Design Class Wrap-Up and FO

Before I show off my latest FO, I first wanted to say thank you for all the nice comments on my Cable-8. I had grand plans of thanking people individually, but my workload at the office is out of control. I've been working lots of overtime and when I get home the last thing I want to do is get back on the computer. I'm also getting royally behind on my blog reading, but that's another story...on to the knitting!

I was able to finish the top I designed for my design class last week and wore it to the office on Thursday. As you may recall, I had initially planned to work on a modified Urban Aran for B, but with some early gauge issues that I couldn't resolve by the second class, I opted for something else. It is a simple design and I am very happy with the results. I looked through my copy of Knitting on the Edge for inspiration and found the Gazebo Lace panel. I pictured a simple knit top suitable for office wear in San Diego and reminiscent of the kind of knit top you might find at Ann Taylor. By the end of the second design class, I had my road map and I set to work.

My top is pieced together with set-in picot hemmed short sleeves. Although, I'm not a big fan of wool short-sleeved sweaters, I thought the 50% cotton in the Rowan Wool Cotton would keep the fabric appropriate for the design. The body is fitted, but not tight so it was worked pretty much to my measurements with no ease. The neck is a simple open neck modeled after one of my favorite Gap tanks. In fact, the neck is so simple, it is just bound off. I worked the neck deceases with short rows, which eliminated the stair steps and thus the real need to add a separate neck edge to smooth everything out. The neck lays nicely without anything else to help it do so.

The bobbles at the bottom edge of the top do tend to roll a bit, especially in front where they turn up when I sit down. But, for the sake of honesty, I decided to show what the top looks like after a day of wear. The bobbles can be pressed flat, but I'm sure those in front will always roll a little and I really don't mind.

I took the waist decreases and increases into the stockinette portion of the lace pattern. It worked out with my size that I could maintain the yarn overs and double decreases next to the side seams.

The top was made with just a bit over 6 balls of Rowan Wool Cotton in Still (964) on size 5 needles with a stitch gauge of just under 6 stitches per inch. I also consider this a stash project as the initial 4 balls of yarn were purchased during a 50% off sale with no plans for their use. However, that meant that I ended up having to add the other 3 balls as I went at virtually full price. The yarn was great to knit with and it did not split at all. It was soft, smooth and sproingy. I know I will use this yarn again for future projects...in fact, B is already hinting at how the leftovers would be nice in a beanie for him. :-)

Overall, I rate this project a success. Working though all the calculations in a "safe" classroom environment, has given me the confidence to make modifications to my current projects easily. I feel like I can just do it, instead of having to sit down and think through the logic and re-invent the wheel every time I want to lengthen the body or sleeves of a top, which is pretty much all the time. Plus, it was so dang fun. If you get a chance to take a class from Dave Kraft, do it. He is a knitting guru and a great guy. We always had so much fun and yet we learned so much. I know I could have read about basic sweater design in a book, but you just can't beat gleaning hints and tips from an experienced instructor. I am so glad I took this class and I am very happy with the final product.

Another Friday...More Random

It seems that I usually like to do my random posts on Thursdays, but I thought I'd mix it up a bit this week. I know, I'll try to be more consistent in the future.

1. I resurrected Cable 8 for my May 2007 UFO Resurrection Challenge. It took me almost a year to complete about 2 days worth of knitting.
2. I seamed it up last night and now I just need to make some satisfactory crochet sleeves and I will be done.
3. 'Satisfactory' being the operative word. I've ripped it out about three times now. I may try a bigger crochet hook because something is definitly NOT working.
4. I finished all the bits for my Ann Taylor top for the design class I am taking.
5. Our last class is tomorrow. We will set in the sleeves and work the finishing in class.
6. It took way more yarn than I ever thought...a recurring theme in my projects of late.
7. I am also close to finishing up the Cozy V-Neck Pullover. I've got a gameplan. Now, I just need to implement.
8. The sweater WILL work out. That has already been decided. The reality of what actually happens is moot at this point.
9. I wanted to share another Knitting In Action photo I received back in March. I knit up this wool hunting cap for my retiring boss. Although it did come out too small (it is supposed to be a fold-over brim), he says he loves it nontheless and has found a way to wear it regardless.

10. This makes me very happy.

Happy Friday everyone!

Lazy Sunday

Our planned lazy Sunday turned out not to be so lazy after all. My goal all week and into the weekend was to get all of our chores done so we could relax and play today...that didn't happen. It was fine though because we got so much done it is ridiculous! First, we ended up doing all those chores today in the midst of two major (mostly) non-knitting projects which will be blogged about this week as they are completed.

So to distract you, I've included a current status picture of my modified Cozy V-neck Pullover. You can see that the neck is doing what I was hoping it would...namely be deeper. I had some gauge issues that I think I have more or less worked out, so I think with a good blocking all the little wiggles and warps should *hopefully* work themselves out.

I would love to keep working on this sweater full steam except for my design class sweater is getting in the way. The front is supposed to be done for our class next Saturday. I have the back done and I am working away on the front but really it is just two of the exact same. I don't NEED to have the front done in order to plan out my sleeves in class but given my current level of distraction, I feel it is a really good idea to get the front done as soon as possible.

I had initially intended to repeat the lace panel along the bottom edges of the short sleeves, but the more I have thought about it, the more I think that would just take away from the lace at the bottom of the front and back. I'm thinking a little something needs to be at the sleeve edge, but more toned down. Knitzalot suggested a picot hem, so I'll be looking into that this week before class.

And as a final distraction, I thought I would share a few photos of the roses from the Balboa Park Rose Garden I took last weekend. I thought it would be a fun contrast to the beautiful desert scenery Nonnahs posted earlier in the week.

10 things for another Thursday

1. The monkey is dead. My brother's sweater is necked, washed and blocked. I think he will really like the fit now. But somehow after the 2nd bath, the arms grew...even after I widened them. It must be magic yarn.
2. Wee Jennys! I actually got these from Wee-Ones a little while ago, but hadn't had the opportunity to post about them yet.

I put my thumb in there for scale because honestly, they are even more wee than I thought they were going to be. She was super great to work with and even though she apologized for the delay in finishing them, I thought she was super fast! I mean, these were totally custom for me. She even had me "proof" the first concept piece. So, if you have a special friend - get them immortalize in femo clay!
3. I finally finished the back of my design class sweater project. I washed and blocked it last night.
4. It will be a miracle if I can replicate what I did for the (identical) front piece.
5. With my brother's sweater of the to-do list, I am officially only working on 2 active projects: my design sweater and my manos blanket.
6. Manos makes me really happy.
7. But I am starting to panic about a couple of my color choices. Part of the blanket looks like a swamp and the other part is super happy. I'm trying to make them work together, but was having trouble. I'll have to get my colorist, B recruited for the job.
8. Last Saturday I fell in love with Koigu all over again. I mean, did I ever fall out of love? No. But, I found the most beautiful colorway that is perfect for Mim's Seraphim. Not too solid, not too variegated. But I would need about 6 hanks. Ugh.
9. I made it back to spin class last night after a 4 month hiatus. I initially took a break to avoid all the New Year's resolution people that swarm the gym in January and take all the bikes in class before I can get over there after work. But then it just stuck and I didn't go back until last night.
10. So, in an effort to keep my motivation, the paperclip chain has been started again. If I can go for 12 weeks without skipping (for no GOOD reason), I will have earned that Koigu!

Not Exactly Quitting

When thinking about writing this post, all these old saying kept coming to my mind, such as “if at first you don’t succeed....” and the one about the “best laid plans”. So, yeah, basically, sometimes no matter how hard you try to make something work or attempt to fix what is wrong, you get to the point where your skill level is maxed out…especially under time constraints. Basically, B’s sweater just doesn’t work. I tried so many things between the week of my first sweater design class and the second but just couldn't get the cable re-gauging to work. The cables in cotton-ease looked gross. And even after returning to the original TLC yarn and adding several increases to compensate for the pull of the cables, I couldn’t get rid of the stupid pleat that it was making at the edge. It was ugly.

However, it was also 10:30 pm the night before my second class…for which I was supposed to have all of my revised swatches completed and ready to go. I talked to B and basically came to the decision that if I was going to make the yarn work, I needed more time to settle on a different pattern or be able to try and work out the cable 'physics'. And if I was going to make the pattern work, I needed more time to settle on a different yarn, one more appropriately gauged. I was very disappointed. But I’ve also knit long enough to know when the towel needed to be thrown in…even if just temporarily.

This also meant I had that night to come up with a new concept for my design class the next morning...and for the remaining 3 months. It also had to be something that I already had the yarn for, since I had to swatch and block that night. Fortunately, I had already had a glass of wine by that time, which served to keep me from completely freaking out. I looked through my stitch dictionaries and my Knitting on the Edge and came up with a couple options. I had a couple particular stash yarns in mind when I happened to look across my living room and see the Rowan Wool Cotton in Still (964 - aka "baby poop") that I happen to pick up at a 50% off sale. Perfect!

I picked out the Gazebo lace panel from Knitting on the Edge, knit it up, blocked it that night and then roughly sketched out my idea. Basically, I am making a fancy t-shirt. I’ve come to dub it my “Ann Taylor” top because I am thinking it will end up looking like one of those knit tops that tend to be so popular at Ann Taylor during the spring. The Gazebo lace will edge the bottom and the columns will continue up to below my bust line. The rest of the top will be in solid stockinette stitch so that I can properly camouflage a bra. The sleeves will most likely be entirely in the lace pattern, but may also feature a stockinette sleeve cap depending on how things look when I get to that point.

Close up of the lace panel

Current status

The next day in class, I was able to run the calculations for my waist decreases and increases as well as the arm shaping. My teacher then helped me walk through calculating the neck to achieve the look I was going for. Since then, I’ve been working on my back (which is due in two weeks) in between bouts of hoodie knitting (which has now progressed to the hood!). I am really excited about seeing my top transform and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will turn out as planned! Wish me luck!!