recycled denim and I heart the heart! What do you think, good choice?
Just the collar left to knit (no small feat) and the final seaming -- we're on the home stretch!
So my "Christmas knit" this month is actually more of a gift idea than a decorating one. I call it "A Sheep's Mug Mat" (mug mat being a fancy name for a coaster).
I used this Drop's pattern (small size) to knit up the round mat using short rows. For yarn I chose Berroco Linsey (Shell), a cotton/linen blend which I love.
I knit the sheep parts in Knit Picks fingering (Bison)and attached them with fabric glue (you could also slip-stitch them on with invisible thread).
I think it makes a great mug mat. A set of 2 or 4 of these would be a great Christmas gift or you could just do one up for yourself.
I've been shopping around for awhile for a really comprehensive Knitwear Design book to have in my knitting library. It had to be written in language I could understand with lots of illustrations. I think I found it in Knitwear Design Workshop: A Comprehensive Guide to Handknits
This is a hardcover book but open it up and you'll find a spiral bound book within which means the book lies flat when opened -- love that! Shirley caught my attention right in her forward to the book in which she shares the story of how she came to designing and also what her personal style and approach has been. I knew I wanted to hear more of what she had to share from her knowledge and experience. And it's a LOT.
It may look like a sleeve for an Orangutan, but it is the first sleeve for my Portrait Cardigan.
And it is finished!
When you are knitting with denim yarn, you need to add extra-length to accomodate the shrinkage and while my measurement is right for the finished size, it sure seems like one VERY long sleeve.
Another thing I finished this week wasThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Is it just me or does it seem to you too that it's taking me FOREVER to knit up this cardigan?
The entire body is complete so I'm celebrating that. I'm trying not to think about the fact that we are still 2 sleeves and 2 front bands with collar away from completion!
This is the Marley hat I made for a new baby gift last summer. This adorable little guy has finally grown into it and his very gracious parents sent me a picture.
He makes my knitting look so good I just want to knit him an entire wardrobe! I really need to make more baby stuff.
Hokkaido is a blend of 57% bamboo, 30 % tussah silk, 5% mulberry silk, and 8% nylon created by Artfibers in San Francisco.
I have knit a lovely 8" x 8" swatch and my gauge is approx. 20 stitches/24 rows over 4" in stockinette on #7 needles. I love the texture in this yarn -- it is just so pretty.
The first time I swatched this yarn I thought that my knitted gauge was enough information on which to draw up a pattern and cast on. Sadly, it was not.
Because unfortunately this lovely yarn had to be washed at some point, and that's when things changed. If you missed that sad tale, I wrote about it here.
I am making slow but steady progress on this cardigan. Just made it to the point where I can divide for the armholes. It doesn't look like much right now because it's much longer than it will be to compensate for the shrinkage and the stitches look too loose but I know (from my swatch) that it all should come out beautifully in the wash.
