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Tag: cardigans

  • Memory Vest and Digger Jacket

    Memory Vest and Digger Jacket

    I actually did finish a couple long-gestating knitting projects in 2021! Above you can see the Snook modelling his new cabled v-neck vest. He’s decided in recent years that he likes knitted vests, as he can still wear a jacket over them and not be too warm. The wool is Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed from a packet that I bought in a Knitters Guild destash many years ago. It’s wonderfully soft and squooshy, and I knew it wouldn’t make him itch. (The colour is 419 Butternut, but to me it looks more like a golden cookie or a teddy bear.) The pattern is called Dr. G’s Memory Vest, and it was designed as a tribute to someone who suffered from dementia. I modified the pattern to be knitted in the round from the bottom up, and I worked on it off-and-on throughout the year. I also tweaked the length slightly as the Snook has a long torso. Doesn’t it look good against a blue shirt? More details over on Ravelry.

    Digger Jacket

    The other project I finished was the Digger Jacket. I actually started this project years ago when my cousin had her first child back in the US. I severely underestimated how quickly I can knit complicated intarsia though (or how frustrating dealing with hundreds of ends can be) so it took me a really long time to finish. By the time it was ready for the zipper, she was pregnant with her third son! I brought it to Germany with me so I could finally finish it off, and last month I was lucky enough to get to deliver it to her in the US. Obviously it’s a bit big for the little one right now, but he’ll grow into it. The wool is Morris Estate 8ply and I absolutely love the colours. As always, I tried to minimise sewing up by knitting the fronts and back together on a singular circular needle. The trade-off was that meant I had to knit all four machines at the same time, which got pretty complicated juggling all the different colours. I tried to simplify things a little by using duplicate stitch for the words and a few of the smaller details. I’m really charmed by how it turned out though, and the little one looks so adorable in it! More details on Rav…

  • Blackberry Cardigan and Argyll Vest

    Yesterday I picked up my entries from the Sydney Royal Easter Show Arts & Crafts Competition. I entered two projects: a cardigan for me that had been hibernating 90% done for over a year, and a hipster vest requested by the Snook at Christmas. I’m really happy with how both of them turned out. (I didn’t win any ribbons this year, but I’ve given up trying to understand the judging criteria. That way lies madness.) Anyway, the details…

    Blackberry Cardigan

    Blackberry CardiganThis is a cardigan I started knitting for myself back in 2013 but never finished. I love knitting cables, and I wanted something warm and snuggly to wear in winter (and in my freezing cold office). The wool is Filatura di Crosa Zara merino wool, which I’d previously bought from Reecie in a destash. I’d knitted a couple things out of it previously, and I knew that it would give great stitch definition yet be soft enough to wear directly on my skin. I hate sewing up, so I knitted the body in one piece up to the arm holes. Then I split the piece and worked the back and two fronts separately up to the shoulders before joining them with a three-needle bind-off. I also knitted each sleeve in the round up to the sleeve cap, which I knitted flat. At that point, I lost my knitting mojo and the pieces sat in my craft room for well over a year. When I unearthed them, I realised there wasn’t a great deal left to do. I picked up and the knitted the giant shawl collar (which goes all the way around and includes the button holes for the front), then blocked all the pieces before sewing them together. I found the buttons at Sew Make Create. I’m really, really pleased how it turned out. I’m wearing it right now, in fact! (More details over at Ravelry.)

    Argyll Vest

    Argyll VestOver Christmas we were having lunch at a cafe in Newtown when the Snook asked if I’d knit him a “hipster sweater vest.” He so rarely asks for knitted things, I got really excited and pulled up Ravelry that minute on my iPhone to start searching for patterns. When I saw katarina’s Argyll Vest, we both knew it was the perfect one. Happily I had the pattern book it’s from already in my collection! We walked straight up to The Granny Square and picked out the wool on the spot. We selected three different “heathered” colours of Morris Empire 4-ply. The only pattern mod I made was to make the body a bit longer, because Rodd has a very long torso. Since the neckline is meant to start at the top of a diamond, I had to decide ahead of time how much length I was going to add (so I could add it on at the bottom above the ribbing). And of course, you can’t knit intarsia in the round so I had to knit the front and back separately. I love the neat geometry of intarsia and had a lot of fun seeing the diamonds emerge. The diagonal lines – which I learned are called rakers – were embroidered on with Swiss darning. Then I just had to block it, sew it up, and knitting on the bands. He really likes it! I think it’s going to get a lot of wear this winter. (More details over at Ravelry.)

  • Photo post

    Photoshoot sneak peeks of finished knitting, back from the Show. I'll put a full blog post up tonight!

    Photoshoot sneak peeks of finished knitting, back from the Show. I’ll put a full blog post up tonight!

  • Photo post

    No love from the RAS this year. I'm cool with that.

    No love from the RAS this year. I’m cool with that. @ Sydney Showground

  • Paper Dolls

    Paper DollsI should properly document this one, huh? The pattern is Kate Davies’s Paper Dolls, which is a short-sleeved pullover with a fairisle yoke. Since I can’t do anything simply, I decided to convert it to a cardigan. I bought the main wool (green Rowan Felted Tweed) nearly three years ago at the Wool Inn in Penrith. The brown and cream contrast colours are Grignasco Tango from Fiona. I went up a size or two to get some ease through the body. I still knitted it in the round, adding a 6-stitch steek up the middle (and making that the start of all rounds). For the sleeves, I simply made up the increases making sure I finished on the right number of stitches for the yoke pattern repeat. When it was done, I did a crochet steek with hand-stitching for extra reinforcement. Then I cut it open. I had originally intended to put a button band on it, but once I tried it on I realised it wanted to be a jacket with a zip. So that’s what I did! I did an i-cord edging along the fronts and then hand-sewed in a zipper. I love it! (More photos over on Ravelry.)

  • Adventures in Dyeing

    After I got home from cheese-making, it was time for more fun with giant pots. It was finally time to dye my February Lady Sweater. I always meant to dye it, but I was just too lazy. The cream did nothing for me though, and I never wore it. So I picked up some Jacquard Acid Dye in Burnt Orange and got to work (with some much-needed email guidance from knitabulous). The cardigan – which had been previously washed and soaked overnight – went into the pot along with some citric acid, dye, and lots of water. It was very vivid and murky. I kept it on a gentle simmer for about 40 minutes, checking on it often. I was pleased to see the water clearing just like Ailsa said it would! I turned off the heat and left it overnight. In the morning I dumped out the water and gave the cardigan a rinse and another soak (with hair conditioner). That night I finally squeezed out the water and had a look at the final product. To be honest, I was a little surprised at how blotchy it was. The dye didn’t take up evenly, and the effect is almost like tye-dye. (I’ve since read on Twitter that this is a common problem, and that dying whole garments rarely works perfectly.) Anyway, I let it dry thinking I’d make a final assessment later. Today, I actually wore it to work. And you know what? I think I like it!

    Dyed cardy

    I’ve had some compliments on it at work, and everybody seems to think the dye effect is intentional. It’s definitely more wearable than the cream version was! I may still have a go at touching it up; I’ve got more dye that I can “paint on” the lighter areas. But for now, I’m pretty happy with my first go at dyeing. Thanks to Ailsa and everybody who gave advice on Twitter!

  • Snook’s Hipster Cardy

    Snook's Hipster CardyAs my knitting buddies know, this has actually been finished for more than a month but I’ve only just now gotten around to documenting it. This was my entry to the 2011 Sydney Royal Easter Show, where it didn’t win anything. The pattern is “#17 Man’s Cable Cardigan” by Josh Bennett for the Winter 2009/2010 issue of Vogue Knitting. (Many thanks to Reecie for lending me the pattern.)

    The Snook was not initially receptive to the idea of a cardigan, because they seemed either a) too daggy and “grandpa” or b) too hip and trendy. That’s when I started calling it the Hipster Cardy. I told him that as a bicycle-riding, bearded I.T. nerd from the Inner West it was his sacred destiny to wear an ironic grandpa cardigan. So I knitted it anyway, knowing he’d like it once he had it on. He’s worn it several times now. We’ve had some fun staging photos where I tell him to “Look supercilious! Like you think my favourite band is crap!” and stuff. “More condescending! Sneer at my carbon footprint!”

    Snook's Hipster Cardy Snook's Hipster Cardy Snook's Hipster Cardy

    It’s actually a very nice cardy and he does sincerely like it. I was worried about the ribbing along the buttons, because I had seen others that came out very wavy and ripply. The instructions say to cast off as loosely as possible, which seems INSANE. That would just make it more ripply! I did a sewn cast-off, and I’m mostly happy with it. He tends to only do up a couple buttons anyway, which means you can’t really tell.

    The wool is Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in “Pumpernickel” (a nice dark flecky brown). I actually knitted on the recommended needles (4mm and 4.5mm). The buttons are vintage men’s buttons I got at All Buttons Great and Small. (Ravelry details)

    And as always, the Easter Show judges can suck it. 🙂

  • Eyelet Yoke Cardigan

    Eyelet Yoke CardiganEyelet Yoke Cardigan
    One of my co-workers just had his first baby – a little girl – so I decided to knit something for him. I had some Morris Empire 4ply in #436 Bloom that I thought would be perfect. I went to Ravelry to look for suitable baby cardigans with patterns that wouldn’t compete too much with the variegated wool. (And no Baby Surprise! I am going to come out of the closet and admit that I think they’re pretty ugly. I’m going to stop torturing myself by knitting them.) Anyway, I found this Eyelet Yoke Cardigan that seemed like it would work. It was really quick to knit up, and I used less than 2 balls of the Empire (on 3.5mm needles). The eyelet details on the yoke (pic), sleeves, and waist kept it fun and interesting. For the buttons, I was pleased to find 5 similar-ish buttons (pic) in my stash all in colours that matched the wool. Hooray for mismatched buttons! (More details on Ravelry here.)

    I gave the cardy to Fei this morning and he was thrilled! I can’t wait to see pics of it on his little girl.

  • Easter Show Rejection – AGAIN!

    So the Easter Show is upon us once more, which means it’s the time of year when Kris busts her ass to finish some gargantuan knitting project only to have it unceremoniously dumped in the corner of the display with no pretty award ribbons attached. I hate to sound bitter, but it’s really getting annoying to see the same (ugly) styles winning certain categories every year. I gave up on Arans after I realised that “cream” and “bobbles” were necessary ingredients. This year I thought I was playing it safe with the Snook’s Hipster Cardigan. Well, not only did I not get a ribbon, but they didn’t even award a first place in my class! (In previous years when that occurred, the judges explained it was because no entry was up to the “blue ribbon standard.”) It’s perplexing. And it’s not just sour grapes; other deserving entries also lost out to inexplicably awful designs. (There were some worthy winners of course, especially those from my friends like Fiona!) I guess I’ll just wait to see if they give me any actual judging feedback. (I’m guessing not.) Oh well, at least the Snook will have a warm jumper to wear this winter!

    Hipster Cardy at the Show

    Photo courtesy of Jody, since I couldn’t be arsed going out to the Arts Preview this year…

  • Momentous Weekend

    Man, does April Fools’ Day suck or what? It used to be amusing, but now it’s just 85 of my Facebook friends all linking to the same Google prank. It was funnier when you actually had to work to figure out which news stories were true and which were fake.

    But of course, Friday had another significance in our house. On that day, eleven years ago, the Snook and I first kissed in London. We’ve been practically (and literally) married ever since. (Him: “I don’t think other people celebrate Hook-up Anniversaries.” Me: “SHUSH. We do.”) In honour of the day, we went out for dinner at Porteño in Surry Hills. I’ve wanted to go there ever since the official SMH review called the lamb “f–king amazing.” It did not disappoint. We had the lamb, the blood sausage, and the brussels sprouts. SO GOOD. The place also has a serious retro vibe going on, so it was fortunate that I got frocked up for the occasion. (The hostess actually asked me if it was a Yoshi Jones dress. I told her it was from Heartbreaker.) The only downside to the meal is that we were both totally suffering from over-indulgence all day Saturday. I was in a lamb fat coma for like 24 hours straight…

    The second momentous occurrence from the weekend was that I finally finished my entry for the Easter Show knitting competition. I made a Hipster Cardigan for the Snook. I don’t have any photos of the completed garment yet though. The shoulders came out weirdly pointy from my blocking, and it looked kind of odd when he modelled it. (I think it’ll be fine for the show since they’ll just hang it on fishing line anyway.) But I think I’ll need to give it a proper wash once it’s home before we do a photo shoot. I was also meant to have a toy and some mittens to go with it… but yeah, that didn’t happen. Totally overambitious this year. Note to self: You can’t train for a marathon AND knit three Show entries.

    Marathon training provided the third momentous achievement of the weekend: I ran TWENTY MILES today! That’s 32K. (Well, actually I did 33K.) It took me nearly five hours, but I did it. The amazing thing is that I felt totally great the whole run and actually enjoyed myself! I think I’ve finally hit the magic combination of run/walk intervals (1:1), nutrition (Hammer Gels in apple/cinnamon are SO GOOD), and hydration (Hammer Endurolytes meant no cramps at all!). I wrote a long run report over at dailymile that I’ll reproduce here below. Like I said, MOMENTOUS WEEKEND!

    Run Report:

    I am just in awe of how great this run went. I had been apprehensive beforehand, since my stomach had been bothering me all Saturday. I was well-prepared though. I was trying out the Endurolytes that Eoin O. recommended, so I took two of them before the run. I had a mix of Endura and Hammer gels. I had my water belt filled and ready to go. I taped my right foot and ran on my orthotics in my new Mizunos. I had my new Mophie Juice Pack to double my iPhone battery life. And once I got out there, it just all came together perfectly!

    It was sunny today, but I was out there early enough (6:30am) that it didn’t get too hot. I did 1:1 run/walk the whole way. First I did the 5K from Chippo to the start of the Bay Run. Nice and easy. My right hip/hamstring started to make itself known, but I’d slathered it with Voltaren so I knew it wouldn’t get too bad. I addressed it with my mind: “Hamstring! I acknowledge you. I know you’re not happy. But if we get through this together, you’ll have another three weeks to rest up.” It seemed to help.

    I had my first new Hammer “apple cinnamon” gel at the 45 minute mark. YUM! Ohmygosh, these taste just like the inside of a McDonald’s apple pie! Best gel ever. There were a lot of people out doing the Bay Run today. Lovely breeze over the water too. I was feeling good. I refilled my bottles and headed back towards the city over ANZAC Bridge.

    I was having a gel every 45 minutes, and 2 Endurolyte capsules every hour. That seemed to be a perfect ratio. My stomach felt absolutely fine. On my last run I was mixing gels, gummy bears, and sports drink, and it was just TOO MUCH. With just the gels, I was able to manage exactly how much sugar was going into my stomach.

    I reached the halfway point back at the house, feeling great with a big smile on my face. I changed my shirt, used the toilet, and slathered some more Voltaren on my hip. The Snook refilled all my water and food supplies. Then I was off again towards Centennial Park.

    I had planned to meet up with my friend Kristin at the start of the park loop, but I didn’t spot her. I stopped for 5 minutes to send her an SMS and refill my water, but she wasn’t there. So I headed off on my own. I was 3/4 of the way around the big 5K loop when she rang me. She’d been within 100m of me the whole time, but somehow didn’t get my SMS! I caught up to her and we did the second small loop together. Running with a friend is the BEST part of these long runs. I just don’t feel tired or sore at all when I’m running/chatting with another person.

    By that point, I was well and truly beyond my previous barrier of 27km. And I felt GREAT. I just couldn’t believe it. Yeah, my hamstring was sore, and my feet were pretty tired. But I had zero cramping, my back was fine, and my stomach felt good. I said goodbye to Kristin and headed back up Cleveland Street for home.

    I soon met the Snook, who gave me a massive double-high-five when he reached me. We ran the last 3K home together. It was so great. I was smiling and feeling good. I feel like I could’ve done another 10K to finish out the marathon! Isn’t there supposed to be a wall somewhere? I didn’t feel any walls! This just felt too easy. The Snook was like, “Are you sure you didn’t miss a bit???” That’s what it was like. I felt like I’d done 10K, not 32K.

    So hooray! Another milestone reached and another goal exceeded. Super huge thanks to Eoin for his advice on the Endurolytes. I think those were a massive help to me today. And of course thanks to Kristin and to the Snook for running a bit with me. Three weeks to rest up before the next long one!