Springtime in the Rockies

It is that time of year again. . . SPRINGTIME! I always love this time of year, when everything seems so new and clean. We suffer from an air inversion here in SLC in the wintertime, so it is always great to fill your lungs with fresh, clean air.

The tulips and daffodils are popping up. There are egg hunts and new dresses.

And at our house, there is a lot of bubble blowing going on.

 

Although I finished Sweater #3 back in early April, it has taken until now to get it blocked and photographed. Here it is, Sweater #3 - "Little Wave" by Gudrun Johnston

Knit from KnitPicks City Tweed HW in the special promotion color: Kitten. The pattern was perfectly written and easy to understand. I learned some amazing techniques,

such as I-chord edged pockets, saddle shoulders knit right into the arms scythe, elbow patches knit right into the sleeves, and a great little wavy pattern. 

The sweater looks beautiful on my dressform . . . but not so much on me. Knitting is a continual learning process. After having such great success with sweaters #1 and #2, I think I was a little overconfident with this one. I wasn't sure how to do the body shaping within the stitches of the little wave pattern, so I decided to move all of the shaping to side panels. Big mistake, the buttons gap in the front and the back seems to be riding on a shelf, which is my ample backside. Since the sweater was knit all in one piece, the only way to fix it, would be to frog the entire thing. I had hoped this would be my great "go-to" sweater for dragging along to the cold movie theaters, or to go for a walk in the park, or to wear in the evenings around a campfire. But "no cigar"! I thought it important that I share my bad sweater knitting experiences, along with the good. Not everything always works out the way you had planned. Perhaps some day I'll have the gumption to rip it out and start over, but I'm guessing that won't happen until there is a huge shortage of yarn.

So, on to Sweater #4. . .

It is "Surface" by Norah Gauhan.  Which I originally saw on Pinterest.  It is a fitted, elbow sleeve, bobble collared sweater, which I am knitting in KnitPicks - Gloss.  A DK weight blend of Merino Wool and Silk in the color, Sea Spray.  These are the front pieces, which I'm starting the arms scythe and neck shaping on.

This is the back piece, which is finished and set to blocking. I hope this sweater is a bigger success than the last. I'm using the same Custom Fit Recipe from Sweater #1, so it should fit well.

I recently knit these Practical Baby Bibs for an auction to raise money for youth camps in our area.  I always forget how fast and fun these little bibs are to knit.  I have a free pattern, which can be downloaded on Ravelry.com.

Next week, our "Knit Night" group will be traveling to the Crooked Fence Alpaca Farm and Mill, which is where we have our alpaca fleece processed into yarn.  My next post will include pictures and commentary on our experiences there.  If you live in the SLC area, please come along with us, we would love to have you.  Contact me at knitzillaknits@gmail.com to get all of the particulars.  Happy Spring and Happy Knitting!