At Least I Learned Something (Sigh)

So, I had such hopes for my first seamless sweater. I dutifully followed all the instructions in "The Sweater Workshop," fully expecting that what would be the result would be the most beautiful baby sweater ever. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens in knitting, it was not to be.

I didn't take the time to consider the difference in proportions between a sweet little infant head and its adult counterpart. By the time I did realize that this might cause some problems, I was already deep into the raglan shaping. In frustration, I just decreased rapidly to leave enough stitches for the crew neck and get rid of the sleeve stitches. The finished results are not perfectly pleasing, unless Penelope will be playing football shortly after emerging from the womb. Despite these manipulations, I am seriously worried that the neck opening is too small. I haven't yet made up my mind what I'm going to do about it. I might take the time to try and rescue this sweater, or then again, I might just chalk it up to experience and move on.

Disappointment aside, I was very impressed by this book, and I am not in any way blaming Jacqueline Fee for my ineptitude. I am still planning on trying this method again, but I will be sure to take into account any special considerations for the intended recipient in the future.

At least someone appreciated this sweater! My toddler immediately snatched the sweater and yelled "mine!" when I tried to take it away. She loves putting it on her baby doll. I find this ironic as I have always thought the knitting of clothes for dolls to be somewhat silly. Funny how knitting humbles you isn't it?

Butterfly Madness and Dyeing Fun

I feel as though I have accomplished a lot in the last week. Another birthday gift is finished, and I'm very pleased with the results. It is the Butterfly Hat designed by Sofiya Cremin. I found the pattern on Ravelry, where one can find many wonderful things related to knitting, but you can also find the pattern here. I used Patons Soy Wool Stripes in Natural Navy. I love this colorway, and I hope that my sister-in-law does too.

I have also wanted to try my hand at dyeing for a while. I am making Amelia a little five colored hat from the Sandnes Luer Tema 01 Barn/Voksne Booklet. This has the cutest hats ever in it! Here is a picture of the pattern I chose.


I decided to use Knitpicks DK Swish Superwash in Bare and dye my own colors using the Jacquard Acid Dyes. I had a lot of fun turning this:

into this!

I think I am going to switch the blue and yellow colors on the hat, just because I happen to like blue better than yellow. Hopefully it will still be cute. My next project goals are to hurry up and finish Penelope's sweater and her Pumpkin Hat, both of which should be fast.

The Faux is Finished

Is there anything nicer than a finished project that resembles the picture that inspired you in the first place?

Here is a shot of the original mitts from Dakota Dreams. For the pattern, click here. The purple fingers are actually a pair of regular gloves. Honestly, I can't imagine wearing these over other gloves because they are very warm because of the stranding!

I am very pleased with how these have turned out, and I can only hope that the recipient feels the same way. If I could knit these again, I would have gone up one needle size and been more diligent in working to keep my strands loose. However, since this was my first stranded project I am giving myself a break. This project has taught me that Elizabeth Zimmerman was right when she taught that looser really is better. Once again, I can only be in awe of the knitting intellect of Zimmerman. Was there anything that woman didn't know about knitting?

Lighten Up

For once, I averted a knitting disaster by being honest with myself. As I was looking at the start of my Faux Fair Isle Mitts, I had to admit that perhaps the chocolate Cascade 220 was not the right yarn to highlight the stitch detail of this project. So, I switched to a cream and already think it is an improvement. I will, of course, have to find another project for the chocolate yarn, but I am already planning a sweater for Penelope that should make great use of it!