Sweater in play

I had a tiny getaway with my sweater (and a friend, and said friend's sweater - we're knitting the same pattern with adaptations) and I made progress:

Okay I am also totally obsessed by Bleak House and moving the book around with me - in the house, not on the trip! - even though I'm actually reading it on my phone as a library e-book. 

The new ergonomic Prym needles are working out great!

I'm well on my way to the top of the torso. I mean I only have to get to 19".

And yes, that is a different ruler showing just over six inches at best. Thanks to my natural indecisiveness, I have two in my bag.

Speaking of bags:

Back in the day, Tom Bihn came out with a special bag for knitters called The Swift, and special yarn stuff sacks to match. They had clear bottoms so you could tell which ball of yarn was inside. Naturally, as a Tom Bihn obsessive, I bought all those things, but I have NO idea where they are right now because I basically knit at home, and ended up using a basket for any knitting that was too big for one of my linen bags.  

However the principle is excellent, and so are Tom Bihn's Shop Bags. There's a zip top to keep your yarn safe from the elements and moths and the risk of rolling out and away. Then, on each side of the interior, there is a pocket, convenient for bottles of olive oil or fizzy water, and they are perfect for a tool bag or ball bands. Instead of clipping my keys to the key strap, I clipped in stitch markers (now in use) and a safety pin to mark problem areas. This system made it so much easier to find what I needed during the journey.

An excellent substitute for yarn stuff sacks are Tom Bihn's Travel Trays. The large is currently in production, unlike the small (pictured here in purple, and big enough to hold one 100g ball plus needles.) I was glad to dig out my cheery red travel tray which fits two 100g balls, because I needed two for my split hem pattern adaptation.

The lovely thing about these bags is that you can cinch them shut and feed your yarn out the top, or even clip the cinched strap to the larger bag's key strap, and eliminate the risk of your yarn rolling all over the floor of the car or wherever you happen to be knitting.

I suppose they could also double as a travel pillow, assuming you stow the needles on the far side of the yarn? but I didn't need one, so I can't confirm.

 

That's pretty much me for today, though I'd like to close with a pic I took for Instagram of my reading wishlist for 2025. It makes me feel much better about needing to knit in unbroken, one-colour stocking stitch for another foot or so! Thanks for dropping by - see you next week.

Sweater Knitting

Thank goodness, the pattern book arrived for my new sweater project! And the yarn I wanted was in stock, too. Behold:

 Green body, gold accents, spots of natural and cherry red. I cannot wait to wear this.

 Isn't the pattern wild, as shown? I think it's from the very early 80s.

I will be making adaptations. No cuff at the bottom; I'm looking at a split hem in moss stitch so it hangs open rather than clinging, and to avoid that blouson thing, I'll be using the same needle for the moss stitch as for the body. I might make it an inch longer, and I'll start the colourwork higher up. I won't be doing a ribbed foldover neck either.

Whew, typing all that I'm wondering why I have a pattern at all! Answer: the stitch count and measurements. I haven't designed a knitting pattern in a long time and I appreciate the guard rails.

In other news, I made good progress on my bright yellow socks! Boy, do I love knitting these. I find I look forward to picking them up every time I get a chance to sit down.

I wish the picture could let you feel how squishy-spongy the two-colour heel came out. It's absolutely lush.

The only fly in the ointment is, just as I'm indulging all my knitting enthusiasm, my carpal tunnel issues are ramping up again. Aiiieee! I'm trying hard to live in moderation, but it's not my nature. 

Hope you have a great weekend lined up, moderate or otherwise! Thanks for coming to see me today and fingers crossed I have progress to show you next Saturday. 

Happy New Year and happy new yarn

You may have noticed a lack of new yarn around here - I've been avoiding yarn stores till I get through my stash, the Christmas cowl I knit being a rare exception. But I got the idea I'd like to make one of those chunky wool Nordic knit sweaters with the patterned yoke that were so popular in the 1980s. So...

I'm getting set up for a fast knit! The main colour I wanted in Estelle Outbook Chunky wasn't in stock in store today, so fingers crossed it's in the shop's warehouse or I'll have to change my plans a little. What I picked is a dark green, and my idea for the yoke is to do a slight colour border at the neck - not the massive bold patterns that featured on the originals.

 

I haven't used this yarn before, but it's 100% Australian wool and $11 Canadian for a 100g ball, which is ridiculously cheap for something as soft as this is. Great colour range too. Guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I pulled some out from the centre for my test swatch and saw this knot:

I'll keep an eye going forward but I sure hope there aren't too many of them in a ball!

The Prym ergonomic needles are new to me too and so interesting with their triangle shape and scoopy tips. They're super lightweight, like picking up a feather in each hand.

The circular needles have a smooth wire cable - so thin, and again, so light in your hands.

Feels weird working on big needles though, after all those years making socks! 

The needle/yarn combo is so nice, my gauge is super relaxed... one stitch and one row too many for the 4" test. I planned to make adjustments the base pattern anyway so I won't bother trying again with smaller needles.

It's silly to launch a new project this way - no yarn, and pattern either! I bought a couple of old Patons pattern booklets with a plan to cobble together instructions to make what I want, but it hasn't arrived yet. Oh well, that's the nice thing about knitting, isn't it? So much flexibility.

 

We are slowly putting away the Christmas decorations here - sad to see them go in a way, but I'm excited for January. It's always a wonderful month, I feel. So many cozy nights in with a book or some knitting, or painting or writing.

 

Hope you've had a lovely week and a great weekend lined up! Thanks for making Hugs a part of it, and I'll see you next Saturday.