F.O. Acer Cardigan

Doesn't it feel great when you use up a good amount of stash yarn?  I had some Madelinetosh DK in Copper Penny that I bought some time ago and I decided to knit the Acer Cardigan by Amy Christoffers which used up about 5.5 skeins. 

I really enjoyed knitting this cardigan.  It was a nice break to use a thicker yarn after doing so many projects with fingering weight.

• the cable pattern is easy to memorize and therefore the body went fairly quickly
• it is knit bottom-up in one piece 
• the resulting sweater fits well and looks good!

I found the perfect buttons at Wal-mart!

My Modifications

• The pattern directed you to knit the sleeves from the cuff up and then seam it into the sleeve hole.  Although I do enjoy the advantages of a seamed sweater I really wasn't in the mood to do it this way. Instead I decided to do a sleeve cap and knit the sleeves in the round.  To get me started I used another pattern, called Capall Dubh by Carol Feller that I had knit before and loosely followed what was written. 
• I cast on 76 stitches and once the sleeve cap was completed I basically decreased two stitches every ten rounds and them every six rounds once I got by the elbow.  The result was a well fitted sleeve and I avoided seaming.

• When you knit a sleeve cap, as I did in this pattern, you are sometimes left with a loose looking seam.  Following advice from other Ravellers who knit this sweater I tried a new to me method for tightening up the seam by Paula Ward.  Essentially you add a second coloured yarn on the row where you pick up the stitches around the arm hole.  Then when you have knit the sleeve cap you go back and use the coloured stitches to tighten the seam.  The coloured yarn is removed and you have a much smoother seam.
• The directions for the collar had some inaccurate information.  When picking up stitches you need to pick up a multiple of 4 + 2 for it to work out evenly.
• How to do button holes were not explained.  I used a k2together yarn over to make mine.
• There was little direction given about the spacing of button holes.  I used Amy Herzog's app Knitter's Toolbox for the first time.  One of the helpful features of this app is a button spacer which made it so easy for me. However, when I was inputting the numbers, I forgot to include the number of stitches in the neckband since it is the last thing you knit.  As a result my top button is not evenly spaced.  Rookie mistake. Usually I keep my cardigan unbuttoned when I wear it so I hope no one will notice!

By the way, this app is so helpful and I will definitely be using it more in the future. Look at all the features it has:

Knitter's Toolbox by Amy Herzog

Have you been working on anything for fall yet?  Do you have any recommendations?  I find that the pattern choices are so extensive that sometimes finding the pattern you want to knit is more challenging than actually knitting it. If you are looking for a cabled sweater pattern you should definitely have a look at the Acer Cardigan.  There are almost 800 finished Acers out there so you can get a clear picture of whether this pattern is for you.

Happy fall knitting everyone!

Ravelry notes here.

Off the Needles: Quaker Ridge Shawlette

My Quaker Ridge Shawlette is done.  The weather here has been damp, rainy and cold so the best photo I could get was the one below.  It was going to start raining when I took this picture so hopefully I can add a better photo soon.

Quaker Ridge Shawlette by Susan B. Anderson

I am very pleased with how this turned out and as I have mentioned in previous blog entries I love the combination of the two yarns I used.  Ravelled here.

I am feeling under the weather today so I think I am going to spend the afternoon with my knitting.  It's time to start a new project but I am not sure what I am going to do.  Look at this pretty skein below.  I picked up two skeins of this Malabrigo sock yarn in the Primavera colour way and I just love it.  But I don't know what it wants to be yet!  Any suggestions?

Malabrigo Sock Yarn

I am also very tempted to try out Amy Herzog's CustomFit program.  This program will help you design a sweater after you have given them your body measurements and swatch gauge.  I think I will knit a swatch and give it a try.

The picture below was taken through my classroom window.  I think I have the best classroom for scenery!   It was early morning and the sun was shining perfectly on the trees. Canada is so pretty in the fall.  Have a good week everyone.

The Rhinebeck Sweater Book and Other Great Patterns

There are so many new patterns cropping up on Ravelry that I wish I didn't have to work and could just sit and knit all day!

Here is a list you should check out.

First up is Ysolda Teague's The Rhinebeck Sweater book and e-book.  If you go to her website you can look at all the patterns and preorder.  Pumpkin Ale is one of the patterns I am excited about.  This book contains patterns by many of the top knitting designers like Thea Colman, Gundrun Johnston, and Cecily Glowik MacDonald just to name a few.  The book and e-book will come out November 6th.

Another pattern that I quite like is called I Heart Cardigans by Tanis Lavallee (of Tanis Fiber Arts). This lovely worsted pattern has cables and looks like the perfect fall sweater.  Love it!

I am a big fan of Amy Herzog (who by the way has a cardigan pattern in The Rhinebeck Sweater book) and she has come out with a pattern called Dalriada in sport weight yarn.  It looks like a very flattering style of cardigan that will suit many different body shapes.

Gabbro by Carol Feller is another sweater pattern that looks lovely to me.  It is a fingering weight sweater with some pretty lace work.

And then there is CustomFit which is a new venture by Amy Herzog.  Basically you pick your yarn, knit a swatch, take your measurements and through Amy's program a sweater/cardigan will be designed for you to your exact measurements.  I am on waiting list to do that as they are unrolling the program slowly.  You can see what some test knitters have made using Amy's program here.

I find the knitting industry so exciting right now.  There is so many ideas, designs, yarn choices...the possibilities are endless.  It really would be a great industry to work in and I envy those that do.

Pull Me Over in progress

As for my knitting status I have stalled on my Pull Me Over sweater pattern. I decided I really wanted to do long sleeves and I ran out of wool.  A new skein of Madelinetosh 80/10/10 worsted is on its way to me so until then I am working on a fun little pattern called the Inspira Cowl using some Classic Elite Yarn Liberty Wool.  It's a fun pattern and is knitted with two different coloured multicoloured skeins so the yarn colour you are knitting with keeps changing.  Here are my details here.

Inspira Cowl

So happy knitting to all of you.  What patterns are you excited about?