F.O. Mailin in Plucky Knitter Scholar

Did you ever knit a pattern where every moment spent on it was so relaxing and it simply made you happy?  That's what happened when I was knitting this beautiful sweater by Isabell Kraemer called Mailin.  The pattern was well written and easy to follow, and the combination of pattern and yarn just worked out beautifully.  The yarn I chose for this project was the colourway Twill in Plucky Knitter Scholar, a lovely combination of merino (75%) and cashmere (25%). 

Plucky Knitter:  Scholar

Although I had other projects on the go, including two other sweaters, it was this project that I wanted to knit the most.  This pattern was straight forward, which I really appreciated, as my work life was extremely hectic during the time I knit it. Scholar was lovely to work with and I have found that a sweater knit up in this yarn is soft, lofty and warm. Knitting in a worsted weight yarn is so satisfying as you feel like you are making quick progress.  



I used three circular needles to knit the sleeves instead of the suggested dpns. I find that when using dpns my gauge gets much tighter and I have to adjust either the stitches and/or the needle size.  But using three circular needles completely solves the problem and I knit in a gauge that is consistent with the rest of the sweater.

Using circular needles on my sleeves

Instead of using the suggested M1R/M1L increases in the sleeve area I choose to use lifted increases as recommended in the Craftsy video:  Essential Techniques You Should Know by knitting expert Sally Melville.  It is Sally's preferred increase. This video is an excellent resource that I highly recommend…I use it over and over again and I think even the most experienced knitter would discover some helpful tips.

Anyway here is the finished product...I am so pleased with it.  This is one of these sweaters that I am looking forward to snuggling into as the days get cooler.  And I will always remember how knitting this sweater, during one of my busiest times at work, really helped me relax after a long day.  Knitting is magical, don't you agree?

FO: Caroline

Ta-dah! I finished my Caroline and it fits! When I knit a sweater and try it on for the first time I feel a bit of fear that all those hours knitting were wasted.  I am still at the stage of knitting where I am surprised when I knit a sweater that actually fits me properly.  I am very happy with the fit of this one.  I guess swatching does work!

This sweater was knit for the MadMay KAL, an annual knit-a-long, where during the month of May knitters sign up to make something with the very popular Madelinetosh yarn.  Sweaters are just one of the many categories.  Here are some other sweaters that were completed.  

Cables go up the sides both in the back and front

Caroline, is a seamed sweater, by Amy Miller, knit in fingering weight yarn.  I chose Robin Egg, a newly discontinued colour in Madelinetosh Merino Light. The colour is hard to capture on camera but it reminds me of candy floss. This sweater pattern was a very simple pattern to follow and made for a relaxing knit. However, the main reason I chose it was to practice my seaming skills. The front and back and sleeves were all knit separately.  Before attempting to seam this sweater I rewatched Sally Melville's Craftsy video called Essential Techniques Every Knitter Should Know. This video has helped me so many times with many different knitting techniques.  I highly recommend it.  I am always surprised at how long it takes to seam a sweater. You can do a beautiful job knitting all the pieces of a sweater but it's those last couple hours seaming that are the most important. I definitely want to practice more.

Caroline by Amy Miller

The only modification I made to this sweater was to knit the body in stockinette, instead of the reverse stockinette suggested in the pattern.

 
I enjoyed the process but I think I need to knit with thicker yarns for a bit before I go onto Lake Effect which will be my next fingering weight cardigan project.  I seem to gravitate to fingering weight sweater/cardigan patterns but knitting them is a slow process.  I need some instant gratification that a thicker yarn can provide.  So the pattern hunt begins!  

Olivia: Amy Miller & the Joy of Craftsy

When I am choosing something to knit I often try to pick a pattern which has an interesting element/stitch/technique/construction that I have not used before.  I am always on a quest to improve my knitting skills.  Isn't that the great thing about knitting?  There is always something new to learn.

I just completed Olivia by Amy Miller, using a new to me stitch, called knit one below (k1b) which creates a rib like pattern.  While knitting Olivia I soon learned that this stitch is very difficult to fix if an error is made, and at the time I unable to find a video to show me how to correct it, and I ended up ripping out quite a bit.  It was only after I finished knitting the pattern that I found a good one made by Bristol Ivy here. This was a fun pattern to knit and I really like how it turned out.  I had to modify it (see my notes) as the pattern seemed to consume a ton of yarn and three skeins of Tanis Fiber Arts Orange Label Yarn that I had on hand was not enough. Orange Label, a merino, cashmere and silk blend is so cozy to wear that I have had this scarf on quite a bit since I made it. I would love to knit a sweater with Orange Label.

Olivia by Amy Miller

Tanis Fiber Arts Orange Label:  Painted Jeans

Tanis Fiber Arts Orange Label

Another great resource I use frequently to help improve my skills is Craftsy, a website which has many how to videos on not only knitting, but a variety of other crafts as well.  The beauty of Craftsy is that you can learn from experts around the world about your favourite craft, and once you pay for the class you have access to the video forever, to refer to when needed.  

One such video that I have found to be very helpful is Patty Lyons Improve Your Knitting that teaches about the kinds of knitting styles.  I am an English style knitter and I have used her video to not only improve my English style knitting skills but also to experiment with other styles as well.  I feel that my speed has increased since I followed Patty Lyon's tutorial on how to purl Portuguese style. When knitting Japan Sleeves there are extremely long rows of purling and by using Portuguese knitting style I found the purling went much faster.  I can't tell you what a difference it made when knitting this sweater.

Another tutorial that I have found particularly useful is Sally Melville's  Essential Techniques Which Every Knitter Should Know which goes beyond the basics of knitting and purling and teaches you how to do increases, decreases, seaming, etc.  It has been extremely helpful to me with various patterns.  I have had the pleasure of attending one of Sally Melville's classes before and I can say that her Craftsy class was just as great except it can be replayed as often as I want!

Then of course there are the videos by Anne Hanson call the Ins and Outs of Grafting (it's free!) as well as Button Bands and Buttonholes.  Again both are well done and I refer to them often.  

Craftsy is a great place to help boost your knitting skills and confidence.  There are so many other great videos that I didn't even mention.  Have a look!

Have a great week everyone.

Sally Melville: Knitting Pattern Essentials

As I have gained experience knitting, certain patterns such as hats, mittens and scarves, have been much easier to do.  However, knitting cardigans and sweaters that fit properly have been a challenge for me.  On my quest to improve my knitting skills I recently had the pleasure of spending a day in class at Shalll We Knit in Waterloo, listening to the infamous Sally Melville, author of Knitting Pattern Essentials.  

Sally Melville believes strongly that we should knit what we actually wear...that we should be looking in our cupboard and picking knitting patterns that are similar to clothes we own.  Instead we often pick patterns that we want to knit rather than wear.  She stated that the number one mistake knitters make is following the pattern...instead of changing it up to suit our body types.  Sally is a big proponent of knitting flat (knitting in pieces), since she believes that seams are the essential skeleton, holding the shape of the garment.  When participants complained about having to seam, Sally stated that if you have trouble seaming a cardigan it's because the pattern has not been written properly. 

If you are unable to hear Sally Melville speak in person I highly recommend her book Knitting Pattern Essentials.  Everything she talked about in the class is thoroughly covered in the book. If you are a newer knitter this book explains how to look at a pattern and adjust it to fit you properly.  For more advanced knitters the books covers how to draft and knit your own sweater design.

One of my knitted cardigans that I feel fits me properly is Jane Richmond's Grace that I showed you in my last blog. This cardigan was knit top down before I attended the workshop.  Besides doing a gauge swatch for this cardigan and adjusting the size of the armhole I knit the pattern as written.  I guess I was lucky that it fits me so well. Another tip Sally gave us was to use sweaters/cardigans that we feel fit us well and use their measurements to help guide us when picking new patterns and adjusting the size.  I can definitely use this cardigan to help me with that.

But I have made other top down cardigans which don't fit me as well, one being my Calligraphy Cardigan by Alana Dakos.  In this case I feel I am always fighting to keep the sweater from sliding off my shoulders.  I think it would stay on much better with seams.

Calligraphy Cardigan

I am still undecided as to what style of knitting cardigans I prefer.  I am exploring many different methods.  All I know is that I am tired of knitting a cardigan that doesn't fit me properly.  This workshop really made me think about patterns in a more informed way.  I also like the challenge Sally gave us of finding a bought sweater that we like and using the information given in her book to try and replicate it.  Maybe that's my challenge for 2015.