Tag: Home and Away

FO: Rosemont Cardigan

Let’s start the week off with a finished object, shall we? Here is my finished Rosemont Cardigan.
Rosemont
This pattern is from the Hannah Fettig, Home and Away Collection. From this collection I’ve knit a three colored Lesley sweater and the Boothbay cardigan that did not flatter my ample behind AT ALL. It is now the prized possession of my BFF Jessica. I love the patterns in this book and that she offers seamed and seamless versions of each pattern. I wanted Boothbay to be my ultimate cardigan and when that curved hem shape failed me I decided to one day knit Rosemont instead. I love a good shawl collar and with the straight edge hem I knew it wouldn’t sit up on my butt in a bad way. I was holding onto a significant quantity of Periwinkle Sheep Intent yarn in this soft and lovely Rose Quartz color. Honestly, Intent is one of my favorite yarns. I will admit though, the toughest part of this cardigan was all the stitches for that shawl collar. Goodness gracious, 300 stitches takes a bit of time to work out but I finished!
Rosemont
I know most people don’t think this is my typical color but I love a good blush shade. It’s almost like a neutral and it matches a ton of stuff already in my closet. Case in point, this cardigan goes perfectly with my Rose Gold Bryr clogs and I recently picked up one of their Clogs & Dogs tote bag supporting North Valley Animal Disaster Group, a North Valley organization that is on the ground, saving the lives of animals effected by the recent devastating California wild fires. I also added a 157 of Gemma embroidered patch of the dog Mochi to the tote. Mochi’s adventures are one of my favorite cartoons.
Rosemont
I’m also hoping this cardigan will be a part of our handmade holiday photos this year! I’ve got some lovely yarn for coordinating sweaters for the dogs and I’m almost finished with Kendell’s vest. I may have to alter it a bit from my original plan because the Remix yarn is lighter than I anticipated. But we shall see. So that’s what I was able to finish over my Thanksgiving break, what about you?

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by Categories: Color, FO: Finished Object, Knitting, Periwinkle Sheep, pink, Sweaters, YarnTags: , , , , , 13 Comments

FO: Colorblocked Lesley

Color blocked Lesley
Sometimes I surprise myself with how much knitting I can get done when I’m focused. So far in 2016 I’ve been really focused. So far I’ve finished 4 adult sweaters, 1 toddler sweater, a hat and a baby blanket (that has yet to be delivered because I swear the US Postal Service has it out to get me). I’m almost finished with a another cardigan too, I’ve just got the second sleeve left – I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Didn’t I tell you sweaters are my thing? LOL And currently stash busting is also my thing. I decided I’d use up my stash and do some fun color blocking with my last sweater because if I don’t whittle the stash down I can’t buy more yarn.
Color blocked Lesley
This is my Lesley sweater, it’s from the Home and Away collection by Hannah Fettig. You might remember my Boothbay from this collection as well, I really love a lot of the patterns in this collection. I’m  using the Mighty Stitch yarn from Knit Picks that I originally used on my Garter Raglan back in December. I really love the color of this green and thought it would pair nicely with this vivid blue. Bright green and blue are a favorite color combo of mine. Honestly, I just love color. I’m feeling happier with my knitting so I think I’m reflecting that in my yarn color choices too.
Color blocked Lesley
And then I decided to switch it up and to contrast the color block on the sleeves. Instead of just blending in with white sleeves and the white body all the way across I thought it would pop more with green sleeves. I love how it turned out in the end. What I don’t love is when you realize you’ve made a mistake AFTER you’ve blocked it and were putting it on to take a picture.
Color blocked Lesley
You see this? It’s a lovely dropped stitch in my sleeve. I knew I was one stitch off when I got to the cuff but couldn’t see it when I was knitting so I thought I just miscounted. Nope. But my friend Lavon pointed out that this is a common thing and she even showed me pictures on Ravelry of designers sweaters with a dropped sleeve stitch. But in reality, that’s how you know it’s handmade – it isn’t perfect. Aside from the dropped stitch this is such a warm and cute piece. I do feel like this is the second Hannah Fettig pattern where I should have done a stretchier bind-off for the ribbing though, so I will need to keep that in mind in the future. But this one isn’t so tight it isn’t wearable, I just think I’d like a bit more give at my hips. And since it’s an acrylic blend yarn, it’s not super hot. This is going to be a nice transitional piece during this weird winter into spring. So tell me, what’s currently on your needles?

by Categories: blue, Color, FO: Finished Object, green, Knit Picks, Knitting, neutral (black/grey/white), Sweaters, YarnTags: , , , , , , , 10 Comments

FO: Boothbay Cardigan

Boothbay
I finally got to take a few pictures of me in Boothbay Cardigan, they aren’t the best (it’s so dark in the mornings now) but you can see my finished object!
Boothbay side
I enjoyed knitting this project but I realized after it was finished that for a shorter person like myself, with hips and butt this cocoon shaped cardigan isn’t the most flattering. Is it warm? Yes. Will I wear this as the air gets crisper and I’m walking the dog? You bet. Will this be a closet staple? Not sure yet. My problem was that after I bound off the 5 inches of garter stitch for the neckband (so. much. knitting.) it was too tight and sitting up around my butt and hips. Not a good look. So my knitting buddy Lavon suggest I take out the bind off and do a stretchy bind off just around my hips and the bottom half of the sweater to give it a bit more give. Thank goodness for knitting friends. If she hadn’t suggested that this would’ve been a throw away piece.
Boothbay
Now it sits better around my hips and butt without sticking all the way out like a mushroom cap. My collar is the 5 inches per the pattern but doesn’t fold over like in the project pics. I also had to shorten the sleeves considerably once I realized how long they were getting. Clearly, I’m just a little too short for this pattern. It is a Hannah Fettig pattern and I love how it was written so if you’re interested, Quince & Co is doing a month of giveaways with her if you use their yarn and her patterns. I haven’t bought any Quince & Co yarn yet, but it is next on my list to try.

When I was in Chicago over the weekend and the wind was blowing through my mother’s coat she added this sweater as a layer and was nice and toasty. So at least I know this is cozy and warm, regardless of how it wears on me. I will say I really do love the unique color of this Ella Rae Worsted superwash yarn. It isn’t as soft as some of my other superwash yarns but it gives a nice drape, works up nicely and didn’t do a lot of stretching when I threw it in the washing machine. I will be definitely be using this yarn again – plus I have 3 balls leftover in my stash so I see a cowl, hat, mitten combo being made in the future.

So please, make me feel better and tell me that you’ve had other patterns turn out not as expected. I’m still just slightly disappointed in how this ended up.

by Categories: blue, Color, FO: Finished Object, neutral (black/grey/white), pink, SweatersTags: , , , , , , 16 Comments