Bunny Wishes Sweater - Body Done!

Yesterday I finished binding off the body.  I elected not to work the folded hem (Kitchener stitching all those stitches in dark wool?  No thank you!) and instead worked the ribbing pattern from the neck, after working two rounds of the blue to provide a break between the patterning and the ribbing.  I’ll work the same ribbing pattern on the sleeves.  And I’ve already started working one of the sleeves.  Some relatively mindless (just mind the decrease rows) knitting.  The fit, even unblocked, is pretty good.  I think the ease may be a bit on the larger side, but if I had gone down a size, I think it would have been a tad tight in the shoulders.  The announcement for the patterns for the second quarter Canadian Collaboration from Fleece and Harmony came out today - Seagulls.  I’m going to pass this time, and instead do a knit along with Carol Feller of Stolen Stitches.  The pattern is a really cool cardigan with an unusual construction.  I ordered the yarn kit from her and already have it.  It starts April 1.

Pattern:  Bunny Wishes Sweater by Sarah L. Kelly

Yarn:  Fleece & Harmony Wildwinds

Needles:  US 2 (2.75 mm) and US 3 (3.25 mm)

Copenhagen Cardigan - Cast On!

Truthfully, I cast this on back on January 13, but I put it away in a plastic box while I finished up the Seascair Blanket and Pillows, and the Hedgerow Shawl, and started working on the Bunny Wishes Sweater.  This project came about because Ewe Ewe Yarns was having a knit along.  The pattern was the Love Note pullover by Tin Can Knits, and the yarn was Ewe Ewe Yarns Fluffy Fingering and Magicland Yarns Marvelous Mohair, held together, and the colors…well, they were my favorite colors.  So I leaped without looking too closely, only to realize once I started really looking at the pattern that it was one of those where you knit at a loose gauge, and I am not a fan.  But I loved the yarn, so I went looking for a pattern that would match my gauge, and found the Copenhagen Cardigan by PetiteKnit.  It is a basic cardigan, knit top down, and I thought it would be really nice as a fuzzy purple/pink confection.  I quickly knit the collar, and then set it aside when I got to the short row shaping for the neck.  I did set the pattern up in my knitCompanion, so I was all ready to pick it back up again when the opportunity arose, and the opportunity arose when I got to the patterned hem on the Bunny Wishes Sweater.  I wanted something that would not require quite as much attention - more TV watching knitting, as opposed to TV listening knitting.  Yesterday morning I pulled it back out and made it through the short row shaping for the neck.

I’m still in love with the colors and the yarn.  I was never a fan of mohair before, but I like holding it with another non-fuzzy yarn.  I even learned how to set up linked counters in knitCompanion (not hard, just never had done it before) to remind me when to work the button holes.

Pattern:  Copenhagen Cardigan by PetiteKnits

Yarn:  Ewe Ewe Yarns Fluffy Fingering and Magicland Yarns Marvelous Mohair

Needles:  US 4 (3.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm) 

Bunny Wishes Sweater - Plain Body Done!

After finishing the yoke, I divided for the sleeves and started working the body.  It took me three tries to get the stitch gauge right.  The first try I did not go down a needle size from the colorwork section (a rookie mistake) and my stitch gauge was way off and the body was way too large.  Fortunately I realized before I got too far into things and I ripped back and went down a needle size (from the 3.25 mm to a 3.0 mm).  It was better, but the stitch gauge was still off and it was still coming out too large.  So I ripped back again and went down to a 2.75 mm needle (the smaller needle called for in the pattern).  Finally, things were looking good.  My row gauge is tighter than the pattern calls for, but that is easy to adjust.  I did notice that my row gauge on the colorwork section was also off (less rows per four inches than called for), but that worked out okay.  I have noticed that my stockinette gauge tends to be in the ratio of 3 to 4 (stitch gauge generally is 3/4 of the row gauge) but my colorwork gauge tends to be more square (stitch gauge and row gauge almost the same).

Once I finished up the plain stockinette section I tackled the set up for the colorwork hem.  There are four charts that I have to work from for the hem for my size (charts 2, 3, 4 & 5), and charts 2 and 5 are repeated once.  So the knitting order is:  2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5 (front), then 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5 (back).  I pulled out different colored stitch markers to help give me a visual cue for the chart switching, but found out that wasn’t quite enough to keep me on track, so I resorted to making some labels for each section attached to locking stitch markers.  That seems to be working.  Of course I am also using knitCompanion, which I absolutely love for working charts.

Pattern:  Bunny Wishes Sweater by Sarah L. Kelly

Yarn:  Fleece & Harmony Wildwinds

Needles:  US 3 (3.25 mm) and US 2 (2.75 mm)

Hedgerow Shawl MKAL - Finished!

Well, those three weeks (from cast on) sure went quickly.  I did take pictures after each clue, but just never got around to posting/blogging about them.  So, here is Clue 2.

And Clue 3.

It has been a little while since I did a mystery knit along, or anything with lace.  This project is the first lace shawl of the year, not that there is a ton of lace.  But it was a relaxing knit, and it used up some stash.  It is a shawl shape that I like, even if blocking can be a little bit of a challenge.

With the world being all browns, and white when it snowed, I was really craving some color.  The yarn is very soft, and it was nice to work with.  The shawl has nice drape.

Pattern:  Hedgerow Shawl MKAL by Helen Stewart

Yarn:  Round Table Yarns Camelot

Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)