A Wicked Debut - The First Sweater of 2008

Don't make me get my flying monkeys as I have one Wicked sweater and I can't find my ruby slippers! I can't believe how quickly this sweater knitted up once I concentrated on it. It was about 35% finished when I picked it up last weekend and now here it is complete before the week had passed.

Wicked Specs
Pattern: Wicked by Zephyr Style
Yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers Ocean Heather - 3 skeins (and I have been sweating over whether or not I would have enough yarn since Sunday when I set it aside to ponder the situation and only got the courage to pick it up and finish it last night.)
Needles: Size 7 Knitpicks Options
Start Date: November 18, 2007
Finish Date: January 24, 2008 (This sweater would not have taken so long but it took a vacation from the first weed of December until January 19. All in all, I would estimate that the actual knitting and finishing time to complete this sweater was around 30 hours if that.)
Project Notes: I'm not usually a blue person but, when I saw the Cascade 220 Ocean Heather, it called out to me that it would be perfect for this sweater and I am really glad that I headed the call. I didn't really do any mods to this sweater. The directions were very clear and it was a very quick and easy knit. As most of the sweater is stockinette and the crossover pattern is fairly simple, I would recommend this project to beginning knitters looking to tackle their first sweater. The most fiddly part of the project is the pocket and it's not all that fiddly in the grand scheme of things and can be left off if you don't like it or feel like attempting it.

In other FO news, I knit Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth as part of the Year Long Gift-A-Long. This will be part of someone's Christmas or birthday present this year. This was knit out of Peaches and Creme cotton on size 7 needles.

Have a great weekend everyone!
jsins

And what did jsins do all weekend? She knit, knit, knit!

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I spent my weekend watching West Wing episodes on dvd and knitting like a knitting machine.

I have an FO from this weekend. Allow me to introduce the cutest little thing that I have ever knit, Saartje's Booties by Saartje de Bruijn.

Project Description

Pattern: Saartje's Booties by Saartje de Bruijn

Yarn: Joan of Arc by Yarn Love in the Fling Colorway (50/50 merino/tencel)

Needles: Size 2 addi turbo

Start/Finish Date: January 20, 2008

Notes: This is a quick knit that is super cute. It's a great way to use up leftover sock yarn. The yarn I used for these booties is the same yarn I used for my Dublin Bay socks. The only downside to this pattern is that for such a small knit, there are alot of ends to weave into not that much knit material.

I also made a bunch of progress on Wicked this weekend and am hoping to have it finished by next weekend. I'm a bit nervous because I am getting dangerously close to running out of yarn. I think that I should have enough but I didn't buy an extra skein like I usually do for this project. I have never needed the extra skein on any other Zephyr Style patterns so I thought I wouldn't need it on this one. The yarn is Cascade 220 Heathers in Ocean Heather. The color in the close-up of the pocket is the actual shade.

I also completed a lace repeat on the Evening Stockings for a Young Lady while I was watching Northanger Abbey on PBS last night. I am a bit worried about the fuzziness of the yarn. It seems like it will pill alot. I enjoyed Northanger Abbey but found it to be extremely abbreviated. The first hour was well done but I felt like everything was rushed in the last half an hour to reach the conclusion. I think it would have been much better if it had been a 2-hour movie rather than an hour and a half.

Have a great week!

An old FO, a few more recent and a WIP

I'll start off with an old FO that I've been wearing alot recently (until very recently when the temp has been in the 60s and 70s, what a weird January we are having.) The scarf pictured is the first cable project that I ever undertook in October 2006. Knit for an intermediate knitting class at Ewe Can Knit, a lys in downtown Pittsburgh, the yarn used was Reynolds Rapture, silk/wool blend.

I finished the garter rib socks that were e.'s Christmas present just in time to gift them before he took off for Florida for the holidays. The yarns used were black Crystal Palace Panda Cotton and a black/tan/white/grey skein of Tofutsies for the leg and foot.
Betty Jean wasn't sure what her Christmas present was and tried to put it on her head like a hat. However, it is the Mason Dixon Dishrag from Mason Dixon Knitting made with a red/pink/white variegated Peaches and Creme cotton. I omitted the yarn over round as I didn't think it would show up very well in the variegated cotton.
I started knitting Wicked the weekend before Thanksgiving. It has not progressed much farther than it is in this photo as I got caught up with finishing Christmas present projects and have been working fairly consistently on the Dublin Bay socks that I am knitting at the moment. I am hoping to finish the socks by the end of this weekend and get back to Wicked so that I will have a new sweater to wear when the weather returns to its normal winter state.

Romeo, oh Romeo, where for art thou, Romeo?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving (U.S.) full of family, food and knitting. I had a great Thanksgiving day and enjoyed hanging out with family and friends and then was felled by cold from hell that has had me doing couch duty pretty much since Friday. I've even been too sick to knit! Once every couple of years, I get a really bad cold and, since it has been a couple of years since the last one, it hit me this year. On the one had, it hit me when I was already off work so I didn't have to worry about taking any sick days. On the other hand, it hit me over the holidays when I was at my parents and looking forward to hanging out and having a good time with everyone. I'm finally starting to feel human again and have managed to make my way into the office today but I just can't wait to get back to being 100%. At least I had my brother's dog, Buddy, to keep me company on the couch when I was down and out.




In more exciting news, I hit one of my knitting goals and finished Juliet the weekend before Thanksgiving.

The vital statistics for this sweater are as follows:

Cast On: Sunday, October 14, 2007

Cast Off: Saturday, November 17, 2007

Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky gray (5 skeins)

Needles: Knitpicks Options 10 1/2 on a 32 inch cord

Project notes: Juliet was a quick and enjoyable knit and was completed in 4-5 sittings. Upon reading a number of the knitter comments on Ravelry, I knit the small size rather than the medium that I usually knit in Zephyr Style patterns. I didn't know whether or not this style of sweater would suit my shape and originally planned to do the longer version. However, I went with the short version upon trying it on for size and am really glad that I did. Being fairly large chested, I think the longer version would have looked like a maternity top and stopped the cropped version at my waistline. I also really enjoyed working with the Berkshire Bulky even though it seemed stiff and itchy when I got it. It really softened up after winding and knit up beautifully. However, I would caution anyone who is thinking of using this yarn for a project to buy at least a skein more than the project calls for because I found a lot of joins and knots in it during winding.

I have cast on for Zephyr Style's Wicked using Cascade 220 Heathers in Ocean Heather. I am about 9 rows from separating the sleeves. (I would be much further along but my recent illness has precluded any knitting progress over the last 4 days.) I am knitting the worsted weight version with short sleeves and will be doing the pocket, which is my favorite part of this pattern. I also swatched for the Elizabeth Bennet Cabled Cardigan from Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel but decided to go with Wicked instead as I was taking it to my parents for the holiday. Buddy (the aforementioned 4-legged member of the family) has no problem with sitting on my lap and not bothering my knitting but I thought it might be tempting fate a bit too much to try it with an angora yarn (or even having the WIP sitting around the house) as he does really like to chase bunny rabbits.

In blogging news, The Comfy Bev selected jsins for a "You Make Me Smile Award." Thank you, Bev! I have greatly enjoyed getting to know Bev through her blog and through the No Sheep for You Secret Swap and am honored that she enjoys checking out the blog. I'd like to pass along the good cheer to the following knitbloggers who inspire me with their knitting, crafting and blogging:

Kristina of Brouhaha Knits

Adrienne of Real Life: Live and Unscripted

Robin of Yarn Crawl

Dawn of A Simplified Life

Happy knitting everyone! I am hoping that I feel up to picking up the sticks again tonight.