Summer has been busy, busy, busy . . . . for me. Thus, my neglect of blogging. But I'm back, just in-time to dive into Fall and Christmas knitting.
You may think I've gone through a knitting slump, with the business of Summer, but that is never the case for me. Whether vacationing, camping, or working like crazy at my full-time job or just in the garden . . . I am ALWAYS knitting.
Here are the sweaters I've been knitting on this Summer:
This short cardigan was based on "Flame Stitch Cardigan", designed by Shirley Paden. The actual pattern came from Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2005. I knit mine of Wollemeise Twin in Rust. I didn't like the way the pattern was written, so I took the flame stitch design, and created my own sweater design, with the ultimate goal to have a sweater that looked very similar to the original. I'm really happy with the outcome. It fits perfectly. I knit the sweater to wear with a dress I received from my children for Mother's Day. A black and creme batik print. However, I ran out of yarn before I could knit the sleeves and ended up making it into a vest. This could not be worn with the desired dress, so I spent most of the Summer waiting for more yarn to be dyed in the same color. I guess I'll get more wear out of it next year.
This sweater came from a free pattern provided at the Knit, Wear, Love Retreat in Monterrey California. It is "Curlew", designed by Amy Herzog. Mine is knit of Shibui Knits Staccato and Shibui Knits Angora, held together, in the color Lime. I thought I might have been a bit off on the fit, but now that I look at the picture of Amy in the pattern, mine has the perfect fit. This sweater was knit from cuff to cuff. A completely different method for me. Knit in this direction, the sweater stretchiness is from top to bottom. I'll have to get used to this, as if feels strange when you are wearing it.
This cardigan was based on "Sunshower Cardigan" designed by Andi Satterland and purchased through KnitPicks. Mine is knit from Wollemeise Twin. The pattern was constructed from the top down and I knit mine from the bottom up, thus border pattern is upside-down, but I'm fine with that. It is another short cardigan and perfect to wear with summer dresses.
The first Knit Night of the 2016-17 season was held on the first day of September. We'll be knitting some cute little critters as our Knit-a-long this year. Here is my little sample for the group. It appears there will be monkeys, elephants, bears, mice and rabbits by the end of the year. I'll be sure to share all of the pictures when they are finished.
This is what I'm knitting on right now. It is "Derica-Cane", designed by Bonnie Marie Burns. However, as usual, I'm only using the lace design from the pattern, and I'm creating my own bottom-up cardigan with the a Custom-Fit pattern. For me, this is the perfect way to get a good fit. I'm knitting with Wollemeise Pure in the color Seaside.
I'm gearing up to do some Christmas knitting for some of my smaller grandchildren. This little cardigan is: "Gingersnap", designed by Kristen Rettig. It is a free pattern, and perfect for using up all of the yarn scraps in your stash. I'm planning four of these little darlings in a variety of colors.
Keep me posted on what you will be knitting for Christmas. Happy Knitting!
