Knitter in the Kitchen

Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted, Chocolate 36ns, 1 skein
Pattern: Tuesday Night Cowl (Ravelry link)
Size: Worsted weight version
Needles: US #8
Thoughts: This is a very straightforward pattern and I really like the look of the cables. I also learned how to do a provisional crochet cast on because of this project. I was surprised that I managed to finish the entire cowl with just one skein of Shepherd Worsted — it must be because I knit tight. I definitely recommend this pattern if you are looking for a cowl that looks a little more interesting than plain stockinette.

In March 2008, I completed my Central Park Hoodie. It took quite awhile — about six months — and the finishing was extremely daunting to me. Two years after completion, though, I would say that the effort definitely paid off. The CPH is one of my favorite sweaters. I love the color, it is super warm, and the wool feels comfortable against my skin.

There are two things I would change:
(1) The hood. I would wear the CPH more if it didn’t have a hood. I don’t use it at all, and it creates an uncomfortable lump when I wear a coat over it.
(2) The size. I knit the 36″, which is clearly too large. There is excess sweater flapping around in the back.

So I decided to another another CPH this year. Meet the smaller, hoodless version.

I was tempted to knit this sweater in gray or even another shade of brown because I tend to gravitate toward those colors. But I made myself branch out. Even when I finished the project, I was still second-guessing my color choice. I like grass green a lot; I just don’t wear much of it.

From beginning to end, this sweater took me seven weeks. Not a record by any stretch of the imagination, but very good for someone who usually drags these things out! What probably helped is that I didn’t have much of anything else on the needles so I tried to be monogamous. The seaming didn’t feel nearly as brutal this time around. It still took me a few hours, but it went smoothly.

Overall, I really like the style and fit of this hoodless version! We’ll see what I think after another couple of years.

Yarn: Cascade 220 in Color 9430 (Highland Green), a little over 4 skeins
Pattern: from Fall 2006 KnitScene
Size: 32″
Needles: US #7 and #9
Modifications:
: Lengthened the body by half an inch
: Followed normaknits’ guidelines (Rav link) for the hoodless version.
–After seaming the shoulders, use the smaller needles to pick up the same number of stitches you would have picked up for the hood. I picked up the stitches with the wrong side facing me so that the ridge would be on the inside of the sweater.
–The next row is *p2, k2, repeat from * to last two stitches, p2. Continue to knit the 2×2 ribbing as established until you reach the desired length of the collar. I knit for about 3.75″; I think 4″ would be even better. BO all stitches.
–With the right side facing you, pick up stitches for the button band starting from the bottom front and continuing all the way up through the end of the collar. I picked up 126 stitches on each side. I can’t remember now how I came up with that number, but it worked okay for me. You want to pick a number that is a multiple of 4 + 2 so that you can do the same 2×2 ribbing as for the collar. The next row is *p2, k2, repeat from * to last two stitches, p2. I knit the button bands until they reached 2″. BO all stitches. Repeat for second button band.

Yarn: Yarntini Self-Striping Sock yarn, 1 skein
Pattern: My generic 56 stitch top-down sock with 30-row slip stitch heel
Needles: US #1 + #2 / 32 inch circular

Over the holidays, I was in the mood to knit a pair of mittens. I had purchased a Chevron Love Mitten Kit and was super excited about working on them! However, after ripping and re-starting a mitten four times, I gave up. As much as I love colorwork, it just isn’t my strength because of my weak Continental knitting. It messes up my gauge and looks sloppy, so I need to commit time to improving my skills before I try colorwork again. I ended up giving away the kit. I was disappointed, because I really like the mittens.

I searched on Ravelry for other mitten patterns, and came across the Very Cabley Mittens. They appeared simple, and I had enough leftover yarn from the Evangeline mitts. So I cast on and finished them about a week later.

Pattern: Very Cabley Mittens (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy, Grey Tabby, less than 1 skein
Needles: US #5 for cuff, US #6 for body
Mods: I went down a needle size for the cuff based on project notes I found on Rav. I did not check gauge, but I know I knit tightly. Normally, I have to go up one needle size to reach gauge. However, since I have small hands I stuck with the #6s suggested in the pattern. It worked out fine for me.

I like the “friend activity” page on Ravelry because it exposes me to patterns that I might not otherwise see. That was where I came across the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret pattern.

This pattern only uses one skein of Malabrigo, which is a big plus.

Sadly, though, I don’t think this beret works well on me. It isn’t slouchy enough and generally looks too small. I should have done at least another half of the pattern repeat before the decreases. I’m still debating whether to frog it and re-knit it, or to donate the hat to charity.

Pattern: Star Crossed Slouchy Beret (Rav link)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted, Polar Morn, less than 1 skein
Needles: US #9, #10, #11
Mods: I used US #9/16″ needles for the ribbing based on project notes I found Ravelry. I think this worked well. The US #11s/16″ were for the main body. For the decreases I used US#10 DPNs. I’m not sure why the pattern calls for 24″ needles — I tried them and didn’t like how the stitches were overly stretched out. The 16″ needles worked just fine.