new FO gallery!

I've been having fun with Mosaic Maker. Here are some pictures of my latest work:

Left-right from top left: Knitpicks Imagination chevron beret, front cable of Reynolds Candide Radcliffe Cardigan, two squares from a Noro Kureyon Log Cabin laptop case.

And here are some lovely new pictures of sweaters other people have knit with my patterns!

Left-right from top left: Nonstop Knitter's, Medieval Cactus's, Onoris's, knttygirl's, Koshiba's, Darwin Exception's, redroseknits's, Firstfallen's, and crgilvr's Modified Drops Eyelet Yoke Baby Cardigans (Ravelry names).

Left-right from top left: Manoute's, Ummeyysuf's, Nukka's, Knitterbunny's, Pennyg's, Realrellim's, Garnlinda's, Stressknitters', Bluedodo's, Mootthing's, Archangel's, Jandy's, Knickertwisters', Greendillybeans', Thomasinaknits', and Gotham Mom's Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigans (Ravelry names).

Yay for mosaics!

More Sheep join the fold

The slippers are blocked and have their buttons sewn on. With the addition of a tam, that completes the pink sheep baby set:


It is well nigh impossible to photograph a tam well. Laid flat it looks like a knitted frisbee. But laid any other way, it looks like a ball of moosh. I guess the only way to do it well would be to smack it on some kid's head. Alas, some kid was not available this morning as I was taking pictures.

With those baby items out of the way, no more people to knit presents for, and lots of schoolwork I should be doing, of course I cast on for a totally frivolous and recipient-less baby sweater:


Yes, I am a copycat: Shelley's gorgeous brown and pink Narnia cardigan was so beautiful that I had to run out and buy some yarn in comparable colors to knit it myself. It's an incredibly apt thing to be knitting right now; look what is outside the office window:


Ah, spring.

Silence and silent auction knitting

Apologies for the relative blog silence recently. I've been a little overloaded with schoolwork -- totally saturated with saints' lives, relics, manuscripts, and frescoes, not to mention bogged down with research (which I claim to be doing all the time and yet which never really seems to result in much actual material)...

I have been knitting, just a bit. The choir is holding another silent auction this year and I have decided to donate my two sheep sweaters. To sweeten the deal, I've been working on some hats and booties to make them in to sets. I've finished the boy's version:


I thought long and hard about whether to make the hat match the yoke pattern, and finally decided against it, thinking that the repetition of the pattern would take away from its cuteness effect. Also, I was running out of green yarn. I have absolutely no idea how big a baby's head or feet are. The hat strikes me as a little on the small side, and the booties as I was knitting them seemed grotesquely large. Now, placed next to the sweater, they look small. They are cute though:


I used Carole Barenys's pattern for two-needle baby booties, but enlarged it by a few stitches, added some familiar sheep, and knit them in the round. I have avoided taking pictures of their horribly kitchenered soles. I always think that knit baby booties look a little amateurish, a little lumpy and acrylicky, no matter how they are knit. I hope that the sheep offset this factor a little bit.

For the girl's version, I made up my own bootie pattern, which I think worked out rather well, albeit with straps that are noticeably too short. I am trying to figure out how to rectify this problem, and coming to the miserable conclusion that I may have to rip them out. For the time being, I am thinking of trying some elastic loops on the ends of the straps at least to see how long they could possibly be. They are cute, though; here's a blocking shot:

I could not find a knitted slipper pattern that had all the features I wanted (especially stockinette going in the right direction to add my sheep), so I made something up. I used a toe-up sock cast-on (figure 8), then increased the uppers a little more than the soles, then knit them as a tube up until the mary-jane part, at which point I continued them flat and then decreased dramatically for the heel end and kitchenered the backs closed (with an incrementally-improving kitchener stitch). No seaming! They are not perfect -- I need to fiddle with the pattern a little bit before I consider writing it up -- but they will suffice, and the pair took only one evening in front of the TV to complete. I've just cast on for the matching hat -- a tam following EZ's easy instructions. We'll see how that works out.

There's more to show, but the camera ran out of juice: additions to the stash, headway on the fair isle button band, another version of the peach-blossom baby jacket in different colors. Those posts will have to wait for another day, when batteries and time are more plentiful. Another month of both writing my own essays and grading my students', and I am free for the summer, with promises of much less sporadic blog posting!

Sister Sheep Sweater

Baby sheep sweater #3 is finished, and the pink and blue sweaters look pretty cute together!



Baby Sheep Yoke Sweater #3
Knitpicks Swish DK in asparagus, skyborne, nutmeg, natural and black
Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in apple pink (scraps)
Knitpicks options needles size 5

Hello. I'm your friendly neighborhood sheep.

one year.

Today is my one-year blogiversary. It's been a great time -- keeping a knitting blog has been even more fulfilling and more edifying than I thought it would be: it's kept me connected to other great knit-bloggers, and often it lit a fire under me when my interest or energy was flagging to know that I hadn't posted in a while. To everyone who has commented or knit one of my patterns, thank you so much! It makes me feel so great to hear from you all, and to see your wonderful work!

This has also been a year of firsts:
first adult sweater
first set-in sleeves
first original adult design
first experience with having other people knit my patterns (and here, here, here, and here)
first kool-aid dying
first figure-eight cast-on
first successful experience with customizing sizes
first reversible cable
first lesson in the necessity of swatching (and here)
first friends' baby! (and here, here, here, here, and here).
first year of my graduate program!

And, as seems entirely fitting, I begin my second year of blogging with a post about the same sweater with which I began my first year: the sheep yoke baby cardigan. I've been working on iteration #3 of this same sweater, perfecting the pattern and knitting up the girl's version so that knitters can see what they both look like. With a charted fair-isle pattern instead of verbal instructions, this has been my most successful original pattern, both in terms of people's seeming to want to knit it, and in terms of nobody's discovering any errata. Unfortunately, the one pregnant person I know is having a boy, so this will be one for the choir auction.


Here's to new year of blogging! And here's a nice little blogiversary (well, actually Christmas, but close enough) gift to end the post: does my Aunt know how to pick presents, or what? Super-fine tipped pens in a great spectrum of colors. Perfect for sketching out fair isle patterns!

A visit with Andrew E. H. B.

The esteemed Mr. Andrew E. H. B. paid me a visit today, and of course I had to get him to model some clothes. First, the baby sheep sweater, which is not for Andrew (he already has one) but looks awful cute on him:

Then his Halloween costume, which is a dinosaur hood from Moth Heaven:

It was hard to get him to hold still and not look at the camera while I got a profile shot (he already knows how to model, the little diva...):

Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigan Pattern

3/29/08 note: this pattern is also available as a free PDF from Ravelry. Click here to download it if you'd rather have it in that format!

4/8/10: cliquez ici pour la version française de ce patron (PDF), traduit par Louise Robert pour Biscotte & Cie.


Here is the pattern for my sheep-yoke baby cardigan, which was inspired by a sweater "recipe" in Gibson-Roberts and Robson's Knitting in the Old Way. My version has a much simplified yoke pattern and is sized for a baby.


Sheep Yoke Baby Cardigan

General pattern note: as with my other patterns, I have given directions for two sizes using different size needles. Doing so means that the stitch counts and fair isle patterns can stay the same across sweater sizes. Make sure you choose the size needle that will give you the proper gauge! Since babies grow so fast, however, it's really not particularly important to make a sweater in an exact size.

Size: 6-9 months or 9-12 months
Yarn: DK weight superwash wool (I used Knitpicks Swish DK) in tan (220-250 yards); blue, green and cream (60-90 yards); black (less than 20 yards); for girl's version, pink (less than 60 yards).
Needles: size 5 (smaller size), size 6 (larger size) straigh or circular needles.
Gauge: 6 stitches and 9 rows = 1 inch (smaller needles); 5.5 stitches and 8 rows = 1 inch (larger needles)
Shown in size 9-12 months.


With tan yarn (MC), CO 70 stitches. Work 7 rows of k2, p2 rib. Work 1 row of purl. Break yarn and join blue.

Begin working Sheep Yoke Chart. The row marked "setup row" is the purl row you have just worked. Chart guidelines:

• Be sure to repeat each bracketed section four times as you work across the rows, and be sure also to space increases across each section without lining them up vertically -- lining increases up along the red "fault lines" of the pattern will result in ugly and obvious increase "seams." You can pretty much put the increases wherever you want in each section -- some knitters have complained that they have to do math to get the increases evenly spaced, but you don't have to -- if you just make sure that you work the right number of increases anywhere you feel like it in each section, they'll end up spaced pretty evenly across the yoke. Seriously!
  
• The black wedges on the chart indicate "no stitches." Just jump across these areas to the next stitch in the row.
  
• Only work the pink flowers if you are making the girl's version. For the boy's version, just work these two rows in blue.
  
• For the flower pattern ONLY, do not repeat each bracketed section exactly as pictured. Rather, keep the eight-stitch repeat of the flowers continuous across these two rows. You will also need to work in the required increases as you do so, so be careful!
• For the rest of the chart, you can work the repeats exactly as pictured.
  
• If you are making the boy's version, use blue yarn for the checkerboard pattern. If you are making the girl's version, use pink yarn. I have shown both on the chart for a visual aid.
  

After you have completed row 34 of the chart (206 st), divide for the sleeves as follows:
K29, place 44 st. on a holder or piece of scrap yarn, k60, place 44 st. on a holder or piece of scrap yarn, k29.

Work straight in stockinette with MC until piece measures 10.5" [12.5"]. Then, work 2 rows with blue (boy's version) or pink (girl's version). Work one more row with MC, then work 7 rows k2, p2 rib and BO.

With black yarn, duplicate-stitch heads and legs to sheep as charted in the Duplicate Stitch Chart (sheep should be facing toward the button band on each side). Use blue yarn to make french-knot eyes for the forward-facing sheep in the center back.


Return stitches from one arm to needles and join MC. Work 9 rows stockinette. In the next row, decrease by one stitch at each edge. Repeat these ten rows two more times (38 st). Work 7 more rows, then join pink or blue and work two rows with this color, then work 1 more row with MC. Work 7 rows k2, p2 rib and BO. Repeat with other arm.

With MC, pick up 3 stitches for every 4 rows along the right front edge. Work 8 rows k2, p2 rib and BO. Check out your button band and decide how many buttons you would like and where you would like to put them. Pick up the same number of stitches along the left front edge. Work 3 rows k2, p2 rib, then work a row of buttonholes as follows: work 4 stitches in rib, *YO, k2tog, work in rib to place you'd like the next buttonhole, rep. from * until 6 stitches from end, k2tog, YO, work 4 stitches in rib. Work 4 more rows of k2, p2 rib and BO.

Seam arms, weave in ends, and block. Sew buttons to button band to match buttonholes.

Notes and suggestions for modifying:

• I stranded my sheep, but you may find it easier to use intarsia.
• If you are averse to knitting it flat, you can certainly feel free to knit in the round and steek. If you’re using superwash wool, the best way to reinforce would be with a sewing machine.
• If you are a little nervous about the garter stitch sheep, there is no reason why you could not knit them in stockinette. This will only affect the texture detail. If you want to try other ways of adding texture, you could try bouclé yarn or something fuzzy like angora. If you wanted lots of texture, you could add some bobbles! I’ve also fantasized about making one – or all – of the sheep black (doesn’t every flock need a black sheep?

It's finished!! I am totally pleased with everything about this sweater -- the yarn is nice and soft (and the right colors now), the pattern was modified to be as easy as possible, and there are no seams at all!

Stay tuned for the pattern.

the sheep emerge to graze

It's amazing how little knitting gets done when all one's time is consumed with reading! Nevertheless I have set aside just a few hours to knit and have finished the yoke on my recreated baby sheep sweater. This time I am taking better notes so that I can post the pattern; I hope to have it up soon.

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do to give the sheep some texture. In the original sweater the sheep were knitted with a strand of laceweight mohair carried along; this did not give as much halo as I had hoped. Then I tried a boucle yarn, but the gauge was really too big. So then I hit on using the same gauge of white yarn as the rest of the yoke, but knitted in garter stitch. I think that this was the way to go. When doing the math, then for the yoke sheep, I spent some time considering what to do to make the sheep symmetrical, and, not wanting butt-to-butt sheep in the center back, I hit on this idea:


Why can't one sheep face forward? I did some blue french-knot eyes just to make it clear that that's what's going on. I like his little face.

tales of hubris punished and patience rewarded

Here is what is on the docket for this weekend:

Hali Meidhad and Seinte Margarete, a few Canterbury Tales, a meditation on the Passion by Nicholas Love, and some NPR knitting.

You may notice that there is a totally new work in progress there on the trusty natural light windowsill. It's true -- I have become an incorrigible starter.

But in this case, there is a tiny bit of an excuse. I made a shocking discovery earlier this week after looking closer at the car intarsia sweater I was making. The process of switching from flat knitting to in-the round knitting I had done in order to do the intarsia part flat had made a significant difference in the shape of the stitches I was making -- and not just a difference in gauge. Witness exhibit A:

In the top half you can see my even in-the round stitches. In the bottom half are a bunch of squiggly, twisted flat stitches. It was at this point that I began to question the arrogance of my claim to be an expert knitter and precocious autodidact. I began to suspect that something was wrong. I flipped open a knitting basics book that had been mouldering on my shelf and made the shocking discovery that for five years I have been purling wrong -- bringing the working yarn around the needles in the opposite direction from the normal one, twisting all my stitches as I did so. It felt akin to being friends with someone for a number of years, only to discover that you have been calling him the wrong name that whole time. So I chucked the offending sweater into a corner for a while in a clear case of killing the messenger, and set myself to knitting a new sweater and purling the right way. Exhibit B:


I have two other excuses. The first is the discovery that another friend is pregnant, thus clearly necessitating a brand new baby sweater. This one is another crack at the top-down baby sheep sweater like the one I made for Andrew. This time I am keeping better track of the process so I can write it up and post the pattern. The yarn is Knitpicks Swish DK, but the blue and green yarns arrived quite a bit more neon than I had wanted -- as is often the case with Knitpicks yarn. So, having been emboldened by my Bristow experience, I popped the two skeins in a bath of water with half a packet of grape kool-aid, and fixed it! I think that the result is quite nice. The mottling of the dye gives the blue yarn a nice homemade look, as opposed to the mediocre acrylic baby boy sweater color it was before, and the green is a more subtle and organic hue too. I'm working out the sheep charts right now: I'm thinking garter stitch for some texture detail.

The second reason to start a new project is a newfound desire to perfect some patterns and post them, because...

My Ravelry invitation finally came!


Ravelry is great! Definitely not a replacement for blogging, and I do rankle at the restrictive nature of the program as it exists now (not sure how to add new patterns, can't register myself as a designer, can only use books already on the site in my library, etc), but it has been fun and exciting to snoop around, and I love the "favorites" feature and the feature that lets me look at what other people are doing with the yarns and patterns I have chosen. If you're on Ravelry too, my ID is lookingglass.

Baby Andrew's sweater

My friends Barbara and Christopher just had a baby, and I'm taking a break from the seemingly endless Arwen to make little Andrew a sweater that advertises his name with sass. I'm using Classic Elite Sundance, which seems like a nice cotton yarn in beautiful colors. Here's the little dude:


This is the same kid for whom I knit the sheep sweater, but that's sized for about a 1-year old, and this is a little baby sweater he can wear right now. I'm going for a first-time visit this weekend!

Sheeps!

My friends Barbara and Christopher found out a little earlier this year that they were pregnant. I was super excited, because... baby things to knit! They are the perfect knitting project: small, so you can have instant gratification; not too fitted; size is not important because as long as it is not too small, the kid will grow into it; a built-in preciousness factor so anything you want to do is appreciated; kids don't mind looking like idiots in some uber-twee outfit, or at least they are too small and inarticulate to complain. Case in point:


The cardigan I knit for them immediately after hearing about the baby. Is it precious? Yes. Is it made with love using luxurious and yet machine-washable merino wool? Yes. Does it have intarsia sheep on it that are so cute as to be absolutely embarassing to a child old enough to recognize that there are intarsia sheep on his yoke? Indubitably. No boy old enough to be past the Mirror Stage would be caught dead in a sweater with adorable intarsia sheep on it. Perfect baby knitting present.